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The Best 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2023

April 7, 2023

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? This article walks you through the considerations for an MFA program, as well as the best Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.

First of all, what is an MFA?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications require a sample portfolio for entry, usually of 10-20 pages of your best writing.

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.

Reasons to 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.

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 programs 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 (baltimore, md).

This is a two-year program, with $33,000 teaching fellowships per year. This MFA offers the most generous funding package. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and a guaranteed lecture position after graduation (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).

• Incoming class size: 8 students
• Admissions rate: 11.1%
• Alumni: Chimamanda Adiche, 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 (Austin, TX)

A fully-funded 3-year program with a generous stipend of $29,500. The program offers fiction, poetry, playwriting and screenwriting. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $3,000 for the summer.

• 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 (Iowa City, IA)

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. Most students are funded, with fellowships worth up to $21,000. The Translation MFA, co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years, 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: 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

4) University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students U-Michigan’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 $23,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.

This is a 2-3-year program, 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.

• Incoming class size: 18
• Acceptance rate: 4% (which maybe seems high after less-than-1%)
• Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward

5) Brown University (Providence, RI)

Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that doesn’t dip into arctic temperatures. Students are all fully-funded for 2-3 years with $29,926 in 2021-22. 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.

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

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued) 

6) university of arizona (tucson, az).

This 3-year program 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 dry heat is good for arthritis.

This notoriously supportive program pays $20,000 a year, and offers the potential to volunteer at multiple literary organizations. You can also do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.

• Incoming class size: 9
• Acceptance rate: 4.85% (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 (Tempe, AZ):

Arizona State is also 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. Everyone gets a $19,000 stipend, with other opportunities for financial support.

• 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 (new york, ny).

This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU is private, and 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.

• Incoming class size: 40-60
• Acceptance rate: 6%
• 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 (New York, NY)

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.

• Incoming class size: 110
• Acceptance rate: 21%
• 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 (Bronxville, NY)

Sarah Lawrence offers speculative fiction beyond the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction course offerings. 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.

• Incoming class size: 30-40
• Acceptance rate: N/A
• Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado

LOW RESIDENCY

11 bennington college (bennington, vt).

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, and then you get a degree. The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available.

• Acceptance rate: 53%
• Incoming class: 40
• Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others

12)  Institute for American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM)

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 offered, in screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

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

• Incoming class size : 22
• Acceptance rate: 100%
• Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder

13) Vermont College of Fine Arts

One of few MFAs where you can study the art of the picture book, middle grade and young adult literature, graphic literature, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry for young people. Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, in Vermont. 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 is $48,604.

• 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 (el paso, tx).

The world’s first bilingual and online MFA program in the world. UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Intensive workshops allow submitting in Spanish and English, and genres include poetry and fiction. This three-year program costs $14,766 a year, with rolling admissions.

• Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here

15) Bay Path University (Long Meadow, MA)

This 2-year online program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. A supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and a potential field trip in Ireland.

There are many tracks, including publishing, Narrative Medicine, and teaching. Core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, and the personal essay. The price is $785/credit, for 39 credits, with scholarships available.

• Incoming class size: 20
• Acceptance rate: an encouraging 78%
• Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here

Prepare for your MFA in advance:

• Best English Programs
• Best Creative Writing Schools
• Writing Summer Programs

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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MFA Program in Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Program offers the MFA degree, with a concentration in either poetry or fiction. MFA students pursue intensive study with distinguished faculty committed to creative and intellectual achievement.

Each year the department enrolls only eight MFA students, four in each concentration. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package that fully funds every student. We also offer a large and diverse graduate faculty with competence in a wide range of literary, theoretical and cultural fields. Every student chooses a special committee of two faculty members who work closely alongside the student to design a course of study within the broad framework established by the department.

Students participate in a graduate writing workshop each semester and take six additional one-semester courses for credit, at least four of them in English or American literature, comparative literature, literature in the modern or Classical languages or cultural studies (two per semester during the first year and one per semester during the second year). First-year students receive practical training as editorial assistants for  Epoch, a periodical of prose and poetry published by the creative writing program. Second-year students participate as teaching assistants for the university-wide first-year writing program. The most significant requirement of the MFA degree is the completion of a book-length manuscript: a collection of poems or short stories, or a novel, to be closely edited and refined with the assistance of the student’s special committee.

MFA program specifics can be viewed here: MFA Timeline Procedural Guide

Special Committee

Every graduate student selects a special committee of faculty advisors who works intensively with the student in selecting courses and preparing and revising the thesis. The committee is comprised of two Cornell creative writing faculty members: a chair and one minor member. An additional member may be added to represent an interdisciplinary field. The university system of special committees allows students to design their own courses of study within a broad framework established by the department, and it encourages a close working relationship between professors and students, promoting freedom and flexibility in the pursuit of the graduate degree. The special committee for each student guides and supervises all academic work and assesses progress in a series of meetings with the students.

At Cornell, teaching is considered an integral part of training for a career in writing. The field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience of at least one year for every MFA candidate as part of the program requirements. The Department of English, in conjunction with the First-Year Writing Program, offers excellent training for beginning teachers and varied and interesting teaching in this university-wide program. These are not conventional freshman composition courses, but full-fledged academic seminars, often designed by graduate students themselves. The courses are writing-intensive and may fall under such general rubrics as “Portraits of the Self,” “American Literature and Culture,” “Shakespeare” and “Cultural Studies,” among others. A graduate student may also serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate lecture course taught by a member of the Department of Literatures in English faculty.

All MFA degree candidates are guaranteed two years of funding (including a stipend , a full tuition fellowship and student health insurance).

• Graduate Assistantship with EPOCH . Students read submissions, plan special issues and assume other editorial and administrative responsibilities.
• Summer Teaching Assistantship, linked to a teachers' training program. Summer residency in Ithaca is required.
• Teaching Assistantship
• Summer Fellowship (made possible by the David L. Picket ’84 Fund and The James McConkey Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Award for Summer Support, established by his enduringly grateful student, Len Edelstein ’59)

Optional MFA Lecturer Appointments Degree recipients who are actively seeking outside funding/employment are eligible to apply to teach for one or two years as a lecturer. These positions are made possible by an endowment established by the late Philip H. Freund ’29 and a bequest from the Truman Capote Literary Trust.

Admission & Application Procedures

The application for Fall 2024 admission will open on September 15, 2023 and will close on December 15, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. Please note that staff support is available M-F 9am-4pm.

Eligibility : Applicants must currently have, or expect to have, at least a BA or BS (or the equivalent) in any field before matriculation. International students, please verify degree equivalency here . Applicants are not required to take the GRE test or meet a specified GPA minimum.

To Apply:  All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted on-line through the Graduate School application system . While completing your application, you may save and edit your data. Once you click “submit,” your application will be closed for changes. Please proofread your materials carefully. Once you pay and click submit, you will not be able to make any changes or revisions.

DEADLINE: Dec. 15, 11:59 p.m. EST . This deadline is firm. No applications, additional materials or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

MFA Program Application Requirements Checklist

• Academic Statement of Purpose Please use the Academic Statement of Purpose to describe, within 1000 words: (1) your academic interests, (2) your academic background, preparation, and training, including any relevant professional experiences, (3) your reasons for pursuing graduate studies in this specific program, and (4) your professional goals.
• Personal Statement Your Personal Statement should provide the admissions committee with a sense of you as a whole person, and you should use it to describe how your background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Additionally, it should provide insight into your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together. Writing your Personal Statement provides you with an opportunity to share experiences that provide insights into how your personal, academic, and/or professional experiences demonstrate your ability to be both persistent and resilient, especially when navigating challenging circumstances. The statement also allows you to provide examples of how you engage with others and have facilitated and/or participated in productive collaborative endeavors. Additionally, it provides you with an opportunity to provide context around any perceived gaps or weaknesses in your academic record. Content in the Personal Statement should complement rather than duplicate the content contained within the Academic Statement of Purpose, which should focus explicitly on your academic interests, previous research experience, and intended area of research during your graduate studies. A complete writing prompt is available in the application portal.
• Three Letters of Recommendation Please select three people who best know you and your work. Submitting additional letters will not enhance your application. In the recommendation section of the application, you must include the email address of each recommender. After you save the information (and before you pay/submit), the application system will automatically generate a recommendation request email to your recommender with instructions for submitting the letter electronically. If your letters are stored with a credential service such as Interfolio, please use their “online application delivery” feature and input the email address assigned to your stored document, rather than that of your recommender’s. The electronic files will be attached to your application when they are received and will not require the letter of recommendation cover page. Please do not postpone submitting your application while waiting for us to receive all three of your letters. We will accept recommendation letters until December 30,11:59pm EST . For more information please visit the Graduate School's page on preparing letters of recommendations .
• Transcripts Scan transcripts from each institution you have attended, or are currently attending, and upload into the academic information section of the application. Be sure to remove your social security number from all documents prior to scanning. Please do not send paper copies of your transcripts. If you are subsequently admitted and accept, the graduate school will require an official paper transcript from your degree-awarding institution prior to matriculation.
• English Language Proficiency Requirement All applicants must provide proof of English language proficiency. For more information, please view the  Graduate School’s English Language Requirement .
• Fiction applicants:  Your sample must be between 6,000 and 10,000 words, typed, double-spaced, in a conventional 12- or 14-point font. It may be an excerpt from a larger work or a combination of several works.
• Poetry applicants:  Your sample must be 10 pages in length and include a combination of several poems, where possible.

General Information for All Applicants

Application Fee: Visit the  Graduate School for information regarding application fees , payment options, and fee waivers . Please do not send inquires regarding fee waivers.

Document Identification: Please do not put your social security number on any documents.

Status Inquiries:  Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You will also be able to check the completion status of your application in your account. If vital sections of your application are missing, we will notify you via email after the Dec. 15 deadline and allow you ample time to provide the missing materials. Please do not inquire about the status of your application.

Credential/Application Assessments:  The admission review committee members are unable to review application materials or applicant credentials prior to official application submission. Once the committee has reviewed the applications and made admissions decisions, they will not discuss the results or make any recommendations for improving the strength of an applicant’s credentials. Applicants looking for feedback are advised to consult with their undergraduate advisor or someone else who knows them and their work.

Review Process:  Application review begins after the submission deadline. Notification of admissions decisions will be made by email or by telephone by the end of February.

Connecting with Faculty and/or Students: Unfortunately, due to the volume of inquiries we receive, faculty and current students are not available to correspond with potential applicants prior to an offer of admission. Applicants who are offered admission will have the opportunity to meet faculty and students to have their questions answered prior to accepting. Staff and faculty are also not able to pre-assess potential applicant’s work outside of the formal application process. Please email [email protected] instead, if you have questions.

Visiting: The department does not offer pre-admission visits or interviews. Admitted applicants will be invited to visit the department, attend graduate seminars and meet with faculty and students before making the decision to enroll.

Transfer Credits: Transfer credits are not available toward the MFA program.

Admissions FAQ

For Further Information

Contact [email protected]

MFA in Creative Writing Graduation Readings

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http://www.as.miami.edu/english/creativewriting/

Master of Fine Arts in Fiction and Poetry

The University of Miami’s MFA Program in Creative Writing offers a fully funded, two-year course of study in the writing of poetry, fiction, or cross-genre literature while providing substantial training in the teaching of creative writing and composition. Students may apply to receive a third year of funding, during which graduate students focus on professional development and publication as they continue to teach undergraduate writing courses. The program features a broad multilingual focus in a vibrant, multicultural city unlike any other. Enrollment is kept deliberately small to maximize student-teacher interaction, and faculty at UM are supportive of the linguistic and cultural differences that writers bring to their art.

Full Funding

The James Michener Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships support all our graduate students. Awards include a full tuition waiver and an annual stipend. MFA candidates teach one section of Introduction to Creative Writing per semester during their second year in the program or one section each of Creative Writing and Composition.

The Third Year

Students who proceed into a third year will teach Creative Writing and Composition, with additional professional development options in literary magazine editing and communications/public outreach. They will receive faculty mentorship towards professional development.

Graduates of the MFA in Creative Writing have gone on to publish award-winning novels, books of poetry, and creative nonfiction; have been awarded Stegner Fellowships and other residencies; and have gone on to find employment in teaching and publishing.

Curriculum Requirements 

Third Year Option:

ENG 820  is required for third year students. Students make take up to 6 credits in electives during their third year.

Required electives must be literature or forms courses, or other graduate courses at the university.

Sample Plan of Study

The MFA in Creative Writing Program provides its students with a thorough understanding of how to write publishable novels, collections of stories, and books of poetry in order to contribute to the global literary canon; a range of critical and craft-based strategies in order to attain their creative and artistic vision; the skills needed to establish their own expertise, voice and style within the literary genre of their choice; the necessary preparation for careers in the production of contemporary literatures and arts administration within and outside of the academy; and training to teaching in two- and four-year colleges and in research universities. In addition to guiding our students in the writing and revision of their creative theses, we work to assist them in publishing their books, developing a forum for the reading of these works, and obtaining appropriate employment.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to write publishable novels, collections of short stories and books of poetry in order to contribute to the global literary cannon.
• Students will master a range of critical and craft-based strategies in order to attain their creative and artistic vision and demonstrating the skills needed to establish their own expertise, voice and style within the literary genre of their choice by submitting a final portfolio and by participating in the Closing Conversation.
• Students will cultivate the necessary skills for careers in the production of contemporary literatures and arts administration.

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The Department of English offers the Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing for students committed to pursuing the writing life. This three-year degree provides advanced graduate-level coursework in writing, language, literature, as well as studies in a related field.

Workshops in poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction are at the heart of the creative writing program, while courses in the Reading as Writers and Topics in Advanced Writing series enable writers to explore a variety of issues relating to contemporary themes in American and world literature. The program encourages experimentation across genres, fostering the discovery of new and varied forms for a developing voice.

Our program is committed to the goal of improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of departmental operations. Diversity, here, includes but is not limited to: race, indigeneity, gender identity, sexual orientation, caste, religion, cultural/educational background, (dis)ability, nationality, and socioeconomic status.

Please view our  graduate handbook  for more information.

Requirements for the MFA Degree

The MFA thesis, completed in the spring of your third year in the program, is a book-length manuscript suitable for publication. The minimum length for prose is 120 pages and the minimum length for poetry is 50 pages. (Some students, in consultation with their advisors, have completed multi-genre theses.) Feel free to consult the bound MFA theses on the bookshelf in the Assistant Director's office in 112 Pillsbury.

Class of 2024: Your thesis is due to your committee on Monday, April 22, 2024. Please work out specific arrangements (e.g. time, format) with your committee.

The MFA booklist will consist of 20 books of your choice, books that have been particularly influential or useful to you in the composition of your work. The list must include at least one book from each genre. The booklist should be assembled during your first and second years in the program. Strive for a balanced list, keeping classic as well as contemporary works in mind. Please keep your thesis advisor updated on your progress assembling the booklist.

Class of 2024: Your booklist is due to your committee on Monday, April 29, 2024.

During the fall of your third year, in the context of the thesis seminar, you'll devise a topic for your MFA essay (see below). During early spring of your third year, you'll consult with your thesis advisors about the MFA essay. In April of your third year, one week after the due date for the MFA thesis, you must give the completed essay, along with the booklist, to your thesis director and second reader, in preparation for your defense. Note: no changes to the thesis or other materials may be made between the date when you hand them in and the defense. Commentary and feedback on the MFA essay will take place within the context of the defense.

What should the MFA essay look like? This is a literary essay, personally voiced and intellectually rigorous. It is 2,500–3,500 words long (10–15 pages, double-spaced). It should focus on a specific topic (e.g. structure in experimental fiction; trauma and memoir; urban settings in contemporary poetry) as evidenced in your booklist and in your own work. You do not need to admire all of the works on your list; nor are you expected to discuss all twenty selections from your booklist in your essay. The essay is not a "hoop" through which you must jump, it can serve as both a preface to your thesis and as a way of reflecting on your own writing process and on the place of your own work within a larger tradition.

Class of 2024: your booklist and essay are due to your committee on Monday, April 29, 2024.

Thesis defense

The MFA defense will take place in May. Students who are deemed not ready to defend will be discouraged from doing so. At the defense, you will read briefly from and discuss your creative work (for about 30 minutes) and then field questions from audience members (30 minutes) about your thesis. The first portion of your defense is open unless otherwise requested. The second portion of your defense (60 minutes) will consist of you and your committee members only; this portion is closed to the public. Your committee will ask questions about the thesis, booklist and essay. After a brief private discussion with each other, your committee members may either sign off on the thesis as is, or ask for revisions to the thesis–or the essay.

MFA Thesis Defenses will take place May 6-10, 2024.

The Thesis is due April 22, 2024. The MFA essay and booklist are due April 29, 2024.

Thesis advising

At least two faculty members of your choice will work with you as advisors on your final manuscript.

• In some circumstances, you may be able to petition by letter to the Director of the Creative Writing Program to have an affiliate faculty member serve as your second reader. Approval will rest on your previous coursework experience with the instructor and whether funds are available to pay them for the additional work.
• If you choose to have two co-advisors , one of the two must be a member of the creative writing faculty; the other may be a faculty member of any department. You will divide your four thesis credits (and the workload) between your co-advisors; often, this means you will work with one advisor in the fall semester (for two credits), and the other advisor in the spring (for two credits).

It is your responsibility to seek out faculty who you think will be the most supportive of you as a writer, regardless of department.

Note: Mentorship is a mutual endeavor. Make use of faculty office hours to introduce yourself to potential advisors.

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Online MFA in Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts

Earn an MFA in Creative Writing Online

• $637/credit (48 credits total)
• Transfer up to 12 graduate credits
• 100% online – no residency required
• Four fiction genres to choose from
• Career-focused certificate included
• No application fee or GRE/GMAT scores required

Online MFA in Creative Writing Program Overview

Share your story with the world and let the power of storytelling take your career to new heights with an online Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing . As one of the only programs available that encourages a focus on genre fiction, our online MFA lets you hone your craft in an area specific to your strengths and interests. You'll also learn about the business side of creative writing, preparing you to market your work in the real world.

While most MFA programs require a residency, Southern New Hampshire University's online MFA in Creative Writing can be completed entirely online, with no travel necessary.

“Traditional MFA programs, whether full-time or low residency, are out of reach for many writers,” said Paul Witcover , associate dean of creative writing. “The SNHU online MFA was designed to make the MFA experience accessible to all fiction writers, opening the door to diverse voices excluded for too long from the literary conversation. Our program is dedicated to giving writers the tools to succeed on the page and beyond it.”

Graduates leave the program with a completed and revised novel in one of our four offered genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance and Speculative. With the included certificates in either online teaching of writing or professional writing , you'll have the skills to support your writing career, no matter where it takes you.

.st0{fill:#21386D;} What You'll Learn

• The business and technical sides of professional writing
• How to navigate the publishing ecosystem, identify agents and editors, and market your work to appeal to decision-makers
• Using social media to gain a following and build your brand
• How to teach writing in a classroom setting

.cls-1 { fill: #21386d; } How You'll Learn

At SNHU, you'll get support from day 1 to graduation and beyond. And with no set class times, 24/7 access to the online classroom and helpful learning resources along the way, you'll have everything you need to reach your goals.

The Value of an Online MFA

Emily Jones ’20 embraced a transformational experience through the online MFA in Creative Writing program, which supported her in taking her writing career to the next level. “I can now say, without even a hint of imposter syndrome, that I am a writer,” said Jones. “And that is because of Southern New Hampshire University.”

Career Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, writers and authors made a median annual salary of $69,510 in 2021, while editors made $63,350. 1

“Our mission is to give students a degree and associated practical skills they can use to forge successful pathways in academia, business, or by blazing their own career trail,” said Paul Witcover , associate dean of creative writing.

Earning one of the included certificates in online teaching of writing or professional writing will also be an invaluable addition to your resume for part-time, full-time and freelance jobs in a variety of fields, including:

• Higher education. Instruct writing courses in higher education settings. In 2021, postsecondary teachers made a median annual wage of $79,640, and you can expect to see a 12% growth in available positions through 2031, according to the BLS. 1
• Advertising. Use your storytelling skills in a way that influences consumer action. As a copywriter, you could find yourself doing any number of writing projects from crafting emails and ads to writing entire commercials.
• Marketing. If you're more comfortable with long-form prose, many businesses have invested in content writers who create quality content such as blog posts, ebooks and podcasts to attract and retain customers.
• Entertainment. Good at building suspense or setting up punchlines? From movies and plays to comedy and podcasts, being a good storyteller and writer is important to finding success in the entertainment industry.
• History. Every person's life has a plot, but it takes writers like you to tell their stories in a compelling way. Help readers relive the experiences of historic figures and pop culture icons as a biographer.

Higher Education

Instruct writing courses in higher education at a college or university, either in-person or online.

Advertising

Influence consumer action through copywriting, from print ads to digital advertising and broadcast commercials.

Create written content such as blog posts, ebooks and podcasts to attract and retain customers.

Entertainment

From movies and plays to comedy and podcasts, writers often find success in the entertainment industry.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts favorable job growth in postsecondary education. And while statistics are not available for all job settings mentioned above, the BLS reports the following:

.cls-1 { fill: #21386d; } Job Growth

The BLS predicts an 8% growth in available postsecondary teaching positions through 2032. 1

.cls-1 { fill: #21386d; } Potential Salary

Writers and authors made a median annual salary of $73,150 in 2022, while editors made $73,080 and postsecondary teachers made $80,840. 1

Understanding the Numbers When reviewing job growth and salary information, it’s important to remember that actual numbers can vary due to many different factors — like years of experience in the role, industry of employment, geographic location, worker skill and economic conditions. Cited projections do not guarantee actual salary or job growth.

Start Your Journey Toward an Online MFA in Creative Writing

If you're looking to earn your Master of Fine Arts online, you've found the right program. Even though there are no residency requirements, you'll still interact frequently with other students and faculty members in asynchronous discussions, critique workshops and within our online writer’s community, where students come together to share industry news, extend writing tips and develop critique partnerships.

"I liked MFA-514 (Advanced Studies in Genre Literature) best," said student Jamilla Geter . "It was a great look into the different genres. It really helped me narrow down what genre I wanted to write in."

"Though it was not writing exactly, its connection to it – especially in our digital world – was made clear almost immediately," she said. "Writing is not just providing content of value to your readers, but also creating avenues of access so those readers can find your content. This course helped me to understand that and to learn how I can create those avenues."

Besides allowing you to focus on your own creative interests, part of our 48-credit online MFA curriculum requires you to choose from 2 certificate offerings designed to round out your education and better prepare you for a multitude of writing-related careers.

The first choice is a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching of Writing , which is tailored to those who see themselves teaching in an online classroom setting as a supplement to their writing careers. Students practice approaches to editing and coaching, learning how to establish a virtual instructor presence and cultivate methods for supporting and engaging students within online writing communities.

Learn more about the online teaching of writing graduate certificate .

Students can also choose the Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing , which highlights the technical and business opportunities available to writers. Students will develop a range of skills, such as copywriting, social media, marketing principles and/or content generation, learning many of the freelancing skills integral to today’s project-driven economy.

Learn more about the professional writing graduate certificate .

All of our courses are taught by accomplished authors and industry professionals who know both the craft and business of creative writing. They will work closely with you to develop both your creative and professional skill set.

"All instructors within my program were extremely knowledgeable and helpful," Warden said. "I learned a lot about the different career paths my instructors chose. ... The course instruction, along with their anecdotal experiences, helped in offering knowledge in different areas of our field.

MFA Program Thesis

The thesis for the Online MFA in Creative Writing is required to be a novel of at least 50,000 words in one of the four genres the program offers: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, and Speculative.

Every Southern New Hampshire University online MFA student who graduates from the program will do so with a revised novel manuscript in their chosen genre, which is completed in a three-course thesis series. Throughout your tenure in the program, you can either work on a singular idea that you will develop during the three thesis courses, or you can begin a new project for your thesis. You can also combine elements of the four genres offered in the program for your thesis. For example, your thesis might be a YA Speculative Fiction novel.

"My three thesis classes for the MFA degree were the most helpful," said Kathleen Harris '21 . "I was actually writing a book as my thesis, so it was both enjoyable and advantageous for the degree. And it was the end of a very long milestone of accomplishments."

Minimum Hardware Requirements Component Type   PC (Windows OS)   Apple (Mac OS)   Operating System  Currently supported operating system from Microsoft.   Currently supported operating system from Apple.  Memory (RAM)  8GB or higher  8GB or higher  Hard Drive  100GB or higher  100GB or higher  Antivirus Software  Required for campus students. Strongly recommended for online students.  Required for campus students. Strongly recommended for online students.  SNHU Purchase Programs  Visit Dell   Visit Apple   Internet/ Bandwidth  5 Mbps Download, 1 Mbps Upload and less than 100 ms Latency  5 Mbps Download, 1 Mbps Upload and less than 100 ms Latency  Notes:   Laptop or desktop?   Whichever you choose depends on your personal preference and work style, though laptops tend to offer more flexibility.  Note:   Chromebooks (Chrome OS) and iPads (iOS) do not meet the minimum requirements for coursework at SNHU. These offer limited functionality and do not work with some course technologies. They are not acceptable as the only device you use for coursework. While these devices are convenient and may be used for some course functions, they cannot be your primary device. SNHU does, however, have an affordable laptop option that it recommends: Dell Latitude 3301 with Windows 10.  Office 365 Pro Plus  is available free of charge to all SNHU students and faculty. The Office suite will remain free while you are a student at SNHU. Upon graduation you may convert to a paid subscription if you wish. Terms subject to change at Microsoft's discretion. Review system requirements for  Microsoft 365 plans  for business, education and government.  Antivirus software:  Check with your ISP as they may offer antivirus software free of charge to subscribers.  if (typeof accordionGroup === "undefined") { window.accordionGroup = new accordion(); } accordionGroup.init(document.getElementById('f756dce5bd874c61855f6f6e92d88470')); University Accreditation

Tuition & Fees

Tuition rates for SNHU's online degree programs are among the lowest in the nation. We offer a 25% tuition discount for U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty.

Tuition rates are subject to change and are reviewed annually. *Note: students receiving this rate are not eligible for additional discounts.

Additional Costs: Course Materials ($ varies by course). Foundational courses may be required based on your undergraduate course history, which may result in additional cost.

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AWP's Guide to Writing Programs is a free, searchable database of graduate and undergraduate writing programs in the US and abroad. Each member program listing contains information about faculty, admissions, requirements of study, and tuition and financial aid.

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Use the search and browse features below to explore undergraduate and graduate writing programs.

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Degree: The Mills College Flex Res MFA Program in Creative Writing offers degrees in poetry or prose.

Program type : Flexible, hybrid, and online options

Application deadlines : Applications accepted until July 15 for Fall 2021.

Contact: [email protected]

Students anywhere in the world can earn an MFA in creative writing at Mills College. We offer a range of options you can select from to create an individualized educational experience that fits your goals and your schedule.

Student aid offered: Part-time graduate assistantships and editorial positions with our journal 580 Split .

Is there program information that should be updated? Let us know in the space below. Be sure to include the program's name.

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Creative writing mfa guide, mfa research guide.

The application process for the Master of Fine Arts degree can be arduous and time consuming, but proper preparation and research can make the ordeal far less stressful. Factors to consider when researching graduate programs:

• The availability of teaching assistantships
• The size of the program
• Their approaches to workshops and coursework
• What members of the faculty are currently teaching at the program

It is important not to rush through this process. Taking the time to seriously consider your needs is instrumental in finding the program that fits you. While it is a good idea to pick multiple schools when applying for any graduate degree, it is especially important for the MFA. Because the selection process depends a lot on a matter of taste and preference, applying to multiple programs increases your chances of acceptance. It is usually a good idea to apply to as many programs as fees allow.

The Application Process

The Writing Sample Once you’ve selected the programs you’re interested in, it’s time to start putting together your application materials. The writing sample is an important part of your application and is by far the most influential aspect. You should give yourself a lot of time to work on it. Asking a professor experienced in the MFA process to look over it would be incredibly beneficial, providing you give them plenty of time in advance. Fine tuning and revising your writing sample should be taken as seriously, if not more so, as the rest of your application materials.

GRE Not all programs require the Graduate Record Examinations but there are quite a few that do. The requirements for admission of the school you’re applying to should be on their website. But in the interest of providing yourself with more options, if you can take the GRE it would be a good idea to do so. Register early, preferably during the summer, because students nationwide are registering for the same exam. Finding an available testing center and a decent time slot becomes more difficult the longer you wait to register.

Letters of Recommendation Most MFA programs require two to three letters of recommendation. This is another part of the application that should be thought of earlier rather than later. Request letters from professors that you respect and have a good working relationship with. Some MFA programs require attachable forms to go along with these recommendations. Getting those forms to these professors should be done as promptly as possible. Make sure that your professors have the correct mailing address for the programs you’re applying to.

Transcripts The MFA program will require the transcripts of any university you have attended. If you are a transfer student, get in touch with past schools you’ve attended and request they be sent to your programs of choice. It is better to do this early so that your application isn’t hindered by missing documents. Transcript Request forms can be picked up at the Registrar’s office or downloaded online. Several MFA programs require you to send your transcripts be sent to graduate admission office and the individual program you’re applying to. It is imperative that check each program to see whether or not they require multiple transcripts be sent.

May – June – July – August Summer is an ideal time to research programs you’re interested in. There are plenty of resources available for students pursuing an MFA (listed below). Spend ample time looking over the program’s website and attempt to get a feel for whether or not it will be a good fit. If you do find a program that peaks your interest it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the faculty in your discipline. If feasible, visit a handful of the institutions you’re applying to. Environment should be just as important a factor as ranking, financial assistance, and opportunities. If accepted, this is where you will be living and writing for an extended period of time. It is important to consider your surroundings. The summer is also a good time to work on your writing sample, one of the most important aspects of the application. Spending time on this during the summer frees up a considerable amount of time during the fall semester and allows you an opportunity to redraft or edit the piece later if it doesn’t meet your standards. This is also a good time to prepare for the GRE. Some students use this time to study for the examination while others decide to complete them during the summer. In either case, because of the high demand for seats at testing centers it is a good idea to register for a time that suits you before they become unavailable.

September At the beginning of the semester, it may be worthwhile to request a professor in the English department, preferable specializing in fiction or poetry, look over your writing sample and give you feedback. This can only increase your chances of getting accepted and most professors are more than happy to lend a helping hand if you give them enough time. The beginning of the semester is also the time to begin requesting letters of recommendation. Remember to select professors with whom you have a good working relationship. These requests should be made early so as to give professors enough time to formulate and write their letters without being rushed. If you haven’t done so already, register for the GRE.

October – November This is the time to begin your applications if you haven’t started already. As in any process, there is always the chance that someone—whether they are yourself, the post office, or the office of the program you’re applying to—will make a mistake. Giving yourself plenty of time before the deadline will allow you to correct any mistakes without having to rush or panic. Remind those you’ve requested letters of recommendation about upcoming deadlines and provide them with the information they need in order to send the applications. If there are any programs that request electronic submissions, make sure your professors are made aware when emails containing the link are delivered.

Additional Resources

Poet’s & Writers Magazine An extensive database of MFA programs. The database allows you to search for schools by state, gives the names of a program’s core faculty members, the genres it supports (i.e. poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction), the total size of the program, and the deadline for each school, available funding and employment opportunities like teaching and research assistantships, and the program’s literary publications.

• Poet’s & Writers Magazine
• The Top Fifty MFA 

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs An extensive database which allows you to intensively customize your search by genre, program type (studio, research, low-residency, etc.), and location. It even allows you to search for specific faculty members and find the programs they’re associated with. The search provides a lot of information, including:

• The contact information for the institution
• A program description
• Core faculty members and recent visiting writers
• Degrees offered and genres
• The type of program
• Length of residency
• Semester hour requirements (and additional requirements)
• Application and deadlines and requirements
• Average annual cost and financial information
• The Association of Writers and Writing Programs

Creative Writing MFA Handbook

Advice regarding applying for the MFA degree. The blog’s regular contributors are at various different places in their writing and academic careers. Some of them are instructors at MFA programs, some already hold their fine arts degree, while others are in the process of earning them.

• Creative writing MFA Handbook

The Atlantic Articles that deal with the process of selecting an MFA program

• The Best of the Best
• Edward J. Delaney discusses aspects of various programs
• “Where Great Writers are Made”

Your Next Steps

Request information, visit campus, how to apply.

Literary Arts

Graduate students in Brown's Literary Arts MFA program may choose to focus in one of three tracks – Fiction, Poetry, or Digital/Cross Disciplinary Writing. The Graduate School has notified candidates regarding admission decisions for Fall 2024 in all three tracks: Cross-Disciplinary, Fiction and Poetry.

The two-year program is structured to allow graduate student writers maximum possible time for creative and intellectual exploration. Students attend two courses each semester: the writing workshop and an elective in the first three semesters (with an additional half-course in pedagogy in semesters two and three); and in the final semester an independent study for completing the thesis as well as an elective.

Elective courses may be selected from among the full offerings of the Brown University curriculum. In years past, students have taken courses in literature, history, philosophy, theater and performance studies, modern culture and media, religious studies, and foreign languages. Studio fine arts courses and translation workshops are often appropriate choices – as are workshops offered on special topics or in other genres. 

The thesis may be a substantial work of fiction or poetry, or a substantial digital or cross-disciplinary project. It is intended to represent the student’s achievement during the two years in residency at Brown.

Application deadline

Applications  may be submitted from 30 September to 11:59 pm ET on 15 December 2023. If seeking a fee waiver , the deadline is 1 December.

Learn More About the Program

Graduate program handbook, learn about applying, financial information.

MFA Creative Writing

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Our offices are not currently open to in-person walk-ins, but we are here to help.

If you are an MFA student and you have any questions for our advising staff or would like to schedule a Zoom meeting, please contact us at [email protected] .

We appreciate your flexibility, and we hope everyone stays healthy.  If/when we are able to re-open in-person advising, we will update you.

MFA in Writing

Welcome. The MFA Program in Writing welcomes brave and innovative writers and encourages the formation of mutually-supportive, inspiring literary communities. The program is small, with typically 4 to 8 new students admitted and funded each year. The intimate nature of the program allows students to work very closely with writing faculty and each other within the quarterly cross-genre workshop.

The MFA program is a two-year full-time, in-person program foregrounding the interconnectedness of literary arts practice, modes of production and distribution, and the rigorous study of literatures, arts, and cultures. The program offers the option of extending to a third year; the majority of students choose to do so.

All graduate writing workshops are cross-genre and often interdisciplinary, investigating and often undermining a studio-versus-academic distinction in advanced literary education. Moreover, the program encourages interdisciplinary research and holistic approaches to teaching and learning. Therefore, teaching creative-critical reading and writing skills as a Teaching Assistant is a popular choice among all Writing students in the MFA program, most of whom are eligible for scholarships and fellowships in addition to union-represented compensation for Teaching Assistant work.

Program participants are encouraged to focus exclusively on writing, teaching, research, and art-making during their residency, allowing writers to integrate pedagogical training and artistic practice as a way to prepare for future scholarly endeavors while creating a book-length work of literature. To that end, each quarterly cross-genre workshop discusses writing-in-progress and published works in terms of poetics, prosody, and literary conventions alongside the interrelationship between aesthetic intervention/ experiment and radical social change across cultures, nations, regions, and movements.

While each writer’s extra-departmental coursework is flexible, program participants are expected to take five workshops. The cross-genre workshops function less as editorial sessions or as explications of craft techniques than as vibrant skill-sharing intellectual roundtables. UCSD’s writers generate dazzlingly diverse collaborations in writing and literary/arts events, many of which result in various forms of publication. Both faculty and graduate projects tend to repurpose, interweave, hack, and muddle generic categories and/or radically elasticize their conventions.

UC San Diego is a tier-one research university respected internationally for untangling mysteries and manifesting world-altering possibilities in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The MFA in Writing is part of the Department of Literature, a world literature department with a focus on critical theory, social justice, and cultural, ethnic, and gender studies, where faculty members work in multiple languages, geographies, and historical periods. All graduate writing workshops are offered in English, but program participants may work with Literature and extra-departmental faculty on bilingual or multilingual projects, including works in translation.

With ties to   Visual Arts ,   Music ,   Ethnic Studies ,   Science Studies ,  the   Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop  and the   Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination , along with other departments, centers, and programs, unprecedented entanglements of artistic and scholarly experimentation are encouraged. The MFA program co-exists with a thriving undergraduate writing major and benefits from the long-established   New Writing Series   and the   Archive for New Poetry . Current MFA Writing Faculty include   Kazim Ali , Amy Sara Carroll ,  Ben Doller ,   Camille Forbes ,   Lily Hoang ,   Jac Jemc ,  Casandra Lopez ,  Brandon Som , Anna Joy Springer , and Marco Wilkinson . Emeriti Writing Faculty include   Rae Armantrout   and   Eileen Myles .

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MFA Admission 2024

Application Period 9/6/2023 - 12/6/2023

Decision Notifications February - April 2024

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• The Writer's Desk
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Writers Speak Wednesday

In Person: Stony Brook Manhattan Campus - 535 Eighth Avenue, Fifth Floor (unless otherwise noted).

In Person: Stony Brook Southampton Campus - 39 Tuckahoe Rd, Southampton.

Streaming: https: www.youtube.com/mfawriting

Spring 2024 - Manhattan

Join our writers speak manhattan mailing list., february 14 - chloe cooper jones - 6pm.

Chloé Cooper Jones is a contributing writer at  The New York Times Magazine . In 2020, Chloé was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Feature Writing for “Fearing for His Life,” a profile of Ramsey Orta, the man who filmed the killing of Eric Garner. She was the recipient of the 2020 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant and the 2021 Howard Foundation Grant from Brown University. Both grants are in support of her book  Easy Beauty , a memoir which finds the author—after unexpectedly becoming a mother—embarking on a journey across the globe to reclaim the spaces, both physical and emotional, that she’d been denied and denied herself. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.  

March 6th - Iain Haley PollocK - 6PM   

Iain Haley Pollock is the author of  Ghost, Like a Place  (Alice James Books, 2018), which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and  Spit Back a Boy  (2011), winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize.   His poems have appeared in many literary outlets, including  African American Review , American Academy of Poets Poem-a-Day,  American Poetry Review ,  The New York Times Magazine , PoetrySociety.org and  The Progressive . Outside of publishing poems, Pollock performs his work widely, from the Dodge Poetry Festival to libraries and art centers; he curated the Rye Poetry Path, a public poetry installation in Rye, NY; and he serves on the editorial board at Slapering Hol Press and on the board of Tiger Bark Press. Pollock currently directs the MFA Program at Manhattanville College, where he edits the literary journal  Inkwell .

April 3rd - Catherine Lacey - 6PM

Catherine Lacey is the author of five books: Biography of X , Pew , The Answers , Nobody Is Ever Missing , and a short story collection, Certain American States . Her honors include the Brooklyn Book Prize,   a   Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, and the   Young Lions Fiction Award from the New York Public Library. Based in Mexico, she is a fellow at the Cullman Center at the New York Public Library for 2023-24 . Her   debut work of nonfiction, The Möbius Book , is forthcoming from FSG, as well as a second short story collection, My Stalkers .

April 17th - John McWhorter - 6PM  

John H. McWhorter teaches linguistics, American Studies, and music history at Columbia University. He is a contributing editor at the  Atlantic  and host of Slate’s Lexicon Valley podcast. McWhorter is the author of twenty books, including  The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Losing the Race: Self Sabotage in Black America , and  Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English.

April 24th - MFA Student Reading - 6PM

Join us for our end of year reading highlighting current MFA students.

Spring 2024 - Southampton  

Join our writers speak southampton mailing list ., february 21st - vanessa cuti - 6:40pm.

Vanessa Cuti's fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2021 , The Kenyon Review, AGNI, West Branch, Indiana Review, and others. She received her MFA from Stony Brook University and lives in the suburbs of New York. The Tip Line (Crooked Lane, 2023) is her debut novel.

March 20th - Anthony DiPietro - 6:40PM

Anthony DiPietro is a gay sex poet and arts administrator originally from Providence, Rhode Island. He has lived throughout New England and in California, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee. A graduate of Brown University with honors in creative writing, he also earned a creative writing MFA at Stony Brook University. Now deputy director of Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, he resides in Worcester, MA. He composed his 2021 chapbook And Walk Through (Seven Kitchens Press) on a typewriter during the pandemic lockdowns. kiss & release is his debut collection. His writing and readings are featured on his website, www.AnthonyWriter.com.

April 10th - SCOTT CHASKEY - 6:40PM

Scott Chaskey is the author of  Soil and Spirit . He is also the author of a memoir,  This Common Ground: Seasons on an Organic Farm , and a book of nonfiction,  Seedtime: On the History, Husbandry, Politics, and Promise of Seeds . His poetry, first printed in literary journals in the early seventies, has been widely published over four decades. A pioneer of the Community Supported Agriculture ( CSA ) movement, for thirty years he cultivated more than sixty crops for the Peconic Land Trust at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, New York, one of the original  CSA s in the country. He is past president of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, and was honored as Farmer of the Year in 2013. He was a founding board member for both the Center for Whole Communities, in Vermont, and Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, in Shelter Island, New York. He taught as a poet-in-the-schools for over two decades, and as an instructor for Antioch International and Friends World College in Southampton. Chaskey lives and works on the east end of Long Island, New York.

May 1st - MFA Student Reading - 6:40PM

Samantha hunt - september 20th - 6 pm, peter markus - october 11th - 6 pm, alan shapiro - november 1st - 6 pm, claudia acevedo quinones - november 15th - 6 pm, student & faculty reading (manhattan) - november 29th - 7 pm, student & faculty reading (southampton) - december 6th - 7 pm, open houses.

With outstanding faculty on two campuses (New York City and Southampton, NY), you'll find the right place to earn your MFA.

With full or part-time student options, you've got time to write.

With New York State tuition plus Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant opportunities, you don't need an MBA to pay for your MFA.

Missed or Can't Make the Open House? Sign up for our mailing list.

The Queens Review Launch Party – 5/18

• Post author By John Rice (he/Them)
• Post date May 7, 2024

Our very own Queens Review is having a launch party to celebrate its inaugural issue on Saturday, May 18th at 7PM in Kew & Willow Books . The launch will feature surprise guest readings by contributors and copies of the beautiful print edition (published simultaneously with the web edition) will be for sale, care of Kew & Willow Books.

Queens Review is a renewal of our program’s literary journal; it replaces our long-standing journal Armstrong Literary with a new vision to engage the multiplicity of culture and language, which is the essence of Queens, and connect those stories with the larger literary world. This issue is already yielding big results, with contributions by Cynthia Cruz , Diane Seuss , Stevie Edwards , and Rajiv Mohabir .

The Queens Review   is a journal based in Queens: a borough with a multiplicity of cultures, languages, and experiences. Rather than present a single unified voice, we aim to express the varied landscapes around us as well as our own internal terrain. Founded by students and faculty of the  Queens College MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Translation ,  The Queens Review  is interested in work that pushes boundaries –– on an emotional level as well as a linguistic one –– poems, stories, translations, and fragments that scatter, ground, croon, and devastate.

Submissions for Issue 2 should open in the fall, but you can read the first issue on the QR website:

Spring 2024 Issue

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

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• Israel-Hamas War

My Writing Students Were Arrested at Columbia. Their Voices Have Never Been More Essential

O n April 30, 56 years after Columbia sent the police in to arrest student protesters who had taken over Hamilton Hall in protest of the Vietnam War—protests the school loves to promote—I was walking my 12-year-old daughter home after her choir performance. We had gone an extra stop on the subway because the stop at 116th, Columbia’s stop, was closed. Instead, we had to walk back to our apartment from the 125th stop. When we got within sight of Columbia, a line of dozens of police blocked our path. I asked them to let us through; I pointed to our apartment building and said we lived there. As a Columbia professor, I live in Columbia housing.

“I have my orders,” the cop in charge said.

“I live right there,” I said. “It’s my daughter’s bedtime.”

“I have my orders,” he said again.

“I’m just trying to get home,” I said.

We were forced to walk back the way we came from and circle around from another block. Luckily, our building has an entrance through the bodega in the basement. This is how I took my daughter up to her room and sent her to bed.

Read More: Columbia's Relationship With Student Protesters Has Long Been Fraught

A week earlier, I had brought some food for the students camping out on Columbia’s West Lawn and had met with similar resistance. Security guards asked whether I was really faculty; I had already swiped my faculty badge that should have confirmed my identity. They asked to take my badge, then they said I hadn’t swiped it, which I had, two seconds earlier, as they watched. They said their professors had never brought food to them before. I didn’t know what to say to this—“I’m sorry that your professors never brought you food?” They called someone and told them the number on my badge. Finally, they were forced to let me through. They said again that their professors had never brought them food. “OK,” I said, and walked into campus. I reported their behavior and never received a reply.

On April 30, after I had got my daughter to bed, my partner and I took the dog down to pee. We watched the protesters call, “Shame!” as the police went in and out of the blockade that stretched 10 blocks around campus. Earlier that day, we had seen police collecting barricades—it seemed like there would be a bit of peace. As soon as it got dark, they must have used those barricades and more to block off the 10 blocks. There were reports on campus that journalists were not allowed out of Pulitzer Hall, including Columbia’s own student journalists and the dean of the School of Journalism, under threat of arrest. Faculty and students who did not live on campus had been forbidden access to campus in the morning. There was no one around to witness. My partner and I had to use social media to see the hundreds of police in full riot gear, guns out, infiltrate Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, where protesters had holed up , mirroring the 1968 protests that had occupied the same building.

In the next few days, I was in meeting after meeting. Internally, we were told that the arrests had been peaceful and careful, with no student injuries. The same thing was repeated by Mayor Adams and CNN . Meanwhile, president Minouche Shafik had violated faculty governance and the university bylaws that she consult the executive committee before calling police onto campus. (The committee voted unanimously against police intervention .)

Read More: Columbia Cancels Main Commencement Following Weeks of Pro-Palestinian Protests

Then, Saturday morning, I got an email from a couple of writing students that they had been released from jail. I hadn’t heard that any of our students had been involved. They told me they hadn’t gotten food or water, or even their meds, for 24 hours. They had watched their friends bleed, kicked in the face by police. They said they had been careful not to damage university property. At least one cop busted into a locked office and fired a gun , threatened by what my students called “unarmed students in pajamas.”

In the mainstream media, the story was very different. The vandalism was blamed on students. Police showed off one of Oxford Press’s Terrorism: A Very Short Introduction . (This series of books offers scholarly introductions that help students prepare for classes, not how-to pamphlets teaching them to do terrorism.)

“I feel like I’m being gaslit,” one of my students said.

I teach creative writing, and I am the author of a book about teaching creative writing and the origins of creative-writing programs in the early 20th century. The oldest MFA program in the country, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, was funded by special-interest groups like the Rockefeller Foundation and, famously, the CIA, and was explicitly described by director Paul Engle as a tool to spread American values.

Read More: 'Why Are Police in Riot Gear?' Inside Columbia and City College's Darkest Night

The way we teach creative writing is essential because it shapes what kinds of narratives will be seen as valuable, pleasurable, and convincing. Today’s writing students will record how our current events become history. One of the strategies Columbia took with its police invasion was to block access of faculty, students, and press to the truth. It didn’t want any witnesses. It wanted to control the story.

For weeks, Columbia administration and the mainstream media has painted student protesters as violent and disruptive—and though there have been incidents of antisemitism, racism, and anti-Muslim hatred, including a chemical attack on pro-Palestine protesters , I visited the encampment multiple times and saw a place of joy, love, and community that included explicit teach-ins on antisemitism and explicit rules against any hateful language and action. Students of different faiths protected each other’s right to prayer. Meanwhile, wary of surveillance and the potential use of facial recognition to identify them, they covered their faces. Faculty have become afraid to use university email addresses to discuss ways to protect their students. At one point, the administration circulated documents they wanted students to sign, agreeing to self-identify their involvement and leave the encampment by a 2 p.m. deadline or face suspension or worse. In the end, student radio WKCR reported that even students who did leave the encampment were suspended.

In a recent statement in the Guardian and an oral history in New York Magazine , and through the remarkable coverage of WKCR, Columbia students have sought to take back the narrative. They have detailed the widespread support on campus for student protesters; the peaceful nature of the demonstrations; widespread student wishes to divest financially from Israel, cancel the Tel Aviv Global Center, and end Columbia’s dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University; and the administration’s lack of good faith in negotiations. As part of the Guardian statement, the student body says that multiple news outlets refused to print it. They emphasize their desire to tell their own story.

In a time of mass misinformation, writers who tell the truth and who are there to witness the truth firsthand are essential and must be protected. My students in Columbia’s writing program who have been arrested and face expulsion for wanting the university to disclose and divest, and the many other student protesters, represent the remarkable energy and skepticism of the younger generation who are committed not only to witnessing but participating in the making of a better world. Truth has power, but only if there are people around to tell the truth. We must protect their right to do so, whether or not the truth serves our beliefs. It is the next generation of writers who understand this best and are fighting for both their right and ours to be heard.

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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

**Meeting days and times may be subject to change.**

Class Schedules

• Winter 2025
• Spring 2025
• Annual Schedule for 2024-2025

Courses Fulfilling Major and Minor Requirements

Historical breadth courses.

• English 200-0: Literary Histories (Fall 2024)
• English 200-0: Literary Histories (Winter 2025)
• English 210-1: British Literary Traditions, Part 1 (Spring 2025)
• English 213-0: Intro to Fiction (Winter 2025)
• English 266-0: Intro to African American Literature (Fall 2024)
• English 270-1: American Literary Traditions, Part 1 (Fall 2024)
• English 275-0: Topics in Asian American Lit (Spring 2025)
• English 283-0: Intro to Literature and the Environment (Shannon

Postcolonial and Comparative Literatures Courses

Fall quarter.

• English 365 (Mwangi, MW 11-12:20)

Winter Quarter

•  English 365 (Johnson, TTh 9:30-10:50)

Spring Quarter

•  English 365 (Nadiminti, TTh 3:30-4:50)

Race & Ethnicity Courses

• English 312 (Manning, W 9:30-11:50)
• English 366-0 (Wilson, TTh 11-12:20)
• English 375-0 (Huang, MW 12:30-1:50)
• English 377-0 (Rodriguez Pliego, MW 3:30-4:50)
• English 381-0 (Huang, MW 2-3:20)
• English 383-0 (Bey, TTh 2-3:20)
• English 366-0 (Spigner, TBA)
• English 374-0 (Wisecup, MW 2-3:20)
• English 375-0 (Moon, TTh 3:30-4:50)
• English 377-0 (Rodriguez Pliego, TTh 11-12:20)
• English 312-0 (Manning, W 9:30-11:50)
• English 365-0 (Nadiminti, TTh 3:30-4:50)
• English 366-0 (Mann, TTh 9:30-10:50)
• English 375-0 (Huang, MW 2-3:20)

Gender, Sexuality & Embodiment Courses

• English 338-0 (Masten, TTh 3:30-4:30)
• English 365-0 (Mwangi MW 11-12:20)
• English 313-0 (Law, TTh 2-3:20)
• English 324-0 (Newman, MWF 11-11:50)
• English 344-0 (Soni, MW 3:30-4:50)
• English 368-0 (Froula, MW 2-3:20)
• English 385-0 (Wolff, MW 3:30-4:50)
• English 386-0 (Stern, MW 11-12:20)
• English 340-0 (Thompson, TTh 2-3:20)
• English 368-0 (Froula, TTh 2-3:20)
• English 386-0 (Davis, MW 9:30-10:50)

Identities, Communities, and Social Practice Courses

• English 366 (Wilson, TTh 11-12:20)
• English 375 (Huang, MW 12:30-1:50
• English 377 (Rodriguez Pliego, MW 3:30-4:50)
• English 381 (Huang, mW 2-3:20)
• English 383 (Bey, TTh 2-3:20)
• English 385 (Godfrey, MW 9:30-10:50)
• English 313 (Law, TTH 2-3:20)
• English 366 (Spigner, TBA)
• English 374 (Wisecup, MW 2-3:20)
• English 375 (Moon, TTh 3:30-4:50)
• English 377 (Rodriguez Pliego, TTH 11-12:20)
• English 381 (Evans, TTH 3:30-4:50)
• English 385 (Wolff, MW 3:30-4:50)
• English 366 (Mann, TTH 9:30-10:50)
• English 381 (Chaskin, TTH 12:30-1:50)

Transnationalism and Textual Circulation Courses

• English 365 (Johnson, TTh 9:30-10:50)
• English 365 (Nadiminti, TTH 3:30-4:50)
• English 368 (Froula, TTH 9:30-10:50)

• Newsletters

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The AI undergraduate certificate program is a proactive response to the rapid technological changes reshaping the creative landscape. We want our students to be equipped to shape the future of art with AI, not simply be shaped by it.

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