A student writing in a notebook.

Quick Facts

  • Delivery: On Campus
  • Credits: 37

The opportunity to hone your writing. The chance to express yourself. The skills to read like a writer. That’s what a concentration in creative writing from Ball State offers. Our rigorous and immersive coursework prepares you to become an excellent writer, critical thinker, and a creative force across a variety of industries and job categories.

What You Will Learn

  • creative thinking and critical analysis
  • the importance of research
  • the importance of close observation and deep curiosity
  • how to write in a variety of genres, including screenwriting
  • how to collaborate and work as a team
  • how to respond to works-in-progress through the workshop method
  • how to revise based on feedback from students and faculty
  • how to prepare a portfolio of revised and polished work

All of the above are enduring skills that will remain relevant regardless of changes in the job market and are truly transferrable across a wide range of careers and disciplines.

What It’s Like to Study Creative Writing

Our teaching-focused faculty members include screenwriters, filmmakers, and widely published writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Their excellent work has been recognized with numerous national and international honors, which include fellowships, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Harvard University, and the Indiana Arts Council.

Read profiles of our faculty:

Our robust student writing community and workshop-focused classes give you a chance to develop soft skills, such as the ability to collaborate, give and receive constructive criticism, manage interpersonal relationships, and more.

Explore all of our activities and opportunities.

The creative writing concentration’s minimal number of credits (36) give much flexibility in terms of double majoring or having a creative writing major with dual minors. For example, while studying creative writing you could also be a film and screenwriting minor and a professional writing minor and still graduate in four years.

Learn more about the courses we offer.

Take your writing skills outside the classroom: edit our national literary magazine, meet writers and editors, teach kids to write, or see your scripts made into a movie.

Discover immersive learning.

Department Scholarships

In addition to the dozens of scholarships the university offers its students, our department gives awards to acknowledge the excellence and achievements of our own majors and minors. Learn more.

Keep Exploring

Take the Next Step

If you’d like to learn more about our English degree, complete our online form. Or one of the best ways to get a true feel for Ball State is to see it for yourself, so schedule a visit today! And if you’re ready to apply, review our admission requirements and complete our online application.

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