A Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing Program is offered through the Master of Arts in Professional Writing Program in the English Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, at Kennesaw State University. A unique four-course, non-degree program, its mission is to provide instruction and membership in a community of writers to qualified writing students in metro Atlanta and North Georgia who seek intensive creative writing practice but who do not want to matriculate in a graduate program.

This Graduate Certificate program allows qualified writers to study in graduate-level writing workshops taught by professional writers on the Kennesaw State University faculty.

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing is designed for those interested in improving their poetry, developing a story, scripting a play, or completing their memoirs. This Program offers experienced and aspiring writers an exciting opportunity to work with published authors and writing teachers in a serious and productive environment.

The Program offers a high level of writing instruction and brings writers into a community of engaging writers of all ages who are seeking to improve their writing, to explore publishing opportunities, to participate in literary events, and to broaden their personal and professional horizons.

Workshops are offered in the writing of poetry, plays, fiction, and nonfiction as well as in reading contemporary literature and developing careers in the literary arts. The courses are offered in the evening and, occasionally, on weekends. Most are seminars that allow for both individual critiques from the professor and group critiques from fellow students. This Graduate Certificate is designed especially for the person who has finished a bachelor’s degree in any field and who has strong interests in creative writing but does not want to study in a full-blown graduate program at this time.

A student coming into the Certificate Program would have to choose one of the creative writing genres offered in the MAPW program: fiction, poetry, playwriting, or creative nonfiction. Once a genre discipline is selected, the student would be expected to complete workshops in only that genre. For example, a student might select to study for the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing and focus in fiction writing. The student who wishes additional experience in the same or other genres might apply again for the program as described below.

The Certificate is designed to give intensive practice in the genre discipline that the student chooses. The student is asked to commit to one genre in order that the practice might be focused. Further the student’s writing practice is amplified by a study of the current and canonized literature of his genre. The "Readings for Writers" course will focus on works by established writers that will help the student to situate her own writing within a tradition, as well as provide models for her. In addition to writing practice, the successful writer needs to understand the field in which writing is produced, published, and critiqued. Thus she is asked to study “Careers in the Literary Arts.” This course teaches the student about publication procedures and practices and introduces the students to the professional networks that operate in the field.

Because creative writing demands continuous and intensive practice, the two workshops of the Certificate Program might not satisfy the demand for high-quality, intensive work- shopping; therefore, students who hold the Graduate Creative Writing Certificate from Kennesaw State University or students who hold an MAPW degree with a concentration or support area in creative writing may want to continue to enroll in the advanced workshop in the appropriate genre (PRWR 7500), repeatable for an unlimited number of times.

Students who hold a graduate degree in creative writing from another university who wish to continue workshopping might likewise enroll in PRWR 7500, contingent upon acceptance into the Certificate Program.

Up to 9 hours of Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing credits may be transferred to the MAPW curriculum if a minimum grade of B is earned for each course and if the applicant has fulfilled all MAPW general requirements for Admission and has been accepted into the MAPW program.

A candidate for a Certificate in Creative Writing with a fiction focus might have the following schedule:

A candidate for a Certificate in Creative Writing with a poetry focus might have the following schedule:

A candidate for a Certificate in Creative Writing with a creative nonfiction focus might have the following schedule:

A candidate for a Certificate in Creative Writing with a playwriting focus might have the following schedule: