Writing

Channel your voice through the written word

Learn to write with insight, clarity, and creativity. As a writing major, you’ll explore the craft of writing by reading and producing essays, short stories, and poems. You’ll analyze the works of published authors through a writer's perspective.

Writing well is both a personal enrichment and practical, professional skill. You’ll engage in a timeless form of creative expression. Award-winning faculty who are poets, novelists, literary scholars, and cultural critics will guide you. You'll fine-tune your technique through collaboration and revision, and ultimately become a better, more confident writer.

Boston Internship Opportunities for Writing Majors

Take advantage of internships in Boston and beyond. You’ll build your skills and resume and learn from mentors in their fields.

Recent internships include:

Charlesbridge Publishing
The Actors' Shakespeare Project
Make-a-Wish Foundation
Brookline Center for the Arts
Horn Book Magazine
Candlewick Press
Boston Ballet

What Can You Do with a BA in Writing?

As a graduate from our program, you’ll know how to read carefully, analyze complex material, and communicate clearly. These skills translate well in today’s job marketplace.

Literature majors thrive in careers across many industries. Some areas include advertising, business, government service, journalism, law, media, publishing, public service, technology, and writing.

Program Requirements

The Writing Major

The Writing major consists of 10 courses given by, or approved by, the program.

LTWR 199 is an introduction to the Literature & Writing majors and is open to all students thinking about majoring in Literature or Writing. All potential majors are urged to take it no later than the beginning of their sophomore year. While LTWR 199 and LTWR 210 constitute a sequence in the Writing major and must be taken in that order, this sequence does not necessarily have to be completed in consecutive semesters.

LTWR 199 is the prerequisite to all 300-level classes offered by the program. Some 300-level classes may have additional prerequisites.

The Literature & Writing Program does not permit double-counting. Although some of our courses fill multiple requirements, each course can only be used to fill one requirement for a particular student’s major or minor.

Core Courses (8 credits)

Two core courses are required for the Writing major:

LTWR199	Approaches to Literature	4
LTWR210	How To Be a Writer	4

Required Courses (16 credits)

Four of the following writing courses are necessary. Two of the four will be taken at the 200 or 300-level:

LTWR101	Personal Narrative	4
LTWR102	Flash Nonfiction	4
LTWR103	Public Humanities Writing	4
LTWR107	Creative Writing: Fiction	4
LTWR108	Contemplative Writing for Self-Knowledge	4
LTWR109	Creative Writing: Poetry	4
LTWR201	Environmentalist Writing	4
LTWR202	Reclaiming Home	4
LTWR205	Non-Fiction Workshop	4
LTWR207	Fiction Workshop	4
LTWR209	Poetry Workshop	4
LTWR310	Advanced Creative Writing Workshop	4
LTWR350	Independent Study	4
LTWR390	Advanced Seminar in Literature and Writing	4

LTWR 350 requires the consent of the instructor.

Context Course: Literature and Social Change (4 credits)

Complete one context course that emphasizes Literature and Social Change.

LTWR124	Narrative & Medicine	4
LTWR170	Introduction to 21st Century Global Literature	4
LTWR176	African American Fiction	4
LTWR178	Intersectional Identities in US Literature	4
LTWR179	Human Rights and Global Literature	4
LTWR184	Performance and Politics on the Global Stage	4
LTWR193	Gender and Power in Literature	4
LTWR212	Queer Literature and Film	4
LTWR213	Poetry of Displacement	4
LTWR223	New Literary Topics	4
LTWR229	Resist! Political Resistance in Literature and Film	4
LTWR230	Postcolonial Film	4
LTWR235	Identity and Race in 19th Century American Literature	4
LTWR241	Contemporary Black Women Writers	4
LTWR266	Piratical Stories	4
LTWR308	The Global Novel	4
LTWR316	Native American Literature	4
LTWR323	Special Topics in Literature	4
LTWR327	Psychoanalysis, Race and Sexuality	4
LTWR354	Studies in Film: Melodrama	4
LTWR398	Feminist Media Studies	4

Context Course: Literary Tradition (4 credits)

Complete one context course that emphasizes Literary Tradition.

LTWR110	Invitation to Literature	4
LTWR111	Greek Mythology and Religion	4
LTWR112	Poetry and Passion in the Bible	4
LTWR121	Love, Death, and Fantasy in Shakespeare's Plays	4
LTWR126	Magic, Fantasy, and the Origins of Literature	4
LTWR138	Invitation to Poetry	4
LTWR161	The Making of America: U.S. Literature before 1900	4
LTWR214	The Invented Self in 20th and 21st Century U.S. Fiction	4
LTWR223	New Literary Topics	4
LTWR254	The Rise of the Novel: English Literature Before 1900	4
LTWR265	Modern(ist) Women	4
LTWR304	The Romantic Rebel	4
LTWR320	American Women Poets	4
LTWR323	Special Topics in Literature	4

Electives (8 credits)

The remaining two courses are taken as electives.

Customize Your Program

We encourage our students to augment their required courses with in-depth study in the liberal arts and additional courses in the major. Dual-degrees, interdisciplinary programs, and a wide range of minors are also available. You'll work with your advisor to develop a coherent course program that will meet your educational goals.

We also offer a minor in Literature & Writing and a minor in Cinema and Media Studies for students pursuing other majors.

Internships

Take advantage of internships in Boston and beyond. Our writing majors have interned at:

Charlesbridge Publishing
The Actors' Shakespeare Project
Make-a-Wish Foundation
Brookline Center for the Arts
Horn Book Magazine
Candlewick Press
Boston Ballet
Horticulture Magazine
MIT Press
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Blackwell Publishing
Beacon Press
The Museum of Fine Arts
Children's Television Workshop
Comcast
Versus News
De Gruyter Publishing
United Nations Association of Greater Boston
Blueberry Hill Productions
Cambridge.com
The Cotting School
Boston Public Schools
Brookline.com
Woburn Public School System Libraries
Raytheon BBN Technologies
Boston Casting Company

Spotlight on Writing Students and Alums

View All News

Undergraduate Receives Prize from New England Poetry Club

Houley Koundourou ’28, a double major in Writing and Political Science, recently won the 2025 Victor Howes Prize in Poetry, awarded on behalf of the New England Poetry Club. We spoke with Koundourou about poetic inspiration, her Senegalese ancestry, and the value of a women-centered education.

Passionate Leaders Project: Fall 2022 Cohort

The Passionate Leaders Project (PLP) supports undergraduate students by funding research opportunities that transcend traditional coursework. Participants of the PLP develop research and critical thinking skills and bring the insights of academia to real world issues. This year’s cohort addresses mental health, neuroscience, environmental science, the foster care system, and technology.

How Marijuana Went Mainstream: A Conversation with Heather Cabot '92, Author of "The New Chardonnay"

Heather Cabot '92 is an award-winning journalist and serves on the alumni board of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Check out what she had to say about her new book!

Careers and Internships