From playwriting to investigative journalism to graphic fiction, Yale offers a multitude of courses in creative writing - many of which are taught by professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences who combine writing experience at the highest level with a deep commitment to teaching.
This group includes Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning playwright and professor in the practice. In his recent course "Playwrighting: Dramatic Adaptation," Jacobs-Jenkins encouraged students to draw on ancient Greek tragedies to kickstart their own creative processes.
In this video - the second in a series about teaching and learning how to write at Yale - Jacobs-Jenkins and S. Maxwell Brown, a 2025 Yale College graduate who took the course, share their experiences in the class and why New Haven is a uniquely nurturing environment for the dramatic arts.
"Professor Jacobs-Jenkins teaches us that the best [dramatic] adaptations are not defined by how well you know the material," Brown says. "It's really more about what your connection is to the material."
Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is home to more than 1,000 faculty and 40 departments and programs that span the divisions of Humanities, Social Science, and Science, and provide instruction to the students of Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
