Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Creative Writing Minor


Revised Program [Fall 2021]


Distinguished as one of the few interdisciplinary creative writing programs in the country, Creative Writing at EMU provides a rich space for exploring aesthetic risk and social application. The program emphasizes state of the art contemporary writing practices through a creative, critical, practical, and research-based curriculum, preparing writers to participate in contemporary literary culture and for a range of language and media-centered careers.

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The Creative Writing Minor (24 hours) emphasizes interdisciplinarity and experimentation through the exploration of poetry, fiction, hybrid genres, and multimedia literature. 

The Creative Writing Program promotes community engagement while guiding students’ exploration of the personal and social roles of language and literature. By reading and critiquing their peers’ works, students engage in a culture of collaboration and review. In addition, through classroom visits, specialized workshops, and our BathHouse Events series, students enter into dialogue with authors, publishers, translators, editors, performers, and new media artists.

In foregrounding intermedia and interdisciplinary approaches to creative writing as well as traditional genres, the program prepares undergraduate students for a variety of careers in writing. Authorship, education, nonprofit arts, editorial and publishing work, marketing, advertising, freelance writing, writing for digital media and interdisciplinary fields are among the career opportunities open to people with creative writing degrees. Many students in our program have also found a degree in creative writing to be excellent preparation for advanced studies in creative writing, literature, library science, and other fields in the arts and humanities.

Department Information


English Language & Literature | Joseph Csicsila, Ph.D., Department Head | 612 Pray-Harrold, 734.487.4220, jcsicsila@emich.edu

Advisor Information


Rob Halpern, Ph.D., Program Coordinator, 734.487.4220,​ rhalpern@emich.edu

Christine Hume, Ph.D., 734.487.4220, chume@emich.edu

Carla Harryman, Ph.D., 734.487.4220,​ charryma@emich.edu

Matt Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., 734.487.0399, mkirkpa1@emich.edu

Minor Requirements: 24 hours


Restricted Electives: 9 hours


Satisfy this requirement by completing 1) one three credit hour “LITR” course at the 300 or 400 level and 2) an additional six credit hours of any 300 or 400 level course in the English Language and Literature Department.

Both CRTW 422W  and CRTW 335W  can be repeated multiple times as restricted electives so long as topic subtitles are different.

Critical Graduation Information


Each undergraduate student will be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the online catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

  • Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement.
  • Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
  • Complete a Writing Intensive (GEWI) Course in your major.
  • Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)
  • Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
  • Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
  • Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
  • Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
  • Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
    • Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
    • Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
    • Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
  • Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.
  • Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education  section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.