Lang’s General Degree Requirements
In addition to the requirements outlined here, Lang has specific requirements, including a minimum number of credits in liberal arts courses as well as college residency requirements. All students should read Lang’s General Degree Requirements and consult with both their Student Success advisor and their departmental faculty advisor each semester to ensure that they are on track to graduate.
Students in the Adult Bachelor's Program should consult their core faculty advisor.
Degree Works
To be sure their Degree Works account reflects the information in this worksheet, students should forward any approved exemptions from the following requirements to their Student Success advisor.
Bachelor’s-Master’s Program
Undergraduates in the BA/MA program can earn up to 18 credits (depending on the master's program) in New School master's courses and apply those graduate credits to both their BA and their MA. Submission of the Bachelor’s-Master’s application is required
(members of the direct-entry cohort do not have to submit an application but do have to declare the Bachelor's-Master's combination they wish to pursue). Students should consult their departmental faculty advisor and their Student Success advisor
if they are pursuing a BA/MA, including those offered in Literary Studies:
- BA Literary Studies—MA Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism
- BA Literary Studies—MA Liberal Studies
Requirements for the BA in Literary Studies at Lang with a concentration in Writing
As of fall 2020, students declaring the major in Literary Studies with a concentration in Writing must take 12 courses, outlined as follows. Students who declared the major in Literary Studies before fall 2020 but wish to follow the fall 2020 curriculum
can consult their Student Success advisor about submitting a Change of Catalog Year request. Only specific courses satisfy the major requirements, including electives.
Students may not take an Intermediate Writing Workshop unless they received a grade of B or higher in the Introduction Workshop in the same genre. Students who did not receive a B may retake the Introduction Workshop again. A minimum grade of C is required
for all other courses taken toward the major. Students who do not meet the minimum grade requirement to advance through the major and who cannot retake the necessary course must meet with the chair to determine their options. (Lang recommends that
students who are unable to meet the grade minimums in their workshops consider changing majors or switching to the Literature and Critical Analysis concentration in Literary Studies.)
Declare your major by following the process outlined in Declaring a Major. Courses should be
chosen carefully, in consultation with the departmental faculty advisor and your Student Success advisor. Track your progress using the program worksheet (below). See the university course catalog for fall 2026 Writing courses that fulfill these requirements. In choosing courses to meet requirements, students are encouraged to meet with Jennifer Firestone for questions about the Writing concentration and consult our 4-Year Lang Career Pathways Map (PDF)
for helpful steps and resources to link your academic journey to your future plans.
Overview
Students in Writing at Lang develop a unique authorial voice informed by a practiced familiarity with contemporary and classic styles. Courses emphasize essential communicative and research skills, a profound understanding of craft, and the development of personal
voice in an encouraging atmosphere. Students have opportunities to attend public readings and lectures throughout the city and in the New School graduate writing program. Elective courses, as well as internships, introduce the qualified student to
the professional standards and opportunities they may encounter after graduation. Master classes allow contemporary writers to teach their own work to students (satisfies Reading for Writers requirement). Students interested in journalism are encouraged
to consider Journalism + Design. Note that upper-level students who substituted writing workshops in journalism for writing workshops in nonfiction in previous years (before fall 2014) will have
those substitutions fully honored.
The New School Free Press, the student newspaper, is also a credit-bearing course in which students write, edit, and produce the newspaper. Release, the Writing program's literary
magazine, is edited and produced by students as well.
Faculty members in Lang's Literary Studies program regard critical and theoretical writing as a process that is as creative as writing poetry, fiction, and drama. Students are encouraged to begin with 2000-level courses in Literature (LLSL) and Writing (LLSW) as they
consider one of these two concentrations. Two required Literary Introductions courses (The Invention of Literature, offered every fall, and Literary Reinvention, offered every spring), focusing on texts from the classic to the contemporary, enable
students to build a solid foundation in literary studies and provide them with a common language and literary experience as they proceed to more advanced study. Literary Studies students can also apply to continue their writing and literature coursework
abroad beginning in their sophomore year, in Paris, London, Rome, or Verona. In their junior or senior year, all students are required to take an intensive single-text
course in which both critics and practitioners of writing explore the nuances of a major work, as well as a Reading for Writers course combining the reading of great works with creative writing.
Requirements for the BA in Literary Studies at Lang with a Writing Concentration:
Choose 2 introductory courses. All Literary Studies students (in either the
Writing or Literature and Critical Analysis concentration) must take two introductory courses. Students are advised to pay close attention to prerequisites included in course descriptions and to meet with the departmental faculty advisor.
NOTE: Literary Introductions courses are co-requisites or prerequisites for all 3000-level Literary Studies courses, unless the requirement is waived by the chair.
1 single-text or single-author course (LLST) (3–4 credits)
1 LLST-RFW Reading for Writers course, open to juniors and seniors who have taken at least two workshops (3–4 credits). Choose from:
1 LLSL Literature elective by advisement or approval (3–4 credits)
1 LLSL or LLST advanced Literature course, 3000 level or higher (3–4 credits)
Genre Requirements. Primary genre: Students must complete a three-course sequence (Intro, Intermediate, and Advanced) in the genre of their choice (Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry).* In addition to fulfilling the primary genre sequence requirement, students must complete at least two more courses in any genre for a total of five genre courses. Track your progress using the Literary Studies: Lang Writing Concentration Worksheet.
Choose 2-3 of the following introductory courses:
- LLSW 2030 Introduction to Poetry (3–4 credits)
- LLSW 2020 Introduction to Fiction (3–4 credits)
- LLSW 2010 Introduction to Nonfiction (3–4 credits)
- LTHR 2009 Introduction to Playwriting (secondary genre only) (3–4 credits)
Choose 1 or 2 of the following intermediate courses:
- LLSW 3520 Intermediate Poetry (3–4 credits)
- LLSW 3500 Intermediate Fiction (3–4 credits)
- LLSW 3510 Intermediate Nonfiction (3–4 credits)
- TDRU 2411 Intermediate Playwriting (secondary genre only) (3–4 credits)
Choose 1 or 2 of the following advanced courses:
- LLSW 4020 Advanced Poetry
- LLSW 4000 Advanced Fiction
- LLSW 4010 Advanced Nonfiction
Senior Capstone. Choose 1 of the following in consultation with the departmental faculty advisor (3–4 credits):
- Independent Senior Project
- 1 of the following senior seminars, depending on focus area. Note: As of 2022–2023, Writing senior seminars are offered only in spring semesters. Students pursuing the Writing concentration should take advanced courses no later than their fifth semester.
- LLSW 4991 Senior Seminar: Fiction (primary genre)
- LLSW 4992 Senior Seminar: Nonfiction (primary genre)
- LLSW 4993 Senior Seminar: Poetry (primary genre)
Total credits: 36–48