Certificate in Creative & Professional Writing
A flexible 5-course graduate program
The certificate in Creative and Professional Writing at Saint Joseph’s University is an opportunity to boost your writing skills, explore career pathways, and gain confidence. You’ll take one core course within our graduate writing program, followed by four electives of your choosing. We offer a variety of professional courses, such as Writers at Work and Style, plus creative courses that include Screenwriting, Fiction, and Nonfiction. Focus on one area, or take a mixture of both.
Our certificate is designed for any graduate-level students seeking professional development, a career in writing or communications, knowledge of publishing, or guidance in portfolio development for further graduate study. Work at your own pace by choosing one, two, or three courses per term. We’re here to support you as a writer. Our evening classes are small and designed for working professionals.
Length: five courses, 1 to 2 years
- 15 credit hours of study
- One required course (ENG 550, The Practice of Writing)
- Four elective courses of level ENG 600. Such courses include but are not limited to:
- ENG 600 Poetry Today (3 credits)
- ENG 612 Biography (3 credits)
- ENG 614 The Short Story (3 credits)
- ENG 615 Road to Revolution in 1960s (3 credits)
- ENG 616 Writing & Inciting (3 credits)
- ENG 617 Writing and Other Arts (3 credits)
- ENG 619 Reading & Writing the YA Novel (3 credits)
- ENG 620 Special Topics in Lit/Culture (3 credits)
- ENG 621 Horror in Literature & Film (3 credits)
- ENG 630 Composition Theory (3 credits)
- ENG 635 The Writing Teacher Writing (3 credits)
- ENG 636 Writing & Empowerment (3 credits)
- ENG 640 Experiments in Narrative (3 credits)
- ENG 641 Rhetorical Theory: Special Topics (3 credits)
- ENG 642 Style (3 credits)
- ENG 643 Special Topics in Essay (3 credits)
- ENG 646 Multi-Media Storytelling (3 credits)
- ENG 665 Memoir (3 credits)
- ENG 668 Creative Nonfiction Workshop (3 credits)
- ENG 669 Poetry Writing Workshop (3 credits)
- ENG 670 Fiction Writing Workshop (3 credits)
- ENG 671 Fiction Writing Workshop II (3 credits)
- ENG 673 Screenwriting Workshop (3 credits)
- ENG 675 Special Topics Writing Workshop (3 credits)
- ENG 676 Writing for Publication (3 credits)
- ENG 677 Case Study: Public Relations (3 credits)
- ENG 678 Case Study: Magazine Publishing (3 credits)
- ENG 679 Special Topics in Journalism (3 credits)
- ENG 680 Writing the Grant Proposal (3 credits)
- ENG 681 Writers at Work (3 credits)
- ENG 682 New Media (3 credits)
- ENG 683 Editing Practicum (3 credits)
- ENG 684 Health Writing (3 credits)
Admission
A bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Writing samples and recommendations required. Applicants will follow the same admission forms and procedures as our Writing Studies M.A. applicants. (Click here for application tips.)
Stacking Option
Students who complete the certificate program will have the opportunity to continue in the Writing Studies program and pursue their M.A, if they wish. They will need to take five more courses to reach the 30-credit graduation threshold, two of which will be thesis direction courses.