Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English: Creative Writing

The Creative Writing major at Loras College offers extraordinary depth and range, together with the kind of close, sustained faculty mentoring which is only possible at a small college. Students choose from introductory and advanced courses in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction, along with specialized courses in Screenwriting; Nature Writing; Fantastic Fiction; Writing for New Media; Writing as Social Action; Rhetoric & Political Engagement, Grant & Proposal Writing; and Revision, Editing & Publishing.

Our Creative Writing majors are introduced to rigorous critical reading in Literary Studies, sharpen their analytical skills in Literary Criticism, and choose several courses from the whole history of English and American literature, in all genres, and from selected courses in Irish, Canadian, Russian, and World literature. Many also choose a second major in English Literature to deepen their literary knowledge. (The Bauerly-Roseliep Scholarship is awarded each year to the graduating senior who most excels in both majors.) Students with an interest in writing for purposes of social and political engagement can also minor in Rhetoric & Public Writing.

Student Experience

Creative Writing majors are actively engaged on campus and beyond. A student editorial staff edits and publishes Catfish Creek: A National Undergraduate Literary Journal. Our students present their scholarly and creative writing on campus at the college’s annual Legacy Symposium, and, along with students from other colleges, at the annual Streamlines Undergraduate Language & Literature Conference. Many of our students also publish their writing in The Limestone Review, the college’s annual journal of scholarship and creative writing.

Many Loras English and Creative Writing students also land internships at local newspapers and publishing houses, including McGraw-Hill and Kendall Hunt. Many study abroad in Ireland for a semester in connection with the Irish Studies program, or write for and edit The Lorian (the Loras College newspaper). And many participate in the Loras Players theater troupe, including their annual performance of student-written one-act plays.

Every student will have an opportunity to have their work published in The Limestone Review. The top submissions are granted a $100 Alpha Award and entered in the Delta Epsilon Sigma national undergraduate writing competition.

About Loras

Historically rich, academically challenging, faith-centered, socially stimulating – that’s Loras College.

Relating the rich liberal arts tradition to a changing world, Loras College strives to develop active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision makers and responsible contributors in their diverse professional, social, and religious roles. Housed on a safe, scenic campus nestled high atop the majestic bluffs of the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa, Loras College offers a wide array of academic programs, extracurricular offerings, and opportunity for personal growth.

We would be proud to welcome you into our circle of loyal Duhawks who will forever call our Dubuque campus home. Dubuque has received many awards and has been proudly recognized locally and nationally.

Mission

Loras, as a Catholic liberal arts college, creates a community of active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision-makers and responsible contributors in diverse professional, social and religious roles.

Vision

Loras will excel in developing principled thinkers and caring professionals in the Catholic and liberal arts traditions.

Pro Deo et Patria!

The motto of Loras College succinctly states the purpose of the Loras College community. We strive to fulfill the will of God by helping students become contributing citizens in the world and achieve their ultimate objective of unity with God. The Loras College community embraces core values that define the way we work, behave and relate with others. Truth, Respect, Responsibility, Excellence and Service.

Summary of Goals

• Foster an active, integrated learning environment that develops a community of scholars
• Sharpen our focus as a Catholic diocesan institution
• Challenge and support students to become engaged community members and responsible campus citizens
• Persist as leaders in the integration of technology and learning
• Strengthen recruitment and improve retention
• Strengthen the financial standing and stewardship of college resources
• Enhance and expand relationships and communication with the Colleges’ constituencies
• Broaden our understanding of human dignity, particularly as related to diversity and gender

Catholic identity: our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition

Loras College is a Catholic, diocesan college explicitly oriented to promote service of both church and world through encouraging all members of the community in development of their “diverse professional, social and religious roles.” The college strives to be a community demonstrating the highest standards of the Catholic intellectual tradition and welcoming all people into a dialogue to promote core values of truth, respect, responsibility, excellence and service.

Diversity Matters

• Diversity matters at Loras College because we are an inclusive community of people from many backgrounds and experience
• We, the Loras College community, strive to embody social, intellectual, and cultural hospitality in which multiple points of view can be expressed and explored in civil discourse.
• We proclaim this vision as an institution rooted in the Catholic tradition, which centers its moral vision of society on human dignity. All human persons have inherent dignity because all are created in the image of God; thus we act to treat all persons with respect.
• We aspire to be a society grounded in truth, justice, charity, and freedom. As neighbors in solidarity with one another, we work for fair treatment of all persons.
• We desire to live out our conviction that authentic unity is rooted in and springs forth from our diversity and therefore strive to create opportunities to embrace and build active community relationships in which all individuals may flourish.
• We intend the expression of our diversity ideals to be fluid and constantly evolving. As a result of our continued engagement with these values, our lived experience of diversity is not static, but a dynamic and living testament to human dignity.