Creative Immersion Institute
In this institute, you will not only develop your storytelling and creative writing skills; you will also experience the impact of a university community on your writing. As you experiment in a number of creative writing genres (photo essays, poetry, memoir, scripts), you’ll share your projects with other students—and reflect on their projects. Morning workshop will be a place where we experiment with writing prompts and experience the power of workshop, as we share our projects. Afternoon sessions will be a place for us to engage with writers from across the WashU campus and responding to prompts designed to focus on a particular skill. For instance: performing arts faculty might share an exercise in gesture & body language that inspires a line in your poetry. Environmental studies faculty will share perspectives that shape your fictional descriptions of place. Campus librarians will inspire your understanding of history and memoir as we learn from campus archives. Above all, you will experience creative writing at WashU—and transform your writing as you explore these new perspectives.
This program is ideal for students with a strong interest in creative writing or performing arts. While this program is designed to build confidence, students should come prepared to share their work and receive constructive feedback from peers and instructors.
Prerequisite: one year of high school English
Our High School Summer Institutes were created for students to experience college-level curriculum without the pressure of a letter grade. Each institute has a specific theme or focus and includes traditional undergraduate classroom activities like lectures, discussions, small group collaboration, and final projects. Students explore the connections between different fields of study as they examine scholarly text and engage with WashU affiliated instructors. These programs are designed for students to ask questions, collaborate with peers, and consider new ideas. Class sizes are small (typically between 15-20 students) to ensure student receive personalized feedback from instructors.
