Top 11 Creative Writing Courses in Canada With Placements
Creative writing courses are not only for writers. Anyone who likes to write, read, or is just curious about the world of writing can take a creative writing course. In this post, we’ll look at the top 10 creative writing courses in Canada. Creative writing courses teach students the basics of creative writing and how to use their imagination. They also allow students to explore the creative writing genres they enjoy the most.
Creative writers come from all walks of life and have all sorts of backgrounds, so a creative writing course is an excellent way for people with other interests to learn more about this career path. Writing helps shape culture, preserves history, and influences the future.
In addition, writers can help create social change and bridge gaps in understanding with their words. A total of 1.48 million people are involved in the creative writing workforce, and the figure is growing at a steady rate of 1.7%.
Why Choose Canada for Creative Writing?
Canada, as a country, is known for its multiculturalism. It has a long history of welcoming immigrants and refugees from all over the world. In addition, unlike some countries, Canada has no immigration quotas or requirements for permanent residency. The Canadian government offers financial support to students studying creative writing.
The Canada Cultural Investment Fund offers this support, which provides grants and scholarships. Creative writing courses in Canada can quickly help you to find employment opportunities in the country, as there are many publishers and digital agencies that need writers on a full-time basis.
Some big names are Penguin Random House Canada, HarperCollins Canada, and Dundurn Press. Creative writers can also apply for permanent residency once they meet specific criteria, such as continuously staying in Canada for two years and working full-time at a qualified job.
Job security is promising for creative writers in Canada, especially with the vast number of English Canadian publishing houses. In addition, Canadian culture provides creative writers with a chance to develop new ideas for their stories, which helps them express their stories through writing better.
As time passes, creative writing students will have an excellent opportunity to work their way up from entry-level positions and find new ways to grow in the field.
Part-time Work in Canada
If you plan to enroll in creative writing courses in Canada, you may seek ways to manage your budget with a part-time job. Education in Canada is undoubtedly expensive. Part-time work for international students in Canada will provide an additional source of income that may be used to balance some of the costs of studying and living in Canada.
With student employment in Canada, you will gain financial independence and learn how to manage your finances while living independently in a new country. It will educate you on how to spend money wisely and save money. You will also acquire a growth attitude and search for ways to achieve more as a result of this.
After reviewing the qualifying criteria for the top part-time employment for international students in Canada, keep in mind the Immigration Department’s laws and regulations.
Work Permit:
Before you begin working, you and your employer must ensure that you may work off campus without a work permit. If you start working off campus but fail to satisfy the standards, you may be required to leave Canada. You can start working in Canada once your Creative writing program has started.
However, you cannot work till you begin your education. If you may work while studying, it will be stated in the requirements of your study permit. A work permit is not needed to be eligible for off-campus employment.
Types of Creative Writing Courses in Canada
Creative writing is a skill set that can be learned through various writing courses in Canada. Multiple levels are available, from college or university to certificate-level education. The creative writing courses in Canada range from basics, such as a bachelor’s degree or certificate, to more advanced subjects, such as Master’s degrees and PhDs.
Some schools provide online courses in creative writing. These courses are available for students who wish to take an academic writing course with the assistance of a professor. They can also be self-taught, depending on what students are looking for.
Top 11 Creative Writing Courses in Canada
1. IIM SKILLS
IIM SKILLS is the no. 1 institution that has been transforming individuals into professional writers. If you don’t want to travel from one location to another or stick to a certain schedule, IIM SKILLS is the best place for you. Furthermore, you not only save time but also cash, which can be spent on other objectives as they conduct online classes at a very affordable price.
IIM SKILLS is a place that has worldwide recognition for its writing courses. The Content Writing Master Course includes four weeks of live online classes, as well as a three-month guaranteed internship (optional) (Flexible Hours). The 30 hours of training consists of 16 hours of lectures and 14 hours of internship sessions. IIM SKILLS is the highly recommended place for creative writing courses in Canada by industry professionals.
The IIM SKILLS Content Writing Course Benefits
It is a well-known reality that content is king in today’s digital world. In practice, the advantages of content authoring are numerous. Taking a content writing course is extremely beneficial and may lead to several employment opportunities. But what would you gain if you enroll in IIM SKILLS’ content writing training?
- Nurture the habit of writing every day.
- Explore how to release your imagination and write more effectively. Develop your writing confidence.
- Different types of writing.
- Learning different categories, including best practices for each category.
- Learn how to enhance your creative writing process so that your written stories are clear and successful.
- IIM SKILLS will help you to publish your book on online platforms.
Here are the top Online Creative Writing Courses
2. Certificate Creative Writing Course at the University of Calgary
The Certificate Creative Writing Course at the University of Calgary is designed for those who want to learn more about writing and copy editing. The course provides 200 hours of instruction, which includes lectures, workshops, and one-on-one feedback sessions. Students can write in various genres, such as fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and nonfiction.
They will also explore publishing and promoting their work. Students of the Certificate Creative Writing Course are required to write 25 pages of creative writing each semester. They will also take a break from writing for four weeks to focus on reading and critiquing other students’ work.
Their creative writing courses in Canada are delivered online, giving students access from anywhere to work while they travel or in their spare time at home. This self-paced course allows students to learn in their comfort. Students can start in the fall and wrap up in the spring, or they can begin in January and complete by December. Prerequisites for the course are high-school English and writing.
Course Requirements: Students must complete the six-part process of the program. They should read, annotate, evaluate, share, reflect, and create a final paper that is 10 to 15 pages in length.
The interactive program provides students with feedback from published authors and instructors. The certificate creative writing course at the University of Calgary has been designed to help you become a better writer while providing the necessary skills for success in this field.
3. The Creative Writing course at York University
This course is designed for students who want to develop their skills as professional writers and literary artists. The program offers a BA Honours degree, which can be completed in four years of full-time study or a four-year degree program of part-time study. This course allows learners to improve their creative writing, publishing, and reading skills, focusing on the contemporary world.
Students are introduced to and encouraged to participate in discussions about their writing and that of other writers within an interdisciplinary context. As well as gaining practical experience through published work, students will be expected to develop critical skills for literary texts from worldwide languages and cultures.
Their creative writing courses in Canada will explore prose in the modern and postmodern eras and issues derived from gender and sexual difference, globalization, and transnationalism. The goal is to boost students to think more critically about literary texts by reading across disciplines, periods, languages, and cultures.
4. The Department of English at the University of Toronto
This course offers a BA Hons degree with a significant concentration in Creative Writing (English). The curriculum covers fiction, poetry, drama, and literary nonfiction, emphasizing the practical aspects of writing, such as submissions, editing, and publishing. A BA Hons degree with a primary specialization in Creative Writing (English) and an MA Hons degree with a major concentration in Creative Writing is available. The course also offers a critical introduction to the publishing industry and the role of books in society.
The Planned Learning Outcomes
- Familiarity with the history of the book
- Knowledge of the publishing industry
- Understanding different types of books and what distinguishes them
- Develop a critical awareness that books are social products.
In addition to in-depth analysis, students can go deeper into this topic by reading a specific text at their convenience. This lesson will have some of the following activities.
- Discussion on what a narrative and a non-narrative text are and how they differ
- Read texts by Jacques Derrida, Tolstoy, and David Foster Wallace.
- Discussion on why these texts are considered narratives even though they do not adhere strictly to thematic coherence or chronological order.
Must check out the best Creative Writing Courses in the UK
5. Master of Arts in English At the University of Windsor – Creative Writing and Language and Literature
The Master of Arts in English – Creative Writing and Language and Literature program at the University of Windsor is a one-year, full-time program. It is designed for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in English, English Literature, or another discipline. These creative writing courses in Canada will help you to explore various genres of creative writing, literary criticism, and language studies.
It also provides opportunities for graduate seminar courses that explore multiple aspects of creative writing from different perspectives. The Creative Writing program offers a supportive environment to help students develop their creative thinking skills and learn about the power of language through writing.
In addition, the program provides many opportunities for graduate students, such as workshops that allow them to meet with published authors, world-renowned editors, agents, and university professors. These opportunities offer students the chance to hear advice from established writers, teacher-educators, and professors.
In addition to its graduate studies, the Creative Writing Programme supports undergraduate majors in Creative Writing as Literary Studies, English Literature with creative writing options, and Journalism with a creative writing option. As well the University of Windsor offers many scholarships and internships for international students.
The University of Windsor (ON, Canada) is currently ranked among the top 100 institutions in the world and offers some of the best creative writing courses in Canada. This ranking is based on research citations and volumes, quality and quantity of faculty, international outlook, employer reputation, student-to-faculty ratio, endowment per capita (valuation), and alums donations (valuation).
In addition, the Canadian business magazine “Fortune” has ranked Windsor as Canada’s second-best university for business in its 2019 rankings.
6. Creative Writing – Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (Honours) At Trent University
Their creative writing courses in Canada strongly focus on prose and poetry writing workshops. These workshops teach students about the craft of writing and help them improve their skills in this area. The creative writing course at Trent University is an undergraduate degree program that teaches students how to write novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and poems.
The program also features workshops on prose and poetry writing that help students improve their skills in these areas. The course is also meant for students who want to explore and develop a creative practice to supplement their current study discipline. The option is intended to allow students to study the theory and practice of writing and apply what they learn via writing exercises, projects, and workshops.
Students will broaden their writing arsenal, form writing communities, acquire rewriting strategies, and create ways to produce ideas while developing portfolios in poetry, prose fiction, creative nonfiction, and scriptwriting.
7. Bachelor of Arts – Creative Writing, Winnipeg Canada
Their creative writing courses in Canada focus not just on reading and analyzing literary art but also on knowing how to produce it. The 4-Year BA allows students to explore various courses, gain a deeper grasp of language, literature, and culture, and improve their writing, reading, and critical thinking abilities.
This degree gives information and practical skills that can be applied in any situation or job. Critical writers are necessary for professions such as commerce, medicine, law, public service, and politics. More specifically, studying English can lead to careers in teaching or writing-related fields such as news reporting, publishing, commercial advertising, and public relations.
The Creative Writing discipline focuses not only on reading and analyzing literary works but also on learning how to produce them.
Find here the in-demand Creative Writing Courses in New Zealand
8. Creative Writing at the University of Waterloo
The English Department at Waterloo University is home to internationally renowned scholars. These seminars will teach critical communication, analysis, critical thinking, and persuasive skills. Your understanding of language and culture will benefit you whether you want to be a creative writer, technical communicator, public relations expert, lawyer, or CEO.
Established fiction, nonfiction, and poetry authors teach you to develop your creative writing talents. In addition, you will learn communication design, editing, and professional writing abilities. This major is unique in Canada and will teach you how to write everything from marketing brochures to the next epic novel!
Many of their classes are limited to 40 people, allowing you to engage with peers and lecturers. Create an outstanding résumé. If you select co-op, you can use your studies throughout your work periods, explore careers, and make money simultaneously! You will study rhetoric and the art of persuasion.
Then, concentrate on digital media, where you’ll combine cutting-edge technology with tried-and-true communication methods. Or, from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf, delve into the delights and insights of English literature. Finally, with the finest at Waterloo, you’ll study some of the best creative writing courses in Canada.
The tuition cost is $48,000 for international students. However, this information is liable to change without notice, and we strongly advise you to contact the institution before applying to confirm essential details.
You can also add one of the minors, such as Political Science, Communication Studies, or Classical Studies, accessible to all University of Waterloo students. Contact a student ambassador to learn more about their program, classes, becoming engaged on campus, and other opportunities!
9. Creative Writing at the University of New Brunswick
The English Honours or Majors curriculum includes a creative writing option. Students enrolled in the Creative Writing program must fulfill the standard English requirements and take courses in relevant creative writing topics. Along with the Bachelor of Arts degree, the Creative Writing program is accessible as a major, minor, double major, or honors option.
The Bachelor of Arts is a four-year degree that focuses on the study of human beings as well as the evolution and character of global communities, ideas, and organizations. You will choose courses in the languages, humanities, social sciences, science, and business during your first two years of arts to give you a broad foundation for further study in your preferred subject area during the last two years.
An English degree enables you to build transferable, practical abilities such as writing, critical thinking, and communication, which companies require in most job circumstances. Concentrating your studies on a major helps you obtain transferrable skills that appeal to certain businesses and sectors, such as those listed below.
You’ll Learn in Their Creative Writing Courses in Canada:
- Write for different readers and learn to organize your written work.
- Analyze your reading and debate intelligently.
- Think creatively and summarise concepts.
10. Associate of Arts Degree – Creative Writing at Capilano University
If you want to devote yourself to modern literature and creative writing, start with the Creative Writing Associate of Arts degree at CapU. Fine-tune your writing skills with the help of practicing authors who specialize in poetry, novels, creative nonfiction, micro-fiction, children’s writing, radio, and short film screenplays.
You’ll spend your first year studying several genres before branching out in your second year to study children’s poetry, nonfiction, playwriting, fiction, and writing. Finally, you’ll graduate with an associate’s degree.
11. Creative Writing Program at Carleton University
Carleton University’s Creative Writing Concentration, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, provides students with an intriguing array of workshop-based courses in genres such as fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and more. Their creative writing courses in Canada teach students how to edit their peers’ work and provides them with a practical understanding of creating, polishing, and publishing creative writing.
In addition, the curriculum is designed to instill confidence in students and encourage them to articulate themselves in transparent, relevant ways across various professional pathways. They also offer a first-year workshop course called “ENGL 1500: Introduction to Creative Writing,” open to students from any academic unit who desire to express themselves creatively.
Learners who have maintained the required GPA in their fourth year can work independently with a faculty member to write a longer, self-guided novel in a selected genre. It is incredible to watch students go from writing short prompts in their first or second year to finishing a novella or collection of tales in only a few years of focused, immersive learning inside the specialization.
Learning about creative writing occurs both within and outside the classroom at Carleton. For example, the English Department actively promotes connections between their students and Ottawa’s vibrant literary community, which includes the Verse Fest and the Ottawa International Writers Festival.
Entry for both is free to Carleton students. The writing experts who lead our workshops are essentially facilitators, allowing students to share, debate, and gauge their own and their peers’ writing in a friendly, supportive setting. As part of their writing development, students are frequently allowed to attend and analyze live readings, exhibits, or theatre at the Carleton University Art Gallery.
FAQs
1. What educational background is needed to become a creative writer?
There are no prerequisites for being a writer. However, you must have strong research abilities, be able to come up with concepts that will sell, and be able to articulate ideas creatively. However, a bachelor’s degree or creative writing courses in Canada can help to become a better writer by acquiring critical skills such as writing ability, creativity, capacity to work independently, and self-promotion ability. Those with a bachelor’s degree in English, communication, or journalism can also pursue a writing profession. A person interested in the liberal arts can also aspire to work as a writer.
2. How do I start as a creative writer?
It would be best if you are always writing and keeping an eye out for creative ideas that come to you. Always have a point and be open to rewriting. No writer ever gets it perfect on the first try. Read, read, read, and get to know your audience. Narrow your tone to appeal to a specific demographic. Get involved in writing workshops where you will get the opportunity to meet other writers. Learn how to creatively use metaphors, similes, and other literary elements in your writing to create fascinating settings.
3. Is creative writing a promising career?
The ability to write creatively may be employed in a variety of areas. This talent is beneficial for personal enjoyment as well as job advancement. Creative writing may be a successful and gratifying professional path if you have a creative flair and want to explore your choices. Writers are storytellers who use their creativity to produce new works of art or literature. They may also provide editorial services such as beta reading, proofreading, and copy editing. You may become a creative writer based on your interests – you can specialize in one topic or market area, but all writers are passionate about producing fiction.
4. Is Canada a good country for creative writers?
Canada fosters creative writing. The northern country is home to many great literary characters and writers whose works have been acclaimed worldwide for decades. As a result, Canadian literature has impacted the world, from old classics like The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence to recent works like Women Talking.
Conclusion
Canada stands out above other nations for English study, owing to its cosmopolitan cities with a high standard of living; its world-class colleges, which offer a wide range of English programs; and its friendly attitude toward all international students. Choose wisely from a range of creative writing courses in Canada. Language schools in Canada often provide a variety of programs to cater to various people and requirements. Some emphasize English classes for adults, such as professionals and executives. Others concentrate on programs for young people or existing college students. In addition to the creative writing curriculum, you should consider the institute’s location, weather, and prestige.