Hawaiʻi Pacific University Launches Integrated Creative Writing and Literary Arts Degree
Hawaiʻi Pacific University has restructured its undergraduate English major into a new Creative Writing and Literary Arts bachelor’s degree. The program stands as the only integrated degree of its kind offered across the state of Hawaiʻi, combining the study of literature and writing within a single curriculum. This fall, HPU’s English major received a rewrite within the College of Liberal Arts, matching the story the College has been telling for several years. Elsewhere across the state, creative writing is only available as a concentration, pathway, minor, or certificate.
Curriculum Integration and Program Flexibility
Nothing inside the major has been cut, and students continue to take many of the same courses as before. According to HPU Professor of English and Department Chair of English and Applied Linguistics Christy Williams, Ph.D., the changes provide a more accurate representation of the major alongside increased flexibility. The revised major integrates historical literary analysis and creative writing workshops. Students in the College of Liberal Arts now complete coursework where reading and writing share the same classroom environment. Williams added, At HPU, students learn how literature works by writing it. It’s where the study of writing and the study of literature is integrated across the board. Students learn the importance of fiction and why we care about stories, and what stories do.
Creative writing workshops covering fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and scriptwriting feature a toolkit for examining storytelling to see how texts function. All of our creative writing courses have an analytical component in them, so the students analyze technique and structure in their classes,
Williams noted. Literature courses frequently include creative assignments, meaning a semester involves more than writing research essays. Whether classes read pre-Renaissance texts or material published the previous year, discussions continuously examine how works were created. While many universities divide social context, literary technique, and history into separate courses, HPU combines them into the same space because That is how we encounter it in real life,
according to Williams.
The Creative Writing and Literary Arts degree requires two literature courses, two writing courses, and a selection of electives. This structure gives undergraduates the flexibility to count additional creative writing courses toward their degree requirements compared to the previous format.
Interactive Courses and Published Works
Classroom formats extend beyond standard lectures, encompassing global literature, film, video games, fairy tales, and detective fiction. A specialized course focusing on texts and gender incorporates an unfolding multi-week murder mystery. Other specialized classes examine fairy tales through oral traditions, live performances, and modern digital media.
Undergraduates gain publishing experience through editing and publishing courses tied to three literary and academic publications.