ChooseWhy Choose This Program?
Why Study Professional & Creative Writing at Goucher?
This program emerged from the thriving creative writing concentration and the popularity of the professional writing minor. For students who want to combine creative writing with the practical advantages in professional writing, they will receive the same core classes and then choose one of the two tracks. Additionally, students are encouraged to take an interdisciplinary approach to their studies by incorporating multiple passions into their writing, editing, and publishing ambitions. Lastly, our faculty are dedicated to their students, and the small class sizes help professors get to know students personally and understand how each person learns best.
LearnWhat Will You Learn?
What Will You Learn?
The professional writing and rhetoric track offers courses in rhetoric, journalism, technical writing, and writing with new media. A course in the theory and practice of tutoring and teaching writing prepares students to work as peer tutors in Goucher's Writing Center. This hands-on practice, training, and experience directly transfers to the marketplace.
In creative writing classes, a workshop model guides writing and editing. At the upper levels, one-on-one independent studies with faculty offer students a level of personal attention that few undergraduate programs can match. If you want to write your first book you will have access to qualified faculty and the Kratz Center for Creative Writing, which funds summer writing projects up to $3,000.
DoWhat Will You Do?
What Will You Do?
This major turns students into professional and versatile writers. Our graduates are prepared for careers as lawyers, editors, screenwriters, technical writers, and journalists, and find jobs in education, communications, marketing, advertising, newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses. Those who concentrate in professional writing find that this major sets them apart from applicants in a variety of fields, and many of our students who chose the creative writing track are nationally published fiction writers and poets and continue their work at prestigious M.F.A. programs.
Course Curriculum
Faculty
Major & Minor Program Contact
Lana Oweidat, Department Chair, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition
Writing Program Contact
Charlee Sterling, Associate Professor of Writing
Full-Time Faculty
Katherine Cottle, Assistant Professor of Writing Studies and Creative Writing
Susan Garrett, Assistant Professor of Writing
Edgar Kunz, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing
Lana Oweidat, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition
Walker Smith, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition
Bill U’Ren, Associate Professor of Creative Writing
Kate Welch, Assistant Professor of Writing Studies
Professor Emeritus or Emerita or Emeriti
Madison Smartt Bell, Professor of Creative Writing
Elizabeth Spires, Professor of Creative Writing
Kratz Writer in Residence
Part-Time Faculty
Chelsea Fetzer
Kristina Gaddy
Study Abroad
Students in the Professional and Creative Writing Program use study abroad as an integral component of their studies. Some choose to pursue semester long programs that afford them the opportunity to explore a new form of writing, editing, or publishing. Others choose to participate in Goucher College Intensive Course Abroad (ICA) courses, sometimes in addition to semester long study. Many students work with research and ideas generated by their study abroad in subsequent study in Baltimore, in internships, and in their capstone projects. Regardless of the type of program, students gain a global perspective that enhances their course of study.
Opportunities & Internships
Internships
Internships help students explore possibilities, apply classroom learning, and gain experience. Explore internships and credit options.
Student Employment
Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Goucher Recruit — an online site for job postings and job fair events.
Major & Career Exploration
Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multistep process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.
Job Search
A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page.
Graduate & Professional School
Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page, through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.
Kratz Center for Creative Writing
A premier academic program, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing is proud to produce talented and distinguished writers. The Kratz Center offers students many valuable opportunities, like the Fall Visiting Authors Series and its Spring Writer-in-Residence Series, during which nationally and internationally recognized authors come to campus to work closely with students. Additionally, the Blueprint Reading Series introduces students to young authors, who share their perspectives on publishing today. The center also offers annual Summer Writing Fellowships to select students at Goucher and hosts an array of master classes and symposia each semester. To learn more about Goucher’s distinguished Kratz Center, numerous student fellowship opportunities, and mentoring by award-winning authors, please visit the Kratz Center for Creative Writing website.
Chat with a Student Ambassador
News
- August 31, 2023
Creative Writing Assistant Professor Edgar Kunz released his second book of poetry, Fixer, with Ecco/HarperCollins on August 22.
- June 1, 2023
Each year, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing at Goucher College offers summer writing fellowships that range from between $2,000 to $4,000.