The Writing Minor

english@drew

The writing minor offers students intensive instruction and practice in various forms of writing so that they may develop sophisticated skills well beyond those of basic college composition. The minor nurtures creativity and clarity through writing workshops in non-fiction, poetry, and fiction. It also offers courses in journalism, History and Structure of the English Language, and History of Rhetoric, and qualified students may apply to do extensive independent writing projects and internships.

Requirements for the Minor

Students may complete a minor in writing with an emphasis either in non-fiction or in creative writing; requirements are:

  • ENGL 1/Writing or ENGL 2/Research Writing (or exemption therefrom), or ENGL 4 for English majors;
  • 16 credits from ENGL 103, 104, 107, 108, with 12 credits in the area of emphasis (creative or non-fiction) and 4 credits in the other;
  • 4 credits from the following: ENGL 59, LING 105, FDWK 50 (project must be approved for writing minor), INST 150, THEA 55, THEA 155, such summer sessions courses as are appropriate (departmental approval required).
Courses taken elsewhere
 The writing minor requires that the core workshops listed above (Engl 103, 104, 107, 108) be taken at Drew. Other relevant writing courses taken elsewhere may be transferred.
Readings on and off campus

Close proximity to new York City makes Drew an ideal location for writers. There are regular readings on campus
Writers Reading @Drew 2003-04
 Writers Reading@Drew 2004-05
along with readings at local colleges (such as the Poetry in the Round Series at Seton Hall). A short train-ride away in New York City you can attend readings at the 92nd Street Y,  The New York Public Library, and countless other venues from KGB Bar to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.  The Dodge Poetry Festival held every other year in nearby Hillsboro, NJ, is not to be missed, nor is the annual New Yorker Festival.

Off-campus Opportunities & Internships

Writing minors gain experience in a variety of internships in publishing, communications and the media, and in-house magazines for service organizations and industry. Such opportunities usually come to students' notice through the Academic Internship Program.

Graduate and Professional Schools

Writing minor graduates have attended MFA programs or other writing programs at Columbia, Sara Lawrence, Berkeley, NYU, Bowling Green, Michigan, Missouri, Johns Hopkins, Iowa and elsewhere. The writing minor is also an attractive feature for application to post-baccalaureate programs in the humanities, law, medicine and other graduate and professional schools.

Career Options

Wherever competent writers are valued, writing minors make careers:

    • education,
    • law,
    • the arts,
    • management positions in industry,
    • journalism,
    • publishing,
    • media,
    • public relations,
    • government agencies . . .
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Last updated April 2007