Start a lifelong apprenticeship in the literary arts
The creative writing program that nurtured Dennis Lehane ’88, best-selling author and HBO writer/producer, is now accepting applications to earn B.A. and BFA degrees. But you don’t have to be gunning for a Hollywood contract to enroll. Our liberal arts graduates also go on to MFA programs and careers in journalism, media, PR, editing and publishing, counseling and software design.
Only@Eckerd
Writers in Paradise
Spend 8 days in workshops with writers like Andre Dubus III, Anne Hood, Laura Lippman, Lori Roy, Stewart O’Nan, David Yoo and Laura Williams McCaffrey. This writer’s conference is held on our Florida campus every January.
Facetime with famous authors
You’ll also have the chance to meet and talk with other celebrated writers including Stephen King, Carl Hiaasen, Julianna Baggott and Mark Bowden. These and other literary lights give talks here throughout the year.
Get help paying for college
Need help with finances? In addition to the academic scholarships we hand out upon application, you can apply for the Artistic Achievement Award.
In Their Own Words
Without my mentors through the creative writing department, I wouldn’t be in graduate school studying for my MFA with the opportunities ahead of me to teach and write. With their support, I was able to study travel writing in Paris and London, which was instrumental in my growth as a writer and a person. The creative writing department at Eckerd College is a hidden gem—once you find it, you must hold onto it!
—Olivia Jacobson ’22
Beyond the Classroom
Creative Writing majors have interned on campus with our student newspaper, The Current, and our literary magazine, Eckerd Review. Another recent student was an editing intern at I Love the Burg, a creative agency in downtown St. Petersburg.
Pay it forward by tutoring with Journeys in Journalism. This community program teaches local elementary, middle and high school students how to be reporters, photographers, editors and page designers for their school newspapers.
Service Pics on FlickrSpend a term living at our London Study Centre and studying the literature of Great Britain. Includes a week of travel and tickets to epic museums and theatre productions. Or choose from one of 300+ other destinations we offer every year.
Study Abroad Pics on FlickrEckerd is just a stone’s throw from some of America’s hottest literary landmarks and events. Check it out:
- The Earnest Hemingway Home
- The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings historic site
- Miami Book Fair (November)
- Zora Neale Hurston Festival (January)
Popular classes
Craft of Writing
This course reviews poetic and narrative language and introduces the concept of literary texture. Present what you write in class at public readings held on campus once a semester.
Writing Workshop: The Personal Essay
Learn about literary essays by reading masters like Harry Crews, Eudora Welty and Joan Didion. This class explores how to use imagination to shape format, technique and your own personal style.
Outcomes
What can I do with a Creative Writing degree?
- Business Manager
- Counselor
- Editor
- Educational Assessor
- Lawyer
- Media and Newspaper Reporter
- Software Designer of Interactive Fiction
- Teacher
- Technical Writer
Where our Creative Writing majors go to graduate school
- Chapman University
- Emerson College
- Florida International University
- George Mason University
- Hollins College
- Indiana University
- Stanford University
- The Johns Hopkins University
- The University of Miami
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- University of Alabama
- University of Iowa Writers Workshop
