The University of Iowa ranks among the top universities in the U.S. for undergraduate writing across the curriculum.
The Undergraduate Creative Writing Major
The English Department houses the undergraduate major in English and Creative Writing, with a growing faculty that has counted multiple Writers' Workshop alumni among its ranks. The Magid Center for Writing, established in 2011 with the support of a generous donor, offers undergraduates the opportunity to integrate writing into other disciplines and bring a love for the written word to projects like student literary magazines and hosting workshops at local schools.
The Writers' Workshop offers a range of classes for both majors an non-majors taught by a diverse group of graduate students and recent graduates, all terrific up-and-coming writers in their own right. We host undergraduate events in the Frank Conroy Reading Room and organize a reading series that brings some of today's most distinguished writers to campus.
Writers' Workshop Undergraduate Courses
Introductory Writing Classes
CW:1800 Creative Writing Studio Workshop
CW:2100 Creative Writing
CW:2870 Fiction Writing
CW:2875 Poetry Writing
Introductory classes are designed to give students the experience of thinking as writers. Students will engage with writing exercise and with published literary works, then try their hand at longer pieces of writing. These classes are open to writers of all levels and serve as an introduction to one or more genres and forms.
Special Topics in Creative Writing
CW:2600 Special Topic Workshops
CW:3002 Writing and Reading Young Adult Fiction
CW:3003 Writing and Reading Science Fiction
CW:3004 Writing and Reading Fantasy Fiction
CW:3107 Creative Writing for the Health Professions
CW:3400 Working Writers in Conversation
CW:4751 Creative Writing for the Musician
Topic-specific creative writing classes introduce and develop foundational writing skills in a more specific context or genre. Students can expect to do writing exercise and produce longer creative works, while getting a lens into a more specific branch of writing.
Writing Form and Formats
CW:3215 Creative Writing and Popular Culture
CW:3218 Creative Writing for New Media
CW:4745 The Sentence: Strategies for Writing
CW:4760 The Art of Revision: Writing for Clarity
These creative writing classes approach writing from the point of view of form, whether focusing on the meaty parts of sentences, zeroing in on areas for improvement, or thinking about media and audiences. Students can expect to produce and revise work through the additional lens of technical skill and media format.
Undergraduate Writers' Workshop in Fiction and Poetry
CW:4870 Undergraduate Writers' Workshop: Fiction
CW:4875 Undergraduate Writers' Workshop: Poetry
Undergraduate Writers' Workshops in Fiction and Poetry are smaller classes for writers with some experience. Students are admitted on the merit of their manuscripts and the class strives to create as much as possible the experience of a graduate-level workshop. Students can expect to receive feedback from the instructor and to read and engage deeply with both published work and the work of their peers.
Create your academic path
Learn more about the English and Creative Writing major academic requirements and possible course plans
Explore the Writing University
The Writing University gives an overview of the many writing resources at the University of Iowa as well as some of its literary history.
