AUR’s B.A. English Writing, Literature, and Publishing program has been designed to help students find their narrative voice and thus create a unique tool that will enable them to develop and contribute wherever creative writing, reporting, and storytelling are required, in fiction and nonfiction settings. The Bachelor Degree in English Writing, Literature, and Publishing is a major that allows students to explore how language and narrative construct the world around us.

Storytelling is everywhere

Storytelling is much more than lowbrow entertainment or highbrow literature. Our entire social world revolves around storytelling, and we have become more and more aware of this fact not only in the arts, but also in economics, politics, and daily life.

A complete package

In the English Writing, Literature, and Publishing program all three aspects come together to help students find their voice, refine their talent, and gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the world of writing and publishing.

Unlimited career pathways

With a focus on writing and literature, students can go on to pursue graduate work in literary studies or an MFA in writing. They are also taught web design and technological skills to be competitive in the world of journalism and magazine publishing. Our creative writing track allows students who want to write to pursue their literary, as well as journalistic talents.

Alongside the pursuit of more traditional elements relating to language and literature, undergraduates may hone their skills in contemporary fields relating to the discipline; for example, core courses in British and American literature are paired with an elective in print graphics or podcasting. They are also taught web design and technology skills to be competitive in the world of journalism and magazine publishing. For students who want to write, we have a creative writing concentration that allows them to pursue their literary talents, as well as their journalistic talents.

In keeping with our interdisciplinary approach, we encourage diversity in the choice of courses, including electives outside of students’ main program of study. Students, therefore, have the opportunity to explore other realms of the humanities, from Communication to Classics, Business to Film, and in doing so learn to appreciate diverse perspectives on their studies and approach their degree with a broader skill set.

Various courses within English Writing, Literature, and Publishing, (often in partnership with the program in Communications & Digital Media) offer students the opportunity to visit a variety of publishing and media production sites and events in and around Rome. Recent off-site study trips have included the Cinecittà Film Studios, the newspapers La Repubblica, Il Messaggero, and Il Fatto Quotidiano, ANSA news agency, the Rome offices of the Associated Press, the RAI TV studios, the Journalism Festival in Perugia, TEDxRome, etc. Students learn directly from the professionals who manage and work within these industries.

Writing, literature, and publishing - as a combination, these subjects open a myriad of career opportunities. We tell stories about products (marketing and advertising), the state or future of the countries where we live (elections, speeches, rhetoric, legislation, supreme court decisions), peace and conflict (civilizations and their discontents, negotiations, press conferences), the past and the present (history, news, memoirs), and even ourselves and other people (Facebook, resumes, Twitter, opinion polls). We also tell stories to entertain, teach, inform and enrich the lives of others. This program is designed to address all aspects of this multifaceted discipline and is genre neutral - for the poets, the playwrights, the speechwriters, the journalists, the romantics, the thrillers, the copywriters, and the legislators.

AUR's English Writing, Literature, and Publishing faculty includes talented, award-winning, authors covering the spectrum of genres - from children's books to travel writing and from autobiographers to novelists, poets, and journalists. Few programs can boast such an international and experienced faculty, each of them dedicated to bringing the very best out of their students.