Creative Writing Program - Essay Example

College: Creative Writing Program Since its inception on 5th June, 1969, the of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) hasdeveloped into one of the biggest institutions within the Texas higher education system. UTSA, as can be discerned from its name, is located in the Texas south central city of San Antonio. This state research institution admits more than 40,000 students and has three campuses spanning an area of over 740 acres (UTSA n.pag). These attributes make UTSA the principal university in the city of San Antonio, and warrant it an eighth place ranking in the whole of Texas.

UTSA provides a wide range of scholastic studies, with over 130 undergraduate programs, 51 graduate programs and more than 20 doctoral programs. Another intriguing fact is that, the Times Higher Education placed UTSA among the top 400 higher education institutions globally. UTSA’s English department is particularly interesting since it encompasses a wide array of programs ranging from creative writing and linguistic studies to community outreach and doctoral programs. This department also affords students an opportunity to focus on cross-cultural or international linguistic aspects.

For this reason, scholars can not only explore Native American linguistics, but Latina and African-American philology as well. This serves as a clear indicator that, the UTSA English section is comprehensive and non-discriminate. Nevertheless, the program of interest, in this case, is UTSA’s Creative Writing Program. This program is provided under the name “Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with a Creative Writing Concentration” (UTSA n.pag). For students to get awarded with an English Arts Degree, with specialty in creative writing, they must effectively manifest expertise, dedication and professionalism in composition portfolios.

It is also imperative to complete several predetermined classes. First, each creative writing student must accrue at least 45 credit hours learning English. Of these hours, 21 are apportioned to British and American literature, literary analysis and criticism, Shakespearean plays and English majors’ seminar. Of the remaining 24 course credit hours, students must use 6 hours in creative writing either in nonfiction, poetry or fiction. Additionally, 9 credit hours are allocated equally to disciplines within three categories, from which a scholar can select.

These classes include: (a) Historical, American, English; (b) Gender, and Cross-Cultural Studies and (c) Ethnic & Race Studies. The additional 9 credit hours, under English studies are purely meant for upper level creative writing, with focus on advanced poetry and fiction writing (UTSA n.pag). Another requirement for attaining the creative writing degree, involves engaging in studies for an additional language other than English. This can only be achieved if a student is proven to complete 6 credit hours per semester, studying the foreign language.

Finally, scholars majoring in creative writing must spend 27 semester hours reviewing elective courses. Students are particularly encouraged to review workshops in upper-levels of the program (UTSA n.pag).From the outline above, it is evident that UTSA’s creative writing program is comprehensive, and affords a scholar the best possible opportunity to be a professional creative writer. Extensive scrutiny of UTSA’s other programs reveals that they are equally comprehensive, affirming the institution’s commitment nurturing brilliant minds.

For instance, there are programs other than creative writing in the English department, such as B.A Degree in English with focus on professional writing, as well as, in reading and English language arts. All the same, progress within either of the programs depends on factors like learner’s academic training, course availability, and scholar’s time management. Learners also have the option of taking summer courses to ease the semester workload. Students are also urged to submit admission requests early enough to avoid complications prior to the semester commencement.

The Spring Semester deadline is usually on 15th October, while for summer and fall semesters it is set as 1st March. For admission consideration, students must send all their academic credentials and other necessary documents. Works Cited UTSA. Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. 21 March, 2013.