Program highlights
- Fully online creative writing certificate. Complete the 12-credit graduate certificate online while developing your writing practice from wherever you are.
- Workshop-based learning. Read, discuss and critique original creative work in graduate workshops designed to help you revise and strengthen your fiction, poetry or nonfiction.
- Flexible options. Complete the certificate as a stand-alone credential or pair it with another BGSU graduate degree.
- Guidance from experienced writers. Learn from teachers and authors in BGSU’s acclaimed creative writing program as you study literary technique and develop a body of creative work.
- Focused study in technique and craft. Build your understanding of creative writing through foundational coursework in poetry and/or fiction techniques, followed by genre-based workshop courses.
- Designed for writers and teachers. The certificate supports creative writers working toward publishable fiction and/or poetry, as well as teachers who want to strengthen their creative writing pedagogy.
Develop original fiction, poetry or nonfiction through graduate-level technique courses and workshops taught by experienced writers and teachers.
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Career opportunities
The creative writing graduate certificate supports writers, teachers and professionals who want to strengthen their literary craft and apply creative writing skills in educational, editorial, publishing or communication-focused roles.
Students develop skills in close reading, revision, critique, genre awareness and written expression. These skills can support creative work in fiction, poetry and nonfiction, as well as careers that require strong storytelling, editing, audience awareness and written communication.
The certificate may also benefit teachers who want to bring creative writing into the classroom or prepare for further graduate study in creative writing, English or related fields.
Career paths
- Creative writer
- Fiction writer
- Poet
- Creative writing instructor
- English teacher
- Editor
- Freelance writer
- Publishing assistant
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Curriculum
The creative writing graduate certificate is a 12-credit program that can be completed entirely online. The curriculum combines technique courses with graduate writing workshops. It offers focused study in literary craft and repeated opportunities to write, workshop and revise original creative work.
Through the curriculum, you’ll study the elements of fiction, poetry and/or nonfiction while building a stronger writing practice through peer critique, faculty feedback and revision.
Sample courses
- Technique of Poetry
- Technique of Fiction
- Graduate Writers Workshop: Fiction
- Graduate Writers Workshop: Poetry
- Graduate Writers Workshop: Nonfiction
Workshop-based learning
Creative writing workshops are central to the graduate certificate experience. In these courses, you’ll share original work, receive feedback from faculty and peers, and learn how to revise with greater attention to craft, genre, audience and purpose.
The workshop model also helps you develop as a reader and critic of creative work. By discussing fiction, poetry and nonfiction in a graduate-level setting, you’ll strengthen the skills needed to evaluate writing, offer constructive feedback and apply revision strategies to your own creative practice.
Flexible certificate options
The creative writing certificate can be completed as a standalone credential or paired with another BGSU graduate degree.
Students may:
- Complete the certificate on its own
- Apply credits toward an MA in English at BGSU
- Complete the certificate alongside another approved graduate degree at BGSU
With permission from their original graduate degree program, students in programs outside of English may also earn the certificate as a complementary credential.
BGSU is one of only a handful of universities in the nation — and the only one in Ohio — to earn the Quality Matters Online Learner Support certificate for all of our online programs. This recognition reflects our commitment to providing the critical support and academic services that online students need to succeed.
The creative writing graduate certificate is a program in the English Department of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Updated: 07/10/2026 03:25PM