The writing major is always a wise choice: All fields need strong writers!
As a writing student at PLNU, you will strengthen both the craft and art of your writing. A Bachelor of Arts in Writing will allow you to pursue your passion for written communication and to prepare for a lifetime of meaningful work. Through engagement with a diverse array of texts, genres, and writers who are experts in their fields, you will gain both creative and advanced writing and editorial skills for the full gamut of careers that need great writers.
PLNU's writing professors have an in-depth understanding of this dynamic field, and all of them are published writers. Our faculty have been published in literary journals such as Boulevard, Diagram, Fairy Tale Review, The International Poetry Review, Kahini Quarterly, New Letters, The Normal School, Poet Lore, Ruminate, The Rumpus, So to Speak, and Verse Daily; in periodicals such as The New York Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and Boston Magazine; and even in peer-reviewed journals from other fields, such as American Journal of Nursing. Department faculty have received book awards and major national grants, including several from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Fellowship Grant, and the Del Amo Foundation.
As a writing major, you'll read texts from around the world and from local authors, approach literary works from a variety of theoretical perspectives, and develop analytical thinking and writing skills. Courses in creative writing and professional writing will guide you through developing your own writing projects and learning how to engage with the larger writing community, and you will have opportunities to publish your work in local, national, and international publications. As part of the curriculum, you’ll have the chance to edit Driftwood, the creative arts journal, and to write for The Point, PLNU's campus newspaper.
Writing majors participate in practical internships, cultivating contacts and experience in the fields of publishing, social media, technical writing, journalism, business, law, and more. Past students have interned with organizations such as CBS; The San Diego Union-Tribune; San Diego Writers, Ink; San Diego Magazine; Youth Assistance Coalition; ENTITY Magazine; Agape Editions; Dunn DeSantis Walt & Kendrick; and other local and national publications and organizations. Writing majors also may elect to do senior honors projects, which involve extensive research and writing, and these may be creative pieces, critical papers, or hybrid projects. These projects are excellent preparation for graduate school and often lead to novels, poetry collections, memoirs, graphic novels, and more.
