Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program in Writing
(EDP 022466)
Take a new path to becoming a serious writer
For aspiring writers serious about their craft, the UC Berkeley Extension post-baccalaureate certificate program is ideal. Formalize your training and prepare for graduate study in writing with this new certificate that’s the only one of its kind in the Bay Area. UC Berkeley Extension’s strong reputation for educating writers further ensures that this rigorous program will meet your needs.
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Build your writing portfolio and gain a credential that shows your commitment. Join a community of writers who share your dedication and help you develop. Discover what it takes to be published. Be inspired as you read exemplary works of literature. And learn from respected instructors who can provide the recommendation that helps you stand out from the competition for a coveted place in an M.F.A. program in writing.
Whether your passion is poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, UC Berkeley Extension’s new writing certificate program prepares you to excel.
Program Requirements
Tailor the certificate program to your needs with courses you can take in any order and the opportunity to focus on one type of writing or multiple genres. The program consists of seven courses, including two required courses and five restricted electives selected from two categories: literature (two courses) and writing workshops (three courses).Required Courses
(2 courses, 4 semester units, 60 classroom hours)
Literature Restricted Electives
(2 courses, 4+ semester units, 60 classroom hours)
(sample courses; offerings vary by term)
- New! Understanding the Graphic Novel X458 (1 unit)
- Appreciating Modern and Contemporary Poetry X101.8 (1 unit) (offered future term)
- Reading as a Writer, Writing as a Reader X7 (2 units)
- Learning From the Masters: Techniques of the Literary Greats X425 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Survey of Genre Fiction X439 (2 units)
- Classics of Children's Literature X75 (3 units)
- Crossing Cultural Boundaries X14 (2 units) (offered future term)
- The Life and Art of Eugene O'Neill X102.9 (2 units)
- Virginia Woolf and Writing Practice X102.7 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Mystery Fiction X103.9 (3 units)
- American Fiction X135A (3 units)
- Shakespeare XB17 (4 units)
(3 courses, 6 semester units, 90 classroom hours)
(sample courses; offerings vary by term)
-
Fiction
- Introduction to Writing Fiction X464 (2 units)
- Intermediate Fiction Writing X440 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Advanced Fiction Workshop X410 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Writing Short Fiction from Life Experience X51 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Developing the Novel I X125.1 (2 units) (offered online)
- Developing the Novel II X125.3 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Novel Writing Workshop X405 (2 units) (offered future term)
- New! Writing the Short Form: Flash Fiction, Prose Poetry, and Prose Fiction X106.3 (2 units)
- Introduction to Writing Poetry (offered future term)
- Writing and Appreciating Modern and Contemporary Poetry X101.2 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Poetry Workshop X428 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Poets Studied and in Conversation X110.2 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Introduction to Creative Nonfiction X480 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Creative Nonfiction Workshop X140 (2 units) (offered online)
- Writing the Nonfiction Book X430 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Introduction to Memoir Writing X6 (3 units)
- Developing the Memoir X110.4
- Citizen Journalism in the 21st Century X480 (2 units) (offered future term)
- Writing the Feature Story X419 (2 units)
- New! Writing the First-Person Essay X457 (1 unit)
Poetry
Nonfiction
- Making Your Way in the New World of Publishing as a Writer, Editor or Publisher (offered future term)
- Portfolio Review (under development)
- New! One-to-One Writing Intensive
Admission
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited undergraduate institution is all you need to enroll. Submit a copy of your official transcript to the writing program director at UC Berkeley Extension, 1995 University Avenue, Suite 110, Berkeley, CA 94704-7000.Completion Requirements
To receive the UC Berkeley Extension Certificate in Writing, you must earn a final GPA of at least 2.5 and complete each of your courses with a grade of C or better. All courses must be taken for a letter grade. You also must complete all of your requirements within five years after filing with the UC Berkeley Extension Registrar’s Office as a candidate for the certificate.If you earn a GPA of 4.0, you will receive your certificate the additional notation of "with distinction."
Requirements may be updated based on new developments in the field of study; we recommend completing the program in a timely fashion. It is not necessary to undertake the entire certificate program to participate in individual courses.
Instructors and Advisers
To ensure that your certificate program is of the highest quality, UC Berkeley Extension turns to experienced writers, outstanding teachers, and published authors for advisers and instructors. They include advisory committee members:Stephen Albert, M.F.A. University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, also holds an M.A. from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and a teaching credential from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Education;
Thaisa Frank, award-winning author and instructor in the creative writing graduate programs at San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco, as well as at UC Berkeley Extension;
Deborah Lichtman, Ph.D., author, teacher, curriculum instructor, and former director of the University of San Francisco creative writing graduate program;
Jane Ann Staw, Ph.D., author and teacher in the University of San Francisco creative writing graduate program, as well as an honored instructor at UC Berkeley Extension;
Allison Tomlinson, M.F.A., who holds a graduate degree in creative writing from Mills College;
Hertha Sweet Wong, Ph.D., associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in UC Berkeley’s English Department.
For more information about the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Writing, contact (510) 642-6362 or letters@unex.berkeley.edu.
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