Midland Lutheran College

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing online course of study promotes the aesthetic and intellectual practices of creative writing, provides comprehensive and rigorous instruction in the art of creative writing, and develops students' skills in preparation for numerous jobs in the creative arena and for other post-graduate careers if desired.

Benefits and Skills:

The arts serve as a core component of the academic, spiritual, and ethical life of an individual. The arts help to humanize us. It is in this spirit that the English and Journalism Department at Midland Lutheran College offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts of Creative Writing. Drawing on various writing workshops, our students will compile a portfolio of creative writings: fiction, poetry, dramatic monologue, and hybrid genres.
The curriculum of the course follows a developmental sequence moving from beginning writing to advanced writing workshops. These workshops promote aesthetic and intellectual command of the theories and practices underlying the various genres of creative writing as well as examine the aesthetic choices an artist makes. Students will become accomplished creative writers as well as life-long patrons of the arts.

Opportunities:

Opportunities abound for graduates of the BFA in Creative Writing online program. Our students can obtain employment with publication firms, media companies, entertainment labels and studios, as well as with any other professional institution. Business writers, editors or copy writers are in high demand every year. Let this degree drive you where your passion is and where you can meet your personal goals.

Program Structure:

The Bachelor of Fine Arts of Creative Writing includes 39 credit hours: 30 credit hours in English listings and 9 additional credit hours in art, music, theatre, and journalism listings. One of the central aims of the BFA in Creative Writing is to offer an inter-disciplinary humanities course of study—one which exposes our students to diverse aesthetic approaches. We believe that such an interdisciplinary approach will encourage further study in diverse aesthetic disciplines.

PREREQUISITES:

Students should have completed 30 credit hours of college coursework including English Composition. Students transferring 64 credit hours should be able to complete this degree in 21 months. Participation in on-campus Poetry and Fiction Workshops is required.

English Courses: Total of 30 Hours (each course = 3 hours)

*ENG110 Intro to Literature or ENG130 Short Story
*ENG230 Creative Writing
*ENG240 Poetry
*ENG220 Advanced Writing "W"
*ENG380 Literary Criticism "C"
*ENG332 Advanced Fiction Workshop
*ENG 331 Advanced Poetry Workshop
(6) hours of English credit at the 300 level (such as *Shakespeare, *The Novel or Gender Studies)
*ENG441 Portfolio Review and Reading in Senior Year

Additional Humanities Courses: Total of 9 Hours

*ART 120 Art Appreciation
ART 130 Intro to Ceramics
ART 110 Design
ART 100 Intro to Drawing
ART 150 Intro to Painting
ART 170 Watercolor Painting
ART 219 Intro to Sculpture
MUS 101 Fundamentals of Music
THE 100 Intro to Theatre
*JOU 121 Writing for Media
*JOU 122 Broadcast News Writing
JOU 220 Black and White Photography
*JOU 222 Intro to Digital Photography
JOU 312 Feature Writing
JOU 350 Opinion Writing

*Currently offered online through Midland Lutheran College. Students may wish to transfer other courses.

About the Workshops:

The workshops are key components to the success of a fine arts degree. In creative writing workshops students present original work for aesthetic evaluation by the fellow participants of the workshop. Thus, two important pedagogical events take place when a student presents original work: one, the work itself becomes the basis of class consideration, discussion, and evaluation; two, the entire workshop offers critical evaluations of work—this format allows a writer to receive a wide range of view on his/her work.

Each workshop will require a portfolio of work to be completed by the end of the semester. Often workshop writings will experiment with particular aesthetic movements or directions. All student projects will undergo extensive revision as well as aesthetic reflection. As the capstone experience, The Portfolio Review and Reading in the senior year is grounded in independent research writing demands that students reflect on a body of revised work. Students then present a finished body of work to a panel of faculty.

This panel will include members from the English Department as well as a faculty member from one of the other aesthetic disciplines. The panel is charged with judging whether or not the body of work presented for Portfolio Review merits public reading. The public reading of the work is intended as a celebration of a student's talents and dedication to the fine arts. The goal of this capstone experience is to prepare students for entrance into a Masters of Fine Arts program.

Please Note: BFA students have the option of emphasizing and integrating other aesthetic disciplines into the Capstone Experience. For example, students can present an illustrated book of poetry or short fictions. Students can compose a dramatic monologue with musical compositions. The degree to which students engage in "hybrid genres" or mixed media presentations will be determined by the panel of faculty overseeing the Capstone Experience.