Undergraduate and Graduate Studies in Writing
The Writing Program is part of the Department of Writing and Literature and offers three options within the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing: Creative Writing, Journalism and Public Relations, and Business and Technical Writing. The department also offers five minors: Professional Writing, Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Creative Writing, and the new minor in Sports Media. The department’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing was the nation’s first MFA program to include professional writing in its curriculum and was the first low-residency program in the state of Connecticut, now offering residencies in Dublin, at the Highlights Foundation, and in Danbury.
Most Flexible Program—Top 17 Nationally
High-Profile Guest Writers
With its proximity to New York City, Boston, and author-rich Fairfield, Litchfield, and Westchester Counties, WestConn has becoming a center for access to the literary arts. Recent visiting writers to the campus include Jhumpa Lahiri, Leslie Jamison, Gay Talese, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Francine Prose, Frank DeFord, Victoria Chang, Sean Thomas Dougherty, John Katzenbach.
Our Philosophy, Student Success, and Professional Prospects
Western’s teaching philosophy has always stressed writing as a creative process. The success of our approach is reflected in the dramatic 87% success rate (employment or book publication within two years) of our MFA alumni. Our undergraduates have high placement rates in internships and jobs in publishing, journalism, entertainment, nonprofits, business and technical communication, and graduate school. Our alumni authors have published books with St. Martin’s, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and many independent presses.
Faculty members of the department see themselves as writers among writers and work closely with students at all stages of their writing development. Small class sizes and a culture of collaboration and community welcome students into an environment that nurtures and develops their talents and interests–whether those interests lie in literary fiction or poetry; blogging or podcasting; genre fiction such as mysteries, science fiction, or fantasy; writing for Children or Young Adults; technical writing; writing for magazines; traditional reporting; scriptwriting; business communication; travel writing; reviewing; or any other genre or field. In Fall 2020, the department launched our new Writers’ Studio courses, an exciting 3-course sequence that brings the majority of all Writing majors together for communal learning, visits with guest writers and editors, discussion panels, and hands-on learning in mini-workshops and student publications.
For additional information on the undergrad and graduate programs, please contact:
Dr. Oscar De Los Santos
Interim Department Chair
Higgins Hall 205A
email: delossantoso@wcsu.edu
(203) 837-9044
Krista Brooks
Department Secretary
Higgins Hall 201
email: brooksk@wcsu.edu
(203) 837-9041