Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing

Program Learning Outcomes for the BA Degree with a Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing  

Upon completing the BA degree with a major in English, students will be able to demonstrate:

  1. Competence in literary and cultural analysis.
  2. Understanding of literature and culture in relation to its historical and socio-cultural contexts. 
  3. Disciplinary-specific methodological, critical, and theoretical training. 
  4. Critical writing skills in papers of varying length. 
  5. Disciplinary-specific research knowledge.

Additionally, upon completing the BA degree with a major in English and a major concentration in Creative Writing, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate skills in producing original works of fictional prose, literary essays, poetry, plays, and/or screenplays in English.

Requirements for the BA Degree with a Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing

For general university requirements, see Graduation Requirements. Students pursuing the BA degree with a major in English, and a major concentration in Creative Writing, must complete:

  • A minimum of 11 courses (33-34 credit hours, depending on course selection) to satisfy major requirements.
  • A minimum of 120 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements.
  • A minimum of 7 courses (21 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
  • A maximum of 4 courses (12 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
  • The requirements for the major concentration in Creative Writing.

The department recommends that all English majors take courses in British and American history and, if they plan to do graduate work, at least 6 hours of upper-level courses in a foreign language. AP course credit is not permitted to count towards the major. 

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this major. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the major’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the major's Official Certifier.) Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary 

Total Credit Hours Required for the Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing 33-34
Total Credit Hours Required for the BA Degree with a Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing120

Degree Requirements 

Core Requirements 1
English Core
ENGL 200GATEWAYS TO LITERARY STUDY3
ENGL 300PRACTICES OF LITERARY STUDY: READING METHODS3
Pre-1800 and Pre-1900 (Historical Foundations)
Select 2 courses from Pre-1800 and Pre-1900 courses (see course list below). At least 1 of the 2 selected courses must be in fields designated as Pre-1800.6
Critical Race, Postcolonial, and Gender Studies (Diverse Traditions)
Select 1 course from Critical Race, Postcolonial, and Gender Studies courses (see course list below).3
Major Concentration in Creative Writing
Select 4 courses from the Major Concentration in Creative Writing (see below for Major Concentration requirements)12-13
Senior Seminar and Research Workshop 2
ENGL 410SENIOR SEMINAR3
ENGL 411RESEARCH WORKSHOP3
Total Credit Hours for the Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing33-34
Additional Credit Hours to Complete Degree Requirements *55-56
University Graduation Requirements *31
Total Credit Hours120

Footnotes and Additional Information 

Course Lists to Satisfy Requirements 

The following lists of courses can be used to satisfy the requirements of the major when available. Specific course offerings will vary from semester to semester. Courses not on the list may be taken upon approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. Requirements fulfilled by special topics field courses can vary.

Pre-1800 and Pre-1900 (Historical Foundations)

Students must complete a total of 2 courses (6 credit hours) at the 200-level or above in periods before 1900. Of the 2 courses, 1 course (3 credit hours) must be from the approved Pre-1800 coursework, but only one may be a Shakespeare course. The second required course may be an additional course from the Pre-1800 coursework or an approved Pre-1900 course.   

Pre-1800 (Historical Foundations)
ENGL 210BEGINNINGS: BRITISH LITERATURE TO 18003
ENGL 254THE HISTORY OF LOVE3
ENGL 274LITERATURE AND RELIGION: HEAVEN & HELL3
ENGL 311TOPICS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE AND/OR CULTURE3
ENGL 314 / MDEM 319MEDIEVAL ROMANCE3
ENGL 316 / MDEM 316 / SWGS 305CHAUCER3
ENGL 317 / MDEM 317 / SWGS 301ARTHURIAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 320SHAKESPEARE ON FILM3
ENGL 321SHAKESPEARE3
ENGL 322TOPICS IN SHAKESPEARE3
ENGL 323RENAISSANCE DRAMA3
ENGL 328JOHN MILTON: RADICAL THOUGHT THEN AND NOW3
ENGL 331PERSON, ANIMAL, THING: EARLY MODERN LITERATURE AND SCIENCE3
ENGL 332LITERATURE OF THE BRITISH ENLIGHTENMENT3
ENGL 33318TH CENTURY BRITISH FICTION3
ENGL 360AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR3
ENGL 430EMPIRE AND BRITISH LITERATURE 1700-19503
Pre-1900 (Historical Foundations)
ENGL 211BRITISH LITERATURE: ROMANTICISM TO THE 20TH CENTURY3
ENGL 250HISTORY OF THE NOVEL3
ENGL 251READING POETRY3
ENGL 260WHAT IS AMERICAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 262WHODUNIT & OTHER MYSTERIES: DETECTIVE FICTION AND FILM NOIR3
ENGL 337GOTHIC AMERICAN LITERATURE: TERROR, HORROR, THE GROTESQUE, AND THE SUBLIME IN AMERICAN CULTURE3
ENGL 338BRITISH ROMANTICISM3
ENGL 341VICTORIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE3
ENGL 342 / SWGS 372SURVEY OF VICTORIAN FICTION3
ENGL 343 / SWGS 343JANE AUSTEN'S WORLDS3
ENGL 344ACCOUNTING FOR DICKENS3
ENGL 361US LITERATURE FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO WWI3
ENGL 441VICTORIAN STUDIES3
ENGL 459STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND ECOLOGY3
ENGL 46119TH-CENTURY AMERICAN STUDIES3

Critical Race, Postcolonial, and Gender Studies (Diverse Traditions)

Students must complete 1 course (3 credit hours) at the 200-level or above that focuses on African American, Chicano/a, Asian American, ethnic, global, postcolonial, diasporic or gender and sexuality studies.

ENGL 222 / ASIA 222THE WORLD AND SOUTH ASIA3
ENGL 230INTRODUCTION TO LATINX LITERATURE3
ENGL 263LATINX RESEARCH AND WRITING LAB3
ENGL 266GRAPHIC NOVELS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY TRADITION3
ENGL 267INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 279BLACK SCI-FI & SPECULATIVE FICTIONS3
ENGL 315INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY TRANSLATION3
ENGL 354 / SWGS 364QUEER LITERARY CULTURES3
ENGL 359WRITING ON/WRITING OFF NEW ORLEANS3
ENGL 369 / SWGS 329THE AMERICAN WEST AND ITS OTHERS3
ENGL 370 / SWGS 370AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 371 / SPAN 396 / SWGS 354CHICANO/A LITERATURE3
ENGL 372ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 376SOUTHEAST ASIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH3
ENGL 379THIRD WORLD LITERATURE3
ENGL 380CONTEMPORARY ANGLOPHONE LITERATURES3
ENGL 381 / SWGS 327TOPICS IN WOMEN WRITERS3
ENGL 382 / SWGS 380FEMINIST THEORY3
ENGL 383GLOBAL FICTIONS3
ENGL 389 / SWGS 389YOUTH STUDIES3
ENGL 393BLACK MANHATTAN: 1915-19403
ENGL 398SLAVERY IN 20TH CENTURY FILM AND FICTION3
ENGL 430EMPIRE AND BRITISH LITERATURE 1700-19503

Major Concentration: Creative Writing 

Students must complete a minimum of 4 courses (12-13 credit hours, depending on course selection) from departmental (ENGL) course offerings with the creative writing designation. Of these 4 courses, students must complete at least 2 courses (6-7 credit hours, depending on course selection) at the 300-level or above, and at least 1 course (3-4 credit hours, depending on course selection) at the 400-level or above. The remaining required course can be selected from any of the approved Creative Writing coursework.   

Lower-level Elective
Select up to 1 course from the following (or select additional coursework at the 300-level or 400-level as listed below):3
INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY EDITING & PUBLISHING
LITERARY EDITING & PUBLISHING / THE RICE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING
TOPICS IN CREATIVE WRITING
FORMS OF POETRY
WRITERS ON WRITING
300-level (or above) Electives
Select a minimum of 2 courses from the following:6-7
INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING
SCREENWRITING
PLAYWRITING
INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING
INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING
TOPICS IN FICTION WRITING
TOPICS IN POETRY WRITING
INTRODUCTION TO PODCASTING
TOPICS IN CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING
NONFICTION NATURE WRITING
INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY TRANSLATION
FAIRY TALES AND FEAR TALES WRITING
GRAPHIC NOVEL
WRITING ON ART AND LITERATURE
ADVANCED FICTION WRITING
WRITING LONGER FICTION: NARRATIVE DESIGN
CRAFT OF THE NOVELLA
ADVANCED POETRY WRITING
ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING
400-level Elective
Select a minimum of 1 course from the following:3-4
ADVANCED FICTION WRITING
WRITING LONGER FICTION: NARRATIVE DESIGN
CRAFT OF THE NOVELLA
ADVANCED POETRY WRITING
ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING

Policies for the BA Degree with a Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing 

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

Students pursuing the major in English and a major concentration in Creative Writing should be aware of the following program restrictions:

  • Students pursuing the major in English and a major concentration in Creative Writing may not additionally declare the minor in Creative Writing.

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Departmental Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the major in English should be aware of the following departmental transfer credit guidelines:

  • No more than 4 courses (12 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the major. Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of the major advisor.
  • Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the departmental Director of Undergraduate Studies (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.
  • The English department does not award Rice equivalent course transfer credit for coursework taken at community colleges, “for-profit” universities, or two-year colleges. Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of the major advisor.

Distribution Credit Information

The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.  

Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration. 

Distribution courses from English (ENGL) aim to develop students' critical and aesthetic understanding of texts and the arts, lead students to examine ideas and values, and introduce students to the craft of writing as it poses conceptual and intellectual problems. They engage students with works of culture that have intellectual importance by virtue of the ideas that they express, their historical influence, mode of expression, and critical engagement with established cultural assumptions and traditions.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the English website: https://english.rice.edu/.

Opportunities for the BA Degree with a Major in English and a Major Concentration in Creative Writing 

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.

Study Abroad Program for English Majors at the University of Exeter 

English majors may opt to spend the spring semester of their junior year at the University of Exeter in the U.K. Students planning to do so should complete ENGL 200 and ENGL 300 by the fall semester of their junior year (the semester preceding study abroad). At Exeter, students will take 2 courses or modules (each worth 30 Exeter credits) from Rice’s approved list of Exeter Courses.  

The approved courses taken abroad will be articulated on the Rice transcript as ENGL 325 (two instances of 3 credit hours each) with the remaining credit hours articulated as general TRAN credit. Final Exeter grades will also appear on the Rice transcript and be counted in the student's overall Rice GPA. With pre-approval from the Department, ENGL 325 may additionally count toward major field requirements (Pre-1800, Pre-1900, or Critical Race, Postcolonial, and Gender Studies). 

For more information, please consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the English department and the Rice Study Abroad Office.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the English website: https://english.rice.edu/.

See https://humanities.rice.edu/student-life for tables of fellowships, prizes, and internships/practica that may be relevant to this major.