One of the few such programs in the country, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing is an intensive and exhaustive course of study in the fine art of writing. The curriculum includes basic craft courses in poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction, and a series of graduate genre workshops that provide intensive and personal attention to the student's own writing. There are also a series of courses in criticism and theory, and a sequence of literature coures designed to famliarize the student with the significant work in all three genres from both the modern and postmodern eras. This course work is supported by an established reading series which brings writers of national stature to campus to read from their works and talk with students. In addition, the student has the opoprtunity to serve on the editorial staff of the national literary journal, Lake Effect, an opportunity which provides invaluable experience that adds to the student's familiarity with the work of contemporary writers.

The B.F.A in Creative Writing is offered by Penn State's Behrend College.