mfa programs creative writing abroad

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Welcome to the Cedar Crest College Low-Residency Pan-European MFA in Creative Writing.

We’d like you to join us on a creative journey as you work toward the completion of your master’s degree and the creation of a publishable work of literature. Study fiction, poetry, nonfiction, travel writing, or a dual genre with award-winning faculty members in inspiring locations across Europe.

The Cedar Crest College Pan-European Creative Writing MFA program offers gifted students from around the world a unique opportunity to unite for three fifteen-day intensive workshops, held in European locations rich in culture and literary significance. The remainder of your studies will take place on your time and in your home, led by faculty members and supported by an international community of students.

Our residencies rotate between Dublin, Ireland; Barcelona, Spain; and Vienna, Austria, with new locations to be offered in the future. The residencies take place during the first two weeks of July.

Wherever you live, wherever you write, you become part of a vibrant literary community when you join the Pan-European MFA program. We look forward to meeting you, working with you, and guiding you toward publication.

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“A book is simply the container of an idea—like a bottle; what is inside the book is what matters.” - Angela Carter

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“A word after a word after a word is power.” - Margaret Atwood

Learn More:The MFA Experience

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15 Best Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2024

May 15, 2024

Whether you studied at a top creative writing university or are a high school dropout who will one day become a bestselling author , you may be considering an MFA in Creative Writing. But is a writing MFA genuinely worth the time and potential costs? How do you know which program will best nurture your writing? If you’re considering an MFA, this article walks you through the best full-time, low residency, and online Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.

What are the best Creative Writing MFA programs?

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, let’s start with the basics. What is an MFA, anyway?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications typically require a sample portfolio, usually 10-20 pages (and sometimes up to 30-40) of your best writing. Moreover, you can receive an MFA in a particular genre, such as Fiction or Poetry, or more broadly in Creative Writing. However, if you take the latter approach, you often have the opportunity to specialize in a single genre.

Wondering what actually goes on in a creative writing MFA beyond inspiring award-winning books and internet memes ? You enroll in workshops where you get feedback on your creative writing from your peers and a faculty member. You enroll in seminars where you get a foundation of theory and techniques. Then, you finish the degree with a thesis project. Thesis projects are typically a body of polished, publishable-quality creative work in your genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

Why should I get an MFA in Creative Writing?

You don’t need an MFA to be a writer. Just look at Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison or bestselling novelist Emily St. John Mandel.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons you might still want to get a creative writing MFA. The first is, unfortunately, prestige. An MFA from a top program can help you stand out in a notoriously competitive industry to be published.

The second reason: time. Many MFA programs give you protected writing time, deadlines, and maybe even a (dainty) salary.

Third, an MFA in Creative Writing is a terminal degree. This means that this degree allows you to teach writing at the university level, especially after you publish a book.

Fourth: resources. MFA programs are often staffed by brilliant, award-winning writers; offer lecture series, volunteer opportunities, and teaching positions; and run their own (usually prestigious) literary magazines. Such resources provide you with the knowledge and insight you’ll need to navigate the literary and publishing world on your own post-graduation.

But above all, the biggest reason to pursue an MFA is the community it brings you. You get to meet other writers—and share feedback, advice, and moral support—in relationships that can last for decades.

Types of Creative Writing MFA Programs

Here are the different types of programs to consider, depending on your needs:

Fully-Funded Full-Time Programs

These programs offer full-tuition scholarships and sweeten the deal by actually paying you to attend them.

• Pros: You’re paid to write (and teach).
• Cons: Uprooting your entire life to move somewhere possibly very cold.

Full-Time MFA Programs

These programs include attending in-person classes and paying tuition (though many offer need-based and merit scholarships).

• Pros: Lots of top-notch non-funded programs have more assets to attract world-class faculty and guests.
• Cons: It’s an investment that might not pay itself back.

Low-Residency MFA Programs

Low-residency programs usually meet biannually for short sessions. They also offer one-on-one support throughout the year. These MFAs are more independent, preparing you for what the writing life is actually like.

• Pros: No major life changes required. Cons: Less time dedicated to writing and less time to build relationships.

Online MFA Programs

Held 100% online. These programs have high acceptance rates and no residency requirement. That means zero travel or moving expenses.

• Pros: No major life changes required.
• Cons: These MFAs have less name recognition.

The Top 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs Ranked by Category

The following programs are selected for their balance of high funding, impressive return on investment, stellar faculty, major journal publications , and impressive alums.

FULLY FUNDED MFA PROGRAMS

1) johns hopkins university , mfa in fiction/poetry.

This two-year program offers an incredibly generous funding package: $39,000 teaching fellowships each year. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and the option to apply for a lecture position after graduation. Many grads publish their first book within three years (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).

• Location: Baltimore, MD
• Incoming class size: 8 students (4 per genre)
• Admissions rate: 4-8%
• Alumni: Chimamanda Adichie, Jeffrey Blitz, Wes Craven, Louise Erdrich, Porochista Khakpour, Phillis Levin, ZZ Packer, Tom Sleigh, Elizabeth Spires, Rosanna Warren

2) University of Texas, James Michener Center

The only MFA that offers full and equal funding for every writer. It’s three years long, offers a generous yearly stipend of $30k, and provides full tuition plus a health insurance stipend. Fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting concentrations are available. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $4,000 for the summer.

• Location : Austin, TX
• Incoming class size : 12 students
• Acceptance rate: a bone-chilling less-than-1% in fiction; 2-3% in other genres
• Alumni: Fiona McFarlane, Brian McGreevy, Karan Mahajan, Alix Ohlin, Kevin Powers, Lara Prescott, Roger Reeves, Maria Reva, Domenica Ruta, Sam Sax, Joseph Skibell, Dominic Smith

3) University of Iowa

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a 2-year program on a residency model for fiction and poetry. This means there are low requirements, and lots of time to write groundbreaking novels or play pool at the local bar. All students receive full funding, including tuition, a living stipend, and subsidized health insurance. The Translation MFA , co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years long but with more intensive coursework. The Nonfiction Writing Program is a prestigious three-year MFA program and is also intensive.

• Incoming class size: 25 each for poetry and fiction; 10-12 for nonfiction and translation.
• Acceptance rate: 2.7-3.7%
• Fantastic Alumni: Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, Garth Greenwell, Kiley Reid, Brandon Taylor, Eula Biss, Yiyun Li, Jennifer Croft

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued) 

4) university of michigan.

Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students in UMichigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. This is a big university town, which is less damaging to your social life. Plus, there’s lots to do when you have a $25,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.

This is a 2-3-year program in either fiction or poetry, with an impressive reputation. They also have a demonstrated commitment to “ push back against the darkness of intolerance and injustice ” and have outreach programs in the community.

• Location: Ann Arbor, MI
• Incoming class size: 18 (9 in each genre)
• Acceptance rate: 2%
• Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward

5) Brown University

Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that only occasionally dips into arctic temperatures. All students are fully funded for 2 years, which includes tuition remission and a $32k yearly stipend. Students also get summer funding and—you guessed it—that sweet, sweet health insurance.

In the Brown Literary Arts MFA, students take only one workshop and one elective per semester. It’s also the only program in the country to feature a Digital/Cross Disciplinary Track.  Fiction and Poetry Tracks are offered as well.

• Location: Providence, RI
• Incoming class size: 12-13
• Acceptance rate: “highly selective”
• Alumni: Edwidge Danticat, Jaimy Gordon, Gayl Jones, Ben Lerner, Joanna Scott, Kevin Young, Ottessa Moshfegh

6) University of Arizona

This 3-year program with fiction, poetry, and nonfiction tracks has many attractive qualities. It’s in “ the lushest desert in the world, ” and was recently ranked #4 in creative writing programs, and #2 in Nonfiction. You can take classes in multiple genres, and in fact, are encouraged to do so. Plus, Arizona’s dry heat is good for arthritis.

This notoriously supportive program is fully funded. Moreover, teaching assistantships that provide a salary, health insurance, and tuition waiver are offered to all students. Tucson is home to a hopping literary scene, so it’s also possible to volunteer at multiple literary organizations and even do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.

• Location: Tucson, AZ
• Incoming class size: usually 6
• Acceptance rate: 1.2% (a refreshingly specific number after Brown’s evasiveness)
• Alumni: Francisco Cantú, Jos Charles, Tony Hoagland, Nancy Mairs, Richard Russo, Richard Siken, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, David Foster Wallace

7) Arizona State University 

With concentrations in fiction and poetry, Arizona State is a three-year funded program in arthritis-friendly dry heat. It offers small class sizes, individual mentorships, and one of the most impressive faculty rosters in the game. Moreover, it encourages cross-genre study.

Funding-wise, everyone has the option to take on a teaching assistantship position, which provides a tuition waiver, health insurance, and a yearly stipend of $25k. Other opportunities for financial support exist as well.

• Location: Tempe, AZ
• Incoming class size: 8-10
• Acceptance rate: 3% (sigh)
• Alumni: Tayari Jones, Venita Blackburn, Dorothy Chan, Adrienne Celt, Dana Diehl, Matthew Gavin Frank, Caitlin Horrocks, Allegra Hyde, Hugh Martin, Bonnie Nadzam

FULL-RESIDENCY MFAS (UNFUNDED)

8) new york university.

This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU also has one of the most accomplished faculty lists anywhere. Students have large cohorts (more potential friends!) and have a penchant for winning top literary prizes. Concentrations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are available.

• Location: New York, NY
• Incoming class size: ~60; 20-30 students accepted for each genre
• Acceptance rate: 6-9%
• Alumni: Nick Flynn, Nell Freudenberger, Aracelis Girmay, Mitchell S. Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, John Keene, Raven Leilani, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong

9) Columbia University

Another 2-3 year private MFA program with drool-worthy permanent and visiting faculty. Columbia offers courses in fiction, poetry, translation, and nonfiction. Beyond the Ivy League education, Columbia offers close access to agents, and its students have a high record of bestsellers. Finally, teaching positions and fellowships are available to help offset the high tuition.

• Incoming class size: 110
• Acceptance rate: not publicized (boo)
• Alumni: Alexandra Kleeman, Rachel Kushner, Claudia Rankine, Rick Moody, Sigrid Nunez, Tracy K. Smith, Emma Cline, Adam Wilson, Marie Howe, Mary Jo Bang

10) Sarah Lawrence 

Sarah Lawrence offers a concentration in speculative fiction in addition to the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction choices. Moreover, they encourage cross-genre exploration. With intimate class sizes, this program is unique because it offers biweekly one-on-one conferences with its stunning faculty. It also has a notoriously supportive atmosphere, and many teaching and funding opportunities are available.

• Location: Bronxville, NY
• Incoming class size: 30-40
• Acceptance rate: not publicized
• Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado

LOW RESIDENCY

11) bennington college.

This two-year program boasts truly stellar faculty, and meets twice a year for ten days in January and June. It’s like a biannual vacation in beautiful Vermont, plus mentorship by a famous writer. The rest of the time, you’ll be spending approximately 25 hours per week on reading and writing assignments. Students have the option to concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Uniquely, they can also opt for a dual-genre focus.

The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available. Additionally, Bennington offers full-immersion teaching fellowships to MFA students, which are extremely rare in low-residency programs.

• Location: Bennington, VT
• Acceptance rate: 53%
• Incoming class: 25-35
• Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others

12)  Institute for American Indian Arts

This two-year program emphasizes Native American and First Nations writing. With truly amazing faculty and visiting writers, they offer a wide range of genres, including screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. In addition, each student is matched with a faculty mentor who works with them one-on-one throughout the semester.

Students attend two eight-day residencies each year, in January and July, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At $12,000 in tuition a year, it boasts being “ one of the most affordable MFA programs in the country .”

• Location: Santa Fe, NM
• Incoming class size : 21
• Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder

13) Vermont College of Fine Arts

VCFA is the only graduate school on this list that focuses exclusively on the fine arts. Their MFA in Writing offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction; they also offer an MFA in Literary Translation and one of the few MFAs in Writing for Children and Young Adults . Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, either in-person or online. Here, they receive one-on-one mentorship that continues for the rest of the semester. You can also do many travel residencies in exciting (and warm) places like Cozumel.

VCFA boasts amazing faculty and visiting writers, with individualized study options and plenty of one-on-one time. Tuition for the full two-year program is approximately $54k.

• Location : Various; 2024/25 residencies are in Colorado and California
• Incoming class size: 18-25
• Acceptance rate: 63%
• Alumnx: Lauren Markham, Mary-Kim Arnold, Cassie Beasley, Kate Beasley, Julie Berry, Bridget Birdsall, Gwenda Bond, Pablo Cartaya

ONLINE MFAS

14) university of texas at el paso.

UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Accordingly, this program is geared toward serious writers who want to pursue teaching and/or publishing. Intensive workshops allow submissions in Spanish and/or English, and genres include poetry and fiction.

No residencies are required, but an optional opportunity to connect in person is available every year. This three-year program costs about $25-30k total, depending on whether you are an in-state or out-of-state resident.

• Location: El Paso, TX
• Acceptance rate: “highly competitive”
• Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here

15) Bay Path University

This 2-year online, no-residency program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. Featuring a supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and an optional yearly field trip to Ireland.

There are many tracks, including publishing, narrative medicine, and teaching creative writing. Moreover, core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, food/travel writing, and the personal essay. Tuition is approximately $31,000 for the entire program, with scholarships available.

• Location: Longmeadow, MA
• Incoming class size: 20
• Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs — Final Thoughts

Whether you’re aiming for a fully funded, low residency, or completely online MFA program, there are plenty of incredible options available—all of which will sharpen your craft while immersing you in the vibrant literary arts community.

Hoping to prepare for your MFA in advance? You might consider checking out the following:

• Best English Programs
• Best Colleges for Creative Writing
• Writing Summer Programs
• Best Writing Competitions for High School Students

Inspired to start writing? Get your pencil ready:

• 100 Creative Writing Prompts 
• 1 00 Tone Words to Express Mood in Your Writing
• 60 Senior Project Ideas
• Common App Essay Prompts

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs – References:

• https://www.pw.org/mfa
• The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students , by Tom Kealey (A&C Black 2005)
• Graduate School Admissions

Julia Conrad

With a Bachelor of Arts in English and Italian from Wesleyan University as well as MFAs in both Nonfiction Writing and Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, Julia is an experienced writer, editor, educator, and a former Fulbright Fellow. Julia’s work has been featured in  The Millions ,  Asymptote , and  The Massachusetts Review , among other publications. To read more of her work, visit  www.juliaconrad.net

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• university of new orleans
• creative writing online mfa

Creative Writing Online MFA

The Creative Writing Workshop Online MFA is our non-resident graduate program in fiction writing, nonfiction writing, and poetry writing, which culminates in the MFA degree. The Online MFA is taught by the same award-winning faculty of writers as the resident program. 

About Creative Writing Online MFA

How it works.

UNO's innovative Online MFA program gives students from all over the world a chance to study with our award-winning faculty through online courses in spring and fall semesters. A highly ranked studio/research program, UNO's MFA degree trains students through writing workshops and literary studies. With 45 required hours, students can complete the degree by going full time for 5 semesters. Students also have the ability to go part time if work and or other obligations do not allow for full time study. As all Online MFA students pay "in state" tuition, and are not responsible for "non-resident" fees, UNO's program remains one the most flexible and affordable options for serious writers to earn the terminal degree in their field.

How It's Different

Unlike many Low Residency or distance learning MFA programs in which students are paired with a single faculty member for the duration of their studies, UNO's Online MFA is organized into standard semesters, providing students the benefit of exposure to a variety of professors in each genre over the course of their studies as well as continuous interaction with their classmates. Strong, often life-long writing relationships result from this approach, so that students leave the program with a writing community to support their growth after graduation.

• Degree Requirements
• Financial support
• How to Apply
• UNO Graduate School
• Creative Writing Workshop (Resident) MFA
• Creative Writing Books
• Bayou Magazine

Rosanna Koster’ s fiction appeared in the Gihon River Review.

Editor’s Top Selections – Best Creative Writing MFA Programs

Created by CreativeWritingEDU.org Contributor

Once few and far between, master’s degrees aimed specifically at teaching creative writing have ballooned to meet demand in recent years. As of 2022, there were more than 300 of them.

Each MFA offers a distinctive experience and comes with its own theories and techniques for fanning the creative spark in students.

• Some come with exquisite and carefully curated libraries exhibiting the finest selection of literature for study.
• Others offer a fully-funded education , covering tuition and offering a stipend to give you the free time you need to write to your fullest potential.
• Many have well-known authors serving as guest lecturers or even permanent presenters, offering a kind of access to genius you can’t find anywhere else.

It’s nice to have choices, but having choices also means making hard decisions. We’re here to help take some of the pain out of that process by presenting our own select choices for the very best universities offering MFA Creative Writing programs today.

How We Made Our Selections for the Finest Creative Writing MFA Programs

Schools that only teach creative writing at the master’s level have made a conscious choice to focus on a high level of training in the craft of writing. It’s completely appropriate to hold them to high standards.

It’s notoriously difficult to weigh any kind of artistic education program against another, however. Every writer is different. The process and program that you will get the most out of may be completely different from what the next author would benefit from.

So we look at the kinds of factors these degrees deliver that don’t revolve around process. Regardless of how an advanced level of creative writing is being taught, there are just some things that offer a better education no matter how they are applied. In our view, those include:

Top-notch Instructors With Genuine Writing and Publication Expertise

There’s no substitute for professors who have been there and done that in creative writing. Competition for top writers to teach at creative writing MFA programs is intense, and for good reason: when you are trying to master the muse, you want to hear about it from someone who already has.

But literary success is no guarantor of teaching ability. You wouldn’t want to be in a class taught by brilliant sci-fi author Harlan Ellison, for example, who has a whole section on his Wikipedia entry titled “Temperament.” Mentoring and the gentle art of delivering critical feedback to boost and not hinder students are key skills.

So, the best MFA in creative writing degrees employ professors with the rare combination of literary and academic talent—which is what you will find at each of the schools on this list.

The Resources To Support Your Writing Vision

Writers only float in a sea of ideas. The top MFA programs in creative writing have the resources to fill that ocean:

• Expansive libraries for conducting research
• Endowments to help fund student fellowships
• Visiting writer and other lecture and reading series to develop broad visions and connections
• School-run or affiliated literary journals or publishers to open up publication opportunities
• International or other off-campus programs to broaden your literary experiences
• Calm and inspiring writing residency options to put you in the right frame of mind to write
• Small class sizes and workshops to foster intimacy and feedback

Although not all these programs will check every one of those boxes, each of them has a wealth of different resources to offer to help get students off the ground in both their creative exercises and their publishing careers.

A Track Record of Educational Success in Creative Writing

Most MFA programs are quick to acknowledge that you can’t teach talent—but you can foster and hone it.

That leads to demonstrable results in the form of graduates who have attracted top-dollar publishing deals, industry awards and recognition, and who have gone on to critical acclaim or even become instructors themselves.

This kind of reputation is golden in the literary world and all of these schools will have people sitting up and taking note when their name pops up in your author bio.

Strong Publishing Industry and Literary Community Connections

When you produce successful writers and hire well-known authors to instruct classes, important industry connections are an asset included in the deal. Those industry ties prove to be among the most important characteristics of the best creative writing MFA programs.

Each of these programs has developed connections to major publishers, agencies, and trade groups that help lay the groundwork for you to launch your writing career. There is fierce competition to land book deals in the publishing industry today. Every editor receives stacks and stacks of submissions and query letters; even the best authors have trouble making it out of the slush piles without a recommendation or introduction.

These schools have the kind of connections that will help get you introduced to decision-makers in big agencies and book publishers. Who you know still isn’t as important as how good your writing is, but with these programs, you’ll get the best of both worlds.

Diverse and Original Coursework in Foundational and Advanced Writing Skills

A Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing puts a clear stamp on your work. It’s designed to get the best out of your native skill and polish it to the finest shine.

That means both ironing out the fundamentals of the writing craft and developing new and advanced skills. All of these degrees have a wide range of courses and workshops that offer a deep background in the knowledge and skills required for solid plotting, character development, and essential technical expertise as a writer. But they also go far beyond those to help you seek new sources of inspiration and experience. Exploring the poetry of science fiction; diving into post-apocalyptic writing; focusing on the art of telling a joke; comparing Western and Eastern literary forms and storytelling… all these kinds of classes and more offer you an edge in taking your writing to the next level with a degree from these schools.

Helping You Choose From Among the Finest Creative Writing MFA Programs in the Nation

All those features are what make these programs the best. But the real question you need to answer is which one will actually be the best for you ?

We can help you figure that out, too. Although each of these schools comes in on top of the pack of master’s-level creative writing programs in the country in general, each also has unique features that will determine how they fit in with your personal goals and style.

So for each listing, we give you plenty of additional information to help you make your decision. That includes data on:

You’ll also get a thumbnail sketch of what makes the school a great one, outlining many of the supporting facts behind the criteria we evaluated them on. But you’ll also get some of the highlights, the things that really make them stand out, such as:

• Whether the school also offers undergraduate and doctoral degrees
• Which concentration or specializations are offered
• The formats in which the program is available
• Whether the school is public or private
• Rankings by respected third-party evaluators like The Princeton Review
• Exemplary student-published literary magazines
• Super low student-to-faculty ratios
• Unique workshops or internship opportunities offered
• Generous fellowship opportunities

It’s easy access to the kind of information that will help make your decision easy… all in one place.

State-By-State: Top Selections for the Best Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Programs in the U.S.

Competition to get into these elite MFA creative writing programs can be stiff. But if you are determined to get the finest graduate education in creative writing available today, then choosing from among these schools offers your best chances.

Find the Best MFA Creative Writing Programs in Your State

Connecticut.

District of Columbia

Massachusetts

Mississippi, new hampshire, north carolina, pennsylvania, rhode island, south carolina, university of arizona (public).

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

MFA in Creative Writing (on-campus)

Fully funded through graduate teaching assistantships

Also offers: BA in Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Both programs allow students to focus on fiction, nonfiction, or poetry
• MFA program is ranked among the top programs in the nation
• Fully funded MFA offered through graduate teaching assistantships
• MFA features unparalleled opportunities to write and research at the US-Mexico border through the Southwest Field Studies on Writing Program

The University of Arizona offers a BA and MFA in Creative Writing, both of which are part of one the top-ranked creative writing programs in the nation! Choose the BA in Creative Writing and you’ll learn from award-winning writers as you refine your skillset in writing, research, critical thinking, and literary analysis and explore the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (you’ll choose one genre as a focus after your first year of study). You’ll also be encouraged to take a variety of courses in professional and technical writing, the study of literature, writing and publishing, writing and community, and language, making this a truly well-rounded course of undergraduate study. The University of Arizona’s MFA in Creative Writing has been producing award-winning writers for 50 years and is regarded as one of the top programs of its kind in the nation. This fully funded, three-year program features your choice of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction concentration and a dynamic classroom experience that includes a world-class faculty and small, workshop-style courses.

University of Arkansas (Public)

FULBRIGHT COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Fayetteville, AR

MFA in Creative Writing & Translation (poetry, fiction, literary translation) (on-campus)

Fully funded MFA with absolutely no tuition costs for students accepted into the program

• Highly selective program admits up to five students each year in each genre (poetry, prose, and literary translation)
• Outstanding opportunities to learn from established writers through the Walton Reading Series
• Consistently ranked among the top MFA programs in the country by Poets & Writers
• Named among the “Top Five Most Innovative” programs of its kind by Atlantic Monthly

The University of Arkansas’ MFA in Creative Writing & Translation is a unique course of graduate study that’s personalized with your choice of concentration in poetry, fiction, or literary translation. This program is among the nation’s oldest MFA programs, yet never fails to impress with its dynamic, forward-thinking curriculum. In fact, it was named among the “Top Five Most Innovative” programs of its kind by Atlantic Monthly ! For more than 50 years, the university’s MFA in Creative Writing & Translation has produced some of the country’s top writers – and it’s little wonder why. The robust curriculum of this program is built on a solid foundation of coursework in craft and literary studies and complemented with a superb, student-centered learning environment that boasts small class sizes and a dedicated faculty.

University of California-Davis (Public)

COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCES

Also offers: BA in English-Creative Writing emphasis (on-campus)

• Full funding guaranteed in the second year of the MFA program in exchange for undergrad teaching positions
• Ranked among the top five public universities in the nation by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education
• MFA students choose a single genre – fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, or a multi-genre focus

The University of California – Davis offers both an undergraduate and graduate program in creative writing that are designed to inspire the emerging or established writer! Focused on the mastery of craft with a solid foundation in literary traditions, the BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis is designed to expand your knowledge and refine your writing skills in preparation for a variety of careers in areas like publishing, marketing, journalism, advertising, and more. The innovative Creative Writing MFA program features a nice blend of studio and literature courses in your choice of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or multi-genre. In the second year, you’ll teach creative writing courses to undergrad students as you prepare to become a successful practitioner in your own right. All students of the MFA are guaranteed full funding in their second year!

University of California-Irvine (Public)

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES

MFA in English-Creative Writing (Fiction, Poetry) (on-campus)

Full funding available through graduate teaching assistantships

• UCI named a Fulbright Hispanic-Serving Institution (HIS) Leader
• Your choice of poetry or fiction concentration/emphasis
• Superb student engagement and feedback through the Graduate Writers’ Workshop

The University of California – Irvine is home to the esteemed MFA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis, an exciting course of graduate study that allows students to explore poetry or fiction through dynamic workshops and seminars. Designed to bring together a talented group of writers with plans on a writing-intensive career, the MFA program is rich in close mentorship from accomplished visiting writers. This highly selective program admits just 12 new students each year to ensure one-on-one guidance and support from the program’s faculty. This program is built on the Graduate Writers’ Workshop, a group that meets each quarter to share and critique one another’s writing. Throughout the course of the program, students participate in the Graduate Writers’ Workshop and attend graduate-level seminars.

San Diego State University (Public)

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS

San Diego, CA

• Competitive graduate teaching associate positions available
• Exciting Fulbright Fellowships available to study in places like Austria, Brazil, and Poland.
• Your choice of focus in fiction, poetry, or cross-genre

San Diego State University’s MFA in Creative Writing offers is innovative, personalized, and designed to arouse your creative skillset. As one of the oldest MFA Creative Writing programs in the nation, this course of graduate study enjoys a long history of producing skilled, inspired writers. But don’t expect a stale, rote curriculum. Instead, you’ll immerse yourself in a dynamic program that includes your choice of concentration in fiction, poetry, or cross-genre as you work toward producing a manuscript of your original work. Students of this program also enjoy studying under internationally acclaimed visiting writers from around the world, and many students receive Fulbright Fellowships to study in places like Austria, Brazil, and Poland.

California College of the Arts (Private)

San Francisco, CA

MFA in Writing (on-campus)

Also offers: BA in Writing and Literature (on-campus)

• Superb faculty of accomplished scholars, writers, poets, and playwrights
• Outstanding internship opportunities with Bay Area literary organizations available

For aspiring and emerging writers, the California College of the Arts offers a BA in Writing and Literature and an MFA in Writing! The BA offers a foundation in literature and critical inquiry and dynamic workshops in prose, poetry, drama, screenwriting, graphic novels, improvisation, and more. You’ll refine your skills in literary journalism, hybrid narratives, lyric essays, and much more as you conduct close readings and analyses of writing across time. BA students learn from acclaimed authors through the HearSay Reading Series… they contribute their talents to Humble Pie , the undergraduate journal… and they enjoy outstanding internship experiences with Bay Area literary organizations. The MFA program is offered at the Writers’ Studio, where students participate in workshops, readings, and craft talks and learn from accomplished authors through the famed Tuesdays Talk series. Here students explore nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in a close, supportive atmosphere that naturally elicits creativity and inspiration.

Saint Mary’s College of California (Private)

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS

MFA in Creative Writing (Creative Non-Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Book Manuscript) (on-campus)

Also offers: BA in English – Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Ranked among the top five regional universities in the West by U.S. News & World Report
• All MFA students receive partial funding and opportunities to apply for teaching fellowships, assistantships, and paid internships
• Exciting selection of undergraduate internship opportunities available
• Two-year MFA also includes the option of completing a third year in an additional genre or taking a fifth semester Book Manuscript Intensive course

Saint Mary’s College offers both undergraduate and graduate programs for the creative writer in a supportive private school setting that’s heralded for its academic rigor and plentiful hands-on learning experiences. The BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis offers a foundation in the creative writing process and options to focus on a specific genre of creative writing like poetry, fiction, nonfiction, dramatic writing, or screenwriting. All students of this program also participate in the Creative Writing Reading Series, which includes attending events and meeting with visiting writers. On-campus internship opportunities include working with the Office of Marketing and Communications or the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum and contributing to riverrun , the undergraduate literary journal, while off-campus internship opportunities include organizations and publications like Counterpoint Press, Diablo Magazine , No Starch Press, Sierra Magazine , and more! The MFA in Creative Writing is a two-year course of study that features an award-winning faculty (including visiting writers in residence); opportunities to contribute to the MFA journal, MARY: A Journal of New Writing ; and your choice concentration in creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry. Students may also complete a third year in an additional genre or take a fifth semester Book Manuscript Intensive course.

Western Colorado University (Public)

COMMUNICATION ARTS, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (CALL) DEPARTMENT

Gunnison, CO

MA/MFA in Creative Writing (low-residency)

• Supportive, student-centered learning environment features an average class size of just 16
• BA students gain valuable experience by editing a book published by Western Press Books and preparing their own work for submission
• MFA offers convenient and flexible online study complemented with one-week on-campus residencies
• MFA offers your choice of one of five genre concentrations: nature writing, genre fiction, poetry, publishing, or screenwriting

Western Colorado University is home to not one, but two creative writing programs that are designed to meet you wherever you are in your career. The BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis is ideally designed for emerging writers who seek a comprehensive course of study delivered within a supportive community. Students of this program enjoy a strong foundation in English literature traditions, theory, and criticism with advanced courses in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and scripts. You’ll also enjoy flexing your creative skills by contributing to WordHorde, the Creative Writing student organization, and lending help to other students through the Writing Center. Before you graduate, you’ll edit a book published by Western Press Books and prepare your own work for submission. The MFA Creative Writing program here provides an advanced course of study in one of five genres: nature writing, genre fiction, poetry, publishing, or screenwriting. This program comes complete with a dedicated faculty of award-winning writers and a low-residency model that delivers outstanding convenience and flexibility.

Western Connecticut State University (Public)

MACRICOSTAS SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Danbury, CT

MFA in Creative and Professional Writing (low-residency)

• Outstanding record of graduate success: 87% of all graduates go on to publish books and/or work full-time as professional writers
• Convenient and flexible program features a low-residency model that combines online study with dynamic residencies, either on-campus or abroad
• Competitive graduate assistantships available

Western Connecticut State University offers the MFA in Creative and Professional Writing, which comes complete with a dynamic curriculum that’s delivered in a low-residency model for outstanding convenience and flexibility. We love this program because it offers a comprehensive graduate course of study in multiple genres (students here take workshops and course in all genres and styles), thereby preparing students as well-rounded, versatile writers who find success in both creative and professional writing fields. We also love this program’s exciting residency opportunities that now include options to study in Dublin, Ireland (during the Bram Stoker Festival) and at the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center in the Poconos!

Fairfield University (Private)

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Fairfield, CT

MFA in Creative Writing (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting) (low-residency)

Also offers: Major in English-Creative Writing concentration (on-campus)

• Options to focus the MFA on poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting
• Ranked among the top national universities by U.S. News & World Report
• Low-residency model features dynamic, engaging residencies on Ender Island in Mystic, CT

Fairfield University’s MFA in Creative Writing offers your choice of focus in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting and a low-residency model that’s sure to fit well into your busy schedule. The program’s flexible and challenging curriculum is ideally designed to allow students to design a course of study that best aligns with their professional goals and personal interests. It’s also home to the CT Writing Project, which is home to outstanding opportunities to learn from visiting writers; attend writers’ retreats; and more. Choose Fairfield for your creative writing master’s program and you’ll enjoy opportunities to complete an internship in journalism, public relations, business writing, publishing, and more.

District of Columbia - DC

American university (private).

Washington, DC

• Competitive Merit Awards (tuition and stipends) available
• Exciting opportunities to study in an intimate learning environment that encourages constructive feedback and support
• Your choice of focus on a single genre or multiple genres

American University’s MFA in Creative Writing has been producing the next generation of creative writers for more than 30 years! The only program of its kind in our nation’s capital, the MFA in Creative Writing is your opportunity to explore the art and craft of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The flexible design of this program allows students to pursue a single genre or multiple genres, and the tightknit, supportive learning environment encourages superb guidance and feedback from peers and faculty. Students of this program contribute to Folio , the College of Arts and Sciences’ nationally recognized literary journal and Café MFA , the online journal of the Creative Writing program.

Florida State University (Public)

Tallahassee, FL

Also offers: Major in Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Ranked among the top national public universities by U.S. News & World Report
• Home to a nationally and internationally renowned, award-winning faculty
• Superb internship opportunities available

Florida State University offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing within one of the top writing programs in the country! Just some of the reasons why emerging creative writers flock to FSU include an award-winning faculty (many are recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and more)… opportunities to complete a teaching apprenticeship program through graduate teaching assistantships… and an Editing Internship, your chance to gain valuable, hands-on experiences with a magazine, newspaper, publishing house, television station, marketing firm, nonprofit organization, and more. FSU’s English Department is also home to the Southeast Review , a national literary magazine, and The Kudzu Review , the undergraduate literary magazine, both of which are great sources of hands-on learning experiences.

Florida International University (Public)

ARTS, SCIENCES, AND EDUATION

North Miami, FL

• Program graduates have published 200+ books
• Ranked among the Best Colleges in the nation for social mobility and innovation by U.S. News & World Report
• Home to a dedicated faculty of award-winning, working writers

Florida International University’s MFA in Creative Writing is where you’ll advance your understanding of professional standards and expectations as you hone your creative skillset in your chosen genre. Ideal for future endeavors in teaching, editing, publishing, the arts, and more, this illustrious program of study comes complete with an intimate learning environment; a curriculum of seminar-style courses, workshops, and form and theory courses; outstanding, one-on-one mentoring; and a dedicated faculty of award-winning, working writers. As you progress throughout the program, you’ll work toward the completion of a publishable, book-length creative thesis.

Stetson University (Private)

MFA in Creative Writing (low-residency)

• Program features a concentration in poetry and prose in the expanded field
• Outstanding guidance and mentorship found here – residency workshops include a low, 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• Exciting, low-residency model features online study combined with two residencies annually
• Named among the nation’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report

Stetson University’s MFA in Creative Writing offers an outstanding course of graduate study that’s delivered in a low-residency format to accommodate your busy schedule. Choose this program and you’ll enjoy intensive, dynamic mentorship and engagement marked by small workshop groups, individual mentoring sessions, craft lectures, translation workshops, and more. This program is innovative and dynamic, allowing students to explore the many political, social, aesthetic, and cultural factors that are reflective of your work. The low-residency model features online courses that are complemented with two, ten-day residencies where students gather to learn from accomplished writers and exchange their work with faculty mentors. Residencies are held at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and at various international locations! Past residencies were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!

Georgia State University (Public)

Atlanta, GA

MA/MFA in English-Creative Writing concentration (on-campus)

Also offers: BA in English-Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Ranked among the top innovative universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report
• Also offers: PhD in English, Concentration in Creative Writing, which is ranked among the top programs of its kind in the nation by Poets & Writers
• Exciting international exchange and study abroad programs available to places like England, France, Italy, Germany, and China

Two creative writing programs, one world-class university—Georgia State University is where emerging writers head for outstanding instruction and inspiration! Choose the BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration and you’ll complete undergraduate study in British and American literature and culture alongside courses focused on the craft and art of creative writing and the poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction genres. The MA/MFA in English with a Creative Writing concentration features your choice of focus on poetry or fiction and a superb curriculum that prepares students for further study at the PhD level or for careers in a variety of writing-intensive fields. We love the English Department’s award-winning faculty of poets, and authors and the exciting opportunities to hone your craft by contributing to the award-winning Five Points: A Journal of Literature and Art and the student-edited literary magazine, New South .

University of Idaho (Public)

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

• Fully funded MFA for all students through graduate teaching assistantships
• Ranked among the top 8% best colleges in the nation by the Princeton Review
• Ranked among the top 15% of American National Universities by U.S. News & World Report
• Three MFA students are awarded fellowships to write in residence at the Taylor Ranch Research Station in the Frank Church Wilderness Area of the Selway-Bitterroot Mountains

The University of Idaho’s creative writing programs are part of the Department of English’s vibrant community where you can always find inspiration in the form of literary readings, scholarly lectures, conferences, student gatherings, and more. The BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis boasts engaging courses in fiction, creative fiction, and poetry; esteemed professors who offer one-on-one mentorship; and outstanding opportunities to flex your creative writing skillset and gain valuable, hands-on experiences. The MFA offers a fully funded, three-year course of graduate study in nonfiction, poetry, and fiction. We love the mix of genre workshops, technique studios, and traditional seminars that provide students with an outstanding blend of study in the craft. And the practicum in literary magazine and editing production provides students with an expanded skillset upon graduation.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Public)

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction, Poetry) (on-campus)

Fully funded program

Also offers: BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences-Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Also offers a PhD in Writing Studies
• Fully funded MFA offered through full tuition waivers, guaranteed teaching assistantships, and fellowships
• MFA features your choice of focus on fiction or poetry and extensive study in literary publishing and editing

Two creative writing programs at one nationally renowned university – the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is where you want to be! The undergraduate creative writing major, which is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the country, is built on small, workshop-style courses in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that are ideally designed to prepare students for exciting careers in a number of fields or for future graduate study. Students of this program edit and publish the Montage Arts Journal , the university’s undergraduate literary arts journal, which offers outstanding, hands-on learning experiences. The MFA Creative Writing program is a three-year, rigorous course of study in creative writing and literature that offers students the option of specializing in fiction or poetry. You’ll study under the program’s distinguished and dedicated graduate faculty as you take four workshops in your chosen genre and work toward producing a book-length, publishable manuscript. You’ll also receive extensive, hands-on experience in literary editing and publishing in this fully funded graduate program!

Northwestern University (Private)

WEINBERG COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

Evanston, IL

MFA in Creative Writing (program is combined with a simultaneous MA in English) (low-residency)

Fully funded through fellowships and graduate assistantships

• MFA is fully funded through fellowships and graduate assistantships
• MFA allows students to work in one genre (poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction) and also explore a second genre

Northwestern University’s creative writing programs are home to an accomplished faculty of award-winning authors and offered in a supportive, creative community where inspiration naturally flourishes. The Creative Writing major enjoys an outstanding record of graduate success and a reputation as one of the finest undergraduate programs of its kind in the nation. Through this program, you’ll explore poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as other courses that explore hybrid genres. Students of this program enjoy a lively curriculum that includes learning from guest writers-in-residence through the Annual Writers’ Festival; participating in the Undergraduate English Association; and contributing their talents to the award-winning student literary magazines, Helicon and Prompt. The MFA + MA in Creative Writing and English program is a unique dual graduate program that provides students with the opportunity to pursue both creative and critical writing. This program boasts intimate classes; close mentorship from a renowned faculty of writers; and a variety of writing workshops in poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. And while students of this program are admitted in one genre, they enjoy opportunities to explore a second genre. This program is fully funded through fellowships and graduate assistantships. During the program’s two funded summers, students serve as part-time editorial assistantships for the prestigious online literary journal, TriQuarterly !

School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Private)

Chicago, IL

MFA in Writing (low-residency)

Also offers: BFA in Writing (on-campus)

• Named as “the most influential art college in the United States” by a Columbia University’s National Arts Journalism survey
• Consistently ranked among the top graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report
• BA program emphasizes writing across genres, including interdisciplinary and hybrid genres
• Low-residency MFA combines online study with engaging, on-campus summer residencies

Whether the BFA or MFA is what you seek, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has what you need! The BFA features a dynamic course of study that emphasizes writing across genres, including interdisciplinary and hybrid genres, and producing a creative project of your choice. Students also enjoy the many immersive, hands-on learning experiences available here that include contributing to Mouth , the student-run literary journal and F newsmagazine , the award-winning student newspaper; attending readings and workshops through the Visiting Writer and Artist Lectures; and attending Publishing Panel presentations. The low-residency MFA is a three-year program that’s designed for 21 st century artists and writers. This flexible program engages students and prepares them across various teaching platforms, with much of the curriculum focused on writing and studying other artists’ writings. The low-residency model features online study complemented with three, consecutive summer residencies where you’ll connect with your peers on campus to create and critique work.

Indiana University-Bloomington (Public)

Bloomington, IN

Fully funded program through fellowships and teaching assistantships

• Highly selective MFA enrolls just eight students each year (four in fiction, four in poetry)
• Outstanding reputation for its focus on a diverse student body
• Fully funded program offered through fellowships and assistantships

Indiana University – Bloomington’s MFA in Creative Writing features three years of fully funded graduate study at IU’s flagship campus! This dynamic program is focused on honing craft concepts and workshopping original student poetry and fiction under an award-winning faculty as you work toward the completion a book-length manuscript in the genre of your choice. This highly selective program enrolls just eight new students each year (four in fiction, four in poetry) to ensure an intimate learning environment of top emerging writers.

University of Notre Dame (Private)

Notre Dame, IN

Fully funded through tuition scholarships and fellowships

• Consistently ranked among the top 25 institutions of higher learning in the nation by esteemed publications like U.S. News & World Report, Forbes , and Niche
• Exciting study abroad experiences available to the University College Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge, the University of East Anglia, Trinity College (Dublin), St. Andrews (Scotland), and Galway, Ireland
• All students of the fully funded MFA program gain teaching, editorial, and publication experience

The University of Notre Dame offers both an undergraduate and graduate program in creative writing – your opportunity to explore and refine your craft within a world-renowned university. The Major in English with a Creative Writing concentration allows students to study the many ways in which literature shapes the human experience. Through small class sizes (just 15-17 students), students here connect with one another and engage with the distinguished faculty while honing their critical thinking, public speaking, and writing skills. The creative writing faculty, which is ranked among the best in the nation, teaches 15-20 creative writing classes ranging from fiction to poetry to nonfiction prose to playwriting/screenwriting. Students here often round out their undergraduate experience by engaging in internship, service learning, and study abroad experiences and by contributing to the university’s student-run publications. Notre Dame’s MFA in Creative Writing boasts a two-year, fully funded course of study that’s marked by a rigorous, self-directed learning experience and a diverse, international body of students. All students of this program gain teaching, editorial, and publication experience; participate in outreach programs with community partners; engage with visiting writers and artists; and conduct their own reading series.

University of Kansas (Public)

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Overland Parks, KS

MFA – Tracks in Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting (on-campus)

Also offers: BA, BGS (Bachelor of General Studies) Literature, Language and Writing-option to earn a Creative and Analytical Writing certificate (on-campus)

• Also offers: PhD in Creative Writing
• Competitive graduate teaching assistantships available for MFA students
• Home to an esteemed faculty of published authors
• BA/BGS in Literature, Language and Writing offers a nice selection of afternoon, evening, online, and hybrid courses
• MFA offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, or playwriting

The University of Kansas boasts both undergraduate and graduate programs for the creative writer! The innovative BA/BGS in Literature, Language and Writing provides students with a versatile foundation in technical writing, editing, marketing, writing, and authoring, while the Creative and Analytical Writing certificate provides a deep dive into the craft of creative writing. Just some of the highlights of the BA/BGS in Literature, Language and Writing include an outstanding selection of afternoon, evening, online, and hybrid courses… an experienced, published faculty… and unmatched student engagement and mentorship. The MFA program features a three-year course of study and options to focus on fiction, poetry, or playwriting. You’re sure to love learning from the widely published faculty here that have been recipients of distinctions like the Hugo Award, the Gertrude Stein Award, the Nebula Award, and more. The MFA is ideally positioned within a university that’s home to esteemed centers like the J. Wayne & Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction (dedicated to research and education in science fiction) and the Project on the History of Black Writing (research unit focused on literary recovery work in black studies).

Western Kentucky University (Public)

POTTER COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS

Bowling Green, KY

• Ranked among the top public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report
• Competitive MFA teaching assistantships available
• MFA tracks include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or scriptwriting; secondary concentration in literature, composition & rhetoric, or teaching English as a second language
• Exciting undergraduate experiential learning opportunities available

Western Kentucky University offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing to meet students wherever they are in their academic and professional journey! The undergraduate Creative Writing program features a curriculum that’s grounded in the study of literature and marked by an exciting blend of courses in creative nonfiction, fiction, play/screenwriting, and poetry. Learning outside of the classroom is also standard fare here. You’ll find students learning from esteemed, visiting writers through the Readers Series; contributing to Zephyrus , the school’s literary publication; connecting with their peers through the English Club, the annual Senior Reading, and through the many open-mic nights and coffeehouse gatherings; and attending the annual Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture. The MFA in Creative Writing features a three-year course of study; tracks in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and scriptwriting; and secondary areas in literature, composition & rhetoric, or teaching English as a second language.

Eastern Kentucky University (Public)

COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Richmond, KY

• Low-residency model offers optimal convenience and flexibility for working adults
• Superb summer residency offered in Lisbon, Portugal
• Real-time online workshops ensure superb engagement and communication with faculty and peers

Eastern Kentucky University’s MFA in Creative Writing – Bluegrass Writers Studio features a low-residency model that’s designed with flexibility and convenience in mind. Students of this program study in a close-knit, supportive community alongside other emerging writers in both literary and genre-writing. The Bluegrass Writers Studio is an innovative program that offers students an optimal blend of online courses and workshops complemented with intensive residency workshops and unparalleled international literary and cultural experiences. The program’s Domestic Summer Residencies, which are held in Richmond and in Lisbon, Portugal, are rich in intensive workshops, lectures, and readings and focused on individual writing.

McNeese State University (Public)

Lake Charles, LA

Also offers: BA in English-Writing (on-campus)

• All MFA students are offered teaching assistantships that include a partial tuition waiver and stipend
• Ranked as one of the top regional universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report
• MFA in Creative Writing is the oldest program of its kind in Louisiana and one of the oldest in the southeast
• Option to add an MA in English to the MFA in Creative Writing without adding any additional hours or costs

McNeese State University offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing, making it a sure bet for emerging writers like you! The BA in English with a Writing concentration offers a firm foundation in classic and contemporary literature alongside courses and hands-on learning experiences designed to hone your creative writing skills and elevate your knowledge and skills in the areas of editing, rhetorical writing, and technical writing . Students of this program enjoy small class sizes and a highly engaging learning environment that’s marked by high-quality instruction from a widely published, dedicated faculty. The MFA in Creative Writing is the oldest programs of its kind in Louisiana and among the oldest in the southeast! Offering outstanding, hands-on instruction through a host of creative writing programs, this program is where poetry and fiction writers flock to elevate their creative writing skills and produce a book-length manuscript. McNeese’s MFA is one of the only programs in the country to offer students the opportunity to concurrently earn an MA in English without adding any additional hours or costs!

University of Baltimore (Public)

YALE GORDON COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Baltimore, MD

• Named as one of the most distinctive programs of its kind in the nation by Poets & Writers Magazine
• Competitive graduate fellowships and teaching assistantships available
• Your choice of focus in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry
• Exciting internship and study teaching opportunities available

The University of Baltimore’s MFA in Creative Writing is one of the top programs of its kind in the nation and a dynamic, inspiring hub for emerging writers in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students of this program hone their creative voice and elevate their skillset in writing , editing, and publishing as they gain valuable, hands-on experience through internships and student teaching opportunities. Just some of the places where students here intern include the Baltimore City Paper , Baltimore Magazine , Baltimore Jewish Times , and Baltimore Style Magazine !

Johns Hopkins University (Private)

KRIEGER SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

MFA in Writing Seminars-Creative Writing (on-campus)

Fully funded through teaching fellowships

Also offers: Major in Writing Seminars-Creative Writing concentration (on-campus)

• Fully funded MFA features a generous teaching fellowship
• The Writing Seminars program is the second-oldest creative writing program in the country
• BA program features a focus on fiction and poetry
• Home to a nationally and internationally renowned faculty and acclaimed visiting writers

John Hopkins University offers both an undergraduate and graduate program in their famed Writing Seminars program! Undergraduate students here enjoy a solid liberal arts framework that’s complemented with courses in fiction and poetry and seminars on literature and the history and technique of poetry and prose. The Writing Seminar’s MFA program offers an advanced exploration of fiction and poetry. This program boasts a nationally and internationally renowned faculty; acclaimed visiting writers; and a curriculum that’s rich in intensive literary seminars and small workshops. Students complete a first-year portfolio and then round out their graduate course of study with a second-year thesis. This highly selective, fully funded program includes a generous teaching fellowship!

Hampshire College (Private)

Amherst, MA

MFA in Writing for Film and Television (low-residency)

• Student-designed learning environment features personalized, independent work, close collaboration with faculty, and exciting hands-on experiences
• MFA in Creative Writing features your choice of focus on poetry, fiction, or nonfiction
• MFA Writing for Film and Television combines online study with weeklong residencies at the college’s Boston or Los Angeles campus
• Hampshire is part of the Five College Consortium that allows students to explore academic offerings at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Hampshire College offers no less than three, outstanding creative writing programs for emerging and practicing writers alike! The Major in Creative Writing offers a well-rounded exploration of fiction, literary journalism, and poetry through dynamic, workshop-style courses that feature intensive writing, active reading, and constructive feedback. Students of this program enjoy engaging with their peers and sharing ideas through writers’ coffeehouses; learning from acclaimed visiting writers; and flexing their creative skillset through one of the school’s publications. The low-residency MFA in Writing for Film and Television offers a convenient and flexible blend of online courses with week-long residencies at the Boston or Los Angeles campus at the beginning of each semester. This program features an esteemed faculty of filmmakers, producers, and screenwriters and the opportunity to produce a professional-caliber portfolio of original feature, pilot, and short screenplay samples. The Creative Writing MFA program is one of the longest-running programs of its kind in the nation. Some of the highlights of this program include an esteemed, published faculty; two award-winning literary journals; and close ties with the Boston publishing community.

Boston University (Private)

• Ranked among the top 5% of all creative writing programs in the nation by The Atlantic for the distinction of its faculty and alumni
• Superb opportunity to study and travel abroad through the Global Fellowship
• Small cohorts ensure an outstanding, student-centered learning environment

Boston University’s MFA in Creative Writing is built on the university’s legacy of academic excellence and the Creative Writing Program’s reputation as one of most prestigious programs of its kind in the country! This program features your choice of fiction or poetry and a one-year course of study that’s highlighted by creative writing workshops and literature courses. It’s designed in small cohorts that accept just ten fiction writers and eight poets annually, and it’s fully funded, covering all tuition costs and offering a stipend for all students. All students of this program teach at least one course and fulfill a foreign language requirement during their MFA. Students are also eligible to receive a Global Fellowship for travel and study anywhere outside of the U.S. upon successful completion of their coursework and submission of their thesis.

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Public)

RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE

Ann Arbor, MI

Also offers: Major in Creative Writing and Literature (on-campus)

• Outstanding study abroad opportunities available (University of Michigan has the most students studying abroad among the Big Ten universities)
• Ranked among the top public national universities by U.S. News & World Report
• Highly selective, fully funded MFA program accepts just nine poets and nine fiction writers annually
• Undergraduate major in Creative Writing and Literature includes your choice of focus on fiction/creative nonfiction, poetry, or digital storytelling

Whether you’re interested in pursuing undergraduate or graduate study in creative writing, the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor has what you’re looking for! Undergraduate students in the Creative Writing and Literature program study fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction (and choose a focus on fiction/creative nonfiction, poetry, or digital storytelling) in a student-centered learning environment that features dedicated faculty mentors and small, engaging writing seminars. Whether your plans include graduate study or a career in an area like education, editing, journalism, publishing, or beyond, this program is designed with you in mind! The fully funded Creative Writing MFA program features two years of study and options to focus on fiction or poetry. We love the program’s esteemed faculty of published poets and fiction writers and the many opportunities to learn from acclaimed writers through the Zell Visiting Writers Series. This highly selective program accepts just nine poets and nine fiction writers annually.

Western Michigan University (Public)

Kalamazoo, MI

MFA in Creative Writing

Also offers: BA in English-Creative Writing option (on-campus)

• Superb record of student success: 9 out of 10 students are employed and working quickly in their fields upon graduation
• Outstanding study abroad opportunities – more than 100 programs in 40 countries available
• Engaging workshop-style courses ensure outstanding opportunities to hone your creative skillset

Western Michigan University is home to both BA and MFA programs in creative writing for the emerging writer! The BA in English with a Creative Writing option is built on a foundation in British and American literature and the English language and complemented with dynamic, creative writing workshops that vary from introductory to advanced. Students of this program explore writing poetry, plays, fiction, and creative nonfiction alongside focused study in news, feature, and professional writing. The MFA in Creative Writing program offers a streamlined path to writing-intensive careers in poetry, fiction, or drama or future PhD study within prestigious programs.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Public)

Minneapolis, MN

• Fully funded program through teaching assistantships and/or fellowships
• Exciting program features an exploration of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction
• Consistently ranked among the top graduate creative writing programs in the country

The University of Minnesota – Twin Cities offers an esteemed MFA in Creative Writing – a three-year course of graduate study that features a dynamic deep dive into writing, language, and literature, along with study in a related field. This exciting program, which has long been ranked among the top ten graduate creative writing programs nationally, offers a well-rounded exploration of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. In fact, students of this program are encouraged to experiment and write across genres as they work toward honing their own creative voice. Housed within the flagship institution of the University of Minnesota System, which enjoys a reputation as being among the most prestigious public research universities in the nation, this program comes with full funding for all MFA students and exciting opportunities to conduct research, intern with major corporations and organizations, and study abroad.

Hamline University (Private)

Saint Paul, MN

MFA in Creative Writing (on-campus)  

Also offers: BFA in Creative Writing (on-campus)

• BA in English-Creative Writing concentration (on-campus)
• Exciting, undergraduate faculty-led research opportunities available
• Home to a nice variety of internship experiences
• Superb faculty of accomplished writers
• MFA features your choice of focus on poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction

Hamline University is home to three different creative writing programs that are designed to meet you wherever you are in your career! Offering two undergraduate creative writing programs – one in creative writing and the other in English with a creative writing concentration, Hamline offers students the opportunity to hone their creative writing skillset and prepare for exciting careers in publishing, journalism, marketing, business, education, and beyond! The BFA in Creative Writing provides students with a well-rounded exploration of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary traditions, textual analysis, and the opportunity to refine your skillset in any number of genres. The BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration offers a journey in literature as you explore the process of writing a novel, script, or other creative work. We love their undergraduate creative writing programs here because they come complete with exciting opportunities to participate in faculty-led research; contribute to one of the many student-led publications like Runestone , the award-winning undergraduate online literary magazine; and complete internships with major names like Graywolf Press, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Loft Literary Center. The MFA in Creative Writing boasts an in-depth course of study that’s marked by your choice of focus in poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction; an esteemed faculty of accomplished writers; and a curriculum that prepares you for in-demand teaching and publishing careers.

Augsburg University (Private)

DIVISION OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

MFA in Creative Writing (Teaching, Translation, Publishing) ( low-residency )  

• MFA program features a low-residency model that combines convenient, flexible online study with summer residencies
• Exciting study abroad opportunities to Denmark and Iceland for undergraduate students
• Undergraduate creative writing students may qualify for the MFA Masterclass option – an opportunity to participate in a single summer residency that includes a creative writing workshop

Augsburg University’s undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing are exactly what emerging and practicing writers are looking for! The BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration offers a nice blend of both English literature and the creative writing process. Through this course of study, students explore the craft under the guidance of a dedicated faculty of working writers. Students also enjoy plenty of opportunities to flex their creative skillset outside of the classroom, with opportunities to participate in the Many Voice Project – a series that brings together students, professors, and staff to explore successful communication among diverse readers and writers; contribute to Thó Win Magazine , the campus literary, visual, and musical arts publication; and study abroad to Denmark and Iceland. The low-residency Creative Writing MFA program offers students a deep dive into writing in multiple genres and features a convenient and flexible format that blends online study with summer residencies. Students of this program hone their skillset in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and playwriting over the course of three years to prepare for exciting careers in fields like teaching, publishing, and translation. Are you an undergraduate creative writing student with future graduate study in your sights? You may qualify for the MFA Masterclass option, which allows undergrad students to enroll in a single summer residency that includes a creative writing workshop.

University of Mississippi (Public)

University, MS

MFA in English (on-campus)  

• Also offers: Ph.D. in English with Creative Writing Concentration
• Outstanding visiting scholars and creative writers - past visitors have included filmmaker, Spike Lee, Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffery Eugenides, and National Book Award winner Mark Doty
• MFA in English named among The Atlantic Monthly’s “Top Five Up and Coming Programs”

Creative writing is part of the fabric of the University of Mississippi, and it shows! The BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis boasts a curriculum that brings together study in literature from all time periods and through diverse perspectives, along with a close examination and exploration of the craft of creative writing. The MFA in English, which has been consistently ranked among the top programs of its kind in the nation, offers your choice of concentration in poetry & fiction or creative nonfiction. This highly selective program (accepting between 6-8 students each year) is supportive, engaging, and fully funded!

Washington University in Saint Louis (Private)

St. Louis, MO

Fully funded program available through fellowships

Also offers: BA in English-Creative Writing concentration (on-campus)

• Small, student-centered learning environment boasts first-year seminars of 15 or fewer students
• Highly competitive program accepts just 15 students (five each in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction)
• Fully funded MFA program is offered through fellowships

Regardless of where you are in your academic journey or your career, Washington University in St. Louis has the creative writing program for you! The BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration brings together emerging writers in a small, student-centered learning environment that boasts engaging poetry and fiction writing workshops. Small, first-year seminars of 15 students or less transition nicely to second semester workshops that take students to the next level in their writing journey and guide them to become outstanding readers and critics of literature. Interested in adding an international dimension to your undergraduate creative writing program? Many students study abroad at some of the top universities like Oxford, Edinburg, Trinity College in Dublin, the King’s College in London, and the University of Sydney. The Creative Writing MFA is a two-year program that allows students to refine their craft in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. A distinguished, world-renowned faculty oversees dynamic and engaging workshops and craft courses, while the school’s reading series brings some of the most acclaimed authors and poets to the department for unmatched learning opportunities.

New England College (Private)

Manchester, NH

• Low-residency MFA features a studio/research academic model that combines online study with on-campus residencies at the beginning of each semester
• MFA features your choice of track in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, writing for stage and screen, or dual genre
• MFA students may also pursue specialized study in areas like translation, editing & publishing, new media, performance, or cross-genre/hybrid forms
• Competitive MFA teaching assistantships and scholarships available

New England College offers both a BA and MFA in Creative Writing to meet students wherever they are in their academic journey and career path! The BA in Creative Writing is supported by a dedicated faculty of published writers who are committed to providing students with close mentorship and support, while the program’s focus on individual transformation encourages students to explore many areas and genres. Through this program, students complete genre workshops in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction and courses focused on literary movements for a well-rounded course of study. The Creative Writing MFA is offered in a low-residency model that combines convenient and flexible online study with lively residencies at the beginning of each semester. Students here pursue a highly individualized program that features close mentorship by an award-winning faculty of writers and their choice of track in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, writing for stage and screen, or dual genre. Students may also pursue additional study in areas like translation, editing & publishing, new media, performance, or cross-genre/hybrid forms.

Rutgers University-Camden (Public)

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

• Competitive teaching assistantships available
• Multi-genre approach to learning includes workshops in your choice of genre (fiction, poetry, or nonfiction) and at least one other genre
• Exciting opportunities to complete a writing residency at the Rutgers University Pinelands Field Station
• Exciting study abroad opportunities available

Rutgers University – Camden offers an MFA in Creative Writing that features an in-depth exploration of the theory and practice of writing for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers. This dynamic course of graduate study allows students to focus their work on a single genre yet still explore other genres. An outstanding faculty of esteemed writers and poets guides this esteemed program. Students here enjoy superb inspiration from a host of visiting writers and poets; they contribute to the university’s award-winning literary magazine, StoryQuarterly ; and they participate in inspiring writing residencies at the Rutgers University Pinelands Field Station. And if your academic goals include an international experience, you’ll be pleased to know that students here often study abroad in Europe, Asia, and South America.

Rutgers University-Newark (Public)

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

• Home to an outstanding, award-winning faculty of writers
• Program enjoys exciting connections to big regional names for superb learning experiences
• Fully funded, highly selective program accepts 14-16 full-time students per year—half in Fiction and half in Poetry

Rutgers University – Newark offers an established, dynamic, and nationally ranked MFA in Creative Writing that features your choice of fiction or poetry writing track. We love the many connections this program has to big names like the Newark Museum, the New Jersey Historical Society, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, all of which offer students unique opportunities for hands-on learning experiences. This fully funded course of study provides students with an unmatched opportunity to explore their craft, while the esteemed, award-winning faculty (many of whom are the recipients of awards like the Guggenheim, the National Endowment of the Arts, National Book Awards, and more) ensure outstanding support and mentorship.

Monmouth University (Private)

THE WAYNE D. MCMURRAY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

West Long Branch, NJ

MA/MFA in Creative Writing Dual Degree (on-campus)

• Ranked among the best regional universities in the North by U.S. News & World Report
• Exciting undergraduate internship experiences available
• Exciting MFA course options include opportunities to study themes like thrillers, romance, and fantasy

Whether you’re seeking an undergraduate or graduate creative writing program, Monmouth University has what you need! The BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing features a well-rounded liberal arts core alongside an in-depth exploration of creative writing, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students of this program enjoy studying under esteemed visiting writers; contributing to The Monmouth Review ; and completing exciting internship opportunities with big names like Penguin, Random House, and St. Martin’s Press, and with organizations like the National Geographic Society and the Monmouth County SPCA. The MA/MFA is an innovative and unique dual degree in Creative Writing that boasts a published, award-winning faculty; outstanding course options in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; and exciting options to explore themes like thrillers, romance, and fantasy. Students of this program begin by completing the 30-credit MA in English with a Creative Writing concentration and then complete an additional 18 credits of intensive creative writing study that culminate in a book-length creative thesis.

Columbia University in the City of New York (Private)

SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

New York, NY

MFA in Writing (Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Literary Translation) (on-campus)

• Home to an outstanding, internationally acclaimed faculty of writers and editors
• Major in Creative Writing offers your choice of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or multi-genre concentration
• MFA offers your choice of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction concentration

Columbia University in the City of New York is where you’ll find both undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing! These outstanding courses of study are housed in the famed School of the Arts, which enjoys a legacy of unmatched literary creation. Did you know that J.D. Salinger enrolled in a short story course here in 1939? Choose the Major in Creative Writing and you’ll study under an acclaimed, world-class faculty as you elevate your creative skillset in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or multi-genre (combination of two genres). This program comes complete with writing workshops at all levels and exciting seminars that are sure to inspire and excite. The esteemed MFA Writing program is renowned for its faculty of acclaimed writers and editors; its focus on literary instruction; and its artistic and literary diversity. Students of this program choose a concentration in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. They study in intimate workshops (just 7 to 12 students) and regularly present their work, receive constructive feedback from their peers, and meet with faculty for one-on-one conferences.

Sarah Lawrence College (Private)

Bronxville, NY

Also offers: Major in Writing (on-campus)

• Home to one of the largest writing faculties in the country
• Workshop-style courses offer unmatched support, guidance, and constructive feedback
• Exciting research and teaching opportunities available to MFA students
• MFA concentrations in poetry, creative nonfiction, or speculative fiction

Whether you’re interested in an undergraduate or graduate degree in creative writing, Sarah Lawrence College has what you need to prepare for an exciting career or future graduate school! One of the first things you’ll notice is the vibrant artistic and writing community at Sarah Lawrence. It’s home to one of the largest writing faculties in the country; an outstanding selection of courses in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; and engaging workshop-style courses that offer unmatched support and guidance. Thanks to a prime location near NYC, creative writing students enjoy access to opportunities in a vibrant, second-to-none arts and culture scene. The MFA program here boasts a dedicated faculty of distinguished writers; concentrations in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or speculative fiction; and a versatile curriculum that allows students to explore writing that transcends genres. Some of the features of the MFA we’re particularly fond of include frequent meetings with faculty; small, intimate classes; and exciting graduate teaching and research opportunities.

Syracuse University (Private)

Syracuse, NY

• Highly selective MFA program admits just six poets and six fiction writers annually
• Outstanding record of student success – 94% of graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation
• Ranked among the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report

Syracuse University offers a BA and MFA in Creative Writing and a storied legacy of producing acclaimed writers. From Stephen Crane to Joyce Carol Oates, Syracuse has long been where emerging and practicing writers flock for intensive study and unmatched inspiration! The BA program offers a balanced blend of literary study, workshop-style writing courses, and craft classes in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. The renowned MFA in Creative Writing program is a three-year, highly selective course of graduate study that admits just six poets and six fiction writers each year.

Pratt University-Main (Private)

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

Brooklyn, NY

• BFA features your choice of specialization in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction
• MFA boasts exciting opportunities to participate in guided fieldwork residencies with an outside community organization, nonprofit, or activist group
• MFA offers superb faculty mentoring

Pratt University boasts a BFA and MFA in Writing – your pathway to outstanding careers in publishing, editing, journalism, marketing, business, education, and beyond! Undergraduate creative writing students here study in a studio-based learning environment that includes specializing in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction and exploring contemporary genres like playwriting, screenwriting, children’s book writing, and young adult writing. The MFA in Writing program offers a highly rigorous, engaging program of study that’s built to address the needs of today’s contemporary writer in changing times. Some of the features of this program that you’re sure to love include The Writing Studio, a weekly critiquing forum; outstanding, one-on-one faculty mentoring; and guided fieldwork residencies with an outside community organization, nonprofit, or activist group.

North Carolina State University at Raleigh (Public)

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Raleigh, NC

• Outstanding, student-centered learning environment features a low, student-to-faculty ratio of just 15:1
• Named the top public university in North Carolina by Money Magazine
• MFA in Creative Writing is the only one of its kind in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill region
• MFA is fully funded through graduate teaching assistantships

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is home to both an undergraduate and graduate degree in creative writing! The BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration features a solid English foundation alongside courses in several genres, including fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and screenwriting. Intensive writing workshops here are designed to create an engaging, tightknit learning environment where students are encouraged to hone their creative voice. The MFA in Creative Writing boasts a two-year intensive course of graduate study that’s rich in workshops and interdisciplinary coursework and culminates in a final thesis of your original work. Students of this graduate course of study apprentice under master writers and learn from an experienced faculty of working writers and poets.

Warren Wilson College (Private)

THE MFA PROGRAM FOR WRITERS AT WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

Asheville, NC

• Home to the first and one of the most prestigious low-residency MFA programs in the nation
• Originally founded in 1976 by Ellen Bryant Voigt, and in residence at Warren Wilson College since 1981
• Superb faculty of award-winning authors and poets (many of whom are recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships, National Book Awards, and more)
• Low-residency MFA effortlessly combines individualized mentorship with on-campus residencies for maximum convenience and flexibility
• MFA features a superb standard student-to-faculty ratio of just 3:1

The MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College enjoys a national reputation as a top-ranked MFA program and features a prime learning environment that’s marked by extensive one-one-one exchanges between faculty mentor and student as well as on-campus residencies every six months. Well regarded for its craft-based rigor as well as its fostering of a supportive and noncompetitive environment, the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College prepares its graduates for a lifetime of writing.

Warren Wilson College’s undergraduate program in Creative Writing is designed to allow students to focus their undergraduate course of study on two genres (choose from fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry). It’s also home to the Writing Studio, a place where students hone their creative voice and explore new ideas and techniques. Outstanding student and faculty feedback and exciting opportunities to engage in hands-on learning round out this comprehensive course of study.

The undergraduate program benefits from presence of Warren Wilson’s highly-regarded MFA program through twice-yearly visits by MFA Writers in Residence: faculty members who provide a class and reading. They also have the opportunity to attend January residency lectures and readings and work with MFA Mentors as part of an undergraduate “Residency Class.”

Miami University-Oxford (Public)

• Outstanding record of student success – 96% of all graduates are employed or continuing their education
• Ranked among the top 50 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report
• Fully funded MFA provides graduate teaching assistantships to all MFA students; non-teaching assistantships may also be available

Miami University – Oxford is home to both a BA and MFA in Creative Writing – your opportunity to refine your creative skillset and become a successful writer in any number of fields! The BA program boasts a full-time creative faculty of eight award-winning writers who provide unmatched learning opportunities for a select group of students (usually between 20-25) in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting. Intensive, engaging workshop-style courses ensure outstanding collaboration, communication, and constructive feedback, while visiting authors offer readings and craft talks that are guaranteed to inspire. The MFA brings some of the most talented, emerging writers from across the country to participate in a close-knit, rigorous course of study in creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, multimedia, and performance writing. Some of the highlights of this program include four, practice-oriented workshops and seminars in literature; close mentorship from faculty; and the opportunity to create a publishable, full-length work of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction by the end of the program. This fully funded program provides graduate teaching assistantships to all MFA students; non-teaching assistantships may also be available. And each year, two MFA students are awarded creative writing internships in China!

Kent State University at Kent (Public)

Northeast Ohio MFA in Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Program is a superb consortium of four universities - Kent State University, Cleveland State University, the University of Akron, and Youngstown State University
• The program is marked by outstanding faculty guidance and mentorship
• Students enjoy exciting opportunities to participate in regional and national events and programs
• Full and partial funding opportunities available

Kent State University’s Northern Ohio MFA in Creative Writing (NEOMFA) offers a superb course of graduate study for the emerging creative writer! This program is a consortium program between Kent State, the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, and Youngstown State University. It boasts an award-winning faculty of fifteen and unmatched opportunities to hone your craft in plays, poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. This program brings together a diverse group of students for superb instruction, hands-on learning, faculty mentorship, and individual attention. Students here enjoy access to exciting programs and events like the Juniper Institute of Massachusetts, the Imagination Writers Conference in Cleveland, and the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference.

University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus (Public)

DODGE FAMILY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

MA in English-Creative Writing (on-campus)

• Competitive graduate teaching assistantships available
• Versatile and flexible programs give students the freedom to choose courses and create a personalized course of study that best reflects their personal interests and career goals
• Option to round out your program by creating a thesis of your original work in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction

The University of Oklahoma Norman is home to the esteemed MA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis – a superb graduate course of study for those with a love of creating the written word! We love the flexible and versatile design of this program that gives students the freedom to choose courses that best reflect their personal interests and professional goals. As a student of this program, you’ll work alongside a departmental advisor to design a personalized program of study. You’re also sure to appreciate the tightknit, engaging academic environment here that features small, seminar and pro-seminar courses and close mentorship from an internationally recognized faculty. You’ll also enjoy the option of rounding out your creative writing graduate program by creating a thesis of your original work in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction.

Eastern Oregon University (Public)

COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

La Grande, OR

MFA in Creative and Environmental Writing (low-residency)

Also offers: BA/BS in English-Writing (on-campus, online)

• Outstanding, student-centered learning environment features small class sizes and a low, student-to-faculty undergraduate ratio of just 17:1
• Flexible BA/BS degree offers your choice of on-campus or online study
• Low-residency MFA blends convenient, online study with on-campus summer residencies
• Specialty, one-of-a-kind Wilderness, Ecology, and Community MFA program, which connects students to the Pacific Northwest’s rich tradition of writers

Eastern Oregon University is where emerging creative writers flock for unmatched academic opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate level! The BA/BS in English – Creative Writing program boasts small class sizes; superb support from a dedicated faculty; and an opportunity to complete your degree 100% online! The online program features a fully online course delivery and options to study on a part- or full-time basis for outstanding convenience and flexibility. The MFA in Creative and Environmental Writing offers an in-depth exploration of the craft; a low-residency curriculum model that ensures superb convenience for working adults; genre focus options in fiction, poetry, or young adult literature; and a superb opportunity to specialize your program through the one-of-a-kind Wilderness, Ecology, and Community program, which connects students to the Pacific Northwest’s rich tradition of writers such as Gary Snyder, William O. Douglas, Kathleen Dean Moore, Annie Dillard, Robert Michael Pyle, and more.

University of Oregon (Public)

DIVISION OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Each MFA student is offered a teaching appointment in return for a full tuition waiver and stipend.

• Opportunity to fully fund your MFA through a teaching appointment
• Ranked a top-tier public research university and the top public university in Oregon by U.S. News & World Report
• Highly selective program accepts just 10 students annually – five in poetry, and five in fiction

The University of Oregon’s MFA in Creative Writing features two years of study; your choice of focus in poetry or fiction; and a rich curriculum that’s highlighted by engaging, workshop-style courses and craft seminars. This rigorous course of study, which is one of the oldest and most distinguished programs of its kind in the nation, boasts unmatched opportunities to hone your craft and enjoy career success in a variety of fields. This highly selective program admits just 10 applicants each year (five in fiction and five in poetry) to ensure an intimate, highly engaging graduate experience.

University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (Public)

KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Pittsburgh, PA

Also offers: BA in Writing (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction) (on-campus)

• Ranked as the top university in the Northeast U.S. by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education
• Outstanding opportunities to learn from esteemed, visiting writers through the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series
• MFA features your choice of focus in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry

The University of Pittsburgh is home to a BA in Writing and an MFA in Writing, both of which are housed in the university’s famed Writing Program – a large and diverse community of artists who explore both traditional and emerging media. It’s where you’ll find students lending their talents to esteemed literary journals and digital publications and where visiting writers come to educate and inspire through the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series. At the graduate level, the Writing Program admits nine students across the genres each year for a fully funded course of study in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. We love the many exciting opportunities to expand your college experience through internships and study abroad experiences to places like London, Sydney, Berlin, Dublin, Paris, and Madrid.

Cedar Crest College (Private)

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE

Allentown, PA

Pan-European Creative Writing MFA (low-residency)

• Options to focus on poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or travel writing
• Home to the first pan-European graduate-level writer’s program offered by an American university
• MFA boasts an award-winning internationally acclaimed faculty of writers
• Exciting European residencies are complemented with online study for a flexible, versatile course of study

Cedar Crest is where you’ll find a superb course of graduate study in creative writing that comes complete with your choice of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or travel writing focus… a low-residency model that delivers outstanding flexibility and convenience… and an unmatched opportunity to be inspired as you travel across Europe! The MFA in Creative Writing features an in-depth exploration of the craft of creative writing that culminates in the creation of your own original work of literature. Choose a focus (or two) and learn to refine your skillset under the guidance of an award-winning faculty of writers. This truly unique course of study brings together talented writers from around the world for three, 15-day intensive workshops held in superb European locations that are sure to spark your creativity. Residencies here are held in July and rotate between Dublin, Ireland; Barcelona, Spain; and Vienna, Australia. You’ll complete the rest of your program requirements through convenient online study.

Brown University (Private)

THE COLLEGE

Providence, RI

MFA in Literary Arts (on-campus)

Also offers: BA in Literary Arts (on-campus)

• Outstanding, student-centered learning environment features a low, 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• Superb record of student success – 96% of all graduates are employed or in grad school within six months of graduation
• Home to exciting, dynamic creative writing workshops for outstanding, hands-on learning

Brown University’s undergraduate and graduate programs in Literary Arts offer a deep dive into the craft of writing. Choose the undergraduate program and you’ll develop your skills in one or more genres through four creative writing workshops and six, reading-intensive courses. This unique course of undergraduate study (it’s one of just a few in the nation) is where emerging writers in fiction, poetry, electronic writing (hypertext), and mixed media gather to elevate and refine their creative skillset. The MFA program welcomes just 12 graduate student writers annually for an in-depth exploration of creative writing and a choice of focus in fiction, poetry, or digital-cross-disciplinary. This innovative program is focused on student-centered learning and features a rigorous curriculum that’s delivered by a faculty of internationally acclaimed writers.

University of South Carolina-Columbia (Public)

Columbia, SC

Also offers: BA in English-Writing concentration (on-campus)

• Fully funded, highly selective MFA program accepts just eight students annually – four poets and four fiction writers
• Ranked among the nation’s institutions with the best first-year experience by U.S. News & World Report
• Highly versatile BA allows students to create a personalized program through their choice of writing courses

The University of South Carolina – Columbia’s BA and MFA programs are designed to inspire the emerging writer for an exciting pathway to careers in publishing, journalism, editing, marketing, business, and beyond! The BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration features a core of literature courses that are complemented with creative writing courses. Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, you’ll create a personalized course of study that best matches your personal interests and professional goals. We love the small class sizes and the superb faculty that’s dedicated to your success. The fully funded MFA program here is chocked full of features that are sure to align with your career goals. You’ll appreciate the intimate learning environment that comes complete with an award-winning faculty of writers, world-class visiting writers, and plenty of exciting opportunities to flex your creative skillset through hands-on experiences. The highly selective Creative Writing MFA accepts just four poets and four fiction writers each year and caps workshops at just 12 students for a truly engaging, dynamic program of study. Interested in pursuing education after you graduate? You’ll love the MFA program’s signature writing outreach program, Split P, which allows MFA students to hone their teaching skills in local public elementary schools.

Vanderbilt University (Private)

Nashville, TN

• Ranked among the top 15 MFA programs in the country by Poets and Writers magazine
• All MFA students receive a three-year, 12-month funding package
• Highly selective MFA accepts students in poetry and prose

Vanderbilt University offers emerging and practicing writers their choice of an undergraduate or graduate-focused course of study in creative writing, both of which are built on the university’s longstanding reputation as a world-renowned institution. Both programs are delivered in small, seminar-style classes that encourage creativity, collaboration, and outstanding constructive feedback. The Creative Writing MFA program, which has been part of Vanderbilt’s fabric for nearly a century, features a three-year, fully funded course of graduate study that brings together emerging writers of fiction and poetry. This highly selective program is home to just 18 students at any time (nine in poetry and nine in prose), which ensures a truly tightknit, supportive learning environment. Just some of the unique opportunities available to students of the MFA include serving on the editorial board of the Nashville Review ; studying under distinguished, visiting writers-in-residence; and teaching introductory creative writing workshops.

University of Texas at Austin (Public)

New Writer’s Project – MFA in Creative Writing (on-campus)

Michener center for writers – mfa in writing (on-campus).

*Both MFA options are fully funded  with absolutely no tuition costs for students accepted into the programs

• Home to the Oxford Summer Program – an exciting exploration of life and literature at Oxford University in England
• Features two, world-class MFA programs – one in creative writing and one in writing – both offer fully funded programs of study
• Outstanding opportunities to learn from esteemed, working authors, attend events, and become immersed in the writing community, both on-campus and throughout Austin

The University of Texas at Austin plays host to both undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing that are expertly designed to inspire and prepare emerging writers for a host of outstanding professional opportunities in fields like marketing, publishing, business, editing, education, and beyond! The Major in English with a Creative Writing concentration features a solid foundation in British, American, and world literature alongside focused courses in the art and craft of creative writing. The New Writer’s Project – MFA in Creative Writing and the Michener Center for Writers – MFA in Writing boast fully funded programs of study that are delivered in tightknit learning environments under close faculty mentorship. The three-year studio MFA in Creative Writing program features opportunities to study and practice fiction and poetry and connect with students and faculty of its partner MFA program, the Michener Center for Writers. This MFA in Writing program features a three-year program of study that admits writers in a primary genre (fiction, poetry, playwriting, or screenwriting) yet also provides them with ample opportunities to study a second genre. While the MFA in Creative Writing offers teaching experiences, the MFA in Writing funds students through fellowships alone, thereby requiring no teaching requirements.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Public)

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND HUMAN SCIENCES

Blacksburg, VA

• Exciting, study abroad opportunities include a faculty-led trip to London (offered through an exchange program with Loughborough University)
• Fully funded MFA provides equal funding to all students
• MFA program has been consistently ranked among the top 30 programs in the nation by Poets & Writers magazine
• Highly selective MFA program admits just 4-5 students annually in each genre (fiction and poetry)

Virginia Tech is home to both a BA and MFA in Creative Writing and a rich learning environment that opens the door to a superb exploration of your creative interests. The BA program features an examination of major writers and literary traditions and a faculty of published writers that provide unmatched support and guidance as you work toward producing a portfolio of your own creative work. Explore your interests by choosing among the program’s more than 100 English courses (you’ll have 36 credits of free electives to personalize your course of study); study modern and contemporary literature; and dive deep into playwriting, nonfiction, or writing fiction for young people! The three-year, fully funded MFA features your choice of focus in poetry or fiction, a faculty of esteemed, published writers and scholars, and plenty of opportunities to explore your craft across genres.

Hollins University (Private)

JACKSON CENTER FOR CREATIVE WRITING

Roanoke, VA

Also offers:

• BA in Creative Writing (on-campus)
• Superb undergraduate record of success – 95% of all graduates are employed or in graduate school within a year of graduating
• MFA program features a personalized curriculum and outstanding faculty support
• Hollins’ Creative Writing MFA has one of the highest publishing records of any graduate school in the nation
• Hollins University has long been called “Pulitzer U” for its award-winning faculty and alumni

Hollins University’s Jackson Center for Creative Writing is where you’ll find exciting pathways to rewarding, writing-intensive careers in a variety of fields! Hollins’ multi-genre approach allows students to study and explore their craft in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction while also gaining a valuable foundation of knowledge in literature. Creative writing here is supported by a faculty of esteemed, award-winning writers and scholars and marked by outstanding, hands-on learning experiences both within and outside the walls of the classroom. At the undergraduate level, you’ll choose from a Major in Creative Writing or an English Major with a concentration in Creative Writing, while at the graduate level, you’ll have the opportunity to pursue the two-year MFA program, which is home to a versatile and personalized curriculum and the type of support that creates the most successful writers. This small program enrolls just 20-24 students at any given time, thereby keeping the learning environment small and highly engaging. This program includes funding opportunities that include travel and research funding.

University of Washington-Seattle Campus (Public)

Seattle, WA

MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry, Prose) (on-campus)

• Fully funded MFA – students funded through teaching assistantships, fellowships, and through the Amazon Literary Partnership
• Home to an esteemed faculty of award-winning authors
• Highly selective MFA program admits just 8-10 students annually

Creative writing is part of the fabric of the University of Washington – Seattle’s English Department, long offering outstanding courses of undergraduate and graduate study to produce competent, talented writers with skills that transcend career fields. The English major with a Creative Writing option is your opportunity to grow as a communicator and artist! This program features a small, student-centered learning environment that’s marked by writing workshops that are designed to spark your creativity and hone your skills. The MFA in Creative Writing is a two-year program of poetry and prose that boasts an outstanding faculty of award-winning writers (many of whom have been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts). This highly selective, fully funded course of study admits just 8-10 students each year, thereby ensuring outstanding support and collaboration. Students here participate in literary seminars and workshops and round out their graduate study by completing a creative manuscript of original work.

University of Washington-Bothell Campus (Public)

SCHOOL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS AND SCIENCES

Bothell, WA

MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics (on-campus)

• Versatile and flexible MFA encourages writing across the genres and exploring hybrid genres
• Evening courses accommodate the lives of today’s busy, working students
• Lively, on-campus gatherings bring together students, faculty, and renowned writers and artists

The University of Washington (Bothell campus) offers an esteemed MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics – a program rich in exploration and discovery. This uniquely structured program is structured according to areas of inquiry instead of genres, which allows students to explore and experiment across genres. You’re free to hone your craft here as you see fit, with experimentation with hybrid genres encouraged. Each year, students meet at the Fall Convergence, which brings together internationally renowned writers and artists. And the school year closes with the Spring Festival, a place for students to share their thesis work and get inspired by a student-nominated speaker. This program features evening courses that are designed to accommodate the busy lives of working students.

Creative Writing Study Abroad Programs

Have you always dreamed of taking creative writing courses abroad? Creative writing study abroad programs could be a great way to jumpstart your craft, from starting a bestselling novel in Norway to perfecting your poetry in Paris. After all, travel can be inspiring…just think of all the new people, places, and experiences you may be able to write about! Likely, you’ll have a few questions before boarding the next plane to your country of choice. So ,here are some FAQs that may help you plan your writing adventures abroad.

Why take creative writing study abroad programs?

Hemingway went to Spain and famously wrote about bullfighting. Gertrude Stein lived and wrote in France. Surely, some of your favorite writers were inspired by their travels, too. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, writers who want to write about a particular topic may need some personal experience in that area. (Future travel writers, take note!) Research is also an important part of many writing career paths. Even if you hope to write fiction, experiencing a new part of the world could help get your creative juices flowing, or even help you flesh out your characters and new environments. And if you are hoping to earn a degree in writing, creative writing programs abroad might help you pursue your studies while experiencing another culture.

Can creative writing courses abroad be part of my degree program?

Sure, it may be possible creative writing study abroad programs as part of a writing degree program. Most professional writers earn a bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, or communications.i It’s important to check with your college or university to see if you can earn course credits abroad. Naturally, rules and requirements may depend on the institution where you hope to earn your college degree. However, it might be possible to fit a short-term or long-term creative writing study abroad programs into your studies. For other writers, creative writing programs abroad may simply be a great way to practice the craft of writing, meet likeminded people, and experience life in another country. Whether you hope to go abroad for course credit or personal reasons is totally up to you!

What financing options may be available for creative writing courses abroad?

Wondering how to finance your creative writing study abroad programs? Funding options depend on the program, as well as your eligibility. The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1992 says that qualified students may be eligible for financial aid while studying abroad if enrolled in a study-abroad program approved by their home institution. Be sure to check with your school’s financial aid office or other authorities to determine if you may qualify for financial aid. Also consider any possible scholarships or grants for which you may be eligible. Remember that financial aid is not guaranteed, but you may find a way to make your study abroad goals possible.

How can I prepare to study creative writing abroad?

Every study abroad program and host country may come with its own set of challenges. Likely, your creative writing program will have some tips and suggestions to help you get ready. However, some common-sense advice may apply. For example, it could potentially be helpful to learn as much as you can about the local customs, etiquette, and language of your host country. That way, you’ll be ready to meet new people and make friends! Learn some basic vocabulary if you are traveling to a country where English isn’t typically spoken. Also be aware of travel advisories, recommended vaccinations, and other health or safety concerns when traveling. And finally, don’t forget to bring a notebook to write things down while you practice being observant. Inspiration is where you find it, and sampling new foods, seeing new places, and interacting with people from different walks of life could provide great material for budding writers. If taking creative writing courses abroad sounds like an exciting prospect, take the time to explore some programs that may meet your needs. Here are a few to check out below:

[1] http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm#tab-4

[1] http://www.nafsa.org/Explore_International_Education/For_Students/Financial_Aid_For_Study_Abroad/Financial_Aid_for_Study_Abroad__An_Undergraduate_Student_s_Resource/

API in Rome, Italy: John Cabot University Semester/Year

Students at the John Cabot University (JCU) in Rome can choose to study a wide variety of disciplines in English, including an Italian language course. Don't forget about API's unique JCU scholarship opportunities!

Other Programs from API matching this criteria:

API Study Abroad in Seville

Api study abroad in barcelona, api study abroad in rome, api study abroad in dublin, api study abroad in london, api study abroad in the uk, api study abroad in spain, api study abroad in ireland, api study abroad in australia, api innovation lab, api global select, api in san jose, costa rica: multidisciplinary and environmental studies summer, studio arts college international, saci florence: summer programs.

The late Summer terms take full advantage of the varied cultural, artistic, and social events that Florence and Italy offer during May, June and July. Two sessions: Summer I (May-June) and Summer II (June-July).

Other Programs from Studio Arts College International matching this criteria:

SACI Full Summer: Florence & Venice

Cis abroad semester in south africa - university of cape town.

Enjoy an all around exceptional semester, from adventure to academics

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CIS Abroad Summer in Florence

Cis abroad summer in london - university of westminster, cis abroad summer in aix-en-provence, cis abroad summer on the gold coast, cis abroad summer in limerick, cis abroad summer in london - university of roehampton, arcadia university, arcadia in london summer.

You will study one four-credit course during session 1 or a three-credit course during session 2. You can choose one or both sessions and you can also combine a session in London with one in another Arcadia Summer Sessions location.

Other Programs from Arcadia University matching this criteria:

Kings College London

London internship program, university of queensland, montserrat college of art, summer fine arts and art history studies in viterbo, italy.

As an integrated arts program, we offer courses in painting, drawing, photography, art history and writing. Students may elect two courses, to earn a maximum of six credits.

Other Programs from Montserrat College of Art matching this criteria:

Sheffield Hallam University

Study abroad at sheffield hallam university.

Enhance your studies and experience life in the UK with the Study Abroad Programme at Sheffield Hallam University. Meet new people and expand your horizons as you study with us for one semester or a full year.

Other Programs from Sheffield Hallam University matching this criteria:

Northumbria University, Newcastle

Study abroad with northumbria university.

The Study Abroad programme is constructed around the Colloquium on British Cultures module, which is a credit-bearing class that involves visits to castles, cathedrals and other historical monuments in the region. You can then choose classes from a w

Other Programs from Northumbria University, Newcastle matching this criteria:

Kingston University

Kingston university london summer school.

Spend a month studying in London and earn university credit. Our classes cover topics such as British Life and Culture, Theatre in London, Art and Museums in London, International Business, History of Slavery, Shakespeare, Literature, Design, Forensic Sci

Other Programs from Kingston University matching this criteria:

University of Sydney

University of sydney: spring friendly study abroad program.

Spend the Spring semester, from January to June, living and studying in Sydney. A full semester mimicking the Spring semester and getting students home for Summer!

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University of Sydney: Semester Study Abroad Program

University of new orleans, the writing workshops and creative arts in cork, ireland.

Participants may choose from a wide variety of courses in writing, literature, film, theater, and other disciplines. The program cost includes tuition, accommodation, meals on class days, opening and closing receptions, readings, insurance, and more.

Other Programs from University of New Orleans matching this criteria:

University of Sussex

University of sussex international summer school.

The ISS is divided into two four week sessions. You can join us for one session or both, but take only one module per session as modules are intensive. Subjects include Anthropology, Art, Biology, Business and Management, Creative Writing, Economics, Engl

Other Programs from University of Sussex matching this criteria:

School of Visual Arts

Writing in the land of enchantment - taos, nm.

Writing is shared and critiqued in daily onsite workshops. Guest authors talk about their work; musicians guide you in reading your pieces with breath and rhythm and in collaborating with other art forms.

Other Programs from School of Visual Arts matching this criteria:

Sponsored Study Creative Writing Abroad Program Listings

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Master of Fine Arts – MFA in Writing

Master of fine arts - mfa in writing.

Email School of Writing

Welcome to Spalding’s flagship graduate writing program.

Our low-residency MFA in Writing program is a nationally recognized leader in graduate writing education. Founded in 2001, it’s one of the oldest and best-regarded programs of its kind. But the Spalding MFA is more than an outstanding creative writing education in a noncompetitive, supportive literary community. For our students, alums and faculty, it’s home. As the flagship program of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing, it’s also sister to three additional low-residency programs: the 35-credit Master of Arts in Writing (MAW), 15-credit graduate certificate in writing , and the post-master’s certificate .

At a substantial 65 credits, the MFA program creates space for creative writers to thrive. Over four semesters plus a graduation residency, students write prolifically in their own area of concentration, explore across genres, examine the interrelatedness of the arts, gain editorial experience on a literary journal, learn about career options with our virtual Business of Writing Seminars and complete a creative thesis — all while becoming part of a lasting community.

Each semester begins with a week-long residency . Whether you attend virtual or on-campus residencies or a mix of both over the course of your studies, you’ll find that residency days are filled with learning opportunities: workshops led by our actively publishing and producing faculty members, genre-specific and cross-genre lectures, panel discussions, readings and more. At on-campus residencies, you’ll discover Louisville’s downtown arts scene and stay in the four-star Brown Hotel. At virtual residencies, you’ll engage with the same immersive curriculum as you would on campus, taught live in real time by the same outstanding faculty. MFA students can opt to spend a residency in a teaching seminar, a book-length manuscript workshop or a workshop in translation, adaptation or another creative writing genre.

Explore our literary journal and catch up with the latest faculty news at Good River Review!

Back at home, a one-on-one mentored independent study course rounds out the semester. During independent study, you’ll exchange five full packets of material with your mentor. That’s more writing and more expert feedback than most other programs can offer. Students produce a creative thesis; playwriting students also develop their creative thesis with a professional theater company. Students can take an entire semester in another area and still graduate on time.

Every writer has work or family obligations. While you could push aside those commitments for a couple of years of grad school, you can’t keep life at bay forever. Much better to build a sustainable writing practice into your daily life. Our low-residency model teaches you to do just that — and to make it easier, we offer flexibility in scheduling your weekly workload and charting your course of study. For added inspiration, we also offer students and alumni the option of enrichment travel.

We accept transfer credit from other MFA programs. Students with a published book or produced script may apply for acceleration .

We invite you to explore our program , meet alumni and learn why Spalding is the choice for serious writers . Then, we invite you to apply .

“I have SUCH fond memories of my time at Spalding. The faculty was smart and engaged. The students were diverse and eager — and thoughtful. The conversations we had made me remember again why I do the work I do. The vibe was like family. I felt SO at home there, I have to say. All these years later, it really stays with me.”

– Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming , winner of the National Book Award, Newbery Honor Medal and Coretta Scott King Award

Concentrations

• Creative Nonfiction
• Playwriting
• Screenwriting
• Writing for Children & Young Adults

Am I Too Old to Get an MFA?

Recent Faculty Publications

• Spring: May 25 – June 1, 2024
• Summer (virtual): June 22 – 29, 2024
• Fall: November 9 – 16, 2024
• Named a top 10 low residency MFA program by Poets & Writers .
• March 1: application deadline for spring semester, starting in May with residency on campus
• April 1: application deadline for summer semester, starting in June with a virtual residency
• August 1: Application deadline for fall semester, starting in November with residency on campus
• MFA alumni have garnered top national honors while publishing and producing more than 500 books, plays and films. To read about alumni successes, click on the concentrations listed above.
• Recent visiting writers include Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Natasha Trethewey, Kiki Petrosino, Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, Randy Ribay, Kevin Willmott, Sheila Callaghan, Ann Patchett, Tim O’Brien, Terese Marie Mailhot, Pico Iyer, Doug Wright, John Patrick Shanley and more.
• Tuition is affordable , and financial aid is available.
• We are members of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs , SCBWI and the Playwrights’ Center .
• Spalding is the world’s first certified Compassionate University.
• We welcome veterans.
• You can get to know our faculty and directors on our blog .

For more information, email [email protected] .

Take the Next Step

Department of English

You are here

Mfa in creative writing.

Our innovative MFA program includes both studio instruction and literature courses. Writers can take workshop courses in any genre, and they can write a thesis in fiction, nonfiction, poetry or “hybrid” (multi-genre) form. In the second year, they teach popular Creative Writing courses to Davis undergraduates under faculty supervision, gaining valuable experience and sharing their insight  and enthusiasm with beginning practitioners.

Questions? Contact: [email protected] 

Admissions and Online Application

Events, Prizes, and Resources

At UC Davis, we offer you the ability to fund your MFA. In fact, all students admitted to the program are guaranteed full funding in the second year of study, when students serve as teachers of Introduction to Creative Writing (English 5) and receive, in exchange, tuition and health insurance remission as well as a monthly stipend (second year students who come to Davis from out of state are expected to establish residency during their first year). We have a more limited amount of resources – teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and out of state tuition wavers – allocated to us for first year students, but in recent years, we’ve had excellent luck funding our accepted first years. We help students who do not receive English department funding help themselves by posting job announcements from other departments during the spring and summer leading up to their arrival. We are proud to say that over the course of the last twenty years, nearly every incoming student has wound up with at least partial funding (including a tuition waiver and health insurance coverage) by the time classes begin in the fall.

We have other resources for students, too – like the Miller Fund, which supports attendance for our writers at any single writer’s workshop or conference. Students have used these funds to attend well-known conferences like AWP, Writing By Writers, and the Tin House Conference. The Davis Humanities Institute offers a fellowship that first year students can apply for to fund their writing projects. Admitted students are also considered for University-wide fellowships.

Cost of Attendance

The M.F.A. at Davis is a two-year program on the quarter system (our academic year consists of three sessions of ten-week courses that run from the end of September until mid-June). The program includes classes and a thesis project. It requires diverse, multidisciplinary study and offers excellent mentorship.

Writers concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or “hybrid” (multi-genre) forms. They take at least four graduate workshops, and they’re required to take one workshop outside their primary genre (many of our students choose to take even more). Writers at Davis also take graduate courses in literature from abundant options, including the program’s Seminars for Writers. Writers can also take graduate courses in literary study taught by scholars in the English Department. And many of our writers enroll in courses relevant to their work in other departments like art history, comparative literature, linguistics, and performance studies.

At the end of the first year, writers form a thesis committee with a Director and two additional readers from the faculty. In the second year, writers at Davis concentrate on Individual Study units with these mentors, working closely with their committee to create a book-length creative work. Writers present their projects at intimate, intense, celebratory defense in May with all members of their committee in attendance.

We’re a new MFA, but we’ve been a successful and respected Creative Writing Program since 1975—a “sleeper” program, as one guide to MFA programs called us. The people who founded the CW program at UC Davis were all lovers and teachers of literature, and chose to call the program an MA, rather than an MFA because they wanted to ensure that the degree would not be seen as a “studio” degree but one in which the study of literature was integral.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s, most often under the leadership of Jack Hicks and Alan Williamson, the program emphasized writing on the American West and the wilderness. Our high profile faculty included Sandra McPherson, Gary Snyder, Sandra Gilbert, Clarence Major, Katherine Vaz, Elizabeth Tallent, Max Byrd, and Louis Owens.

We also created an introductory sequence of workshops taught by graduate students, which has become one of the highlights of the program for the second years who teach the courses and the undergraduates who take them. There’s more to teaching these courses than learning to teach; teaching helps our writers understand their own writing in ways that no other aspect of a writing program can do. Pam Houston joined the program in the early 2000’s and she led a faculty that included Lynn Freed and Yiyun Li. As an MFA, we remain a place that values sustained literary study as core to the making of art, but we’re also allowing our vision of genre to expand and embrace the other arts and media.

The town of Davis began as "Davisville," a small stop on the Southern Pacific railway between Sacramento and the Bay Area.  Some of our graduate students choose to live in Sacramento or the Bay Area, making use of the commute-by-train option, which is still very much in place.  For those commuting by car, Davis is a 15-25 minute drive from Sacramento and a 60-90 minute drive from the Bay Area.

Students also choose to live in Davis itself, which CNN once ranked the second most educated city in the US.  Davis is a college town of about 75,000 people. Orchards, farms and ranches border it on all sides. The town boasts a legendary twice-weekly farmers market (complete with delicious food trucks and live music). Bike and walking paths lead everywhere (many students prefer not to own a car while they are here) and there are copious amounts of planned green space in every subdivision. The flatness of the land makes Davis ideal for biking, and the city over the past 5 decades has installed bike lanes and bike racks all over town. In fact, in 2006,  Bicycling Magazine , in its compilation of "America's Best Biking Cities," named Davis the best small town for cycling. Packed with coffee houses, bookstores, and restaurants that serve cuisine from every continent, Downtown Davis has a casual vibe. It’s a great place to hole up and write. Davis is filled with hard wood trees, and flower and vegetable gardens, and wild ducks and turkeys walk the campus as if they own the place. It’s a gentle place to live. Although summers get quite hot, the other three seasons are mild, and each, in their own way, quite beautiful. For more about the town, check out the Davis Wikipedia page .

Woodland and Winters, two small towns close by to Davis, are also options for housing—and they’re good options for those who are not so desirous of the college town scene.  Yet another option is to live in the scenic rural areas Davis is surrounded by.

To the west of Davis, Lake Berryessa and the Napa valley are close by.  To the east, the Sierra mountains are close by; Reno and Tahoe are just a couple hours drive in that direction. 

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• Creative Writing Program (MFA)
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Creative Writing Program

The New School invites you to join a community of diverse writers, become part of New York City’s publishing world, and build a network of support on campus and beyond. Our prestigious MFA Creative Writing program is designed to help you develop your writing in supportive workshops and literature seminars led by an internationally recognized faculty and renowned authors.

books published annually by alumni and faculty

annual writing events, including the National Book Awards Finalist Reading

of admitted MFA students awarded merit-based university scholarships (2020–2021)

MFA in Creative Writing

As an MFA student at The New School, you can choose your concentration—in Arts Writing, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Writing for Children and Young Adults—and receive personalized faculty mentorship and faculty and peer critiques. Innovative courses in publishing and multimedia storytelling engage you in the development of literature. Popular graduate minors include Impact Entrepreneurship and Transmedia and Digital Storytelling . Or you can apply to WriteOn NYC! , a New School–funded fellowship program providing MFA students with high-quality teaching experience in area middle schools and high schools. All students benefit from evening classes and events, which enable them to work or attend responsibilities during the day while enrolled in a  full-time program.

Related Programs

In addition to the renowned MFA in Creative Writing, The New School offers other programs and opportunities for writing students. These include noncredit courses and summer intensives, as well as an undergraduate major in the Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students, the Writing and Democracy Honors Program, and undergraduate minors in related fields. Summer Writing Intensive Continuing Education Courses Writing & Democracy Honors Program BA in Creative Writing Undergraduate Creative Writing Courses

• Meet our faculty

The Writer’s Life in NYC

Creative Writing students come to The New School from across the United States and around the world to live the writer's life in New York City. Evenings with agents and editors, offered exclusively for MFA students, provide informal opportunities to meet publishing professionals.

The New School Bookshelf

We are proud to feature books recently published by The New School's Creative Writing community.

Sigrid Nunez, Faculty

Hurricane Child

Kacen callender, mfa '14.

The Impeachers

Brenda wineapple, faculty.

The January Children

Safia elhillo, mfa '15.

Mira Jacob, Faculty and MFA '01

Events & news.

• The Vera List Center for Art and Politics Presents New School New Books Event Series
• Adrian Madlener, History of Design and Curatorial Studies ’18, Explores Design Through Writing and Research
• The Vera List Center for Art and Politics Hosts Reading Room Featuring Faculty Books
• Richard Barone, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music Faculty Member, Debuts New Book about Music Scene in 1960’s Greenwich Village
• New Faculty Achievements from Across The New School Include Fellowships, Grants, and More
• Alexandra Kleeman, SPE Assistant Professor of Writing, Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction

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Submit your application

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To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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• Creative Writing, MFA

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing is a terminal, two-year postgraduate degree that focuses on the art and practice of writing. At Arcadia, you choose between programs in fiction or poetry, and graduate with a completed manuscript of publishable quality, written under the guidance of the department’s award winning, diverse faculty.

Arcadia University’s low-residency MFA is distinctive in that it incorporates both a dynamic and flexible online learning environment, as well as a study abroad experience. You take between six and nine credits each term, and meet in person for a week-long residency at three different times during the course of study. Asynchronous workshops are conducted online every week during the fall and spring semesters, and are accessible at any time, through all platforms, allowing for a truly portable and flexible classroom. Our low-residency program allows you to tailor your own academic schedule in order to maintain a full-time professional life outside of school. 

Studying Creative Writing, you can expect:

• Visiting Writers:  Visiting writers work with MFA students at each residency to discuss both craft and business issues in the writing world.
• One-On-One Practicums: Each semester students participate in a series of one-on-one meetings with an instructor to review, edit, and discuss writing in detail. 
• Residencies & Study Abroad:  Arcadia’s MFA offers three, one week long residencies.  Arcadia believes a global perspective is an important facet of writing, so one residency takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Our residencies allow students to workshop writing with peers, faculty, and visiting writers.
• Marathon Literary Review: A literary journal established by the first class of Arcadia University’s MFA in Creative Writing. Its editorial staff is made up entirely of MFA students, and they create a publication that showcases the current voices and emerging talent of writers, poets, photographers, and other artists.
• Partial Funding Available: Funding packages ranging up to $4,000 are available. At least four TA positions per cohort will be offered; in order to be considered, you must apply by the priority deadline.

Experiential Learning

“I liked the flexibility of a low-residency MFA program, an increased ability to work during the program to make it a more financially feasible decision, and, of course, the Edinburgh residency.”

Andrew Huffman ’23, MFA in Creative Writing

UPCOMING EVENTS

What can i do with an mfa in creative writing.

An MFA degree in Creative Writing can prepare you for a career in editing, publishing, and teaching. 

Editing: A career in editing is an especially appealing option when you gain experience working on a literary journal during your time in our MFA program. Editors can work in a range of settings, including: advertising and public relations agencies, media outlets, nonprofit and government organizations, corporations, and universities.

Publishing: MFA graduates also may pursue a career in publishing, working for a small or large press.

Teaching : The MFA is considered a terminal degree in academia, so you are qualified to teach both creative writing and composition at the university level. With the needed state certifications, you can use your MFA to pursue a career in secondary education. You may also choose to teach in private schools.

Writing: In addition to seeking publication for your own creative work, with your MFA in Creative Writing you can write for magazines, newspapers, companies, and organizations. This includes business, marketing, professional, technical, pharmaceutical and medical writing. Full-time, part-time and freelance opportunities are available.

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The 10 Best Creative Writing MFA Programs in the US

The talent is there. 

But the next generation of great American writers needs a collegial place to hone their craft. 

They need a place to explore the writer’s role in a wider community. 

They really need guidance about how and when to publish. 

All these things can be found in a solid Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree program. This degree offers access to mentors, to colleagues, and to a future in the writing world. 

A good MFA program gives new writers a precious few years to focus completely on their work, an ideal space away from the noise and pressure of the fast-paced modern world. 

We’ve found ten of the best ones, all of which provide the support, the creative stimulation, and the tranquility necessary to foster a mature writer.

We looked at graduate departments from all regions, public and private, all sizes, searching for the ten most inspiring Creative Writing MFA programs. 

Each of these ten institutions has assembled stellar faculties, developed student-focused paths of study, and provide robust support for writers accepted into their degree programs. 

To be considered for inclusion in this list, these MFA programs all must be fully-funded degrees, as recognized by Read The Workshop .

Creative Writing education has broadened and expanded over recent years, and no single method or plan fits for all students. 

Today, MFA programs across the country give budding short story writers and poets a variety of options for study. For future novelists, screenwriters – even viral bloggers – the search for the perfect setting for their next phase of development starts with these outstanding institutions, all of which have developed thoughtful and particular approaches to study.

So where will the next Salinger scribble his stories on the steps of the student center, or the next Angelou reading her poems in the local bookstore’s student-run poetry night? At one of these ten programs.

Here are 10 of the best creative writing MFA programs in the US.

University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)

Starting off the list is one of the oldest and most venerated Creative Writing programs in the country, the MFA at the University of Oregon. 

Longtime mentor, teacher, and award-winning poet Garrett Hongo directs the program, modeling its studio-based approach to one-on-one instruction in the English college system. 

Oregon’s MFA embraces its reputation for rigor. Besides attending workshops and tutorials, students take classes in more formal poetics and literature.  

A classic college town, Eugene provides an ideal backdrop for the writers’ community within Oregon’s MFA students and faculty.  

Tsunami Books , a local bookseller with national caché, hosts student-run readings featuring writers from the program. 

Graduates garner an impressive range of critical acclaim; Yale Younger Poet winner Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Cave Canem Prize winner and Guggenheim fellow Major Jackson, and PEN-Hemingway Award winner Chang-Rae Lee are noteworthy alumni. 

With its appealing setting and impressive reputation, Oregon’s MFA program attracts top writers as visiting faculty, including recent guests Elizabeth McCracken, David Mura, and Li-young Lee.

The individual approach defines the Oregon MFA experience; a key feature of the program’s first year is the customized reading list each MFA student creates with their faculty guide. 

Weekly meetings focus not only on the student’s writing, but also on the extended discovery of voice through directed reading. 

Accepting only ten new students a year—five in poetry and five in fiction— the University of Oregon’s MFA ensures a close-knit community with plenty of individual coaching and guidance.

Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)

Cornell University’s MFA program takes the long view on life as a writer, incorporating practical editorial training and teaching experience into its two-year program.

Incoming MFA students choose their own faculty committee of at least two faculty members, providing consistent advice as they move through a mixture of workshop and literature classes. 

Students in the program’s first year benefit from editorial training as readers and editors for Epoch , the program’s prestigious literary journal.

Teaching experience grounds the Cornell program. MFA students design and teach writing-centered undergraduate seminars on a variety of topics, and they remain in Ithaca during the summer to teach in programs for undergraduates. 

Cornell even allows MFA graduates to stay on as lecturers at Cornell for a period of time while they are on the job search. Cornell also offers a joint MFA/Ph.D. program through the Creative Writing and English departments.

Endowments fund several acclaimed reading series, drawing internationally known authors to campus for workshops and work sessions with MFA students. 

Recent visiting readers include Salman Rushdie, Sandra Cisneros, Billy Collins, Margaret Atwood, Ada Limón, and others. 

Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)

Arizona State’s MFA in Creative Writing spans three years, giving students ample time to practice their craft, develop a voice, and begin to find a place in the post-graduation literary world. 

Coursework balances writing and literature classes equally, with courses in craft and one-on-one mentoring alongside courses in literature, theory, or even electives in topics like fine press printing, bookmaking, or publishing. 

While students follow a path in either poetry or fiction, they are encouraged to take courses across the genres.

Teaching is also a focus in Arizona State’s MFA program, with funding coming from teaching assistantships in the school’s English department. Other exciting teaching opportunities include teaching abroad in locations around the world, funded through grants and internships.

The Virginia C. Piper Center for Creative Writing, affiliated with the program, offers Arizona State MFA students professional development in formal and informal ways. 

The Distinguished Writers Series and Desert Nights, Rising Stars Conference bring world-class writers to campus, allowing students to interact with some of the greatest in the profession. Acclaimed writer and poet Alberto Ríos directs the Piper Center.

Arizona State transitions students to the world after graduation through internships with publishers like Four Way Books. 

Its commitment to the student experience and its history of producing acclaimed writers—recent examples include Tayari Jones (Oprah’s Book Club, 2018; Women’s Prize for Fiction, 2019), Venita Blackburn ( Prairie Schooner Book Prize, 2018), and Hugh Martin ( Iowa Review Jeff Sharlet Award for Veterans)—make Arizona State University’s MFA a consistent leader among degree programs.

University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)

The University of Texas at Austin’s MFA program, the Michener Center for Writers, maintains one of the most vibrant, exciting, active literary faculties of any MFA program.

Denis Johnson D.A. Powell, Geoff Dyer, Natasha Trethewey, Margot Livesey, Ben Fountain: the list of recent guest faculty boasts some of the biggest names in current literature.

This three-year program fully funds candidates without teaching fellowships or assistantships; the goal is for students to focus entirely on their writing. 

More genre tracks at the Michener Center mean students can choose two focus areas, a primary and secondary, from Fiction, Poetry, Screenwriting, and Playwriting.

The Michener Center for Writers plays a prominent role in contemporary writing of all kinds. 

The hip, student-edited Bat City Review accepts work of all genres, visual art, cross genres, collaborative, and experimental pieces.  

Recent events for illustrious alumni include New Yorker publications, an Oprah Book Club selection, a screenwriting prize, and a 2021 Pulitzer (for visiting faculty member Mitchell Jackson). 

In this program, students are right in the middle of all the action of contemporary American literature.

Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

The MFA in Creative Writing at Washington University in St. Louis is a program on the move: applicants have almost doubled here in the last five years. 

Maybe this sudden growth of interest comes from recent rising star alumni on the literary scene, like Paul Tran, Miranda Popkey, and National Book Award winner Justin Phillip Reed.

Or maybe it’s the high profile Washington University’s MFA program commands, with its rotating faculty post through the Hurst Visiting Professor program and its active distinguished reader series. 

Superstar figures like Alison Bechdel and George Saunders have recently held visiting professorships, maintaining an energetic atmosphere program-wide.

Washington University’s MFA program sustains a reputation for the quality of the mentorship experience. 

With only five new students in each genre annually, MFA candidates form close cohorts among their peers and enjoy attentive support and mentorship from an engaged and vigorous faculty. 

Three genre tracks are available to students: fiction, poetry, and the increasingly relevant and popular creative nonfiction.

Another attractive feature of this program: first-year students are fully funded, but not expected to take on a teaching role until their second year. 

A generous stipend, coupled with St. Louis’s low cost of living, gives MFA candidates at Washington University the space to develop in a low-stress but stimulating creative environment.

Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)

It’s one of the first and biggest choices students face when choosing an MFA program: two-year or three-year? 

Indiana University makes a compelling case for its three-year program, in which the third year of support allows students an extended period of time to focus on the thesis, usually a novel or book-length collection.

One of the older programs on the list, Indiana’s MFA dates back to 1948. 

Its past instructors and alumni read like the index to an American Literature textbook. 

How many places can you take classes in the same place Robert Frost once taught, not to mention the program that granted its first creative writing Master’s degree to David Wagoner? Even today, the program’s integrity and reputation draw faculty like Ross Gay and Kevin Young.

Indiana’s Creative Writing program houses two more literary institutions, the Indiana Review, and the Indiana University Writers’ Conference. 

Students make up the editorial staff of this lauded literary magazine, in some cases for course credit or a stipend. An MFA candidate serves each year as assistant director of the much-celebrated and highly attended conference . 

These two facets of Indiana’s program give graduate students access to visiting writers, professional experience, and a taste of the writing life beyond academia.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI)

The University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program cultivates its students with a combination of workshop-driven course work and vigorous programming on and off-campus. Inventive new voices in fiction and poetry consistently emerge from this two-year program.

The campus hosts multiple readings, events, and contests, anchored by the Zell Visiting Writers Series. The Hopgood Awards offer annual prize money to Michigan creative writing students . 

The department cultivates relationships with organizations and events around Detroit, so whether it’s introducing writers at Literati bookstore or organizing writing retreats in conjunction with local arts organizations, MFA candidates find opportunities to cultivate a community role and public persona as a writer.

What happens after graduation tells the big story of this program. Michigan produces heavy hitters in the literary world, like Celeste Ng, Jesmyn Ward, Elizabeth Kostova, Nate Marshall, Paisley Rekdal, and Laura Kasischke. 

Their alumni place their works with venerable houses like Penguin and Harper Collins, longtime literary favorites Graywolf and Copper Canyon, and the new vanguard like McSweeney’s, Fence, and Ugly Duckling Presse.

University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)

Structure combined with personal attention and mentorship characterizes the University of Minnesota’s Creative Writing MFA, starting with its unique program requirements. 

In addition to course work and a final thesis, Minnesota’s MFA candidates assemble a book list of personally significant works on literary craft, compose a long-form essay on their writing process, and defend their thesis works with reading in front of an audience.

Literary journal Great River Review and events like the First Book reading series and Mill City Reading series do their part to expand the student experience beyond the focus on the internal. 

The Edelstein-Keller Visiting Writer Series draws exceptional, culturally relevant writers like Chuck Klosterman and Claudia Rankine for readings and student conversations. 

Writer and retired University of Minnesota instructor Charles Baxter established the program’s Hunger Relief benefit , aiding Minnesota’s Second Harvest Heartland organization. 

Emblematic of the program’s vision of the writer in service to humanity, this annual contest and reading bring together distinguished writers, students, faculty, and community members in favor of a greater goal.

Brown University (Providence, RI)

One of the top institutions on any list, Brown University features an elegantly-constructed Literary Arts Program, with students choosing one workshop and one elective per semester. 

The electives can be taken from any department at Brown; especially popular choices include Studio Art and other coursework through the affiliated Rhode Island School of Design. The final semester consists of thesis construction under the supervision of the candidate’s faculty advisor.

Brown is the only MFA program to feature, in addition to poetry and fiction tracks, the Digital/Cross Disciplinary track . 

This track attracts multidisciplinary writers who need the support offered by Brown’s collaboration among music, visual art, computer science, theater and performance studies, and other departments. 

The interaction with the Rhode Island School of Design also allows those artists interested in new forms of media to explore and develop their practice, inventing new forms of art and communication.

Brown’s Literary Arts Program focuses on creating an atmosphere where students can refine their artistic visions, supported by like-minded faculty who provide the time and materials necessary to innovate. 

Not only has the program produced trailblazing writers like Percival Everett and Otessa Moshfegh, but works composed by alumni incorporating dance, music, media, and theater have been performed around the world, from the stage at Kennedy Center to National Public Radio.

University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

When most people hear “MFA in Creative Writing,” it’s the Iowa Writers’ Workshop they imagine. 

The informal name of the University of Iowa’s Program in Creative Writing, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop was the first to offer an MFA, back in 1936. 

One of the first diplomas went to renowned writer Wallace Stegner, who later founded the MFA program at Stanford.

 It’s hard to argue with seventeen Pulitzer Prize winners and six U.S. Poets Laureate. The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is the root system of the MFA tree.

The two-year program balances writing courses with coursework in other graduate departments at the university. In addition to the book-length thesis, a written exam is part of the student’s last semester.

Because the program represents the quintessential idea of a writing program, it attracts its faculty positions, reading series, events, and workshops the brightest lights of the literary world. 

The program’s flagship literary magazine, the Iowa Review , is a lofty goal for writers at all stages of their career. 

At the Writers’ Workshop, tracks include not only fiction, poetry, playwriting, and nonfiction, but also Spanish creative writing and literary translation. Their reading series in association with Prairie Lights bookstore streams online and is heard around the world.

Iowa’s program came into being in answer to the central question posed to each one of these schools: can writing be taught? 

The answer for a group of intrepid, creative souls in 1936 was, actually, “maybe not.” 

But they believed it could be cultivated; each one of these institutions proves it can be, in many ways, for those willing to commit the time and imagination.

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“The Transpacific Flow: Creative Writing Programs in China” by Jin Feng

“W hat happens when a US cultural institution is imported to China, the purported chief rival of the United States in the twenty-first century?” asks Jin Feng in The Transpacific Flow , a short 100-page study of MFA programs in China.

What indeed? The framing implies some relation between creative writing programs and not just literature but also geopolitics. Whether there really is, it’s clear that at least some of the powers-that-be believe there to be. Feng writes:

The expansion of US creative writing programs benefited from Cold War initiatives such as the GI Bill and the National Defense Education Act, issued by the US federal government to subsidize the expansion of American universities to compete with the Soviet Union. Moreover, their pedagogy was formulated against the purportedly collectivist and “propagandist” Soviet ideology by emphasizing the individual over the collective and the concrete over the abstract.

Feng’s points of reference here are the well-known Iowa Writers’ Workshop and International Writing Program, both at the University of Iowa. Chinese writers started attending almost as soon as this was possible: Wang Anyi attended more than forty years ago in 1983.

An internationally acclaimed program that provided one of the rare and earliest opportunities for Chinese writers to reengage with the West after thirty years of isolation, it also roused attention from the two national governments and put them on high alert, as both viewed the program as a form of soft power.

Feng ascribes the subsequent development of similar programs in China also to a political impetus:

Half a century later, Chinese writing programs multiplied, thanks to a “rising” China’s initiative to mass-produce high-quality cultural workers and hence give the nation a boost in its bid for cultural as well as economic prominence, and its drive to realize its ambitious goal of “Made in China 2025” in both economic and cultural arenas …

although the two don’t seem quite parallel.

The question how American and Chinese institutions of higher learning are related and interact was asked more broadly in William C Kirby’s Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China . The most illuminating aspects of The Transpacific Flow are perhaps not so much these broader issues, but some of the details, of which the linkage between American MFA programs and Cold War politics is just one. Another is that China has imported some of the peculiar hierarchies of America academia long with the programs:

Today, Chinese universities typically require a PhD degree as a minimum qualification when hiring faculty members, and they do not accept an MFA in creative writing as a terminal degree that fulfills that requirement.

The efficacy of such programs is questioned in China as it is elsewhere: Jeng’s sources

are not unanimously confident that writing programs can produce writers. Some successes have emerged in the decade and a half since the first MFA in creative writing was established in China, yet, as some facetiously put it, only eggs can be hatched, and no stones can be turned into chickens no matter how good the incubator is.

One particularly interesting thread involves the baleful effects of the centrality of the English-language:

Today, English still dominates as the language of global communication and translation, while certain Western-centric “universal” criteria of good writing continue to inform the definition of literature worthy of global recognition. Meanwhile, Chinese writers and intellectuals are enthusiastically pursuing the project of building creative writing programs at Chinese universities based on their experiences with the American-style writing programs. At the same time, they have consciously or unconsciously changed their writing styles, arguably to make their works more translatable and thereby more accessible to Western audiences

That final comment has been made by or about writers in other languages from Japanese to Italian. The side effects are not limited to writing:

It appears that those who have been exposed to Western education and literature in systematic or immersive ways also tend to believe that contemporary Chinese authors compare unfavorably to Chinese authors from the 1920s and 1930s in terms of their educational background, cultural knowledge, and global perspective. These “pessimists” also advocate that Chinese authors read Western works widely since “the tradition of fiction came from Europe.”

Feng covers a lot of ground, from Paul Engle and Hualing Nieh Engle’s role in building the programs in Iowa and opening them to foreign writers, to translation, teaching, careers, institutional structure and dynamics, the rise of “popular web literature in a market-oriented economy” and the angst about where Chinese writing fits into “world literature”, or whether it does it all (without really questioning whether “world literature” is a sensible concept).

Some unfortunate phrasing has been allowed to creep in. In her long sidebar on Hong Kong and the programs there, she writes:

Moreover, in their mind, their program would integrate Hong Kong’s colonial heritages, such as the British educational model … and local strengths in English learning with the new reality of life under CCP rule ….

Hong Kong is not “under CCP rule”. Elsewhere she mentions “the state initiative to focus on ‘cultural and creative industry’ in Hong Kong”; but Hong Kong, not being a country, doesn’t itself have anything with the gravitas of “state” initiatives. One can deduce what she means, but neither terminology is as rigorously accurate as one might expect from an academic monograph. And “Hong Kong’s well-heeled Horse Racing Society” is presumably the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

But at the end, Feng takes a step back from the politics to note that

it would be unwise to dismiss ideologically informed and inflected literature as uncreative and to seek innovation only in works purportedly pursuing an autonomous aesthetic, even if that were at all possible in the Chinese context. Ideology, though often disparaged by Western scholars when judging literature, has always formed an integral component of cultural life in China rather than merely being a source of contamination.

Peter gordon is editor of the asian review of books., share this:.

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Mfa program cultivates lifelong practice and community.

Professor Lewis Buzbee discusses how the MFA program at USF fosters continuous practice, community, and individuality in writing.

What makes the MFA program at USF distinct?

That there is no “USF style.” We welcome writers in all genres and aesthetics, from YA novels to the most experimental works. The range of sensibilities among the faculty allows for this approach. We don’t want you to write like us; we want to help you find who you are as a writer.

What do you find most special about the MFA writing education/experience?

The pairing of workshops and seminars, how they complement each other. Reading literature in the seminars leads to a greater understanding of the strategies you can use in your own work. And the workshop helps you expand your notion of the possibilities of the literature. There’s a clear connection between the two. As readers and writers, we understand that your best tool in progressing in your work is the vast and deep reading that occupies you.

How can pursuing an MFA support your writing process/journey now and later?

First there’s the focus on habit and discipline. For two years, you’ll be writing regularly and with purpose, establishing a practice that will carry you beyond MFA into what is, one hopes, a life-long practice. I also feel like the community that you find at USF is crucial. To be among like-minded folk, never having to “explain” the weird life you’ve chosen, is a great source of confidence and continuity. So many MFA friendships go on to become long-term communities. Writing is a lonely life, in many ways, and finding that community can be essential to continuing.

So many MFA friendships go on to become long-term communities.”

How would you sum up your classroom dynamic (or teaching style) in a few words?

Possibility. I love opening up big discussions, whether in workshop or seminar, all pointed to what comes next in the writing. It’s always about what comes next. We don’t come to class to judge or dismiss, but to find ourselves reaching toward bigger and better questions.

Why do you teach writing?

It’s fun, that simple. I mean, talking to people about books and writing, in an engaged classroom? Can’t beat that. But also because it’s made me a smarter writer, and I hope, a better one. I get as much from the writers in my class as I give to them (or even hope to give to them). It’s a collaborative process, and that collaboration makes us all smarter.

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Creative Writing Concentration

Hone your personal creative voice and study the art of creatively stringing words together to create meaning, inspire action, and tell a story – from social media to children’s books.

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Develop who you are as a writer.

If you don’t go a day without writing—journal entries, blog posts, poetry, impassioned emails, or witty social media updates to friends—the Creative Writing concentration offers a rewarding way for you to develop the practice.

This concentration is designed for students inspired to pursue their own artistic vision. You’ll study the craft and discipline of writing, learn how writers create their unique voices, and explore world literature. You’ll have opportunities to study—and participate in—personal and group performance at Champlain and beyond. With our Creative Writing concentration, you will develop your individual style and add versatile skills to a toolbox that can be used in a variety of career settings. Through courses in this concentration, you can:

• Pursue your artistic vision through developing your unique voice.
• Study contemporary and historical writing from various world regions.
• Build your portfolio so you can show the world what you can do.

Courses in the Creative Writing Concentration

All Creative Media students are required to select a Primary Area of Focus and a Complementary Area of Focus. Shown here is the curriculum for the 24-credit Primary Area of Focus. If you choose Creative Writing as a 12-credit Complementary Area of Focus, requirements will differ from those shown.

8 courses through at least the 300 level are required for Creative Writing Primary Focus Area

Choose at least one of the following:

• WRT 220: Intermediate Creative Writing
• WRT 221: Intermediate Poetry Workshop
• WRT 226: Intermediate Fiction Workshop
• WRT 237: Intermediate Creative Nonfiction

Primary area electives:

• WRT 180: Introduction to Songwriting
• WRT 200: Fundamentals of Journalism
• WRT 235: Writing Children’s Literature
• WRT 236: Writing About Food
• WRT 280: Reading & Writing in the Wilderness
• WRT 324: Advanced Poetry Workshop
• WRT 325: Advanced Fiction Workshop
• WRT 327: Seminar in Playwriting
• WRT 337: Advanced Creative Nonfiction
• WRT 346: Publishing in the 21st Century
• FLM 128: Screenwriting I
• FLM 328: Screenwriting II

WRT 120 Creative Writing, Introduction to

Introduction to Creative Writing explores techniques used by poets and fiction writers in their crafts. Students will analyze examples of published works and will produce portfolios of original works. Workshop activity is required; students must share their work with the entire class.

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Certificate in Teaching of Creative Writing Location:  AU Los Angeles Credits for Degree: 12 semester credits Standard Mode of Instruction: Low-residency Standard time to completion: 6 months

Program Overview

The Post-MFA Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing program, offered by the Creative Writing Department of the Division of Graduate and Professional Studies, is open to any student holding an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) or another accredited institution, and is one semester beyond the completion of the MFA degree at Antioch. During this semester, the student engages in systematic study of the theory and practice of teaching creative writing and composition, a salutary preparation for working in classroom and workshop settings at any educational level.

Although the Post-MFA Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing is not a formal teaching “credential,” it benefits the following groups:

• MFA holders who desire to teach, but have little teaching experience;
• MFA holders who are either college/university writing instructors or public school teachers who want to learn more about the intersection of creative and expository writing pedagogies, and to incorporate this knowledge into their teaching;
• MFA holders who desire to improve their marketability as teachers; and
• MFA holders who have teaching careers well under way and seek to improve their current positions through postgraduate professional development encouraged or required by their employers.

Note: The California Community College system does not recognize either the MFA or the Post-MFA Certificate as a valid teaching credential for instructors of English. In addition, the Post-MFA Certificate is not a program that leads to a teaching credential for secondary or elementary education.

Post-MFA Program Learning Outcomes

All Post-MFA students incorporate five program learning outcomes and activities into their project period work. The first four of these are accomplished during the student’s supervised teaching placement (overseen by the on-site supervisor) and one in the student’s independent research on creative writing pedagogy (overseen by the Post-MFA faculty).

Graduates of the Post-MFA program will:

• Accountability to all chains of command (on-site teaching supervisor, Post-MFA mentor, Creative Writing Department chair, and Creative Writing Department office)
• Professional demeanor in all activities related to the program and one’s teaching assignment
• Professional documentation, as needed
• Communicating clearly and in a timely manner with students, supervisors, and colleagues
• Engaging with the life of the department of the host institution, including attending faculty meetings (when invited)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics that exist in a particular writing classroom or online setting, including the differing viewpoints and learning styles of individual students.
• Professionally critique one’s own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and adjust one’s own teaching as needed.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop an assignment or lesson plan that responds to the class’s stated learning goals.
• Develop a critical vocabulary from research in pedagogy to identify and articulate various teaching methodologies and their relation to student learning styles.

Program Progression

The Post-MFA Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing is completed in three stages with the following learning activities:

Stage I: Pre-Project Period Residency

The entering Post-MFA Certificate student must attend a ten-day residency on the Antioch University Los Angeles campus during which the student completes the following requirements:

• “Overview of Post-MFA Certificate Program and Readings in Pedagogy” seminar/ orientation
• “Designing a Flexible Workshop Syllabus” seminar
• A Residency Workshop in their chosen writing genre
• Attend all lectures and panels involving Certificate students or pedagogy faculty
• Attend five additional Residency learning activities, such as seminars, lectures, panels, roundtables, etc. 

Post-MFA students are encouraged to generate a list of possible teaching placements (locations and supervisor contact information) before beginning in the program, and to bring it to the first on-campus residency. Students with a list of possible placements prior to Stage I will be able to make the best use of their first on-campus residency.

Stage II: Semester Project Period

During the five-month project period, Post-MFA Certificate students perform the following off-campus activities:

• Teaching Apprenticeship: every student will gain direct experience working as a professional instructor’s “Teaching Assistant.” This apprenticeship will also include some teaching-leadership of the class, guided by the professional instructor.
• Complete Teaching Practicum: every student will have the opportunity to design and lead a teaching experience for real, eager writers, whether in Antioch’s Alumni Circle, or with community organizations like PocketMFA.
• Engage with Contemporary and Urgent Texts: every student will read widely in the pedagogy of creative writing and engage regularly in vigorous zoom discussions with the faculty and other students.
• Develop a Teacher’s Toolkit: A top priority of the program is practicality and flexibility, and every student will leave the program with an immediately useful set of tools and documents to take on their journey to making a living as a creative writing instructor. 

The details of each of the above are negotiated with each student’s mentor and specified in the Project Period Contract.

Stage III: Post-Project Period Short Residency

Post-MFA Certificate students are required to attend at least the first three days of their post-project period residency. A student may choose to attend as many additional days of the post-project period residency as the student wishes. Requirements are as follows:

• Participate in the Post-MFA Panel
• Exit Meeting with Post-MFA Faculty
• Deliver the Annotated Bibliography of Readings in the Field of Writing Pedagogy

Current Tuition and Fees

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Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life, Revised Edition

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In this practical guidebook, Philip Gerard, author and founder of the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s MFA program in creative writing, walks through the genre of creative nonfiction—how it came to be defined and what it takes to craft a compelling, true story. Gerard combines journalistic skills with the art of storytelling in the eleven chapters covering subjects such as research, interviewing, mystery and structure, law and ethics, and revision. Writers will learn the challenges and steps to mastering the craft of creative nonfiction with Gerard’s generous instruction and advice. “The hardest part of writing creative nonfiction is that you’re stuck with what really happened—you can’t make it up,” writes Gerard. “You can be as artful as you want in the presentation, draw profound meanings out of your subject matter, but you are stuck with real people and real events. You’re stuck with stories that don’t always turn out the way you wish they had turned out.”  

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Savvino-storozhevsky monastery and museum.

Zvenigorod's most famous sight is the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, which was founded in 1398 by the monk Savva from the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, at the invitation and with the support of Prince Yury Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod. Savva was later canonised as St Sabbas (Savva) of Storozhev. The monastery late flourished under the reign of Tsar Alexis, who chose the monastery as his family church and often went on pilgrimage there and made lots of donations to it. Most of the monastery’s buildings date from this time. The monastery is heavily fortified with thick walls and six towers, the most impressive of which is the Krasny Tower which also serves as the eastern entrance. The monastery was closed in 1918 and only reopened in 1995. In 1998 Patriarch Alexius II took part in a service to return the relics of St Sabbas to the monastery. Today the monastery has the status of a stauropegic monastery, which is second in status to a lavra. In addition to being a working monastery, it also holds the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.

Belfry and Neighbouring Churches

Located near the main entrance is the monastery's belfry which is perhaps the calling card of the monastery due to its uniqueness. It was built in the 1650s and the St Sergius of Radonezh’s Church was opened on the middle tier in the mid-17th century, although it was originally dedicated to the Trinity. The belfry's 35-tonne Great Bladgovestny Bell fell in 1941 and was only restored and returned in 2003. Attached to the belfry is a large refectory and the Transfiguration Church, both of which were built on the orders of Tsar Alexis in the 1650s.  

To the left of the belfry is another, smaller, refectory which is attached to the Trinity Gate-Church, which was also constructed in the 1650s on the orders of Tsar Alexis who made it his own family church. The church is elaborately decorated with colourful trims and underneath the archway is a beautiful 19th century fresco.

Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is the oldest building in the monastery and among the oldest buildings in the Moscow Region. It was built between 1404 and 1405 during the lifetime of St Sabbas and using the funds of Prince Yury of Zvenigorod. The white-stone cathedral is a standard four-pillar design with a single golden dome. After the death of St Sabbas he was interred in the cathedral and a new altar dedicated to him was added.

Under the reign of Tsar Alexis the cathedral was decorated with frescoes by Stepan Ryazanets, some of which remain today. Tsar Alexis also presented the cathedral with a five-tier iconostasis, the top row of icons have been preserved.

Tsaritsa's Chambers

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is located between the Tsaritsa's Chambers of the left and the Palace of Tsar Alexis on the right. The Tsaritsa's Chambers were built in the mid-17th century for the wife of Tsar Alexey - Tsaritsa Maria Ilinichna Miloskavskaya. The design of the building is influenced by the ancient Russian architectural style. Is prettier than the Tsar's chambers opposite, being red in colour with elaborately decorated window frames and entrance.

At present the Tsaritsa's Chambers houses the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum. Among its displays is an accurate recreation of the interior of a noble lady's chambers including furniture, decorations and a decorated tiled oven, and an exhibition on the history of Zvenigorod and the monastery.

Palace of Tsar Alexis

The Palace of Tsar Alexis was built in the 1650s and is now one of the best surviving examples of non-religious architecture of that era. It was built especially for Tsar Alexis who often visited the monastery on religious pilgrimages. Its most striking feature is its pretty row of nine chimney spouts which resemble towers.

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