Your choice of a course dedicated to children’s writing may have a profound effect on your success, so it’s important to have clear evidence that the school you select is professionally qualified and approved by official educational and business organizations, and that it has the good will of its current and former students.

Following are credentials that the Institute of Children’s Literature and our course, Writing for Children and Teenagers, have established since our founding in 1969.

Official State Educational Approval:  Our course is approved by the Connecticut Commissioner of Higher Education, which is our state board of education and the authority that licenses all colleges, universities, technical institutes, and proprietary schools in the state, including Yale and the University of Connecticut.

You Earn College Credits:  The Connecticut Board for State Academic Awards recommends that students who complete our course be awarded six college credits. No matter where you live, these credits may be obtained from Charter Oak State College, which functions under the degree-granting authority of the Connecticut Board. You can have these credits submitted on a Charter Oak transcript to any college or university. (If you are a teacher, your transcript will be sent to your school board, at your request.)

High Satisfaction Ratings:  Of 1,400 colleges and universities surveyed over several years by U.S. News & World Report, the highest-ranking institution, in terms of student satisfaction, scored 73%. By comparison, 88.1% of those who recently completed our course report that they were “very satisfied”; 96% “would do it all over again”; and 95.2% “would recommend our course to a good friend.”

Professional Faculty:  All of our instructors are highly professional published writers or editors whom we have trained to teach our course. One-third are former students who are successful freelance writers as well as instructors. The 24,000 stories and articles they have written have appeared in a wide range of magazines and newspapers and on the Internet, and they have published over 2,100 books. They have also won virtually every award in the field of children’s literature.

Personal One-on-One Instruction:  Each student is assigned to his or her own personal instructor and they work together, one-on-one, for the duration of the course. This tutorial technique has been used exclusively by the Institute because it has proved to be the most effective method ever developed to teach people how to write for publication.

Verification from Our Students:  Hundreds of current and former students in the U.S. and Canada have volunteered to give new applicants the benefit of their experience in the course. If you pass our test, call our Information Services toll-free at 800-243-9645 for the names and addresses of students in your area.

Admission Eligibility:  Since our founding in 1969, we have required all applicants to complete our Aptitude Test for Children’s Writing. Only those applicants who pass are eligible to enroll in our course.

Expert Consultation:  Our Student Counselors are available five days a week to answer any questions about any aspect of the course, the textbooks and teaching materials, and your assignments. Call weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern time.

Student Success:  On average, more than 1,100 of our students, including those who have completed our course, are published every year. Following in the footsteps of our teaching faculty, they have won many awards in children’s literature, including the highest of all honors, the Newbery Medal.