Undergraduate Major Description: Creative Writing

Effective Summer 1999

Students are subject to the major requirements in force when they declare the major. NOTE: Students who declared the major prior to summer 1999 have the option of using the 1999 requirements. The English Department offers two tracks for the undergraduate major: literature and creative writing. English majors are encouraged to select one of these tracks no later than their junior year. The English Department does not offer a minor program of study.

Major Requirements & General Academic Policies

Major Requirements for Creative Writing Minimum Hours Required: 36
Upper Division Hours Required: 18
Maximum Hours Allowed: 45


  • I. Introductory English Requirements: Complete ENGL 2000 Literary Analysis and ENGL 2010 Intro to Literary Theory (Total: 6 hours)

  • II. Complete one course from any two of the four historical components: Backgrounds to Literature in English; British Literature to 1660; British Literature after 1660; American Literature (Total: 6 hours)

  • III. Complete one course from either of the two topical components: Advanced Theory, Genre Studies, Popular Culture; or Multicultural and Gender Studies (Total: 3 hours)

  • IV. Critical Studies in English: Complete ENGL 4038 Crit Thinking or ENGL 4728 Sem: Topics in Engl (Total: 3 hours)

  • V. Creative Writing Workshops: Complete six creative writing workshops, three of which must be upper division (Total: 8 hours)


NOTE: Not all English courses have been approved to fulfill specific major requirements, but all English courses count toward the major (e.g., ENGL 1500, Masterpieces of British Lit, will not fulfill a British literature requirement but will count as a lower division elective for the major). Please refer to the Major Worksheet for Creative Writing (PDF file) for a complete listing of the approved courses.

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit. If you have taken the AP English Literature and Composition exam, you may have been given credit for one or two English courses. Please check your degree audit or contact your academic advisor.

General Academic Policies

  • The Undergraduate Studies Office has compiled a list of general academic policies that are referred to most often during advising meetings with English majors. Students should refer to the University of Colorado at Boulder Catalog for a complete listing of academic policies.

  • Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and one of the two English tracks.

  • In accordance with the College of Arts and Sciences Minimum Major Requirements: of the 36 hours required for the English major, students must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours in the major, all with grades of C- (1.70) or higher, 18 of which must be upper division. If you have received a grade lower than a C- in a major course, see an English advisor. In addition to the College of Arts and Sciences GPA requirements, students must have at least a 2.00 (C) grade point average in the major in order to graduate.

  • Students must complete the last 30 semester hours in University of Colorado courses on the Boulder campus as a degree student in the College of Arts and Sciences. A minimum of 12 hours of upper division course work for the major must be completed on the CU-Boulder campus.

  • Normally, no student may apply more than 45 hours in one department toward graduation. All English courses count toward the 45-hour limitation. Students may exceed the 45-hour limit by 6 credit hours (for a total of 51), provided that all excess hours are taken in a designated departmental honors course and/or for honors thesis credit.

  • English courses taken at other colleges must be evaluated by the Department. Courses taken in other departments (except approved cross-listed courses) normally do not count toward the major. Expository writing courses (except ENGL 1001 and 3151) do not apply toward the major. English courses taken on a pass/fail basis do not fulfill major requirements. Independent study projects cannot fulfill major requirements unless the required course is not being offered or available within the year that the student graduates.

  • Upon completing a B.A. degree in English, students are exempt from the Core Literature and Arts requirement. English majors are not automatically exempted from the Core Written Communication requirement(s).

  • Admission to the Creative Writing Program is not automatic. Students must have completed at least 6 semester hours of creative writing with the program before being considered (3 hours for transfer students). In addition, they must submit two copies of a manuscript (if poetry, 7 poems; if fiction, 20 pages) to the admissions committee for approval. Students should apply no later than the second semester of their junior year. See Kat Scheible in Hellems 111 for application procedures.

    Undergraduate Creative Writing Program Application Form (PDF)
    FAQs on Program Application Submission
    Application for Instructor Consent

English Undergraduate Studies Office:
University of Colorado, Boulder
Campus Box 226
Boulder, CO 80309-0226

Academic Advising Information: (303)492-7922 or (303)492-7883
Creative Writing Information: (303)492-7381
Registration Assistance/General Information: (303)492-6594