<p>Do any of you know if UC Santa Barbara offers a creative writing program (in fiction, poetry, ect)? This is very important to me and would be a major downside to the school if they didn't offer it.</p>
<p>I looked at UCSB's website under the college of letters and science at the English and Writing Departments, but I couldn't find anything that offers CREATIVE writing. If they do offer one, it would also be nice to know how well esteemed they are and/or a link to their webpage.</p>
<p>There isn’t a creative writing program at UCSB. But the College of Creative Studies Literature major is close enough. [College</a> of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara - Literature](<a href=“http://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/literature]College”>http://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/literature)</p>
<p>According to the [UC</a> Riverside Creative Writing page](<a href=“http://creativewriting.ucr.edu/undergraduate/index.html]UC”>http://creativewriting.ucr.edu/undergraduate/index.html), UCR offers the only creative writing (undergraduate) major in the UC system. Other UCs might offer creative writing minors, but UCSB doesn’t.</p>
<p>yeah i heard UCR is the only UC that offers an actual major in creative writing but the literature major in UCSB’s college of creative studies comes rather close so that’s what i’m taking =]</p>
<p>@kwonlita really? I read somewhere that UC Irvine has possibly the 6th best creative writing program in the nation and that UC Davis has a good program as well.</p>
<p>@kwonlita So what do you think of the literature major in the college of creative studies? Is it academically challenging? Do they teach you about writing or do you simply read literature and try to write some of your own?</p>
<p>More imporantly, do you have to apply to the College of Creative Studies as a freshman? I was planning on being undeclared/undecided because I’m still not sure if writing is for me. If I decide later that I want to go into creative writing, could I transfer to the college of creative studies from the college of letters and science and major in literature? Could I possibly take some of these courses while in another college, or do I have to be in the college of creative studies to take these classes.</p>
<p>Sorry if any of these questions sound stupid, but I just don’t know much about this school besides that you have to graduate with a portfolio of created works.</p>
<p>They do offer some creative writing classes. I’ve seen screenwriting and writing stories. The program is a rather a comprehensive combination of both literature and writing. Check out the courses offered by CCS literature, you’ll definitely find something intriguing. [College</a> of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara - Current Courses](<a href=“http://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/component/option,com_ccs_courses/Itemid,236/quarter,Spring/year,2010/discipline,Literature/]College”>http://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/component/option,com_ccs_courses/Itemid,236/quarter,Spring/year,2010/discipline,Literature/)</p>
<p>You can definitely transfer to CCS after your enrollment at UCSB. But CCS requires at least 6 quarters of residence. So beware that you have to transfer before you start junior year or your spring quarter of your sophomore to be safe.</p>
<p>And even as a L&S student, you can still take CCS literature classes. Just talk to the professor and get the add codes from the CCS undergraduate advisor. The only disadvantage is that you wouldn’t be able to have the privileges that CCS students have, such as early registration dates, dropping classes until the end of the quarter, and enrolling in classes without fulfilling any prerequisites. </p>
<p>I encourage you to apply as a freshman, because if you get in, it’s so much easier to transfer out of CCS than getting into CCS. Besides, you can have some benefits that even upperclassmen don’t have.</p>
<p>@Ryan1119 But if I enroll in CCS as a freshman would I still be able to take classes in the college of letters and science? I don’t want to lock myself into creative writing if I find that my passion is something else.</p>
<p>Well, you have to take some classes L&S to satisfy your GE’s. Basically you can take whatever class you want, if you a CCS student, except for rare cases that you need to get the instructor’s consent to take certain classes.</p>
<p>@DmanTapps i guess the other colleges have good writing programs but i mean ‘creative writing’ as a major itself is only offered at UCR. i actually haven’t started at UCSB yet but if you read the CCS website for literature it says you can take 3 tracks, 1 which is purely academic (like teaching literature), one that’s more creative so i’m guessing you’d be reading as well as writing & then there’s another type of writing which is more journalism. when i was applying (as a freshman) to UCSB i applied for literature in the CCS which means you have to submit a supplemental application with a letter of intent as well as evidence of talent (at least 10+ pages of creative writing, poetry, prose or an essay). i THINK you can only apply as a freshman or a transfer student but you’d have to ask more about that. i know you can only take CCS courses if you’re in the college though.</p>
<p>Like I said in the last post. You CAN take L&S classes. You are NOT limited to CCS classes, if you’re in CCS.</p>
<p>oh yeah, sorry i didn’t clarify, Ryan1119’s right, if you’re in CCS you can take other courses but if you’re in other colleges you can’t take CCS courses</p>
<p>No. I also mentioned in my prior posts. Even if you’re not in CCS, you can still take CCS classes. Just talk to the instructor and get an approval code based on the availability of the class.</p>
<p>oh wow, i did not know that</p>
<p>Hey… UCLA also has a great undergraduate concentration in Creative Writing. Also, UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz do. At UCLA, you have to apply to either the poetry or fiction workshops (submitting a sample story or poem/s), and then you’re allowed to take three workshops, I believe, with one of the great teachers/writers. At UC Davis, I believe there are introductory level creative writing classes (5F and P), which are just first-come, first-serve basis. Then, there are upper-division creative writing classes (also for poetry or fiction), which require an application/sample. I’m not sure about the format at UC Santa Cruz, but I know they do have some sort of well-respected program there. Keep writing!</p>