How to Enroll

Most Creative Writing courses are available for direct enrollment in Axess: SimpleEnroll. However, some of our courses may require instructor consent, submitting an application, or completing the Course Preference Form prior to enrolling in the course. When browsing in Navigator, pay special attention to the Notes sections, which will indicate if submission of an application or the Course Preference Form is required. Instructions for all enrollment processes can be found below.

A variety of Creative Writing courses are available for direct enrollment in Axess: SimpleEnroll. Register for these courses in SimpleEnroll, no additional forms nor separate applications necessary. To view available classes, browse Navigator or our list of courses.

Enrollment can be tricky to navigate. To set yourself up for success each quarter, consider the following:

• Pay your tuition and fees
• Clear any holds blocking your registration
• Review your academic plan of study with an advisor

Other helpful enrollment tools can be found on the Registrar's website.

Remember: If you enroll into a course, then you must attend the first class meeting to secure your spot in the course.

Some Creative Writing courses may require instructor consent to enroll. To request instructor consent for a given course, follow its instructions listed below. When browsing on ExploreCourses, the instructions can also be found in the Notes section of the course.

English 91AI/Oceans 157H Creative Writing & Science: The Artful Interpreter with Sara Michas-Martin

What role does creativity play in the life of a scientist? How has science inspired great literature? How do you write accessibly and expressively about things like whales, DNA or cancer? This course provides a unique opportunity for students to directly engage with marine animals, coastal habitats and environmental concerns of Monterey Bay. As historian Jill Lepore writes of Rachel Carson: "She could not have written Silent Spring if she hadn't, for decades, scrambled down rocks, rolled up her pant legs, and waded into tide pools, thinking about how one thing can change another..." Students will complete and workshop three original nonfiction essays that explore the intersection between personal narrative and scientific curiosity. You will develop a more patient and observant eye and improve your ability to articulate scientific concepts to a general readership. **Course taught in-person only at Hopkins Marine Station.**

Winter 2025 Interest Form

Interest Form instructions: students must submit the Google Form by December 11, 2024 to request enrollment. If selected for enrollment, students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot. All students will be notified of placement by Dec 18.

Priority goes to seniors who are declared Creative Writing minors or English majors (then juniors, sophomores, and freshmen). They will be followed by seniors with any other major (then juniors, sophomores, and freshmen).

A few Creative Writing courses require a separate application to be considered for enrollment. The instructor(s) of the course will review the applications and select their pool of students accordingly. Each course application is linked below.

English 190G The Graphic Novel with Sarah Frisch, Shimon Tanaka, and Art Director Andy Warner

Calling all artists, writers, and general comics lovers! Come join us in the writing, illustrating, and publishing of a full-length graphic novel. The SGNP is a complete comics creation experience, from topic selection, to writing, to thumbnailing, to drawing, to printing. We start with nothing but a few ideas; we end with a published, full-length graphic novel. Learn and hone skills of long-form storytelling and structure, dialogue and caption writing, thumbnailing, character turnarounds, dynamic panelling and perspective, drawing, and post-production using Photoshop and InDesign. No previous drawing or storytelling experience necessary. 

Autumn 2024 Application

English/Amstud/Asnamst 91A Asian American Autobiography with Chang-rae Lee

This is a dual purpose class: a writing workshop in which you will generate autobiographical vignettes/essays as well as a reading seminar featuring prose from a wide range of contemporary Asian-American writers. Some of the many questions we will consider are: What exactly is Asian-American memoir? Are there salient subjects and tropes that define the literature? And in what ways do our writerly interactions both resistant and assimilative with a predominantly non-Asian context in turn recreate that context? We'll be working/experimenting with various modes of telling, including personal essay, the epistolary form, verse, and even fictional scenarios.

Winter 2025 Application

Application is closed, but spots are still available! First come, first serve. If interested, email creative1 [at] stanford.edu (creative1[at]stanford[dot]edu) with your preferred crosslisting (english, amstud, asnamst) and section (Tues or Wed 5-7:20pm).

Questions?

We're here to support you! Email dhuligan [at] stanford.edu (Danielle) your inquiries or book an appointment with her.

For enrollment questions specific to Creative Writing, visit our Enrollment FAQ page.

For general enrollment troubleshooting, refer to the Student Services guide.