Western Carolina University

What makes this program special?
WCU’s Professional Writing program offers a unique blend of creative writing and real-world writing courses. Students interested in writing poems, creative nonfiction, short stories, or novels can supplement their income with experience gained from courses in editing, publishing, writing for the web, technical writing, and business writing. Our faculty are chosen for their outstanding teaching as well as their versatility. They are published authors, several of them prize-winning writers. The English Department also hosts the renowned WCU Literary Festival, which brings in famous and award-winning writers from all over the world.

Are there any additional admission requirements? 
The Professional Writing concentration is open to all students who are in good standing.

What scholarship monies are available?
All students are considered for merit-based scholarships at the time of admission. Additional scholarships are available based on FAFSA information.

What will I be able to do with this degree when I graduate?
Professional Writing majors work as writers, journalists, lawyers, technical writers, web designers, teachers, librarians, and even photographers. Many professional writers enter the business profession or go on to graduate programs, including law and other professions. More employers ask for good writing than almost any other skill!

What are the professors like?
Creative Writing faculty Mary Adams, Catherine Carter, Pam Duncan, Deidre Elliott, and Ron Rash have published over a dozen volumes of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They have received prestigious awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Academy of American Poets, Novello Festival Press; The Fellowship of Southern Writers; The Southern Book Critic Circle; O. Henry Prize, and the Southeast Booksellers Association. Technical Writing faculty Brian Gastle and Ken Price have written documentation for Macromedia and published technical writing manuals.

What are the students in the program doing?
English students are also winning prizes for their writing, including a prestigious national award from the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) for a short story by an English major. Additionally, one English class wrote, edited, and named Western’s first magazine highlighting outstanding undergraduate accomplishments, known as Imagine. Recent interns and alumni have written documentation for Volvo, written for C-SPAN, published creative work in national literary journals, and been admitted into prestigious graduate Creative Writing programs.

Will I be able to participate in internships, clubs and other extracurricular opportunities?
English students may join the English Club, which has group activities throughout the year. They can also choose to work on Western’s literary magazine, Nomad, through contributing creative writing or editing the journal. Upper-level students may be invited to join Sigma Tau Delta, the international honor society for English students. Additionally, the English Department sponsors the Spring Literary Festival which brings nationally known writers to campus, offering opportunities for students to hear them read, as well as meet them and discuss their work. Recent festivals have brought renowned writers such as Jim Harrison, Maxine Kumin, Sherman Alexie, David Sedaris, Gish Jen, Sonia Sanchez, and national poet laureate Ted Kooser. Western also sponsors a spoken word poetry series, bringing young poets such as Saul Williams and Asia, both of whom have performed on HBO’s Def Poetry, to campus.

Contact

Deidre Elliott
E-mail: delliott@email.wcu.edu
phone: 828-227-3925
Visit the English Website