Registering for Writing Courses

Instructions

  1. Please read and retain this page for your records.

  2. Attach the cover sheet to your writing sample and return to Dr. Timea Szell, Director of Creative Writing, by the end of the Program Planning period.

Admission to all creative writing courses is by permission of the instructor only.

Students who would like to take a writing course must submit a writing sample by the end of Program Planning period (with occasional flexibility) to Dr. Szell, who will pass it on to the instructor.  Dr. Szell may be reached at ext. 4-2115.  Her office is 423 Barnard Hall, and submissions should be left in her upper mailbox in 417 Barnard Hall.  The deadline for applying is the last day of the program filing period.  (For the 2008 fall semester, it was April 28, 2008.  It will be November 25, 2008 for writing courses in spring, 2009.)

You may not apply for more than one writing course at a time or enroll in two creative writing courses simultaneously.  Since screenwriting is considered part of the Film Concentration, you may apply to screenwriting in addition to either a poetry or prose course.  However, you are strongly advised to take only one writing class in any given semester.

Because writing courses have more applicants than available places, you should have an alternative course in mind.  (We suggest you register for the alternative course and drop it if you are accepted into a writing course.)  Students who are not admitted into their first choice of a writing course will be considered for the second choice they list on the form accompanying their samples.  Keep in mind that advanced courses (e.g., Fiction Writing and Story Writing) may not be designated as a second choice if your first choice is an introductory course.  If your schedule changes and you are no longer able to take either of the courses you requested, please let Dr. Szell know as soon as possible.

For early program filing, you may enter your first choice writing course on your program with the understanding that you may need to make changes at the beginning of the following semester.  We suggest you register for an alternative course in case you are not admitted.  Please note that acceptance into the course comes only from the instructor and from no one else.

The cover sheet must accompany all writing samples. Writing samples (5-7 pages) should be "creative" (i.e., fiction, drama, journalistic or poetry, as appropriate). They should be neat, typed, and double-spaced. Please, retain a copy as they will not be returned. Further information about the writing sample may be obtained from Dr. Timea Szell, Director of Creative Writing.

The process is not finalized until the beginning of next semester.  Class lists will be posted on the bulletin board near Dr. Szell's office (423 Barnard Hall), on the departmental bulletin board across from 417 Barnard Hall, and on the department web site.  For some courses the final lists may be posted as late as three weekdays after the first meeting.  The instructor will assume that any student absent from the first class meeting is no longer interested in enrolling and will remove that student's name from the list. 

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Timea Szell, Director of Creative Writing.
Office: 423 Barnard Hall, phone: 212.854.2115, e-mail: tszell(at)barnard(dot)edu.


417 Barnard Hall · Barnard College · Columbia University · 3009 Broadway · New York, NY 10027
212.854.2116 (phone) · 212.854.9498 (fax) · english(at)barnard(dot)edu
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