Department of English

English, Creative Writing, Professional and Technical Writing

Whether you plan to write the next great novel, have a passion for reading, or you want to sharpen your professional and technical skills, the Department of English has a program for you.

English Major   Creative Writing Major   Professional and Technical Writing Major

See Minors, M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D. and University Writing Program

In the Department of English, we teach students how to think critically and creatively, and we conduct research to advance knowledge about culture, language, and the written word. Our graduate and undergraduate curricula emphasize deep research skills and unbounded creativity, preparing students for successful careers in academia, business, law, and other professions, as well as nonprofit work, teaching, writing, publishing, and the arts. Courses refine students’ oral and written communication skills, teaching them to be precise, clear, and inventive stylists.

The study of literature and language is at the core of each undergraduate major, providing a common, foundational knowledge about the cultural contexts in which texts and linguistic artifacts are produced, interpreted, and circulated. Individual undergraduate majors ( English ,  creative writing , and  professional and technical writing ) provide specialized approaches to textual and linguistic critique and invention. Students graduate with enhanced capacities to understand both their cultures and the experiences of others, through varied experiences of collaboration and textual border-crossing that are inherent in our curriculum.

Classes in the English department are small. Students spend quality time with our award-winning faculty and have opportunities for individual and team-based research experiences. The department supports a number of internships. We invite visiting writers and scholars to speak every semester, and each spring students share their work at an undergraduate research conference and a student-run literary festival. Our undergraduate students publish in various Virginia Tech magazines, and graduate creative writing students serve as editors for two national journals.

Graduate programs in the Department of English include a general  M.A. in English , an  M.F.A. in Creative Writing , and a  Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing . 

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Creative Writing at Virginia Tech

Go directly to any of the following sections:

Featured Creative Writing Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

BA in Creative Writing & English

Develop your creativity and gain practical skills with a creative writing degree program –featuring 100% online classes – through a bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.

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MFA in Creative Writing - Online

Embrace your passion for storytelling and learn the professional writing skills you'll need to succeed with our online MFA in Creative Writing. Write your novel or short story collection while earning a certificate in the Online Teaching of Writing or Professional Writing, with no residency requirement.

MA in English & Creative Writing

Refine your writing skills and take a step toward furthering your career with this online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.

Creative Writing Degrees Available at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Creative Writing Rankings

The bachelor's program at Virginia Tech was ranked #50 on College Factual's Best Schools for creative writing list .

Popularity of Creative Writing at Virginia Tech

Due to this, the school was ranked #227 in popularity out of all colleges and universities that offer this degree.

In 2021, 7 students received their master’s degree in creative writing from Virginia Tech. This makes it the #135 most popular school for creative writing master’s degree candidates in the country.

Related Programs

Learn about other programs related to Creative Writing that might interest you.

Low-Residency MFA in Fiction and Nonfiction

Harness your passion for storytelling with SNHU's Mountainview Low-Residency MFA in Fiction and Nonfiction. In this small, two-year creative writing program, students work one-on-one with our distinguished faculty remotely for most of the semester but convene for weeklong intensive residencies in June and January. At residencies, students critique each other's work face-to-face, meet with major authors, agents and editors and learn how to teach at the college level.

Virginia Tech Creative Writing Students

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the creative writing majors at Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech Creative Writing Master’s Program

For the most recent academic year available, 14% of creative writing master's degrees went to men and 86% went to women.

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The majority of the students with this major are white. About 57% of 2021 graduates were in this category.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Virginia Tech with a master's in creative writing.

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Most Popular Related Majors

View All Creative Writing Related Majors >

More about our data sources and methodologies .

Popular Reports

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Virginia Tech

MFA in Creative Writing

Virginia Tech

Why Virginia Tech?

July 1, 2020 By VTCWMFA

Our 3-year MFA program is consistently ranked among the top MFA programs in the country. We offer tracks in poetry and fiction, encourage cross-genre writing, and fully fund all students with stipends of $20,000+.

creative writing major virginia tech

Welcome, Class of 2026!

June 9, 2023 By Florence Gonsalves Leave a Comment

creative writing major virginia tech

Congratulations to the Class of 2023!

creative writing major virginia tech

Visiting Writers Series 2022-2023

September 2, 2022 By Shannon Sullivan

June 9, 2023 Florence Gonsalves

Jesus Govea Jesus Govea is a writer from Chicago, Illinois. He received his B.A in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. He has been published in Poetry, Respect the Mic: […]

September 2, 2022 Shannon Sullivan

Craft talk and Reading with Lillian-Yvonne Bertram

October 19, 2021 VTCWMFA

FREEDOM REVOLUTIONS: Reading with Lucinda Roy and Bessie Flores Zaldivar

October 13, 2021 VTCWMFA

creative writing major virginia tech

Virginia Tech Visiting Writers Series 2021-22

September 30, 2021 VTCWMFA

Congrats Alum! Shaina Phenix: WICW Fellow 2021-2022.

July 31, 2021 VTCWMFA

creative writing major virginia tech

Khadijah Queen Wins 2021 William Carlos Williams Award

June 21, 2021 VTCWMFA

Click here to read one of the winning poems

creative writing major virginia tech

Alum Xandria Phillips Wins 2021 Whiting Award in Poetry

April 15, 2021 VTCWMFA

creative writing major virginia tech

Mark Your Calendars for giovanni singleton!

March 13, 2021 VTCWMFA

The next installment of the Visiting Writers series presents giovanni singleton: “What’s in a Word: A Poetry Workshop.” Click here on the evening of the event––Thursday March 18th, 7pm EST––to […]

creative writing major virginia tech

MFA Bookshelf

creative writing major virginia tech

8 Lessons From Nikki Giovanni

creative writing major virginia tech

Mechanical Engineering Technical Communication Program

Director Kelly Scarff (right) works with a student.

The Technical Communication Program (TCP) in Mechanical Engineering was established in 2020 with the mission to provide mechanical engineering students with the resources they need to become professional, effective communicators. 

Effective communication is important for every field, including engineering. Your communication skills—be it writing, public speaking, or otherwise—can determine what job you get, what funding you secure, what articles you publish, and how your research impacts both your field and the community. The Technical Communication Program (TCP) in Mechanical Engineering has two overarching goals to help students become more effective communicators:

Kelly Scarff

Kelly Scarff, PhD, is a Collegiate Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech where she teaches engineering communication courses and directs the Technical Communication Program in the department of Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Scarff has over a decade of experience in STEM communication. Prior to her role at Virginia Tech, she was a consultant for the U.S. Department of Energy where she worked as a technical editor and quality assurance technician on all energy-related deliverables, including technical reports, white papers, proposals, and literature reviews. She also taught professional development and research-writing courses to materials science and engineering students; provided technical editing and writing consultation for engineering faculty and graduate students; and taught various courses in Professional and Technical Writing, including Science Writing, Technical Writing, and Technical Editing & Style.

Dr. Scarff holds a PhD in Rhetoric & Writing from Virginia Tech, an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University, a BA in English from University of Pittsburgh, and a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate from the University of Toronto.

Podcast

Consultations

IMAGES

  1. Creative Writing at Virginia Tech by Matthew Vollmer

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VIDEO

  1. Creative Writing: Figures of Speech, Mood & Tone

  2. Don’t leave your house dirty when you leave it!

  3. my classes as a creative writing major ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

  4. PURPOSES AND USES OF TECHNICAL WRITING

  5. "How I Transformed My PhD Thesis with Virginia Woolf's Secret Writing Routine!"

  6. Virginia International Tattoo 2023

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    Scarff holds a PhD in Rhetoric & Writing from Virginia Tech, an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University, a BA in English from University of Pittsburgh, and a Teaching English as a Foreign Language

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    176 programs offered by Virginia Tech. Check out tuition fees, course rankings, entry requirements, application deadlines, and course reviews