LPS Logo

Creative Writing at Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies

Creative writing at penn’s college of liberal and professional studies.

Become a Penn-made writer—your way. Designed with working adults and nontraditional students in mind, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) offers a range of opportunities to study the craft of creative writing with expert faculty and a community of like-minded peers. As a Penn student, you have access to world-class resources including Penn Libraries and Kelly Writers House, as well as personalized advising to help you make the most of your Penn experience. 

What’s your story?

Whether you are an experienced writer hoping to focus and polish your work or a beginner exploring the arts of creative expression, Penn LPS workshops, and writing-intensive Proseminars offer inspiration, technique, and constructive feedback. Wherever you are, whatever level of education you’ve achieved, there’s a program for you at Penn.

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences >

Master of Liberal Arts >

Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts >

Certificate in Creative Writing >

Penn LPS Online courses >

Post-Baccalaureate Studies >

Beginning or completing a bachelor’s degree?

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree student

The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree is an accredited degree program that offers an Ivy League liberal arts education—fully online.

  • Earn a bachelor’s degree, with the option to complete related certificates at the same time
  • Complete 30 courses (or less, if eligible for credit transfer) through full-time study or a part-time flexible pace
  • Take immersive, fully online courses from anywhere in the world; does not require residence in Philadelphia
  • Tailor your studies with a degree concentration such as Creative Studies , Individualized Studies , or Literature, Culture, and Tradition
  • Apply through the standard admissions process, or “prove your way in” by demonstrating academic ability
  • Apply for a fall, spring, or summer start

Learn more about BAAS >

REQUEST INFO

An asterisk (*) denotes a required field.

Your contact information is required to fulfill your request for information. We may use your personal information to communicate with you and to keep track of the marketing materials you engage with. For information about our privacy practices and our commitment to protecting your privacy online, please review our Privacy Policy .

Looking for a graduate degree that isn’t terminal?

Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) students

The Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program allows you to design your own curriculum by choosing courses across the University and combining different disciplines to tackle the question or project that motivates you. Anchored by writing-intensive Proseminar courses, the MLA is ideal for students who wish to draw from different disciplines to approach a creative project or research query.

Designed for students who already have a master’s degree and want a short, focused degree program to extend their studies, the Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts (MPhil) program balances all the benefits of the MLA with the independence of self-directed study.

  • Earn a graduate degree with the option to complete a graduate certificate in creative writing at the same time
  • Complete coursework and a capstone project in one year of full-time study or at a part-time flexible pace
  • Take daytime or evening courses on campus, and online courses when available
  • A bachelor’s degree in any field is required to apply, and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is optional

Learn more about MLA >

Learn more about MPhil >

Just want to write—without committing to a degree program?

Certificate in Creative Writing

Unlock your creativity from anywhere in the world through accelerated online courses. The Certificate in Creative Writing allows you to choose four courses from a variety of collaborative workshops—including genres such as poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction—to earn a certificate, or a total of six courses to qualify for an advanced certificate. Want to test the waters first? Enroll in individual courses in creative writing without committing to a program of study, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and interests.

  • Earn academic credit with each course, with the option to complete a certificate
  • Complete the certificate program in less than one year, or take courses at your own pace
  • Fully online and asynchronous; does not require residency in Philadelphia
  • No application or prerequisites required; you are eligible if you have attained a high school diploma
  • Enroll any time for a fall, spring, or summer start

Learn more about Penn LPS Online certificates >

Learn more about Penn LPS Online courses >

Post-Baccalaureate Studies student

If you’ve completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, the Post-Baccalaureate Studies (or post-bacc) program is a unique opportunity to hand-pick courses from more than 50 academic departments—including creative writing, literature, and related studies.

  • Earn academic credit with each course
  • Complete coursework through full-time study or a part-time flexible pace
  • A bachelor’s degree in any field is required to apply

Learn more about Post-Baccalaureate Studies >

Already enrolled in a degree program?

degree program student

If you’ve committed to a degree program at Penn or another institution, you may still have an opportunity to practice writing at Penn.

  • Anyone with a high school diploma can enroll as a visiting student during Penn Summer Sessions —no application needed
  • Undergraduates can enroll as a Domestic Guest Student to spend a term at Penn
  • Penn graduate students can enroll in writing-focused MLA courses as electives

Request Info

See all LPS events >

Request information >

Apply now >

While LPS values creating a community of diverse lived experiences, in considering your application for admissions, LPS has not in the past and will not in the future consider racial or ethnic identity as a factor in the admissions decision. We are in the process of revising our application language. Applicants are not required to respond to any questions regarding race or ethnicity.

Penn LPS

The lifelong learning division of Penn Arts & Sciences

3440 Market Street, Suite 100 Philadelphia, PA 19104-3335

(215) 898-7326 [email protected]

View Our Facebook

  • Skip to Content
  • Catalog Home
  • Institution Home
  • Undergraduate Catalog /
  • School of Arts & Sciences /

Creative Writing, Minor

Creative Writing is the study of writing and literature with an emphasis on cultivating students' own approach to craft. Students can choose from a range of workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, or journalism, all of which expose them to a range of writing in the field and give them opportunities to craft their own original work. Students can minor in Creative Writing by completing four workshop courses and two courses in the study of literature.

Journalistic Writing is the study of nonfiction writing and literature with an emphasis on cultivating students' own skills in reporting, editing, interviewing, investigative journalism, media scholarship, and writing for a range of platforms. Students can minor in Journalistic Writing by completing six workshop courses in journalism and creative nonfiction, including one required course in long-form journalism.

For more information: https://creative.writing.upenn.edu/

1 course unit may be taken in the literature of a language other than English if approved by the advisor .

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2023 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

Print Options

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

A PDF of the entire 2023-24 catalog.

A PDF of the 2023-24 Undergraduate catalog.

A PDF of the 2023-24 Graduate catalog.

Penn Admissions Logo

Creative writing at Penn allows students across all four undergraduate schools the opportunity to flex their creative muscles and earn credit by taking courses in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, journalism, children's literature, and more. The creative writing program also works closely with the Kelly Writers House to bring world-renowned authors to campus to share their work, meet with students, and the Philadelphia community.           

Learn more about Creative Writing at Penn.

  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Graduate Division
  • College of Liberal and Professional Studies

Home

2024 Creative Writing Prize Winners

The Creative Writing Program awards a number of prizes annually to University of Pennsylvania students. See below for our most recent prize winners; previous winners are listed at the bottom of this page . Details on our 2025 prizes and how to submit work will be available on our website in early 2025.

Congratulations to the 2024 recipients of the Creative Writing Prizes:

The Peregrine Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets Awarded to the best poetry by a graduate student.

Winner: Christos Kalli

Contest judge Syd Zolf writes: Whimsical, inventive, playful, yet with sharp “infrastructural intent,” Kalli’s poems make judicious use of the body of the speaker and the body of the page, “Following each line towards the / almost-light entering through the keyhole.” Kalli writes that “Poets ask / nothing / about language”, yet this poet leaves “mouth-shaped holes[s]” on the page that let the light and something else in.

About the judge:  Syd Zolf has published six books of poetry and a book of poetics/theory . Their work has received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and a Trillium Book Award for Poetry and has been a finalist for several other prizes, including two Lambda Literary Awards. Films Zolf has written and/or directed have shown internationally at venues such as White Cube Bermondsey, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. They have received more than thirty poetry, film, creative nonfiction, and academic research grants and fellowships from institutions including the Leeway Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Zolf teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.  

The College Alumni Society Poetry Prize Awarded to the best poetry by an undergraduate student.

Winner: Samantha Hsiung

Contest judge Syd Zolf writes: Hsiung writes “a lexicon of violence” with “razor-bladed” poems fast “becoming / what this nation bears.” Mastering a wide range of tones and poetic forms in a few short pages, Hsiung “inherits” complex “geometries” of grief and “unbudded” survival that keep fractalling and “spitting out every / seed it cannot hold” long after the white page and black ink bits pass away.

Second Place: Richard Liu

Contest judge Syd Zolf writes: Liu’s use of parataxis produces surreal, whimsical, cheeky, loving poems that “slipped like fuselage through my mind.” While “God is / Climbing up your walls,” the poems keep chirping: “What is ontology anyways?” Happily dwelling in Liu’s smart and pleasurable pages, “we are here and maybe home.”

Third Place: Zoe Lachter

Contest judge Syd Zolf writes: Lachter exhibits a confident grasp of the lyrical image and line, while pushing the poem into refreshingly queer and multilingual forms of multifaceted expression.

Honorable Mention : Katherine Wei, Nikhil Kathiresan, Sheehwa You, Tyler Kliem, Sophia Hall

About the judge:  Syd Zolf has published six books of poetry and a book of poetics/theory . Their work has received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and a Trillium Book Award for Poetry and has been a finalist for several other prizes, including two Lambda Literary Awards. Films Zolf has written and/or directed have shown internationally at venues such as White Cube Bermondsey, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. They have received more than thirty poetry, film, creative nonfiction, and academic research grants and fellowships from institutions including the Leeway Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Zolf teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Lilian and Benjamin Levy Award Awarded to the best review by an undergraduate of a current play, film, music release, book, or performance.

Winner: Lila Dubois, “The Sad and Simple Truth of Priscilla’s Priscilla ”

Contest judge Taije Silverman writes: This review contrasts the visceral satisfaction of going to the movies with the not-always-as-satisfactory experience of what we see there. Contextualizing Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla  within our current moment’s trend of glitter feminism, Lila Dubois punctures expectations of glamour to describe an anti-redemptive biopic about a teenage girl who doesn’t get to become more. With generosity and insight, she explains how Coppola’s “surface-centric style” refuses the interiority of a fourteen-year-old who is first wooed by and then sacrificed to the ruin of Elvis. “Not every sad story deserves a feature length film,” Dubois writes, noting how the crowd (gorgeously described before the film begins as “a fog of girldom,” with eyeliner drawn like “thick, dark wings for watery marbles”) seems somehow deflated once the lights come up, as bouffants sag and makeup looks “less playful than cakey.” Dubois has convinced me that Coppola’s film about Priscilla Presley is neither redemptive nor particularly interesting. Her own review of the film is both.

Second Place: Gemma Hong, “Memory, Media, and Manipulation: Lessons in Looking from Michael Haneke's Caché ”

Contest judge Taije Silverman writes: Gemma Hong’s elegantly written review of Michael Haneke’s 2005 French film Caché makes me want to watch it. Hong’s observations are as detailed as they are compelling, and they cover real ground—from the title’s doubled meaning to the cinematic symbolism of scenes in which the protagonist’s bookshelves replace windows. I was fascinated to learn about the 1961 Paris massacre of French Algerians, an event underpinning the film. Issues of colonialism, complicity, and the metastasization of guilt are raised intelligently and with nuance, and Hong’s thorough elaboration of the plot consistently furthered my interest.

Third Place: Arina Paniukhina, “‘Inexperienced But Enthusiastic Amateur’ Revives Marlene Marder from Kleenex/LiLiPUT for English Speakers”

Contest judge Taije Silverman writes: Paniukhina recounts the trajectory of 80s punk rocker Marlene Marder’s journals about the European punk scene, and their recent re-publication through the efforts of fan Grace Ambrose. Smartly narrated look at journey of a diary.

About the judge: Taije Silverman ’ s  second book of poetry,  Now You Can Join the Others , was published in 2022. Her translations of Italian poet   Giovanni Pascoli were published in 2019 and shortlisted for the Florio Prize. She is faculty advisor for  DoubleSpeak .

The Phi Kappa Sigma Fiction Prize Awarded to the best original short story by an undergraduate.

Winner: Katrina Itona, “Saltwater”

Contest judge Abbey Mei Otis writes: Itona’s language is propelled by ambition, leaping from the mundane to the surreal in a single sentence. In eleven pages the story deftly encompasses a young woman’s entire coming-of-age. The metaphor of the mermaid hums under the surface, always threatening to break through the skin of reality. Intertwining the mundane and the fantastic allows her to reveal an otherworldly horror pulsing at the heart of being female-bodied, of being tied by family and class and gender to a life outside one’s choosing, and of what it takes to struggle, despite circumstance, toward transformation.

Second Place: Sophie Young, “Tennis at the End of the World”

Contest judge Abbey Mei Otis writes: I was struck by the confidence of Young’s writing, the technical bravado it takes to tell an apocalypse story that is hilarious and inventive and compassionate all at once. The entire story takes place on a tennis court, and yet every scene ricochets into a new genre, takes command of the tropes, and lobs us somewhere unexpected. My nagging thought the whole time was: but will Young pull off the ending? and Young does, and it’s perfect in that impossible-to-foresee-and-yet totally-inevitable way.

Third Place: Yiwei Liu, “You/Sound of the End of the World”

Contest judge Abbey Mei Otis writes: Liu’s story takes us into a dreamy, grimy, neon-lit world that is breathtakingly distant from the typical college-student milieu, or indeed from anywhere recognizable on earth. A single night at a mysterious cabaret performance sends the narrator on a nightmarish journey of self-examination and metamorphosis. Liu’s sentences tear open the English language and reveal possibilities startling, new and precise. This is a story of sensation and mood, and I traveled through it feeling simultaneously unsettled, disoriented, impressed, and hungry for more.

Honorable Mention: Sherice Kong, Tsubasa Somasundaram Inada, Alex Behm

About the judge:  Abbey Mei Otis ’s story collection, Alien Virus Love Disaster (Small Beer Press) was named one of the best science fiction books of the year by The Washington Post and was a finalist for the 2018 Philip K Dick Award. Her short fiction has recently shown up in McSweeney's, Tin House, Guernica , and the Magic: The Gathering website. She studied creative writing at the Michener Center for Writers, Oberlin College, and the Clarion West Writers Workshop.

Judge's note: “I was looking, in this contest, for stories that announced their ambitions in the opening paragraph, and then followed through on their promises all the way. I wanted writing that felt not just skillful, but daring and playful and a little feral. Both the winners and the honorable mentions blew up my expectations of what a ‘college story’ can be about and brought my awareness sharply to both the state of the world and my own tenuous place in it.”

The Judy Lee Award for Dramatic Writing Awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student for the best script of any length.

Winner: Crystal Marshall, “Good Grief”

Contest judge Yoni Brook writes: A mother-and-daughter road-trip script that is ostensibly about death and mourning, yet shows how our intergenerational bonds keep us alive. Vivian and her mother Shelly-Anne clash, but find themselves together in an adventure that forces them to redefine their relationship. “You got us lost, so I will paddle us back.” With detailed visual storytelling, like an awkward ackee and saltfish cooking class, these characters are so nuanced that actors will be eager to bring them to life, and audiences will be invested in seeing them come home.

Second Place: Paola Camacho, “Fruit Cove”

Contest judge Yoni Brook writes: This feature script transforms Paola's coming-of-age story into a window into the Martinez family. Its characters are sketched with idiosyncrasies that make them real, and a perspective that shifts between high school cliques and immigrant communities. It’s a universal story of teenage yearning, rooted in the specifics of America in 2024. “In any language you choose, I just want to talk to you again.”

Third Place: Sophia Hall, “Boy with Pearl Earring / Prom Night”

Contest judge Yoni Brook writes: A photograph transforms into an anthropomorphic scene between its elements in this imaginative play. “Picture me on the dance floor, swaying to the music. A corsage of peonies on my wrist, my silk dress falling to my ankles, my hair spilling down my back.” Its staging will delight audiences.

Honorable Mention: Andar Naseebullah, “Beneath the Phoenix Wings”

Contest judge Yoni Brook writes: The script reveals that an encounter between two strangers can be much more. “Allow me a moment to bid farewell to all the lightness, the ethereal lightness that was once mine.” Its evocative language and narrative flow leaves the reader curious for more.

About the judge:  Yoni Brook is a Peabody Award winning film director, producer, and cinematographer. As a director, his credits include the docuseries PHILLY D.A. (PBS/Topic, duPont-Columbia Award Winner, Gotham Award Winner). Other films screened at the Berlinale, True/False, and the New York and Toronto Film Festivals. As a Film Independent Spirit Award nominated cinematographer, his credits include MENASHE (A24, Sundance) and VALLEY OF SAINTS (Sundance World Dramatic Audience Award Winner). Brook is an alumnus of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and served as a visiting instructor at Swarthmore College’s Department of Film and Media Studies.

The Gibson Peacock Prize for Creative Nonfiction Awarded to the best creative nonfiction piece—memoir or essay—by an undergraduate student.

Winner: Sandra Lin, “stop”

Contest judge Piyali Bhattacharya writes: This is a beautiful piece that has a deep understanding of image, and how image in creative writing can be used to talk about so many things: translucency, transcendency, daughterhood, race. What it means to be an American, a woman, a counter of the bodies. How color and light and slash and brilliance slice against each other when we're talking about oranges, when we're talking about lies.

Second Place: Harshita Gupta, “The World”

Contest judge Piyali Bhattacharya writes: The haunting first lines of this piece are enough to stop anybody in their tracks. The first page itself is a standalone essay, and from there, the piece goes on to unspool so many more essays. From the richness of this metaphorically told multiplicity, we see where the author's commitments hold, and where, as we all must do, she allows them to fray.

Third Place: Lila Dubois, “The Slugs”

Contest judge Piyali Bhattacharya writes: This is a piece that understands the ties that bind us, and the ties that don't. A young person's vividly described memories of slugs, salt, and hot summer evenings gives us an insight into the cycle of life and death as it is understood by children, which is perhaps more than it is understood by anyone else.

About the judge:  Piyali Bhattacharya is a fiction and nonfiction writer. Her short stories and essays have appeared in   Ploughshares ,   Literary Hub ,   The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , National Geographic  and elsewhere. She is the editor of the anthology   Good Girls Marry Doctors: South Asian American Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion , which won the  Independent Publisher Book Award  and a grant from the  National Endowment for the Arts . At Penn, she is the Abrams Artist-in-Residence and has won the Beltran Family Award for Innovative Teaching and Mentoring.

The Parker Prize for Journalistic Writing Awarded to the best news article, exposé, investigative work, or reported essay by an undergraduate.

Winner: Hannah Sung and Jules Lingenfelter, “ Donors Rule Everything Around Me: When money talks, professors are silenced.”

Contest judge Lise Funderburg writes: In their expansive current affairs feature about academic freedom and free speech, Sung and Lingenfelter take on one of the most concerning and complex issues facing college campuses today. They succinctly convey the heart of the matter — “The combined effect of recent turmoil on Penn’s campus and pressure from donors has mounted fears for academic freedom inside and outside the classroom” — and they support their claim with diligent reportage, starting with the dismissal of Penn Professor Scott Nearing in 1915, a popular instructor they report as being let go for his “anti–Capitalist sentiments and advocating for child labor laws.” The Nearing anecdote is enlisted as a stunning frame for pointing out that a century later, “the state of academic freedom at Penn remains tenuous.” To portray the landscape of the controversy, Sung and Lingenfelter have gone to truly impressive lengths, turning to a wide range of sources and recent events that convincingly lead the reader to their closing statement, a call to (intellectual) arms: “The integrity of academic freedom,” they write, “is not for sale.”

Second Place: Katie Bartlett, “The Cowboys of Fletcher Street”

Contest judge Lise Funderburg writes: Bartlett’s cinematic approach is pitch perfect for a double profile in which she tells the story of Philadelphia’s legendary Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club and its founder, Ellis Ferrell.  Ferrell’s mission is to keep kids busy; as he tells Bartlett, “These are great kids who need a space to put their energy. I want to provide that space.” Bartlett stays close to the action, following the interplay between Ferrell, his young acolytes, and the horses themselves as they create an oasis of care, dedication, and pleasure in the midst of a tough city. Even though he’s now in his mid-80s, Ferrell is clearly still at the helm. “Known among club members as ‘El Dog,’ he greets the boys from a leather chair by the gate. That chair, when occupied by Ferrell, is a throne.” Through multiple interviews, statistics, and rich scene work, including a group ride through Strawberry Mansion streets and into Fairmount Park, Bartlett brings the reader fully and joyfully into this world of urban equestrians.

Third Place: Lila Dubois “The Mysterious Case of Jazz Demographics in Philadelphia: As the genre ages, it’s only getting younger”

Contest judge Lise Funderburg writes: In this textured, vibrant trend piece, Dubois’ evocative imagery invites readers to consider the future of a legendary musical form. Dubois takes on Philadelphia’s jazz scene, opening with a rainy Saturday night in the 34-year-old Philadelphia stronghold, Chris’s Jazz Café, where she finds “a mixture of wet coats, wet hair and half-full vodka tonics, all condensated and stewing in the heat of close bodies and a thermostat set to spare no expense.” As she considers the regional music scene and its history, she highlights a new generation of enthusiast, those in the audience as well as on the stage who are there to “just let it roll.”

About the judge:  Lise Funderburg is the author of Pig Candy: Taking My Father South, Taking My Father Home , a contemplation of life, death, race, and barbecue, as well as the groundbreaking oral history Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and Identity . Her latest books are Apple, Tree: Writers on Their Parents , a collection of 25 original essays she commissioned and edited, and Purple Rising , an illustrated oral history about the diasporic 40-year reach of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple . Funderburg’s essays have appeared in The New York Times , Chattahoochee Review , Cleaver , Broad Street, National Geographic.

Past Contest Winners

2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Home

APPLY NOW    REQUEST INFO

Apply Today

Ready to apply to Penn LPS Online? Apply Now

Learn more about Penn LPS Online

Request More Information

Creative Writing

About the creative writing course block.

The Creative Writing course block at Penn LPS Online offers an innovative, collaborative course of study for those who have always wanted to learn to unlock their creativity. Each course is designed as a workshop in which you explore new ideas, tackle new writing tools, generate original insights, and discover your own powers of innovation. You create, collaboratively discuss, and revise your original writing with feedback from your instructors and your peers. You also engage with a range of assigned readings and multimedia that inform and grow your innovative practice.

The Creative Writing curriculum appeals to students new to creative writing as well as students with writing experience who want to learn new skills. Through a series of courses in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting, the Creative Writing course block focuses on creative writing as a form of critical thinking, as a way to reimagine audience and as a space of innovation. Taught by professionals in the field, our courses cultivate both individual and group learning, providing an overview of the field as well as deep dives into literary genres. These courses are designed for hands-on, intensive study of the subtleties and power of language.

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree courses in the Creative Writing course block are offered on an accelerated (8-week) schedule. Courses in the block are largely asynchronous with some optional synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors.

All Penn LPS Online courses offer academic credit.*

Please note: Students completing this course block while enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree are awarded a Certificate in Creative Writing upon completion of the degree. If you are enrolled in the BAAS program and don't complete the degree requirements to graduate, you are not eligible to receive this certificate.

*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.

The Creative Writing course block prepares you to:

  • Understand how text conveys meaning across a variety of literary genres and styles
  • Explore how to use innovation, flexibility, and collaboration to cultivate a creative writing practice
  • Create, revise and edit your original writing in multiple literary genres, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and screenwriting

Meet The Faculty

Julia Bloch

Julia Bloch

  • Faculty Director, Penn LPS Online Certificate in Creative Writing
  • Director, Creative Writing Program

Al Filreis

  • Director, Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing

Laynie Browne

Laynie Browne

  • Poet, prose writer, teacher and editor

Scott Burkhardt

Scott Burkhardt

  • Lecturer in cinema and media studies

Christy Davids

Christy Davids

  • Teacher, poet and assistant editor at The Conversant

Lise Funderburg

Lise Funderburg

  • Lecturer in creative writing

J †Johnson

  • 2017-2018 Digital Studies Fellow at Rutgers University-Camden

Dick Polman

Dick Polman

  • Povich Writer-in-Residence at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing (CPCW)

Karen Rile

  • Writer, editor, teacher

Photo of Zachary Tyler Vickers

Zachary Tyler Vickers

  • CRWR 1010: The Craft of Creative Writing
  • CRWR 1600: Modern and Contemporary US Poetry
  • CRWR 2010: Poetry Workshop
  • CRWR 2400: The Art of Editing
  • CRWR 2500: Writing and Meditation
  • CRWR 2600: Fiction Workshop
  • CRWR 2800: Narrative Collage
  • CRWR 3000: Writing About Place
  • CRWR 3200: Screenwriting
  • CRWR 3600: Advanced Nonfiction *
  • CRWR 3700: Journalism

*This course may not be offered every academic year. Check the course page or our  course guide  to see when upcoming terms are added.

Courses are subject to change.

Related concentrations

  • Creative Studies
  • Individualized Studies

Penn LSP Online

"The Growth of the Anti-Communist Network"

IMAGES

  1. Penn students explore city in creative ‘Writing Philadelphia’ course

    creative writing upenn courses

  2. Home

    creative writing upenn courses

  3. 5 Best Creative Writing Courses, Classes and Tutorials Online

    creative writing upenn courses

  4. Home

    creative writing upenn courses

  5. Home

    creative writing upenn courses

  6. Creative Writing Courses: Best Online Classes for Writers

    creative writing upenn courses

VIDEO

  1. Diploma in Creative Writing in English Course DCE 6

  2. Bob Perelman by Charles Bernstein

  3. *Ivy acceptance* DECISION REACTIONS grad school (Yale, Columbia, Duke, Oxford, & more!)

  4. Cara Bertron reads from "Songs of the Psyche" by Thomas Kinsella

  5. Essay Writing Workshop 2023

  6. Master Class In Creative Writing

COMMENTS

  1. Courses

    Courses. Welcome to the Creative Writing Program at Penn. Our faculty of award-winning writers teach more than sixty workshops each year in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults, as well as innovative workshops in cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid writing ...

  2. Home

    Welcome to the Creative Writing Program at Penn. We are home to a faculty of award-winning writers who teach more than sixty workshops each year in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults, as well as innovative workshops in cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid ...

  3. Course offerings

    Our courses count toward the Creative Writing concentration in English and the Creative Writing or Journalistic Writing minors; some fulfill General Education requirements in the College. Any student in the four undergraduate schools at Penn (College, Wharton, Engineering, Nursing) may take Creative Writing courses as electives.

  4. Creative Writing (CRWR) < University of Pennsylvania

    CRWR 1010 The Craft of Creative Writing. The Craft of Creative Writing is designed for students who are new to creative writing or who would like to return to the fundamentals of craft. Through frequent writing assignments, assigned readings and collaborative discussions, students familiarize themselves with a variety of styles and approaches ...

  5. Certificate in Creative Writing

    These creative writing courses are designed as hands-on, intensive study of the subtleties and power of language. The Certificate in Creative Writing is a 4-course, 4 c.u.* credit program of study taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty. To earn a certificate, students complete any four courses offered, in any order.

  6. Creative Writing, Certificate < University of Pennsylvania

    The Certificate in Creative Writing is a 4-course, 4 course unit program of study taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty. To earn a certificate, students complete any four courses offered, in any order. Students who complete the basic certificate may pursue an advanced certificate (6-course, 6 course unit) by adding two additional courses ...

  7. English: Creative Writing, BA < University of Pennsylvania

    2023-24 Catalog. English: Creative Writing, BA. The English Major with a Concentration in Creative Writing provides students with a solid grounding in literature as well as advanced study in creative writing. Penn's premier undergraduate creative writing program includes courses in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting ...

  8. Creative Writing at Penn's College of Liberal and Professional Studies

    Become a Penn-made writer—your way. Designed with working adults and nontraditional students in mind, Penn's College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) offers a range of opportunities to study the craft of creative writing with expert faculty and a community of like-minded peers. As a Penn student, you have access to world-class resources including Penn Libraries and Kelly Writers ...

  9. Creative Writing, Minor < University of Pennsylvania

    Students can minor in Journalistic Writing by completing six workshop courses in journalism and creative nonfiction, including one required course in long-form journalism. For more information: https://creative.writing.upenn.edu/. 1 course unit may be taken in the literature of a language other than English if approved by the advisor.

  10. Creative Writing Program

    Creative writing at Penn allows students across all four undergraduate schools the opportunity to flex their creative muscles and earn credit by taking courses in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, journalism, children's literature, and more. The creative writing program also works closely with the Kelly Writers House to bring world ...

  11. 2024 Creative Writing Prize Winners

    Congratulations to the 2024 recipients of the Creative Writing Prizes: The Peregrine Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets. Awarded to the best poetry by a graduate student. Winner: Christos Kalli. Contest judge Syd Zolf writes: Whimsical, inventive, playful, yet with sharp "infrastructural intent," Kalli's poems make judicious ...

  12. Introducing Mike Juster

    Poet, Translator, Essayist. INTRODUCING MIKE JUSTER. by Rhina Espaillat. originally published in Light. When extraterrestrials land and begin their destruction--or enslavement, or culinary preparation--of the human race, they will find allies among us. I mean, of course, those writers who cheerfully describe how loathsome human beings are and ...

  13. The Hollywood Blacklist

    The group that came to exemplify resistance was the Hollywood Ten and their writing colleagues, many of whom had been in the Party. The Ten consisted of Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Sam Ornitz, Robert Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo.

  14. Creative Writing

    The Creative Writing course block at Penn LPS Online offers an innovative, collaborative course of study for those who have always wanted to learn to unlock their creativity. Each course is designed as a workshop in which you explore new ideas, tackle new writing tools, generate original insights, and discover your own powers of innovation.

  15. The Growth of the Anti-Communist Network

    Over the course of the twentieth century, they became increasingly concerned about Communists and by the late 1940s a wide-ranging anti-Communist network was in place whose members were to take the lead in the national crusade against domestic communism. What differentiated these people from their fellow Americans was not their anti-communism ...

  16. Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

    Our Masters of Creative Writing degree program offers comprehensive online courses in literary arts, encompassing advanced writing studies in various genres such as fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and more. Students benefit from one-on-one mentorship with renowned and published writers in their respective genres, providing invaluable guidance and support to hone their craft.

  17. Creative Writing: Our Choices for 'The Second Choice" by Th.Dreiser

    Creative Writing: Our Choices for 'The Second Choice" by Th.Dreiser A few weeks ago we read a short story "Second Choice" by Theodore Dreiser which stirred quite a discussion in class. So, the students were offered to look at the situation from a different perspective and to write secret diaries of some characters (the author presented them as ...