Writing, BFA
The BFA in Writing at Pratt Institute prepares students to become highly proficient and self-sustaining creative writers. Through our studio-based approach and our commitments to inquiry, creative research, and critical self-reflection, we invite students to expand their creative range, to investigate the cultural and historical forces that have sculpted the literary traditions they seek to enter, to become expert practitioners, and to explore the other fields on offer at Pratt. Our focus is students’ creative expression, balanced with professional preparation and community engagement via hands-on courses, internships, and colloquia, so that students are prepared to navigate the changing literary landscape. Our pedagogy combines rigor with care, and the department administration and faculty work actively on behalf of students to shape their time at Pratt and to connect them to campus resources, so that—despite the solitude that sometimes attends the writing life—students feel supported and equipped to achieve their goals.
| Semester 1 | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| WR-101 | Writer's Studio I | 4 |
| WR-110 | Critical Thinking & Writing I | 3 |
| WR-120 | Writing Elements I: The Sentence | 3 |
| WR-130 | Community As Classroom | 3 |
| HMS-203A | World Literature Survey I | 3 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| WR-102 | Writer's Studio II | 4 |
| WR-121 | Writing Elements II: Forms | 3 |
| HMS-203B | World Literature Survey II | 3 |
| Social Science "Thinking" Core | 3 | |
| Math/Science Core Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 3 | ||
| WR-201 | Writer's Studio III | 4 |
| Practice/Inquiry Elective | 3 | |
| Social Science "Global" Core | 3 | |
| HMS Menu | 3 | |
| Art/Design Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 4 | ||
| WR-202 | Writer's Studio IV | 4 |
| WR-220 | Critical Thinking and Writing II | 3 |
| Practice/Inquiry Elective | 3 | |
| Art/Design Elective | 3 | |
| HMS Menu | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 5 | ||
| WR-301 | Writer's Studio V | 4 |
| WR-331 | Writer as Worker | 3 |
| Pratt Integrative Course | 3 | |
| Practice/Inquiry Elective | 3 | |
| HMS Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 6 | ||
| WR-302 | Junior Intensive | 4 |
| Practice/Inquiry Elective | 3 | |
| Writing Lives Menu | 3 | |
| Liberal Arts Post Core Elective (300/400 level) | 3 | |
| All Institute Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 7 | ||
| WR-420 | Senior Project I | 4 |
| Liberal Arts Post Core Elective (300/400 level) | 6 | |
| All Institute Elective | 6 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester 8 | ||
| WR-421 | Senior Project II | 4 |
| Writing Lives Menu | 3 | |
| All Institute Elective | 6 | |
| Credits | 13 | |
| Total Credits | 125 | |
Via completion of the program, BFA Writing students will:
- Expand their creative process through practices of creative making, experimentation, and play
- Learn to ask and investigate a question through the refinement of curiosity, attention, and research
- Acquire an eloquent critical language for discussions of their work and its place in diverse literary traditions
- Demonstration through informed reading and writing practices, an understanding of the social and historical forces that have shaped their imagination
- Develop expertise in a selected form or genre
- Become a self-sustaining practitioner by
- Learning to assemble a revised, cohesive, and polished body of work
- Acquiring professional skills and knowledge that will support a working life