Creative Writing
Creative writing (poetry), professor/instructor.
Practice in the original composition of poetry supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Each student is expected to prepare a manuscript each week. There will be a weekly workshop meeting and occasional individual conferences.
Creative Writing (Fiction)
Practice in the original composition of fiction supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Each student is expected to prepare a manuscript at least every other week. There will be a weekly workshop meeting and occasional individual conferences.
Creative Writing (Literary Translation)
Practice in the translation of literary works from another language into English supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Each student is expected to prepare a manuscript each week. There will be a weekly workshop meeting and occasional individual conferences.
Introductory Playwriting
This is a workshop in the fundamentals of writing plays. Through writing prompts, exercises, study and reflection, students will be guided in the creation of original dramatic material. Attention will be given to character, structure, dramatic action, monologue, dialogue, language
Creative Nonfiction
This is a workshop in factual writing and what has become known as literary non-fiction, emphasizing writing assignments and including several reading assignments. Students will examine masterpieces about social inequality and to what extent it is possible for authors to know the struggles of their subjects, and to create empathy for them. One three-hour seminar.
Advanced Creative Writing (Poetry)
Advanced practice in the original composition of poetry for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings. Prerequisites: Two 200-level CWR courses.
Advanced Creative Writing (Fiction)
Advanced practice in the original composition of fiction for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings.
Advanced practice in the original composition of fiction for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings. Prerequisites: Two 200-level CWR courses.
Advanced Creative Writing (Literary Translation)
Advanced practice in the translation of literary works from another language into English supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Prerequisites: 205 or 206 and by application.
Advanced practice in the translation of literary works from another language into English supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Prerequisites: 205 or 206 or by Program permission.
Playwriting II: Intermediate Playwriting
A continuation of work begun in Introductory Playwriting, in this class, students will complete either one full-length play or two long one-acts (40-60 pages) to the end of gaining a firmer understanding of characterization, dialogue, structure, and the playwriting process. In addition to questions of craft, an emphasis will be placed on the formation of healthy creative habits and the sharpening of critical and analytical skills through reading and responding to work of both fellow students and contemporary playwrights of note.
Special Topics in Creative Writing
Students gain special access to the critical understanding of literature through their involvement in the creative process. Topics include autobiography, prosody, non-fiction, revision and point of view. Students are expected to prepare a manuscript at least every other week. Specific topics and prerequisites will vary. By application.
Advanced Creative Writing Tutorial
Tutorials in the original composition of fiction, poetry, or translations, open to those who have demonstrated unusual commitment and talent through four terms of creative writing or who provide equivalent evidence of their capacity for advanced work. Open also to qualified graduate students. Individual conferences to be arranged.
Special Topics in Screenwriting
This class will familiarize students with the complex use of metaphorical, emotional, and visual threads in long form screenplay writing. Analyzing examples of international, independent, and classical structures, students will be exposed to the rhythms and demands of the process of conceiving and writing a long form narrative film. Prerequisite: Introduction to Screenwriting and by application.
Advanced Seminar in American Studies
Advanced seminars bring students into spaces of collaborative exploration after pursuing their individual paths of study in American studies, Asian American/diasporic studies, and/or Latino studies. To students culminating programs of study toward one or more of the certificates offered by the Effron Center for the Study of America, advanced seminars offer the important opportunity to integrate their cumulative knowledge.
Princeton Atelier
Creative Writing Course Application Spring 2022
The application for Spring 2022 Creative Writing courses closed Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
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Creative writing, general information, program offerings:, program offerings.
The Program in Creative Writing , part of the Lewis Center for the Arts, with a minor in creative writing, like our present certificate students, will encounter a rigorous framework of courses. These courses are designed, first and foremost, to teach the students how to read like a writer, thoughtfully, artistically, curiously, with an open mind attuned to the nuances of any human situation. This skill is not only for students who plan to be professional writers, but most important, this is a skill we believe to be crucial for all students. The many courses offered by the creative writing department teach students how to structure a narrative and write it well; how to use lived experience in the compressed linguistic construct of a poem so that it provides a meaningful experience for a reader; how to think about, and undertake, the translation of a literary work into another literary work in another language; how to write and adapt literary narratives for a variety of screen media.
Goals for Student Learning
• The Art of Reading
A sophisticated reader of literature is one who reads with a discerning but not judgmental mind. Teaching the art of reading to our students is one of the most effective ways to prepare them to navigate a murky, complex and increasingly more contentious world.
• The Art of Writing
Whether the students work in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction or screenwriting, our goal is to teach students to write clearly and dynamically, to communicate complex ideas, and to distill experience into arts.
• The Art of Exploration
We encourage our students to expand their horizons by learning new approaches and trying new genres, whether a poet trying out digital storytelling, or a prose writer creating a novel in verse. We encourage our students to bring their writings out to the world and to bring the world into their writing.
• Public Service and Global Citizenship
A writer in today’s world is not a hermit writing from the top of a tower. Our minor program aims to promote the values inherent in the University’s unofficial motto, “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity,” to draw from the model of Toni Morrison, and to cultivate a younger generation of writers who will be engaging with the public thoughtfully and meaningfully.
Prerequisites
For the minor program, our goal is to guide students through a course of study that begins with introductory courses, and then combines courses at advanced levels with cross-listed and approved courses offered by other units. The minor in creative writing includes a total of five courses. At least three of these must be CWR courses (cross-listed courses will also count). The final two courses can be CWR courses or, with the approval of the program director, up to two additional literature or comparative literature courses. To be eligible to apply for the minor, students must have taken the three creative writing courses by the end of their junior year. Senior year is focused on development of students' independent work.
As an example of a pathway through the minor, students typically enroll in two to three 200-level courses during their first and second years at Princeton. These include intro to fiction writing, intro to poetry, intro to translation and intro to screenwriting. Students who have taken two 200-level courses are allowed to register for 300- and 400-level courses, including advanced fiction writing, advanced poetry writing, advanced translation and advanced screenwriting.
Admission to the Program
In the spring semester of junior year, students apply to be admitted to the creative writing program for independent work during their senior year.
Program of Study
Students admitted to the minor program will have one year of one-on-one thesis work with an established poet or prose writer. This independent work includes weekly or biweekly conferences with the thesis advisers for two semesters. Under the direction of the thesis advisers, the students will produce a full-length collection of poetry, a collection of short stories or a finished novel manuscript. Each final thesis is read by another writer, who provides a thoughtful and detailed commentary, which gives a snapshot of the student’s career and offers future direction. This independent thesis work has long been a treasured tradition of the creative writing program, and we believe that the conversion to the minor program will more accurately reflect the amount of work both the students and the advisers have put in during their senior year. Apart from independent work, the students will also participate in two public readings — a reading of their work-in-progress with their peers alongside a published writer, and a thesis reading, a celebration of their final theses. An unofficial monthly lunch meeting for the thesis cohort, directed by an appointed faculty member, will serve as a support group.
Executive Committee
- Elena Araoz, Theater, LCA
- Tina M. Campt, Art and Archaeology
- Jane F. Cox, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Katie Farris, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Tina Fehlandt, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Martha Friedman, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Judith Hamera, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Christopher J. Harris, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Aleksandar Hemon, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Brian E. Herrera, Lewis Center for the Arts
- A.M. Homes, Creative Writing, LCA
- Ilya Kaminsky, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Deana Lawson, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Rebecca J. Lazier, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Yiyun Li, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Pamela E. Lins, Visual Arts, LCA
- Susan S. Marshall, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Moon Molson, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Paul B. Muldoon, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Nicolás Pereda, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Kirstin Valdez Quade, Lewis Center for the Arts
- David W. Reinfurt, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Joe Scanlan, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Patricia Smith, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Lloyd Suh, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Jeffrey Whetstone, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Rhaisa Williams, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Stacy E. Wolf, Lewis Center for the Arts
- Aleksandar Hemon
- Ilya Kaminsky
- Paul B. Muldoon
- Patricia Smith
Associate Professor
- Katie Farris
- Kirstin Valdez Quade
Professor Emeritus (teaching)
- Joyce Carol Oates
Professor of the Practice
- Michael C. Dickman
- Zoe K. Heller
- Sheila Kohler
- Jack Livings
- Jenny McPhee
- Lynn Melnick
- Susanna Moore
- Kathleen Ossip
- Lynn S. Strong
Visiting Associate Professor
- Monica Youn
For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.
CWR 201 - Creative Writing (Poetry) Fall LA
Cwr 202 - creative writing (poetry) spring la, cwr 203 - creative writing (fiction) fall la, cwr 204 - creative writing (fiction) spring la, cwr 205 - creative writing (literary translation) (also com 249/tra 204) fall la, cwr 206 - creative writing (literary translation) (also com 215/tra 206) spring la, cwr 301 - advanced creative writing (poetry) fall la, cwr 302 - advanced creative writing (poetry) spring la, cwr 303 - advanced creative writing (fiction) fall la, cwr 304 - advanced creative writing (fiction) spring la, cwr 305 - advanced creative writing (literary translation) (also com 355/tra 305) fall la, cwr 306 - advanced creative writing (literary translation) (also com 356/tra 314) spring la, cwr 345 - special topics in creative writing (also ams 345/gss 383) not offered this year la, cwr 401 - advanced creative writing tutorial not offered this year la, cwr 402 - advanced creative writing tutorial not offered this year la, cwr 403 - special topics in screenwriting (also vis 406) not offered this year la, jrn 240 - creative nonfiction (also cwr 240) spring la, thr 205 - introductory playwriting (also cwr 210) fall la, thr 305 - playwriting ii: intermediate playwriting (also cwr 309) spring la.
Optional Arts Supplement
The optional Arts Supplement is for students who have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to one or more art forms and who wish to have their work considered as part of their application. If you've excelled in architecture, creative writing, dance, music, music theater, theater or visual arts , and would like us to consider your talent as part of your Princeton application, you are welcome to submit an Arts Supplement.
Submission Guidelines
Princeton values the arts in all forms. We cannot, however, evaluate areas outside those in which our faculty have expertise. Please read the descriptions for each area for further guidelines on how to submit your supplementary materials.
- Single-Choice Early action optional Arts Supplement is due on or before Nov. 6 at 11:59 p.m. (applicant's local time).
- Regular decision optional Arts Supplement is due on or before Jan. 8 at 11:59 p.m. (applicant's local time).
- Transfer optional Arts Supplement is due on or before March 7 at 11:59 p.m. (applicant's local time).
Instructions
- On the Common or QuestBridge* Application, please indicate your intention to submit an Arts Supplement in Princeton’s member questions. You will be able to access the link to submit an Optional Arts Supplement in your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.
- Please keep in mind that you need to submit your application to Princeton University before you can submit your optional Arts Supplement on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.
*For students who are participating in the QuestBridge College Match, we will be unable to review the optional Arts Supplement as part of the Match application review process, given the early timeline.
Helpful Tips
As one of your media uploads, we encourage you to include a résumé if you think that will add to an understanding of your training and experiences. Please keep in mind, information you provide in your arts supplement will only be read by the arts faculty evaluating your supplement unless you submit it as additional information along with your application to Princeton.
Changes cannot be made to the optional Arts Supplement after submission. If you wish to include an arts letter of recommendation, it must be requested prior to submission and an arts résumé must be included as one of the media uploads, if you wish to submit one.
We only accept one submission per program.
Your completed arts supplement will be reflected on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal within 24 hours.
Documents (for example, additional academic information, research papers, etc.) should not be uploaded with your arts supplement. You may upload those materials through the additional information section of the application or on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.
If you have excelled in an area of the arts not covered by our supplement, we are still interested in seeing how your talent and expertise might enhance our community. You may submit additional materials or links to your work through your application or on your Princeton Applicant Portal. Although we cannot guarantee that the Admission Office will have time to review your work, we will include it in your file.
For questions related to the Princeton optional Arts Supplement, please email [email protected] .
Acceptable Formats:
We support media files as large as 5GB, but please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your Internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection for the necessary period of time. We support the following file formats:
- .3g2, .3gp, .avi, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .mxf, .webm, .wmv
- .aac, .m4a, .mka, .mp3, .oga, .ogg, .wav
- .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff
- .doc, .docx, .odg, .odp, .odt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, .wpd
You may also include external media from YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud. Please do not upload links to personal websites.
Supplement Type, Category and Description of Acceptable Submissions:
Architecture.
Submit between 3-10 samples of your work in architecture or design. These can include blueprints/plans, drawings, renderings, 3D models, photographs or video.
Creative Writing
Categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translations
Include a portfolio of your work in any or all of the following media, totaling no more than five pages: poetry, short stories, novel excerpts and translations. Please do not submit journalism samples or complete books.
Categories: Choreography, Performance
Include a digital video of one or more solo performances of contrasting styles (modern, improvisation, hip hop, contemporary, ballet) and/or of your choreography (no more than five minutes total). Please do not submit group work unless you have a prominently featured solo or you are the choreographer. Art Supplements for dance should be accompanied by a personal statement related to your interest in the arts, and how you would like to integrate dance into your studies at Princeton (no more than 250 words). Please contact the Dance program office during business hours at (609) 258-3017 for more information or questions about the program.
Categories: Classical Instrument, Classical Voice, Composition, Electronic Music, Jazz, Piano
The Princeton musical community is rich in many kinds of music. This includes non-Western classical and popular music of many types. The Department of Music, however, can provide evaluations only of the performance genres for which formal instruction is offered. For further information or questions about the program, please direct emails to Greg Smith at [email protected] .
Please attach a résumé as one of your media uploads that details your music training and accomplishments. You may send submissions in the form of digital audio or video files. Additionally please refer to the "Acceptable Formats" section above.
Classical Instrument (except piano) — Include a 10- to 15-minute submission of advanced solo work that shows contrasting examples of expression and technique. Do not submit orchestral or ensemble work unless you have a prominently featured solo.
Classical Voice — Whether you prefer solo repertoire, small group or large choral settings, Princeton offers countless learning and performing opportunities, and we are eager to hear you sing. Your supplement submission should contain at least two songs, totaling no more than 10 minutes, that best demonstrate your level of technical and musical accomplishment. At least one submission should be from western classical art song or operatic repertoire, and at least one submission should be in a language other than English. You may additionally submit small ensemble work if this is an area of interest.
Composition — Include a submission of one to three works that demonstrate your interests and abilities in composition. The Department of Music has a broad definition of composition, one that includes concert music, improvisational music, un-notated music, and while they don’t have the expertise to fully evaluate non-Western compositional traditions, these are also welcome. Submissions can consist of PDF scores or recordings; recordings or MIDI mock-ups of scored works are welcome if you have them but not required.
Electronic Music — Include a submission of a work that shows your skill in electronic music composition.
Jazz Composition and Arranging — Include a 10- to 15-minute submission showcasing arrangements of existing material and/or original compositions for ensembles of any size.
Jazz Instrument or Voice — Include a 10 to 15-minute submission featuring contrasting solo work as an improviser with live or virtual accompaniment of your choosing. Standard jazz material is encouraged, but original material is welcome. Please do not submit large ensemble (e.g., big band) work unless you are prominently featured. Please do not submit performances of solo transcriptions.
Piano — Please submit solo recordings that demonstrate your current level of technical and musical accomplishment. We recommend that you include works of contrasting styles. 10 - 15 minutes of music is plenty, but you may submit more if you wish.
Theater / Music Theater
Categories: Performance, Writing, Design, Directing
We invite you to introduce yourself as a theater-maker with a short personal statement (no more than 250 words) that engages the question: “Why does making theater matter?” In addition to this statement, you are also welcome to submit short videos, writing samples or portfolio images to demonstrate your prior theater making experience (in acting, singing, writing, designing, producing and/or directing). Video submissions should be no more than five minutes in total length; should begin with a clear introduction of yourself and your role co-creating the project shown; and, when possible, should provide a multi-faceted view of the kind of theatre you make (i.e. contrasting samples, songs or monologues). Writing samples should be no more than 30 pages long. When compiling your supplement, we encourage you to focus on giving us a clear sense of you as an artist and to worry less about things like video production values. Further information or questions about the program may be directed by email to: [email protected] .
Visual Arts
Categories: Film, Digital Video and Animation, Graphic Design, Interdisciplinary (including Sound), Painting and Drawing, Photography, Sculpture
We encourage applicants to include works that reflect experimentation and imagination rather than stylistic consistency. We also encourage including exploratory and/or preparatory works (such as sketchbook pages) that convey how you think visually.
Whether you are self-taught or have taken art classes makes no difference; please represent the breadth, depth and complexity of your efforts. Test your digital materials to make sure they are viewable in their entirety before submitting them.
If your portfolio includes work from more than one category, choose the category that is your predominant one. If you are intentionally working in more than one category, submit under interdisciplinary.
Graphic Design, Interdisciplinary, Painting and Drawing, Photography — Your portfolio may include 10-20 images of your most recent work in any medium or across media. For painting and drawing submissions, please include some examples that involve drawing from observation if possible.
For interdisciplinary, you may include video in your portfolio as well, using the same submission requirements as film, digital video and animation (see below).
Film, Digital Video and Animation — Submit up to a maximum of 10 minutes total of video, either from a single work or clips/excerpts from multiple works. Submit only as link(s) to YouTube or Vimeo (without any password protection). Files on Google Drive will not be reviewed. Include a Word document listing the title(s), running time, short description, your role in the production and the category: narrative, documentary, animation, experimental or interdisciplinary.
Arts Programs
The School of Architecture, Princeton’s center for teaching and research in architectural design, history, and theory, offers an undergraduate major and advanced degrees at both the master’s and doctoral levels.
The Program in Creative Writing offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to craft original work under the guidance of some of today’s most respected practicing writers including Michael Dickman, Aleksandar Hemon, A.M. Homes, Christina Lazaridi, Yiyun Li, Paul Muldoon, Kirstin Valdez Quade, and Susan Wheeler.
The Program in Dance welcomes all students to engage and experiment with dance. At the core of the program is the belief that dance fosters an integration of mind and body that allows for a greater connection to ourselves and our communities. The program provides a depth, diversity, and flexibility of offerings that nurture beginners and challenge pre-professionals. While pursuing a liberal arts education, students have the opportunity to undertake demanding courses with professional choreographers, dancers, interdisciplinary artists, and scholars.
As a Music Major, you can engage in independent work in musicology or composition while diving into the intersection of making, studying, and writing about music. Whether our concentrators ultimately choose to make music, to research and write about it, or do both, they are encouraged to develop independent work that moves across traditional disciplinary or methodological boundaries.
Theater/Music Theater
The purpose of the Program in Theater is to engage Princeton students of all kinds in the making of theater with significant artists, faculty members and each other, through studio classes, and through our theater season. The Program in Music Theater brings together students, faculty, staff and guest artists in the creation, study, and performance of music theater.
The Program in Visual Arts introduces students to the studio arts in the context of a liberal arts education. Offering courses in painting, drawing, graphic design, photography/digital photography, film/video, and sculpture, the program provides enrolled students extensive contact with an accomplished faculty as well as access to technical, analog, and digital labs including darkrooms, ceramics facilities, welding and mold-making areas, a letterpress studio, film editing bays, and a renovated theater for 35 mm and 16 mm film projections.
Optional Arts Supplement FAQs
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