Associate in Arts-DTA with Emphasis in Creative Writing Curriculum Map

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Do you love telling stories, listening to your favorite lyricists, or imagining alternate realities? By studying creative writing, you’ll develop the writing and editorial skills to make your imagination the foundation of a career. Students who study creative writing will explore how to write, edit, and publish original literary work in the genres of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, and/or multimedia. Within the world of writing, you’ll get to choose your focus, hone your craft, and turn your passion for storytelling and self-expression into a marketable skillset. Students pursuing a degree in Creative Writing should follow a program leading to the Associate in Arts Degree, AA-DTA and then transfer to a college or university that offers Creative Writing as a major.

See Articulation Agreements for more details about the colleges who accept this degree.

Students are responsible for knowing transfer requirements and policies, as well as specific course choices and GPA requirements, are urged to consult the catalog of the institution for which they plan to transfer.

Sample Schedule

This sample schedule is provided as a guide for a full-time student with placement into ENGL& 101 and appropriate math. Not every course is offered every quarter: careful planning is required to complete the degree in the fewest number of quarters. Students should meet with a faculty advisor throughout their course of study. An customized curriculum map can be accessed in Navigate.

Quarter 1 (15 credits)

ENGL& 101 - English Composition I Credits: 5
ENGL& 236 - Creative Writing I Credits: 5
MATH& 107 - Math in Society Credits: 5 or higher, depends on placement.

Quarter 2 (15 credits)

ENGL 126 - Writing: Humanities Credits: 5
or
ENGL& 235 - Introduction to Technical Communication Credits: 5
H 1 - Humanities/Fine Arts/English Credits: 5
Recommend: Studying a language other than English strengthens your grasp of mechanics and vocabulary. It can also help build toward a career in publishing and editing work in translation (a growing and in-demand field). Most graduate English programs have a foreign language requirement as well, so completing coursework as a undergraduate can help you test out of these requirements. Foreign languages you can find here are Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, French, and German.
N 1 - Natural Science List A (Lab) Credits: 5
We don’t have specific recommendations for Natural Science. We encourage students to consult with their advisors to determine the appropriate choices in this distribution.

Quarter 3 (15 credits)

ENGL& 237 - Creative Writing II Credits: 5 (only offered spring quarter)
H 2 - Humanities/Fine Arts/English Credits: 5
Recommend: Journalism classes augment your skillset as a writer and enable you to repurpose your skills for a variety of media and outlets.
JOURN 101 - Multimedia Journalism Credits: 5
JOURN 107 - Introduction to Video Journalism Credits: 5
JOURN 150 - Introduction to Broadcasting & Digital Media Credits: 5
N 2 - Natural Science List A Credits: 5

Quarter 4 (15 credits)

N 3 - Natural Science List A or List B Credits: 5
S 1 - Social Science Credits: 5
Recommend: We don’t have specific courses to recommend in this distribution, but we recommend courses that will expose students to new perspectives and experiences, many of which can also fulfill the Diversity Course Requirement. Some of the classes that could compliment work in creative writing include:
AMES 100 - Introduction to American Ethnic Studies Credits: 5
AMES 103 - Intersections of Race, Gender, Class and Sexuality Credits: 5
AMES 105 - Social Inequality and Change in American Sports Credits: 5
SOC 214 - Sociology of Race and Ethnicity Credits: 5
SOC 220 - Sex and Gender in Society Credits: 5
Electives Credits: 5

We recommend using elective courses to pursue areas related to creative writing that we’ve mentioned above: journalism, design, and foreign language. We recommend taking these classes during your second after you have considered different careers and applications of your degree.
- Students pursuing editorial jobs should explore design and graphic design
- Students considering post-graduate degrees should take foreign language and/or literature courses
- Students considering careers in writing for film, television, and podcasting should take journalism courses
- Other classes that students should consider include
DRMA& 101 - Introduction to Theatre Credits: 5
CMST 215 - Critical Analysis of Media Credits: 5
MUSC& 105 - Music Appreciation Credits: 5

Quarter 5 (15 credits)

S 2 - Social Science Credits: 5
Electives

We recommend students explore a range of genres in order to choose a specialization within creative writing. Even if students already gravitate toward one or another, exposure to multiple styles and voices is important. Choosing from the English literature courses, students should take classes that highlight two different genres. Students should especially look for opportunities to take two of the following:

ENGL& 112 - Introduction to Fiction Credits: 5
ENGL& 113 - Introduction to Poetry Credits: 5
ENGL& 114 - Introduction to Drama Credits: 5
ENGL 115 - Introduction to Novels Credits: 5

Quarter 6 (15 credits)

S 3 - Social Science Credits: 5
Generally Transferable Courses (see below):
ENGL& 112 - Introduction to Fiction Credits: 5
ENGL& 113 - Introduction to Poetry Credits: 5
ENGL& 114 - Introduction to Drama Credits: 5
ENGL 115 - Introduction to Novels Credits: 5
Electives
Art and design classes equip you nicely to pursue editorial jobs, whether that means designing books in the marketing department or developing graphic novels and children’s books.
ART 105 - Beginning Drawing Credits: 5
ART 109 - Beginning Design Credits: 5
ART 120 - Introduction to Graphic Design Credits: 5

Transferability of Credits

Green River College is fully accredited. Academic courses will usually be accepted by other institutions offering the same (or similar) courses. However, each institution has its own transfer policies and each student is responsible for knowing the transfer and admission requirements of the receiving institution. Students are urged to consult with their advisor and a representative from the college they plan to attend after Green River.