Revel in your love for writing as you refine your craft. Whether you’re pursuing a career as a writer or want to improve your writing ability for a variety of other settings, creative writing will help you become more adept with language.

In Corban’s program, you’ll get to practice your craft in a variety of workshop-based courses taught by published faculty. In addition, you’ll enjoy a collaborative culture as you learn from your fellow students, reading and critiquing each other’s work in a Christian, encouraging environment.

Is Creative Writing the right major for you?

Yes, if:

• You love stories and have some to tell.
• You’re not afraid to revise and edit your writing—a lot.
• You are a keen observer of human behavior and are curious about what drives people.
• You can think both critically and creatively.
• You’re bold, and aren’t afraid to let others read and critique your work.
• You enjoy a good rhyme but do not insist upon it.

Career Options

The outstanding writing and critical thinking skills you will develop as a creative writing major will serve you well in a wide variety of careers, such as:

• Publisher, writer, editor
• Journalist, blogger, reviewer
• Scriptwriter, playwright
• Film, television, or theater producer and director
• Information curator, information specialist, librarian
• Novelist, poet, non-fiction essayist
• YouTube content developer
• Professor, teacher
• Corporate or nonprofit institutional researcher
• Marketer, designer, creator

What You’ll Learn

Courses in the creative writing program will challenge you to express your creative voice in new and unique ways. In small class settings, you will study topics such as:

• Short Story Writing
• Literary Non-Fiction
• Shakespeare
• Poetry Writing
• Literary Criticism
• Script and Screenwriting
• Novel Writing

Learn what courses you’ll need to complete your degree.

Writer in Residence

Take courses from faculty who are seasoned, decorated authors and poets, including Corban’s Writer in Residence, Gina Ochsner. Gina has been awarded a John L. Simon Guggenheim grant and a grant from the National Endowment of Arts. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, Glimmertrain and the Kenyon Review.

She is the author of the short story collection The Necessary Grace to Fall which received the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and the story collection People I Wanted to Be. Both books received the Oregon Book Award. Her novel The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight received the Grub Street Book Prize in 2011 and was long listed for the Orange Prize in 2010. Her latest novel THE HIDDEN LETTERS OF VELTA B. was released in 2016.

Fusion Art Show

Every fall, students interpret English majors’ poems as paintings and photographs. The photographers and painters work independently and do not consult each other. The result is a wonderful mixture of poetry, painting, and photography. It is fascinating how art can beget art. Their work is displayed in a gallery here on campus, they participate in a reading, and their work is showcased in a professionally designed book. The Fusion Art Show is a meaningful way to celebrate God’s abundance on Corban University’s campus.

Stinky Bagels Poetry Club

Named after the garlic bagels that Corban professor and poet Dr. Colette Tennant often brings to the group, Stinky Bagels is a creative outlet for students in all majors. The club meets weekly to write and discuss poetry…and eat bagels.