Introduction

The Creative Nonfiction Certificate teaches students the research and writing skills that are essential for crafting literary accounts of real life. From personal narratives to biographical stories, creative nonfiction writing must be grounded in the facts and use them to fashion compelling protagonists, poetic images, and narrative arcs that heighten readers’ engagement with the subject matter. Courses in the Certificate provides a broad-minded survey of different forms across the genre, as well as opportunities to deepen one’s skills in a desired area.

In both magazine and book publishing, the field of creative nonfiction (sometimes called "narrative nonfiction" or "literary journalism") has grown dramatically over the past few decades. More recently, even professionals and researchers outside of the humanities have begun to use storytelling to communicate their findings, as suggested by new buzz words such as "business storytelling," "data storytelling," and "scientific storytelling." While the Creative Nonfiction Certificate is decidedly literary in its orientation, all courses teach nonfiction storytelling skills that are useful to students from a wide range of majors.

Program Delivery

• The certificate can be completed through online, in-person, or hybrid courses.

Declaring This Certificate

Students interested in completing this certificate should complete this form: CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Intent to Declare Form, which requests that the certificate be added to your student record. Once added, you will be able to run a certificate degree audit. The certificate degree audit should be used in collaboration with the Certificate Advisor to ensure successful completion of the requirements.

Students should then work with John Tinnell (john.tinnell@ucdenver.edu) – the certificate advisor, to ensure completion of all certificate requirements.

Completing This Certificate

Students must also complete the CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Completion Verification Form, before graduation, in order to confirm completion of their certificate. The certificate advisor will confirm that your certificate has been successfully completed, and will work with campus partners to apply the certificate to your transcript.

Students must fill out the Certificate Completion Form before the deadlines below, to ensure the certificate is applied to your transcript correctly. If you are a non-degree seeking student, please fill out this form in the term in which you intend to complete your certificate.

Spring semester – April 1
Summer semester – July 1
Fall semester – November 1

These program requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their certificate advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 ENGL credit hours, including a minimum of 9 ENGL upper division (3000-level and above) credit hours, taken from the approved courses below.
2. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to certificate requirements. 
3. All credits for the certificate must be completed with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. Courses offered outside the English Department must be approved by the Creative Nonfiction Certificate Advisor
2. The topic for each section of ENGL 3405 Topics in Writing and ENGL 4190 Advanced Topics in Writing, Rhetoric, & Linguistics must pertain to a Nonfiction theme. Students may confer with their certificate advisor to confirm whether a topic is approved. 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required course:
ENGL 4811	Creative Nonfiction Workshop	3
Complete three additional courses as outlined below:
I. Complete one of the following Nonfiction themed courses:
ENGL 3405	Topics in Writing 1
ENGL 4190	Advanced Topics in Writing, Rhetoric, & Linguistics 1
II. Complete one of the following Journalism or Digital Storytelling courses:
ENGL 3106	Writing for Print Media
ENGL 3416	Magazine Writing
ENGL 3084	Digital Writing and Storytelling
III. Complete one additional elective from the options below:
Any additional course from categories I or II
Any additional course in creative writing (e.g, writing workshops that focus on fiction, poetry, or mixed genre, as well as courses on narrative theory)
Any relevant course outside of the English Dept. with certificate advisor approval

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The topic for each section of ENGL 3405 Topics in Writingand ENGL 4190 Advanced Topics in Writing, Rhetoric, & Linguistics must be different, in order for repeat credits to apply. Students may repeat either course as long as both topics are relevant to the certificate. Please reach out to the certificate advisor with questions. 

• Gain fluency with storytelling techniques and literary devices employed by creative nonfiction writers, such as scene building, character development, setting, dialogue, and narrative structure.
• Build skill in applying multiple research methods well suited to creative nonfiction projects, including archival research, oral history interviewing, and site visits