mfa program creative writing

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

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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Help us keep this database current. If you have updated information on one of the programs listed in the MFA database, let us know.

MFA Programs Database

• Help Keep This Database Current

Our MFA database includes essential information about low- and full-residency graduate creative writing programs in the United States and other English-speaking countries to help you decide where to apply.

Adelphi University

Poetry: Jan-Henry Gray, Maya Marshall Prose: Katherine Hill, René Steinke, Igor Webb

Albertus Magnus College

Poetry: Charles Rafferty, Paul Robichaud Fiction: Sarah Harris Wallman Nonfiction: Eric Schoeck

American University

Poetry: Kyle Dargan, David Keplinger Fiction: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Stephanie Grant, Patricia Park Nonfiction: Rachel Louise Snyder

Antioch University

Poetry: Victoria Chang Prose: Lisa Locascio

Arcadia University

Poetry: Genevieve Betts, Michelle Reale Fiction: Stephanie Feldman, Joshua Isard, Tracey Levine, Eric Smith Literature: Matthew Heitzman, Christopher Varlack, Elizabeth Vogel, Jo Ann Weiner

Poetry: Genevieve Betts, Michelle Reale Fiction: Stephanie Feldman, Joshua Isard, Tracey Levine, Eric Smith

Arizona State University

Poetry: Sally Ball, Natalie Diaz, Eunsong Kim, Alberto Álvaro Ríos, Safiya Sinclair Fiction: Matt Bell, Jenny Irish, Tara Ison, Mitchell Jackson, T. M. McNally Creative Nonfiction: Sarah Viren

Ashland University

Poetry: Aria Aber, Dexter Booth, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Adam Gellings, Tess Taylor, Vanessa Angélica Villareal

Fiction: Kirstin Chen, Brian Conn, Edan Lepucki, Sarah Monette, Nayomi Munaweera, Vi Khi Nao, Naomi J. Williams, Kyle Winkler

Nonfiction: Cass Donish, Kate Hopper, Lauren Markham, Thomas Mira y Lopez, Lisa Nikolidakis, Terese Mailhot, Kelly Sundberg

Augsburg University

Poetry: Jim Cihlar, Michael Kleber-Diggs Fiction: Stephan Eirik Clark, Lindsay Starck Nonfiction: Anika Fajardo, Kathryn Savage Playwriting: Alice Eve Cohen, Carson Kreitzer, TyLie Shider Screenwriting: Stephan Eirik Clark, Andy Froemke

Ball State University

Poetry: Katy Didden, Mark Neely Fiction: Cathy Day, Sean Lovelace Nonfiction: Jill Christman, Silas Hansen Screenwriting: Rani Deighe Crowe, Matt Mullins

Bard College

Mirene Arsanios, CA Conrad, Hoa Nguyen, Christopher Perez, Cedar Sigo, Julian Talamantez Brolaski, Roberto Tejada, Monica de la Torre, Simone White

Bath Spa University

Poetry: Lucy English, Carrie Etter, Tim Liardet, John Strachan, Samantha Walton, Gerard Woodward Fiction: Gavin James Bower, Celia Brayfield, Alexia Casale, Lucy English, Nathan Filer, Aminatta Forna, Maggie Gee, Samantha Harvey, Philip Hensher, Steve Hollyman, Emma Hooper, Claire Kendal, Kate Pullinger, C.J. Skuse, Gerard Woodward Nonfiction: Celia Brayfield, Richard Kerridge, Stephen Moss Scriptwriting: Robin Mukherjee

Poetry: Lucy English, Carrie Etter, Tim Liardet, Gerard Woodward Fiction: Gavin James Bower, Celia Brayfield, Nathan Filer, Aminatta Forna, Maggie Gee, Samantha Harvey, Philip Hensher, Claire Kendal, Kate Pullinger, Gerard Woodward Nonfiction: Richard Kerridge, Stephen Moss

Bay Path University

Mel Allen, Leanna James Blackwell, Jennifer Baker, Sari Botton, Melanie Brooks, María Luisa Arroyo Cruzado, Áine Greaney, Shahnaz Habib, Jessica Handler, Ann Hood, Susan Ito, Karol Jackowski, Yi Shun Lai, Anna Mantzaris, Meredith O’Brien, Lisa Romeo, Kate Whouley

Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College

Current Faculty: Poetry: Michael Dumanis, Carmen Giménez, Dana Levin, Randall Mann, Craig Morgan Teicher, Mark Wunderlich Fiction: Jai Chakrabarti, Monica Ferrell, Manuel Gonzales, Deirdre McNamer, Stuart Nadler, Téa Obreht, Katy Simpson Smith, Taymour Soomro, Claire Vaye Watkins, Toya Wolfe Nonfiction: Eula Biss, Jenny Boully, Saeed Jones, Sabrina Orah Mark, Shawna Kay Rodenberg, Hugh Ryan

Binghamton University

Poetry: Tina Chang, Joseph Weil Fiction: Thomas Glave, Leslie L. Heywood, Liz Rosenberg, Jaimee Wriston-Colbert, Alexi Zentner Nonfiction: Leslie L. Heywood

Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University

Poetry: Julie Hensley, Young Smith Fiction: Julie Hensley, Nancy Jensen, Robert D. Johnson Nonfiction: Nancy Jensen, Robert D. Johnson, Evan J. Massey

Boise State University

Poetry: Martin Corless-Smith, Sara Nicholson, Taryn Schwilling Fiction: Mitch Wieland (Director), Anna Caritj Creative Nonfiction: Clyde Moneyhun

Boston University

Poetry: Andrea Cohen, Karl Kirchwey, Robert Pinsky Fiction: Leslie Epstein, Jennifer Haigh, Ha Jin

Boston University—MFA in Literary Translation

Odile Cazenave, Margaret Litvin, Petrus Liu, Christopher Maurer, Roberta Micaleff, Robert Pinsky (advising), Stephen Scully, Sassan Tabatabai, J. Keith Vincent, William Waters, Anna Zielinska-Elliott

Bowling Green State University

Poetry: Abigail Cloud, Sharona Muir, F. Dan Rzicznek, Larissa Szporluk, Jessica Zinz-Cheresnick Fiction: Joe Celizic, Lawrence Coates, Reema Rajbanshi, Michael Schulz

Brigham Young University

Poetry: Kimberly Johnson, Lance Larsen, Michael Lavers, John Talbot Fiction: Chris Crowe, Ann Dee Ellis, Spencer Hyde, Stephen Tuttle Nonfiction: Joey Franklin, Patrick Madden

Brooklyn College

Poetry: Julie Agoos, Ben Lerner Fiction: Joshua Henkin, Madeleine Thien Playwriting: Dennis A. Allen II, Elana Greenfield

Brown University

Poetry: Sawako Nakayasu, Matthew Shenoda, Eleni Sikelianos, Cole Swensen Fiction: Colin Channer, Laird Hunt, Karan Mahajan, Jacinda Townsend Cross Disciplinary & Digital Language Arts: John Cayley, Thalia Field, Sawako Nakayasu

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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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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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.

Reading and Conversation: Simone Gorrindo

HYBRID | The 2024 Publishing Triangle Awards

Cave Canem Presents | Legacy: The Work of Jay Wright

• 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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Undergraduates.

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.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

• Litowitz MFA+MA Program

The Litowitz MFA+MA Program in Creative Writing and English

Program faculty, the department of english is grateful to northwestern university alumna jennifer leischner litowitz ’91 and her husband, alec litowitz for helping launch and support this program..

The Litowitz MFA+MA Program in Creative Writing offers intimate classes, the opportunity to pursue both creative and critical writing, close mentorship by renowned faculty in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and three fully supported years in which to grow as writers and complete a book-length creative project.  The Litowitz MFA+MA curriculum gives students time to deepen both their creative writing and their study of literature.  Students will receive full financial support for three academic years and two summers, a total of 33 months.  Both degrees—the MFA in Creative Writing and the MA in English—are awarded simultaneously at graduation.

Drawing on innovative scholarship, deep immersion in process, and cross-pollination between critical and creative texts, Litowitz students will complete a Capstone essay—a 20-25 page expanded version of a paper written for an English department graduate or MFA+MA seminar—by the end of their second year, and will spend their third year working on a book-length creative thesis of their own design, either within one genre or across genres.  The MFA+MA program's small size and attentive faculty will develop students' sense of literary context, the possibilities of genre, and their creative practice, while encouraging them to pursue the individual distinctiveness of their projects.

The Litowitz MFA+MA program provides significant exposure to a second genre in addition to the genre in which a student has been admitted. Students must take at least one out-of-genre workshop and have the option of taking more.

Over two years of coursework students will take:

In spring quarter of the second year, with advising and mentoring by the faculty, each student will complete the MA Capstone Essay.

In year three, students will be almost wholly dedicated to their creative thesis manuscripts.  Third-year students will take three quarters of the MFA Thesis Workshop/Tutorial.

Some students will complete their MFA thesis manuscript by the end of this year; others will wish to take more time.  The Graduate School permits students to submit the culminating project for the MFA at the end of full-time enrollment, or afterward.   

In all three years, students will be mentored by the faculty in the practice of their writing, the design of their projects, and regarding artistic and intellectual resources for their work.  In the teaching of creative writing and, through summer editorial work at TriQuarterly.org , students will get first-hand experience in editing a literary journal.

Visiting writers (including some anglophone international writers) will bring new perspectives to artistic practice, the three genres, and cross-genre or multi-genre work.

Students will pursue their work on our beautiful Evanston campus, amid artists, filmmakers, scholars and public intellectuals, with easy access to the vibrant literary arts scene of Chicago.

Admissions Cycle

Each year, the MFA+MA program admits new students in two of our three genres.  The genres in question rotate annually.  Information on the application process and the genres in which applications will be considered can be found here .

Creative Writing (MFA)

Program description.

The MFA Program in Creative Writing consists of a vibrant community of writers working together in a setting that is both challenging and supportive. This stimulating environment fosters the development of talented writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The program is not defined by courses alone, but by a life built around writing.

Through innovative literary outreach programs, a distinguished public reading series, an exciting public student reading series, special literary seminars with visiting writers, and the production of a high-quality literary journal, students participate in a dynamic literary community actively engaged in all aspects of the literary arts—writing, reading, teaching, publishing and community outreach. Students also have the opportunity to enjoy America's most literary terrain; New York University is situated in the heart of Greenwich Village, a part of the city that has always been home to writers.

The MFA in Creative Writing is designed to offer students an opportunity to concentrate intensively on their writing. This program is recommended for students who may want to apply for creative writing positions at colleges and universities, which often require the MFA degree. The MFA program does not have a foreign language requirement.

All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the  general application requirements , which include:

• Academic Transcripts
• Test Scores  (if required)
• Applicant Statements
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of Recommendation , and
• A non-refundable  application fee .

See Creative Writing for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.

Program Requirements

Special project, program information.

Taken in four separate semesters.

Craft courses may be repeated provided they are taught by different instructors.

With the permission of that department and of the director of the CWP. 

Additional Program Requirements

A creative special project in poetry or fiction, consisting of a substantial piece of writing—a novella, a collection of short stories, or a group of poems—to be submitted in the student’s final semester. The project requires the approval of the student’s faculty adviser and of the director of the CWP.

The MFA degree may also be earned through the Low Residency MFA Writers Workshop in Paris. Under this model, degree requirements remain the same, although Craft courses and Workshops take the form of intensive individualized courses of study with the faculty, including three substantial packet exchanges of student work per semester. All students earning the MFA degree through the low-residency program must also participate in five ten-day residencies in Paris, which involve a diverse series of series of craft talks, lectures, readings, special events, faculty mentorship meetings, and professional development panels.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

• Graduate students in the Creative Writing Program at NYU work intensively with faculty mentors in writing workshops and individual conferences to learn and master the basic elements of the craft of fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry.
• Students are expected to read widely and deeply, and to acquire a broad practitioner’s knowledge of English and American literature in their declared concentration (poetry, creative nonfiction, or fiction).
• Students are taught to read carefully and critically, and in doing so learn to read as writers. By studying great novels, poems, and works of literary nonfiction by other writers, students learn how to write their own.
• The two-year program of intensive study culminates in the completion of a creative thesis -- a novel, a collection of stories or essays, or a collection of poems. The thesis manuscript, ideally, is a working draft of a first book. Many program alumni go on to publish books and win awards for their writing.

Grading and GPA Policy

Nyu policies, graduate school of arts and science policies.

To qualify for the degree, a student must have a GPA of at least 3.0, must complete a minimum of 24 points with a grade of B or better, and may offer no more than 8 points with a grade of C (no more than 4 points with a grade of C in creative writing workshops). A student may take no more than 36 points toward the degree.

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages .

Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page . 

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Department of English

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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:

Sarah Yunus Graduate Program Coordinator, MFA Program in Creative Writing [email protected]   (530) 752-2281 Pronouns: she/her  

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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MFA in Creative Writing

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Specialize in poetry or fiction through our Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Work with our award-winning poets and writers to hone your craft.  Request Info ‌

Starting your application is easy.

The MFA is a two-year, fully-funded program, consisting of workshops, interdisciplinary coursework and a final thesis of literary work. Distinguished by the one-on-one attention students receive from our faculty poets and writers, the program offers a strong, supportive start to a creative life in words.

• Admission Info ‌
• Degree Requirements ‌

Admission Info

Our program is small, so we can focus on you. We accept only about a dozen students each year, with six or seven students in fiction, and another six or seven in poetry. We offer full funding in the form of a graduate teaching assistantship to all eligible admitted applicants. Deadline to apply: Feb. 1. 

How to Apply ‌ Apply Now ‌

One of a Kind

Ours is the only Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.

Degree Requirements

The MFA is a 36-hour program, consisting of four workshops, six graduate-level courses and a thesis of literary work. 

Our students apprentice under master writers , and as such, prepare to become the next generation of master writers themselves. Student work produced here has been published and honored by prestigious groups such as The American Academy of Poets, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and The American Poetry Review , among others. Learn More ‌

Faculty Mentors

Our faculty of working poets and writers believe that individual attention is key: that’s what makes our program so strong. We’ll work with you as you wrangle with your words, while you polish your poems, until your manuscript is submission worthy. We want to help you fine tune your skills and launch your career.

Our poetry faculty:

• Sumita Chakraborty ( Arrow )
• Eduardo C. Corral  ( Slow Lightning ; Guillotine )
• Meg Day ( Last Psalm at Sea Level )

Our fiction faculty:

• Belle Boggs  ( The Gulf ;  The Art of Waiting )
• Carter Sickels ( The Prettiest Star, The Evening Hour )
• LaTanya McQueen ( When the Reckoning Comes, And it Begins Like This )

Retired faculty: 

• John Balaban ( Locusts at the Edge of Summer; Empires; Passing Through a Gate ; etc.)
• Wilton Barnhardt  ( Western Alliances,   Lookaway, Lookaway ;  Emma Who Saved My Life; etc.) 
• John Kessel  ( The Moon and The Other ;  Pride and Prometheus;  etc.)
• Dorianne Laux ( The Book of Men; Only As the Day is Long; Facts About the Moon ; etc.)
• Jill McCorkle  ( Old Crimes, Life After Life ;  The Cheer Leader, etc.)

Meet the Faculty ‌

"They’re a thoughtful, positive, critically savvy group."

Kij Johnson (MFA '12)

Outstanding Alumni

Sarah Grunder Ruiz

Meet 2018 MFA alumna Sarah Grunder Ruiz — and learn more about her debut novel,  Love, Lists and Fancy Ships . 

Since our MFA program was established in 2005, we’ve helped some outstanding writers find their voices. Among our alumni are:

• Therese Anne Fowler , whose fourth book, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald , was a 2013 New York Times bestseller and was the inspiration for a TV show,  Z: The Beginning of Everything .
• Tyree Daye , whose debut poetry collection,  River Hymns , earned The American Poetry Review 's Honickman First Book Prize. Daye was also a 2019 recipient of the prestigious Whiting Award in poetry. 
• Kij Johnson , whose f irst collection of short stories,  At the Mouth of the River of Bees,  contained stories that won Nebula and Hugo Awards. Johnson now teaches at the University of Kansas.
• Noel Crook , whose debut collection, Salt Moon , won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award and was published by Southern Illinois University Press. 
• Alyssa Wong , who as a student in the program won the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Short Story and the 2016 World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction.  

Additional MFA Resources

• Info for Current Students ‌
• Graduate Teaching Assistantships ‌
• Thesis and Grad Timeline ‌
• NC State Literary Readings ‌
• NC State Fiction Contest ‌
• NC State Poetry Contest ‌

Contact Information

Assistant director, mfa program.

Chelsea Krieg Campus Box 8105 NC State University Raleigh, NC 27695-8105

[email protected] ‌

Graduate Services Coordinator

Ciru Mutura Campus Box 8105 NC State University Raleigh, NC 27695-8105 919.515.4106

[email protected] ‌

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The City College of New York MFA in Creative Writing

A home for writers in harlem.

Essay by Emily Raboteau in Orion Magazine

MFA Fall Application Deadline Extended until March 1

Launch for Emily Raboteau’s new book, ‘Lessons for Survival’

Our mfa program is dedicated to diversity, excellence and inclusion. we help emerging writers find their voice, polish their craft, and enter the contemporary publishing landscape. .

Writing Faculty

The distinguished faculty of the MFA in Creative Writing program has included Gwendolyn Brooks, Donald Barthelme, Joseph Heller, Grace Paley, Susan Sontag, Marilyn Hacker, and Michelle Wallace, to name a few.

For Students

Stay informed about program requirements, deadlines, application process, course listing, and graduation.

In The Press

‘the blue-collar harvard’.

Fledgling authors from underrepresented backgrounds and nontraditional students are turning to graduate creative writing programs at the City University of New York to tell their stories.

by Sara Weissman , Inside Higher Ed,  June 22, 2021

The class for the creative writing master of fine arts program at City College of New York this past spring was its largest yet — enrollment jumped from 120 students in the fall to 140 this spring. There were 105 students enrolled in fall 2019.

What makes the CCNY MFA in Creative Writing Different from other programs?

“Diversity. We’re located in Harlem. Our unofficial tagline is “Ten times the diversity for one tenth the price,” because we’re also comparatively affordable”…

MFA Program Profile: Emily Raboteau on CCNY Publisher’s Weekly, May 2015

We have students of all backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, nationality, and age. No one group is the majority, and therefore none of the work is treated like minority literature. There are radical implications for the kinds of work our students are putting out into the world for it to be nurtured, respected, celebrated, and intelligently critiqued in the classroom.

IndoorVoices Podcast interviews the Director:

Episode 65: michelle valladares on ccny’s creative writing mfa.

By Kathleen Collins, October 18, 2021

In Spring 2021, the Creative Writing MFA at City College saw an unprecedented enrollment spike. It’s not exactly clear why it occurred, but Director Michelle Valladares has some ideas about that. She has lots of ideas, in fact, about unique and exciting ways to grow the program even more while still maintaining a manageable cohort size…

Testimonials

What alumni are saying.

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

Mostly dividing his time between New York City and Tehran, Iran, Salar regularly publishes personal essays and short stories, plus numerous translations of other authors that appear in journals across the world.

A professor at the City University of New York’s CITY COLLEGE campus in Harlem, he teaches workshops in the English Department’s MFA program and also serves as Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing. Website: salarabdoh.com

Author Website

Spring 2020

Spring 2019

She has been anthologized in Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia & Beyond, and The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry by Indians . Her honors include a Pushcart Prize Nomination and she was awarded “The Poet of the Year” by the Americas Poetry Festival of New York. She is currently working on a book about faith called Searching for Tara.

Naima’s second novel,  Didn’t Never Know , is the story of the integration of a public high school in a small Southern town, which sets off a chain of events that bonds two families together in unexpected and complicated ways over the course of their lives. It is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing.

Naima’s stories and essays have appeared in the  New York Times , the  Rumpus ,  Aster(ix) ,  Kweli ,  The Paris Review Daily , and elsewhere. She has taught writing to students in jail, youth programs, and universities. Naima is currently visiting faculty at the MFA program at City College in Harlem and Antioch University in L.A.

Unger has been a featured writer in book festivals in San Juan, Miami, Los Angeles, Guatemala, Sharjah, Managua, Bogotá, Lima, La Paz, Oaxaca, and Guadalajara.

She received her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Arizona, and her Ph.D. from Stanford University.  She teaches a range of subjects from feminist and critical literary theory, poetics, film studies, contemporary literature, and women’s literature.

He has taught poetry and nonfiction workshops. An independent book editor with an interest in the ways writers engage with the culture, he has also led MFA courses in publishing and authorship.

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• Arts & Sciences
• Graduate Studies in A&S

MFA PROGRAM

The Writing Program

The MFA Program at Washington University in St. Louis is a two-year program where 30 students are working toward MFA degrees in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Our world-renowned faculty will mentor you and your writing to develop to your full potential. In addition to working with our faculty, our reading series brings a diverse group of poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers to the department, and the Hurst Professor program brings distinguished visitors each year to present their newest work, lecture on the craft of writing, and work one-on-one with our MFA students. Alison Bechdel, Claudia Rankine, George Saunders, Patricia Hampl, Kelly Link, Joy Williams, and Terrance Hayes are just some of our recent Hurst Professors.

The two-year program is rigorous and challenging, but fosters a close-knit community of support that continues long after the degrees have been granted. At the heart of the program are the fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry workshops, with craft courses in all genres, access to the department’s courses in literature, and many other courses in the College of Arts & Sciences also available to MFA students. Students may also take graduate courses from other departments when appropriate to their creative endeavors (and with the permission of the faculty).

Entry into the program is highly competitive—out of hundreds of applications received, we accept only 15 students (five each in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction). Our students come from all over the US and around the world and generally include a mix of recent undergraduates and older students, with a diversity of writing styles that continues to surprise us.

Learn More about Life in St. Louis

MFA Alum. Nathaniel Rosenthalis plublishes his second Book, The Leniad

Niki Herd is featured in today's Poetry Daily

Check out her poem "Lyric Sung in Third Person" and essay "What Sparks Poetry: Language As Form".

Funding and Fellowships

Financial support.

Because of our selectivity and size, we are able to offer all our new students full and equal financial aid for both years in the program in the form of an A&S Fellowship, which provides a complete tuition waiver plus a stipend sufficient for students to live comfortably in our relatively inexpensive city. There are also two university-wide fellowships for graduate students, which applicants to the MFA Program are urged to apply for separately: the Spencer T. Olin Fellowships for Women and the Chancellor's Graduate Fellowships. All MFA students receive health insurance through Washington University.

Program Structure

The Writing Program leads to the Master of Fine Arts in Writing (MFA). It is a two-year program, requiring satisfactory completion of 42 semester hours, a thesis (usually a volume of poems, short stories, a novel, a collection of essays or a book-length nonfiction manuscript), and an oral examination dealing principally with the thesis.

Please note that, beginning in 2017, we no longer require the GRE for admissions.

Admission to the Writing Program at Washington University is highly competitive. Each year, we are able to accept only between 3 and 5 percent of applicants, and there are always many more qualified and promising writers than we can accommodate.

Applicants must follow standard Office of Graduate Studies  procedures and apply online. The online application will allow you to submit the following material:

• Application Fee
• Applicant Information Form
• Transcripts
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Statement of Purpose
• Writing Sample 
• Curriculum Vitae

Typed manuscripts should consist of 6 to 12 poems or up to 35 double-spaced pages of fiction or nonfiction. Please note the decision-making committees admit students and decide on financial aid without regard to gender, sexual orientation, age, race, color, creed, national origin, or disability.

Please note that, following the Office of Graduate Studies’ policies, we very rarely accept students who have already received an MFA from another institution, even if the applicant is applying in a different genre.

Ready to apply?

Visit the Online Application

We've long been fortunate to have outstanding students come through The MFA Program at Washington University, and we're very proud of how much our MFA alumni have gone on to accomplish since graduating.

Graduate Student Resources

Can't find what you're looking for? Browse all Graduate Resources.

Graduate Student Organizations

learn more about graduate student reading groups and organizations on campus

Graduate Student Handbook

learn more about policies and procedures for the doctoral program

Life in St. Louis

learn more about the city of St. Louis and what it's like to live here

learn more about career resources from the Office of Graduate Studies

Internship Opportunity

Dorothy, a publishing project —a nationally acclaimed independent press publishing works of innovative fiction—offers a one-year internship for an MFA student in creative writing. Students can apply in the spring of their first year to begin the internship the following fall. The intern chosen will work directly with Danielle Dutton, the press's editor, on mutually agreed upon projects that take into account the intern's interests and strengths. In general, however, the internship is designed to give students a wide range of experience with literary publishing, and so will likely involve a mix of editorial work (e.g., reviewing submissions, writing reader’s reports, copyediting manuscripts in layout), marketing, design, and book production and distribution. The intern will also have opportunities to represent the press publicly, including at the annual AWP conference (travel and hotel expenses will be covered), and his or her name will appear on the press's masthead.

Interested students should submit a letter of application and a CV to Professor Dutton ( [email protected] ) and Program Director David Schuman ( [email protected] ) no later than March 15 of the spring semester of their first year. The Course Master will be Danielle Dutton; David Schuman will be the Site Supervisor.

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Creative writing faculty bookshelf.

The Guest Lecture

In a hotel room in the middle of the night, Abby, a young feminist economist, lies awake next to her sleeping husband and daughter. Anxious that she is grossly underprepared for a talk she is presenting tomorrow on optimism and John Maynard Keynes, she has resolved to practice by using an ancient rhetorical method of assigning parts of her speech to different rooms in her house and has brought along a comforting albeit imaginary companion to keep her on track—Keynes himself.

Yet as she wanders with increasing alarm through the rooms of her own consciousness, Abby finds herself straying from her prepared remarks on economic history, utopia, and Keynes’s pragmatic optimism. A lapsed optimist herself, she has been struggling under the burden of supporting a family in an increasingly hostile America after being denied tenure at the university where she teaches. Confronting her own future at a time of global darkness, Abby undertakes a quest through her memories to ideas hidden in the corners of her mind—a piecemeal intellectual history from Cicero to Lewis Carroll to Queen Latifah—as she asks what a better world would look like if we told our stories with more honest and more hopeful imaginations.

With warm intellect, playful curiosity, and an infectious voice, Martin Riker acutely animates the novel of ideas with a beating heart and turns one woman’s midnight crisis into the performance of a lifetime.

• Grove Atlantic

Award-winning poet Mary Jo Bang’s new translation of  Purgatorio  is the extraordinary continuation of her journey with Dante, which began with her transformative version of  Inferno . In  Purgatorio , still guided by the Roman poet Virgil, Dante emerges from the horrors of Hell to begin the climb up Mount Purgatory, a seven-terrace mountain with each level devoted to those atoning for one of the seven deadly sins. At the summit, we find the Terrestrial Heaven and Beatrice—who will take over for Virgil, who, as a pagan, can only take Dante so far. During the climb, we are introduced to the myriad ways in which humans destroy the social fabric through pride, envy, and vindictive anger. In her signature lyric style, accompanied by her wise and exuberant notes, Bang has produced a stunning translation of this fourteenth-century text, rich with references that span time, languages, and cultures. The contemporary allusions echo the audacious character of the original, and slyly insist that whatever was true in Dante’s era is still true. Usain Bolt, Tootsie Fruit Chews, the MGM logo, Leo the Lion, Amy Winehouse, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, and Gertrude Stein are among those who make cameo appearances as Bang, with eloquence and daring, shepherds  The Divine Comedy  into the twenty-first century.

• Graywolf Press

Boyz n the Void

Writing to his brother, G’Ra Asim reflects on building his own identity while navigating Blackness, masculinity, and young adulthood—all through wry social commentary and music/pop culture critique How does one approach Blackness, masculinity, otherness, and the perils of young adulthood? For G’Ra Asim, punk music offers an outlet to express himself freely. As his younger brother, Gyasi, grapples with finding his footing in the world, G’Ra gifts him with a survival guide for tackling the sometimes treacherous cultural terrain particular to being young, Black, brainy, and weird in the form of a mixtape. Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother  blends music and cultural criticism and personal essay to explore race, gender, class, and sexuality as they pertain to punk rock and straight edge culture. Using totemic punk rock songs on a mixtape to anchor each chapter, the book documents an intergenerational conversation between a Millennial in his 30s and his zoomer teenage brother. Author, punk musician, and straight edge kid, G’Ra Asim weaves together memoir and cultural commentary, diving into the depths of everything from theory to comic strips, to poetry to pizza commercials to mapping the predicament of the Black creative intellectual. With each chapter dedicated to a particular song and placed within the context of a fraternal bond, Asim presents his brother with a roadmap to self-actualization in the form of a Doc Martened foot to the behind and a sweaty, circle-pit-side-armed hug. Listen to the author’s playlist while you read! Access the playlist here:  https://sptfy.com/a18b

• Penguin Random House

Read an interview with David Schuman about Best Men in the Chicago Review of Books here:  https://chireviewofbooks.com/2021/08/30/weddings-wolves-and-walla-walla-...

• More about Best Men

Then the War and Selected Poems, 2007-2020

A new collection of poems from one of America’s most essential, celebrated, and enduring poets, Carl Phillips's  Then the War I’m a song, changing. I’m a light rain falling through a vast darkness toward a different darkness. Carl Phillips has aptly described his work as an “ongoing quest”;  Then the War  is the next step in that meaningful process of self-discovery for both the poet and his reader. The new poems, written in a time of rising racial conflict in the United States, with its attendant violence and uncertainty, find Phillips entering deeper into the landscape he has made his own: a forest of intimacy, queerness, and moral inquiry, where the farther we go, the more difficult it is to remember why or where we started. Then the War  includes a generous selection of Phillips’s work from the previous thirteen years, as well as his recent lyric prose memoir, “Among the Trees,” and his chapbook,  Star Map with Action  Figures . Ultimately, Phillips refuses pessimism, arguing for tenderness and human connection as profound forces for revolution and conjuring a spell against indifference and the easy escapes of nostalgia.  Then  the War  is luminous testimony to the power of self-reckoning and to Carl Phillips as an ever-changing, necessary voice in contemporary poetry.

Pale Colors in a Tall Field

Carl Phillips’s new poetry collection,  Pale Colors in a Tall Field , is a meditation on the intimacies of thought and body as forms of resistance. The poems are both timeless and timely, asking how we can ever truly know ourselves in the face of our own remembering and inevitable forgetting. Here, the poems metaphorically argue that memory is made up of various colors, with those most prominent moments in a life seeming more vivid, though the paler colors are never truly forgotten. The poems in  Pale Colors in a Tall Field  approach their points of view kaleidoscopically, enacting the self’s multiplicity and the difficult shifts required as our lives, in turn, shift. This is one of Phillips’s most tender, dynamic, and startling books yet.

• Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The Silk Road

The Silk Road  begins on a mat in yoga class, deep within a labyrinth on a settlement somewhere in the icy north, under the canny guidance of Jee Moon. When someone fails to arise from corpse pose, the Astronomer, the Archivist, the Botanist, the Keeper, the Topologist, the Geographer, the Iceman, and the Cook remember the paths that brought them there―paths on which they still seem to be traveling.

The Silk Road  also begins in rivalrous skirmishing for favor, in the protected Eden of childhood, and it ends in the harrowing democracy of mortality, in sickness and loss and death. Kathryn Davis’s sleight of hand brings the past, present, and future forward into brilliant coexistence; in an endlessly shifting landscape, her characters make their way through ruptures, grief, and apocalypse, from existence to nonexistence, from embodiment to pure spirit.

Since the beginning of her extraordinary career, Davis has been fascinated by journeys. Her books have been shaped around road trips, walking tours, hegiras, exiles: and now, in this triumphant novel, a pilgrimage.  The Silk Road  is her most explicitly allegorical novel and also her most profound vehicle; supple and mesmerizing, the journey here is not undertaken by a single protagonist but by a community of separate souls―a family, a yoga class, a generation. Its revelations are ravishing and desolating.

The History of the Future: American Essays

A collection of long essays centered on American places where the past is erupting into the present in unexpected ways. What does it mean to think about Dallas in relationship to Dallas ? In The History of the Future, McPherson reexamines the space between history, experience, and myth. Private streets, racism, and the St. Louis World’s Fair; fracking for oil and digging for dinosaurs in North Dakota boomtowns—Americana slides into apocalypse in these essays, revealing us to ourselves.

• "Best Books of 2017" (The Guardian, Iowa Public Radio)
• Winner of the 2017 PEN Southwest Book Award
• Finalist for the 2018 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award
• Coffee House Press

Here Comes Kitty: A Comic Opera

" Here Comes Kitty is a dark circus of the very best kind: bright 'damage' on every page. It pierces the heart with its mixture of love and going. I am honored to speak in support of such an extraordinarily brilliant book." —Bhanu Kapil

"Monumental incongruities—dazzling composition. Richard Kraft and Danielle Dutton have created a riot of images and words. The exuberance is contagious. A delight. A must." —Rosmarie Waldrop

" Here Comes Kitty reaches out in all sorts of ways like a compendium of the postmodern without pretentiousness which—despite combining humor, the erotic, the gothic, the wry, the popular and the sophisticated—tells a tight tale with wild invention and makes you want both to turn the pages and dwell on the images." —Tom Phillips

• Siglio Press

Samuel Johnson's Eternal Return

When Samuel Johnson dies, he finds himself in the body of the man who killed him, unable to depart this world but determined, at least, to return to the son he left behind. Moving from body to body as each one expires, Samuel’s soul journeys on a comic quest through an American half-century, inhabiting lives as stymied, in their ways, as his own. A ghost story of the most unexpected sort, Martin Riker’s extraordinary debut is about the ways experience is mediated, the unstoppable drive for human connection, and the struggle to be more fully alive in the world.

Martin Riker  grew up in central Pennsylvania. He worked as a musician for most of his twenties, in nonprofit literary publishing for most of his thirties, and has spent the first half of his forties teaching in the English department at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2010, he and his wife Danielle Dutton co-founded the feminist press Dorothy, a Publishing Project. His fiction and criticism have appeared in publications including the  Wall Street Journal , the  New York Times ,  London Review of Books , the  Baffler , and  Conjunctions . This is his first novel.

Margaret the First: A Novel

Winner of an Independent Publisher's Book Award Gold Medal for Historical Fiction

Margaret the First  dramatizes the life of Margaret Cavendish, the shy, gifted, and wildly unconventional 17th-century Duchess. The eccentric Margaret wrote and published volumes of poems, philosophy, feminist plays, and utopian science fiction at a time when “being a writer” was not an option open to women. As one of the Queen’s attendants and the daughter of prominent Royalists, she was exiled to France when King Charles I was overthrown. As the English Civil War raged on, Margaret met and married William Cavendish, who encouraged her writing and her desire for a career. After the War, her work earned her both fame and infamy in England: at the dawn of daily newspapers, she was “Mad Madge,” an original tabloid celebrity. Yet Margaret was also the first woman to be invited to the Royal Society of London—a mainstay of the Scientific Revolution—and the last for another two hundred years. 

Margaret the First  is very much a contemporary novel set in the past. Written with lucid precision and sharp cuts through narrative time, it is a gorgeous and wholly new approach to imagining the life of a historical woman.

The Tether: Poems

As I understand it, I could call him. Though it would help, it is not required that I give him a name first. Also, nothing says he stops, then, or must turn. --from "The Figure, the Boundary, the Light"

The Rest of Love: Poems

The light, for as far as I can see, is that of any number of late

afternoons I remember still: how the light seemed a bell; how it seemed I'd been living insider it, waiting - I'd heard all about

that one clear note it gives.  --from "Late Apollo III"

Speak Low: Poems

Speak Low  is the tenth book from one of America’s most distinctive—and one of poetry’s most essential—contemporary voices. Phillips has long been hailed for work provocative in its candor, uncompromising in its inquiry, and at once rigorous and innovative in its attention to craft. Over the course of nine critically acclaimed collections, he has generated a sustained meditation on the restless and ever-shifting myth of human identity. Desire and loss, mastery and subjugation, belief and doubt, sex, animal instinct, human reason: these are among the lenses through which Phillips examines what it means to be that most bewildering, irresolvable conundrum, a human being in the world.

Silverchest: Poems

In  Silverchest , his twelfth book, Carl Phillips considers how our fears and excesses, the damage we cause both to others and to ourselves, intentional and not, can lead not only to a kind of wisdom but also to renewal, maybe even joy, if we're willing to commit fully to a life in which "I love you / means what, exactly?" In poems shot through with his signature mix of eros, restless energy, and moral scrutiny, Phillips argues for the particular courage it takes to look at the self squarely―not with judgment but with understanding―and extend that self more honestly toward others. It's a risk, there's a lot to lose, but if it's true that "we'll drown anyway―why not / in color?"

Rock Harbor: Poems

Wind as a face gone red with blowing, oceans whose end is broken stitchery--

swim of sea-dragon, dolphin, shimmer-and-coil, invitation. . . . You Know the kind of map I mean. Countries as

distant as they are believable . . .

--from "Halo"

Riding Westward: Poems

What happens when the world as we've known it becomes divided, when the mind becomes less able―or less willing―to distinguish reality from what is desired? In  Riding Westward , Carl Phillips wields his celebrated gifts for syntax and imagery that are unmistakably his own―speculative, athletic, immediate―as he confronts moral crisis. What is the difference, he asks, between good and evil, cruelty and instruction, risk and trust? Against the backdrop of the natural world, Phillips pitches the restlessness of what it means to be human, as he at once deepens and extends a meditation on that space where the forces of will and imagination collide with sexual and moral conduct.

Quiver of Arrows: Selected Poems, 1986-2006

Quiver of Arrows  is a generous gathering from Carl Phillips's work that showcases the twenty-year evolution of one of America's most distinctive―and one of poetry's most essential―contemporary voices. Hailed from the beginning of his career for a poetry provocative in its candor, uncompromising in its inquiry, and at once rigorous and innovative in its attention to craft, Phillips has in the course of eight critically acclaimed collections generated a sustained meditation on the restless and ever-shifting myth of human identity. Desire and loss, mastery and subjugation, belief and doubt, sex, animal instinct, human reason: these are among the lenses through which Phillips examines what it means to be that most bewildering, irresolvable conundrum, a human being in the world.

Poetry, Love, and Mercy

The Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lectures on the Teaching of Poetry was established in 2003 in memory of a poet and an inspired teacher of poetry to children and to the underprivileged. She is also remembered for her generosity in support of actions, world wide, to safeguard and to further Human Rights. This series of lectures on teaching poetry by distinguished poets was conceived of by her family as a contribution to the role poetry plays at Berkeley in occasions that bring the public and academic communities together.

Pastoral: Poems

Carl Phillips  is the author of nine previous books of poems, including  Quiver of Arrows: Selected Poems, 1986-2006 ;  Riding Westward ; and  The Rest of Love , a National Book Award finalist. He teaches at Washington University in St. Louis.

In The Blood

Winner of the Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize (1992)

From the Devotions: Poems

With  From the Devotions , Carl Phillips takes us even further into that dangerous space he has already made his own, where body and soul--ever restless--come explosively together. Speaking to a balance between decorum and pain, he offers here a devotional poetry that argues for faith, even without the comforting gods or the organized structures of revealed truth. Neither sage nor saint nor prophet, the poet is the listener, the mourner, the one who has some access to the maddening quarters of human consciousness, the wry Sibyl.  From the Devotions  is deeply felt, highly intelligent, and unsentimental, and cements Phillips's reputation as a poet of enormous talent and depth.

Double Shadow: Poems

A stunning new collection of poems from the author of  Speak Low

Comparing any human life to "a restless choir" of impulses variously in conflict and at peace with one another, Carl Phillips, in his eleventh book, examines the double shadow that a life casts forth: "now risk, and now / faintheartedness." In poems that both embody and inhabit this double shadow, risk and faintheartedness prove to have the power equally to rescue us from ourselves and to destroy us. Spare, haunted, and haunting, yet not without hope,  Double Shadow  argues for life as a wilderness through which there's only the questing forward―with no regrets and no looking back.

Cortège: Poems

Carl Phillips is the author of nine previous books of poems, including "Quiver of Arrows: Selected Poems, 1986-2006";" Riding Westward"; and "The Rest of Love," a National Book Award finalist. He teaches at Washington University in St. Louis. This is the second collection of poems by Carl Phillips, whose first book, "In the Blood," won the 1992 Morse Poetry Prize. As "The Boston Book Review" observed, "Cortege" is the work of "an erotic poet, one who follows his sexuality into surprising territory . . . The contemporary scene is fully present [throughout this book], with all its new and old terrors--AIDS, loneliness--but Phillips's richness of mind is such that he often encounters in this life the artifacts of a couple of millennia of art and mythology. Which is not to say these poems have an academic flavor--far from it. The vision is contemporary, the language ours . . . What makes these poems such a coherent whole, in addition to their open sensuality, is the awareness they contain of the inescapable sadness of beauty . . . This is a poet of tact and delicacy, with an understated approach to even potentially explosive subjects."

Coin of the Realm: Essays on the Life and Art of Poetry

The "coin of the realm" is, classically, the currency that for any culture most holds value. In art, as in life, the poet Carl Phillips argues, that currency includes beauty, risk, and authority-values of meaning and complexity that all too often go disregarded. Together, these essays become an invaluable statement for the necessary-and necessarily difficult-work of the imagination and the will, even when, as Phillips states in his title essay, "the last thing that most human beings seem capable of trusting naturally-instinctively-is themselves, their own judgment."

The Backwash Squeeze and Other Improbable Feats: A Newcomer's Journey into the World of Bridge

In this spirited homage, McPherson recounts the colorful history of bridge and his attempts to master its mysteries in time to compete at the North American Bridge Championships—despite being barely able to shuffle cards. The characters he meets convince him that in a game that pits mind against mind, close attention to the cards often reveals much about those sitting at the table.

• HarperCollins

Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat

This biography celebrates one of cinema’s greatest clowns, painting a detailed portrait of the man behind the mayhem and offering a fresh look at the classic comedies that defined the Golden Age of silent film. McPherson takes the reader on a journey through Buster Keaton’s life and times, from the vaudeville stage to the glittering screens of early Hollywood, revealing Keaton as an antic genius—equal parts auteur, innovator, prankster, and daredevil.

• Faber & Faber

Tyrants: Stories

The grouped stories in  Tyrants  trace the many forms of emotional inheritance―cultural, romantic, and historical. Some deftly portray both time and place, while others mine interpersonal relations with such intimacy and truth that they could be set anytime, anywhere. In the first sequence of stories, a son inherits and reconsiders his father’s convoluted and extravagant notions about love, sex, wealth, and fatherhood. In the second, an American man and his Korean wife confront the cultural implications of a romantic, self-imposed exile. And in the historical fictions that complete the collection, love and flight, ambition, exploration, and exile intertwine in a helium balloon above Sweden, in an Italian airship at the North Pole, and in Stalin’s dacha during the Nazi invasion. Marshall N. Klimasewiski’s talent for “deft psychological triangulations” ( New York Times Book Review ) and for capturing “the subtle dynamics between people” ( St. Louis Post-Dispatch ) is on full display here.

The Cottagers: A Novel

Cyrus Collingwood, age nineteen, suspects that he may be a genius without a calling. He is a year-round resident of East Sooke, Vancouver Island, and has a natural resentment for the summer cottagers who descend on its rocky beaches. When two vacationing American couples arrive―old friends with a complicated history―they become his obsession. Greg and Nicholas are engaged in an academic collaboration that looks more like competition; Samina and Laurel are old friends who have grown apart and developed a strange jealousy. Cyrus spies on the cottagers through their windows, then begins to insinuate himself into their lives. When one of the cottagers goes missing, no one will look at any of the others the same way again.  

The Tender Land: A Family Love Story

A superb portrait of family life, THE TENDER LAND is a love story unlike any other. The Finnerans -- parents and five children, Irish Catholics in St. Louis -- are a seemingly unexceptional family. Theirs is a story seldom told, yet it makes manifest how rich and truly extraordinary the ordinary daily experience we take for granted is. In quietly luminous language, Kathleen Finneran renders the emotional, spiritual, and physical terrain of family life -- its closeness and disconnection, its intimacy and estrangement--and pays tribute to the love between parents and children, brothers and sisters.

S P R A W L

Finalist for the Believer Book Award

“Rereading SPRAWL in the new edition—a novel that remains unlike anything I’ve read before—made me recall the sensation of first reading Virginia Woolf’s The Waves . Like The Waves , SPRAWL radically reorients the reader to what the narrative space of a novel can be and do, and, most memorably, how that can feel. Consisting of a single paragraph spanning more than a hundred pages, the strange bakelite surface of the novel’s prose creates a retro-futurist scene. Is the novel set in a 1950s white-picket-fenced suburbia made ever stranger? or is it set in an ecologically doomed near-future? At its center is an impressionistic portrait of a couple consisting of the narrator and her husband, Haywood, but this is treated less as a plotted narrative drama of a relationship and more like a David Attenborough documentary studying the mating and nesting rituals of a particular specimen pair of the aspirational white middle class (if Attenborough were an alien observer). The novel is imbued with deep observational analysis (consumption as competition, even sport; the economics of homemaking and desire).” —John Vincler, Music & Literature

Inspired by a series of domestic still lifes by photographer Laura Letinsky, Danielle Dutton's absurdly comic and decidedly digressive novel  Sprawl  chronicles the mercurial inner life of one suburban woman (the dissolving marriage, the crumbs on the countertop, the drunken neighbor careening into the pool, the dead dog on the side of the road), constructing surprising taxonomies that rearrange the banalities, small wonders and accoutrements of contemporary suburban life.

Attempts at a Life

Fiction. Operating somewhere between fiction and poetry, biography and theory, the stories in ATTEMPTS AT A LIFE do what lively stories do best, creating worlds of possibility, worlds filled with surprises. Like the "experiments in found movement" one character conducts (in "Everybody's Autobiography"), Dutton's stories find movement wherever they turn, each sentence a small explosion of images and anthems and odd juxtapositions. This is writing in which the imagination (both writer's and reader's) is capable of producing almost anything at any moment, from a shiny penny to an alien metropolis, a burning village to a bright green bird. "Danielle Dutton's stories remind me of those alluring puzzles where the pool is overflowing and emptying at the same time. Dutton's answer? That the self is a rush of the languages of storytelling and moments of helpless intimacy"--Robert Gluck.

Wittily entertaining and astonishingly wise, this novel of the life of Marie Antoinette finds the characters struggling to mind their step in the great ballroom of the world.

The Walking Tour

A walking tour in Wales ends in tragedy for two couples, leaving a legal and psychological nightmare for one of their children, Susan, to sort out. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

The Thin Place

In a thin place, according to legend, the membrane separating this world from the spirit world is almost nonexistent. The small New England town of Varennes is such a place, and Kathryn Davis transports us there - revealing a surprising pageant of life as, in the course of one summer, Varennes' tranquillity is shattered by the arrival of a threatening outsider, worldly and otherworldly forces come into play, and a young local girl finds her miraculous gift for resurrecting the dead tested by the conflict between logic and wish.

• DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf: A Novel

A young woman in flight from her past, and an old woman whose secrets are contained in the grave--with this configuration, Davis begins a novel of true bravura about opera, adultery, and murder.

A New York Times Notable Book and the winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction, Kathryn Davis's "dazzling first novel" (Kirkus Reviews) "transforms a literary commonplace -- a young girl's transition from childhood to adulthood -- into a brilliantly original story" (Belles Lettres). In LABRADOR, Davis conjures two unforgettable sisters. Willie, the elder, is beautiful and wayward. Kitty, the younger, is a loner whose only means of escaping the bewitching influence of her sister is to follow her grandfather to his home in Labrador, where she cannot avoid confronting the demons that haunt her. A tale of two sisters and the ambiguous, sometimes destructive ties that bind them, LABRADOR is a tender meditation on love, its joys, its limitations, and its hidden bitterness.

Part mystery, part domestic meditation and part horror story, ""Hell" is Davis's tour de force." (Joy Press, "The Village Voice.") In her brilliantly eerie third novel, three households coexist in a single restless vision.

Duplex: A Novel

"Utterly compelling . . . Davis writes with a stunning brilliance, creating fractured worlds that are both extraordinary and routine." ― The Boston Globe "A coming-of-age-meets-dystopian-fantasy-meets-alternate-reality novel, or maybe an Ionesco-meets-Beckett-meets-Oulipo novel . . . The world [ Duplex ] describes has gone cuckoo while its characters' anxieties remain stubbornly, drably, daringly familiar." ―Tom Bissell,  Harper's Magazine

The Eye Like a Strange Balloon

The poems in The Eye Like a Strange Balloon find their seed in paintings, film, video, photographs, and collage, and the end results are something more than a sum of their parts. Beginning with a painting done in 2003, the poems move backwards in time to 1 BC, where an architectural fragment is painted on an architectural fragment, highlighting visual art’s strange relationship between the image and the thing itself. The total effect is exhilarating—a wholly original, personal take on art history coupled with Bang’s sly and elegant commentary on poetry’s enduring subjects: Love, Death, Time and Desire. The recipient of numerous prizes and awards, Bang stands at the front of American poetry with this new work, asking more of the English language, and enticing and challenging the reader.

The Downstream Extremity of the Isle of Swans

This compelling book takes its title from Samuel Beckett's  Ohio Impromptu . In Beckett's play, a grieving beloved seeks relief from the haunting presence of a departed lover in a place where "From its single window he could see the downstream extremity of the Isle of Swans." With a bow to Beckett's style and linguistic playfulness, Mary Jo Bang's collection of poems deals compassionately and gracefully with the tangible world.

The Bride of E: Poems

In her sixth collection,  The Bride of E , Mary Jo Bang uses a distinctive mix of humor and directness to sound the deepest sort of anguish: the existential condition. Timeless yet tirelessly inventive, Bang fashions her examination of the lived life into an abecedarius that is as rapturous in its language and music as it is affecting in its awareness of--and yearning for--what isn't there. The title of the first poem, "ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is the Bride of Existence," posits the collection's central problem, and a symposium of figures from every register of our culture (from Plato to Pee-wee Herman, Mickey Mouse to Sartre) is assembled to help confront it. Riddled with insight, pathos, and wit,  The Bride of E  is a brilliant new work by one the most compelling poets of our time.

Louise in Love

In this stunning new collection of poems, Mary Jo Bang jettisons the reader into the dreamlike world of Louise, a woman in love. With language delicate, smooth, and wryly funny, Louise is on a voyage without destination, traveling with a cast of enigmatic others, including her lover, Ham. Louise is as musical as she is mysterious and the reader is invited to listen. In her world, anything goes, provided it is breathtaking. Bang, whose first collection was the prize-winning Apology for Want, both parodies and pays homage to the lyric tradition, borrowing its lush music and dramatic structure to give new voice to the old concerns of the late Romantic poets. Louise in Love is a dramatic postmodern verse-novel with an eloquent free-floating narration. The poems, rife with literary allusion, take journeys to distant lands. And, like anyone on a voyage without a destination, they are endlessly questioning of the enigmatic world around them.

Inferno: A New Translation

Award-winning poet Mary Jo Bang has translated the  Inferno  into English at a moment when popular culture is so prevalent that it has even taken Dante, author of the fourteenth century epic poem,  The Divine Comedy , and turned him into an action-adventure video game hero. Dante, a master of innovation, wrote his poem in the vernacular, rather than in literary Latin.

Elegy: Poems

Mary Jo Bang's fifth collection,  Elegy , chronicles the year following the death of her son. By weaving the particulars of her own loss into a tapestry that also contains the elements common to all losses, Bang creates something far larger than a mere lament. Continually in search of an adequate metaphor for the most profound and private grief, the poems in  Elegy  confront, in stark terms and with a resilient voice, how memory haunts the living and brings the dead back to life. Within these intimate and personal poems is a persistently urgent, and deeply touching, examination of grief itself.

Apology for Want

Winner of the 1996 Bakeless Literary Publication Prize for Poetry

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Master of Fine Arts Program

UNM’s MFA Program in Creative Writing is designed for graduate students committed to pursuing the writing life. This three-year degree combines studio-based workshops in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction with craft seminars and coursework in literature, pedagogy, and professional writing.

The MFA faculty is committed to supporting its graduate students with teaching assistantships for the full three years it takes most students to complete the program, offering them the opportunity to teach not only Freshman Composition and Expository Writing but Introduction to Creative Writing as well. At UNM, we believe that MFA students should not go wildly into debt while completing their degrees. For this reason we encourage all applicants to our program to apply for teaching assistantships. Our program is small by national standards, but with a relatively small student-faculty ratio and competitive teaching stipends for three years, we believe we offer our MFA students the chance to fully immerse themselves in writing without the exorbitant price tags attached to some other MFA programs.

In the same spirit, UNM’s MFA Program prepares graduate students for professional lives outside the program, offering coursework not only in creative writing pedagogy, teaching composition, writing theory for teachers, and teaching literature and literary studies, but also electives in editing, proposal and grant writing, publishing, technical writing, documentation, and scientific, environmental, and medical writing. Additionally, we offer our students practical experience in editing and arts administration through Blue Mesa Review and two highly popular reading series. Through program affiliations with such illustrious nonprofit organizations as Santa Fe’s Lannan Foundation and the National Hispanic Cultural Center, MFA students attend readings, conversations and craft talks with renowned national and international writers.

During their final three semesters, students work individually with a faculty mentor on a book-length creative dissertation suitable for publication. Among recent graduates who have published books are: Erika L. Sanchez ( Crying in the Bathroom; I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter ), Natalie Scenters-Zapico ( Lima :: Limón; The Verging Cities ), Celia Laskey ( Under the Rainbow ), Robyn Mundy ( The Nature of Ice ), Juan Morales ( Friday and the Year that Followed ), Gary Jackson ( Missing You, Metropolis , winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize), Molly Beer (with David Dunaway, Singing Out: An Oral History of America’s Folk Music Revival ), Israel Wasserstein ( This Ecstasy They Call Damnation ), Richard Vargas ( McLife, American Jesus ), Tanaya Winder ( Soul Talk, Song Language: Conversations with Joy Harjo ), and Paul Bogard ( The End of Night; The Ground Beneath Us ). Additionally, students in our program have published essays, stories, and poems in a wide variety of magazines, literary journals and other notable venues, including,   The Georgia Review, The Sun, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Tin House, Gargoyle, This American Life, Crab Orchard Review, Bellevue Literary Review, The Minnesota Review, Mosaic, New England Review, The Believer, Cream City Review, New Ohio Review, PANK, Mid-American Review, Connecticut Review , and   Southern Humanities Review , among many others.

Our widely published creative writing faculty, along with a distinguished visiting writers series, a faculty and student reading series, a nationally recognized, student-run literary magazine, and a setting in the Rio Grande Valley overlooked by the Sandia Mountains and mere minutes from the Colorado Plateau make for an exciting, rich, culturally and ethnically diverse atmosphere for the study of creative writing.

Program History

Edward Abbey, Paula Gunn Allen, Rudolfo Anaya, Denise Chavez, Sandra Cisneros, Robert Creeley, Gene Frumkin, Joy Harjo, Tony Hillerman, Antonio Mares, N. Scott Momaday, Simon Ortiz, Louis Owens, Leslie Marmon Silko, Patricia Clark Smith, and Luci Tapahonso (listed in alphabetical order) are just some of the celebrated writers associated with UNM’s creative writing program as students, faculty members, or both.

Among the awards garnered by alumni and faculty: a Pulitzer Prize, a National Medal for the Arts, a Before Columbus Book Award, a Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature, a William Carlos Williams Award, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, numerous National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, and an Academy of American Poets Prize, to cite only some of the most noteworthy awards.

No other university in the Southwest and no more than a handful of institutions in the nation can claim such an illustrious gathering of artists. Our current creative writing faculty includes award winners in all three genres.

MFA Degree Requirements (48 hours)

Core course (3 hrs).

• English 501: Introduction to the Profession for Writers (3 hrs) (Students are strongly encouraged to take this course in the Spring semester of their first year.)

Workshops (18 hrs) 

MFA students must take at least twelve hours in a primary genre; at least three hours must be in a secondary genre.

• English 521: Fiction Workshop (3 hrs)
• English 522: Poetry Workshop (3 hrs) 
• English 523: Creative Nonfiction Workshop (3 hrs)

Four of the six workshops are to be taken as regular courses. Two may be taken in an independent study format as studio hours.

Genre Studies (6 hrs) 

MFA students must choose at least one genre course (3 hours) in their area of concentration. (Students may take no more than twelve hours of English 587.)

• English 587: Genre Studies (3 hrs)

Distribution Requirements (12 hrs) 

MFA students must take four courses chosen from at least two of the following groups:

• British literature to 1660 
• British literature from 1660 to 1900
• American literature to 1900
• Literatures in English since 1900
• Literary criticism and theory, rhetoric and writing.

Professional Preparation Electives (6 hrs)

• English 513-520: Professional Writing courses in Science, Environmental, Medical Writing; Documentation; Publishing; Editing; Biography/Autobiography; Proposal & Grant Writing; Visual Rhetoric; other topics (3 hrs)
• English 530: Teaching Composition (3 hrs) 
• English 533: Teaching Professional & Technical Writing (3 hrs) 
• English 534: Composition Theory (3 hrs) 
• English 540: Topics in Language or Rhetoric (3 hrs) 
• English 592: Teaching Literature and Literary Studies (3 hrs)

Electives (3 hrs) 

May be taken outside of English.

Creative Dissertation (6 hours)

English 699: Creative Dissertation (6 hrs)

Language Skill Requirement

There is no language skill requirement for the MFA degree.

MFA Committee on Studies (COS)

All MFA students must assemble a COS to assist in planning a program of studies designed to foster a fundamental knowledge of the major field, both in depth and breadth, and facilitate the students’ advancement in their chosen genre(s). The chair of the COS should be chosen by the end of the third semester of study.

The COS generally includes three University of New Mexico faculty members approved by the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies (ACGS). Students generally select their major advisor to be the chairperson of the COS. The basic role of the committee is to help students plan an integrated individual program of study and creative output that meet general UNM, OGS, and specific MFA requirements. The COS will serve as the MFA comprehensive examination committee, and in most cases, as the core of the Dissertation Committee. The COS may also establish prerequisites when needed, recommend transfer of credit, and approve significant changes in the program of studies.

Appointment of the COS involves the following steps:

Students arrange for an appropriate faculty member to serve as COS Chair;

Students confer with their COS Chair to agree upon the remaining members of the Committee;

The ACGS approves the COS, as evidenced by his or her signature on the Committee of Studies form and Application for Doctoral Candidacy.

Comprehensive Examination

MFA students must take and pass a written comprehensive examination as a required component of the MFA graduate degree. The examination, which must adhere to the general MFA exam requirements outlined in the UNM Catalog, is an essay in which students demonstrate their understanding of the theory and craft of their chosen genre(s) and the literary tradition in which they are writing. The exam, which may eventually serve as the preface to the dissertation, is evaluated by the COS. Students must pass the examination before hours in English 699 (Dissertation) will count toward the degree. The English Graduate Office must file the “Announcement/Report of Examination” two weeks before the Committee evaluates the exam. Therefore, students must notify the English Graduate Office in advance of this date. 

Advancement to Candidacy

In order to earn the MFA degree students must file for Advancement to Candidacy by completing the Application to Candidacy form, which formally summarizes their MFA program of studies. The ACGS and the MFA comprehensive examination committee approve the program of studies by signing the form. The English Graduate Office forwards the Application for Candidacy forms to the Dean of Graduate Studies after students pass their MFA comprehensive examination. After determining that all requirements except for outstanding course work and the dissertation have been fulfilled, the Dean of Graduate Studies advances all qualified students to candidacy. (Note: This form must be filed by the end of the semester before graduation and is available here ).

The MFA Dissertation

All MFA students must write a dissertation according to the guidelines that follow.

MFA Dissertation Committee

The MFA Dissertation Committee supervises, directs, reads, and approves the MFA dissertation. The committee consists of four graduate professors, at least one of whom must be from the English Department at UNM and one from outside the English Department. The external reader may be a faculty member from another accredited graduate institution; in such cases the student must submit a formal application to the Dean of Graduate Studies who must approve the appointment of the external member. The Dissertation Committee Chair must be a tenured or tenure-track member of the University of New Mexico faculty and have regular graduate faculty approval. 

To select a committee, students should arrange for a qualified faculty member to serve as the director of their dissertation. Together with their director, who serves as the Dissertation Committee chair, students then select the other members of the committee. To get the Dissertation Committee approved, students must file an Appointment of Dissertation Committee form with the English Graduate Office no later than two weeks before the Prospectus defense. Students generally submit this form right after passing the comprehensive exams, and no later than the first semester of 699 enrollment. If the members of the Dissertation Committee change, a revised Appointment of Dissertation Committee form must be submitted to the English Graduate Office for forwarding to OGS. OGS may request additional documentation when such changes are made, particularly regarding outside readers. (See the UNM Catalog for more details about the Dissertation Committee and qualifications for committee membership.)

Writing and Submitting the MFA Dissertation

MFA candidates must complete a book-length, creative dissertation in their genre (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction) and defend this dissertation in an oral examination conducted by an approved dissertation committee. The dissertation includes a preface that demonstrates an understanding of the genre(s) covered by the dissertation, and it places the dissertation within a literary tradition. The preface may include material from the comprehensive examination essay, but students will determine the dissertation’s final form in consultation with their dissertation director. Students must submit the dissertation to OGS, so the manuscript must adhere to the dissertation format stipulated by OGS and outlined under the doctoral section of the UNM catalog.

MFA Dissertation Hours

During the course of their dissertation work, MFA candidates are required to enroll in a minimum of six hours of dissertation (699) credit. Students must pass the comprehensive exams before 699 credit hours will count. Enrollment in 699 cannot begin prior to the semester in which a student takes the MFA comprehensive examination. Only those hours gained in the semester during which the comprehensive examination is passed and in succeeding semesters can be counted toward the six hours required. Students who fail the comprehensive exam cannot apply any 699 credits toward their program of studies until the semester in which they retake and pass the comprehensive examination. After registering in English 699 for the first time, university regulations require that students maintain continuous enrollment in English 699 for a minimum of three hours per semester (excluding summers, when not taking other courses) until successfully completing the dissertation defense.

Final Examination for the MFA (Defense of Dissertation)

The MFA final oral examination is the last formal step before the degree is awarded. Students are responsible for providing each member of their dissertation committee with complete copies of all written materials in ample time for review prior to the examination. The presentation and examination phases of the examination are open to the university community and are published in various sources; the deliberation phase is only open to the committee.

The focus of the final examination is the dissertation and its relationship to the candidate’s major field. Its purposes are:

To provide an opportunity for candidates to communicate the results of their research and creative work to a wider group of scholars through a public reading;

To afford an opportunity for the members of the examination committee, as well as others (faculty, students, staff, etc.), to ask relevant questions;

To ensure that the research and creative work reflects the independence of thought and accomplishment of the candidate; and finally,

To ensure that the candidate is thoroughly familiar not only with the particular focus of the dissertation, but also its setting and relevance to the discipline of which it is a part.

At the conclusion of the examination, the dissertation committee confers and makes a recommendation to accept or reject the dissertation. The committee then submits the Report of Examination to OGS communicating the examination results. (Note: In order to qualify to sit for an exam during intersession, students must be registered for the following semester.)

Announcement of Examination/Defense Form

At least two weeks before the final examination is held and no later than November 1 for Fall graduation, April 1 for Spring, or July 1 for Summer, the English Department must notify OGS of its scheduled date by submitting the Announcement of Examination/Defense form. 

Notification of Intent to Graduate

Students must inform the English Graduate Office in writing of their intent to graduate. The proposed graduation list must be received by OGS no later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the semester immediately preceding the semester of graduation. (Remember, students must file an Application for Candidacy form in the semester before the semester of graduation.)

MFA Time Limit for Completion of Degree Requirements

MFA candidates have five years from the semester in which they pass their MFA comprehensive examination to complete the degree requirements. The final requirement is generally the acceptance of the dissertation by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships are competitive and are based on a variety of factors including financial need, prior teaching experience, and overall completeness and quality of the application submitted. Decisions are made by a committee including the Director of Creative Writing, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, and the Associate Chair for Core Writing. Opportunities to teach creative writing (English 2310) are also competitive. Students applying for these positions must have one previous year of teaching English 1110 or 1120 at UNM. 

Teaching Assistantship Limits

MFA students who hold Teaching Assistantships are limited to six semesters of assistantship funding, excluding summer TA appointments. Petitions for extensions may be addressed to the Graduate Committee through the ACGS. Extensions are the exception rather than the rule, and all extensions are contingent upon academic progress, the availability of funding, and departmental need. MFA students who receive a TAship after their first year lose those prior semesters of TAship eligibility.

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MFA Program in Creative Writing

About the MFA in Creative Writing

The Master of Fine Arts program at Wichita State University is the twelfth oldest in the nation and one that has earned widespread respect by producing graduates who are not only well-trained writers but also well-prepared teachers of writing and literature possessing skills in editing and other related fields.

The program, now in its 44th year, is a 48-hour, studio-academic program with students in full-time residence for three years developing their skills in fiction or poetry writing. Over those three years, students take a core of workshops and tutorials as well as additional coursework in English, which leads to a final writing project -- a collection of fiction or poetry, a novel or some appropriate work. Flexibility is provided in academic coursework to allow for a variety of possible interests.

Almost all of the program’s Master of Fine Arts students are funded for three years either through graduate teaching assistant positions (GTAs) or through a fellowship. In fall 2017, three fiction students and three poetry students entered the program. Of those six new MFA students, all were offered Graduate Teaching Assistantships receiving tuition remission and a stipend.

What makes Wichita State University's MFA program different?

• All of our students are able to receive the same amount of funding so they don't have to compete with their classmates.
• Our students are able to teach their first year. Many of our students graduate having taught three or four different classes.
• Our students are eligible for multiple awards like the Barr Fellowship and the MFA Fellowship in Creative Writing.
• Our students are entered into Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) awards and various school-wide and national scholarships.
• Our Graduate Teaching Assistants lead classes in rhetoric and composition, basic and advanced skills for ESL students, and business writing.
• Our students have the opportunity to pair up with alumni to receive one-on-one mentoring about post-MFA opportunities.
• Unlike other programs, students in the MFA program at Wichita State University are encouraged to take classes in the "other" genre (poets can take fiction and nonfiction classes and fiction students can take poetry and nonfiction classes).
• We keep our MFA class sizes small, so there are opportunities for one-on-one mentorship.
• Our students are able to take one-on-one tutorials with visiting distinguished writers .
• All of our students have opportunity to attend our   Writing Now Reading Now   reading series. Recently, we've had readings by Nick Lantz, Gregory Orr, Ed Skoog, Kevin Brockmeier, Alice McDermott and Peter Behrens.

Visiting Distinguished Writers and Faculty

Mikrokosmos and mojo

Wichita State University is the home to   Mikrokosmos   and   mojo , a literary journal that recently celebrated its 60th anniversary issue.   Mikrokosmos   has published poets like William Stafford, William S. Burroughs and Charles Plymell. Graduate students can work on everything from reading submissions to website design. Our journal features poetry, fiction, nonfiction and art. Feel free to look at our website at   www.mikrokosmosjournal.com   for more information.

Life After Wichita State University

Our graduates have gone on to become leaders, authors and business people. Some of our graduates work as creative writing program directors, chairs of creative writing programs, professors of composition, doctoral students at top creative writing programs, high school teachers, editors-in-chief of magazines, middle school teachers, tenured faculty and creators of MFA programs.

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Academic Requirements

To receive the Masters of Fine Arts degree in creative writing, a student must complete a three-year program in residence at Wichita State University that includes:

• 6 hours of Final Writing Project (completing a fiction or poetry final project)
• 3 hours in literary research course
• 24 hours of courses in literature and tutorials with visiting writers
• 3 hours of “enrichment,” a graduate level course outside of English

Students also take a comprehensive examination in their last semester. This is a three-part essay exam over books chosen from a master list in consultation with the student’s final project director.

MFA Final Project

Students in both genres work during their last year with one of the faculty on completing an original body of work. For poetry students, this is at least 24 pages of publishable work; for fiction writers, this is at least 100 pages of publishable work.

Financial Support

Most of our MFA students are GTAs who teach two composition classes each semester to WSU undergraduates and work one hour a week in the English Department’s Writing Center. They pay no tuition, receive $4,250 each semester and may buy discounted health insurance. The MFA program also awards two $12,500 fellowships each year, one in fiction writing and one in poetry, and it awards the Stephen F. Barr Fellowship, worth about $600.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Have your references mail the letters to the below address or use a service like Interfolio which, for a fee, will keep a file of your materials and mail it out to the offices that need them.

GTA Application for MFA Program Department of English, Box 14 Wichita State University Wichita, KS 67260-0014

Yes. The Office of International Education will help. (Wichita.edu/international) If you have earned your degree in a country where English is not the native language, you must score at least 600 paper-based, 25-computer-based, or 100 Internet-based on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an overall band score of 7.5 on the IELTS before you may be admitted to the program .

Can I submit a screenplay, creative nonfiction, journalism or an academic essay?  No, on all counts. Submit a writing sample in the genre in which you intend to study. We offer a program in fiction or a program in poetry

Yes, you can but in a limited way. We offer a course which teaches playwriting and screenwriting. It is taught through the Theatre Department. It's not possible, though, to write an MFA Final Project in these genres because we don't offer regular workshops in them .

A little. We do not offer a degree in creative nonfiction; however, we offer a course in it fairly often .

No. You have to live close enough to attend classes which are scheduled Monday through Thursday every week.

For the 2018-2019 academic year, the tuition rate for graduate students per credit hour is $301.94 for in-state and $741.55 for out-of state. A student who is a GTA does not pay tuition; however, the GTA does have to pay fees. Activity fees are levied in tiers according to the number of credit hours the student is taking. The typical load for a graduate student is 9 credit hours each semester. (Note that MFA students have usually earned enough credits by their third year that they do not have to take 9 credit hours in the last academic year.) Fees are the same for out-of-state and in-state students. Fees for a 9-credit hour semester are $734.68. (A few smaller fees are assessed for technology, infrastructure and transportation as well.)

Here are the tuition and fees costs for 2018-2019 academic year.

In-state $6,904.28 Out-of-state $14,817.26

Since almost all of our MFA students are GTAs a better way to plan expenses is to know that, in addition to books, the GTA will pay $1,469 per year in fees. Since the stipend is now $8,500, a better way to figure the cost is to realize the GTA stipend is, effectively, $7,031 for MFA students enrolled in 9 hours in the fall and 9 hours in the spring.

View detailed information on tuition and fees

First year GTAs are required to attend a two week training session immediately preceding the start of the Fall semester, so in the first two weeks of August. They are paid for this.

• English 700: Introduction to Graduate Studies
• English 780: Theory and Practice of Composition
• English 801 or 805: Graduate Workshop in Fiction or Poetry
• Non-English Department Graduate course (called the Enrichment Course)
• English 7XX: Literature course

Second Year: 9 hours each semester of course work

• English 880 or 881 Tutorial with Visiting Writer or a Literature course
• •English 880 or 881 Tutorial with Visiting Writer or a Literature course

Third Year: 6 hours each semester of course work

• English 875: Final Writing Project
• English 880 or 881: Tutorial with Visiting Writer

During this spring, you would take your Comprehensive Exam and you would finish your Final Project.

MFA Degree Program

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing provides studies in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, along with a variety of options for either a studio degree in Creative Writing, or a degree combining work in either the Department of English or other departments in which course work, or independent study, seems particularly pertinent to the student’s creative thesis. A book-length thesis of publishable quality is required; it will be directed by a member of the MFA faculty. The MFA requires 48 graduate semester hours, with a 3.00 grade point average in all graduate courses.

Admission Requirements

• An overall minimum grade point average of 2.75 at the undergraduate level.
• An official undergraduate and if applicable graduate transcript sent to Graduate Admissions.
• A portfolio of published or unpublished writing samples in the applicant’s chosen genre (at least 20-25 pages of fiction, 10 poems, or 25 pages of nonfiction), demonstrating a potential for development to a professional standard of writing, should be submitted to the English Graduate Office along with two letters of recommendation and a cover letter stating the candidate’s choice of genre and reasons for pursuing the degree. The writing sample will be evaluated by a committee of MFA faculty. The committee will recommend admission of those applicants with the highest demonstrated talent.
• Students who wish to change genres after being accepted in one genre, even if they are already registered and enrolled in the program, must submit a new portfolio of work in the new genre and be approved by the MFA faculty for admission in the new genre.
• Bachelor’s degree in English or if BA is in another field, twelve (12) semester hours in upper division literature or creative writing courses with a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in these courses.
• Deadlines: for best consideration apply by March 1 for the following fall semester admission and October 15 for following spring semester. Applications may be considered later but prospective students applying by those dates have first priority.

Any applicant who holds an MA degree in English may apply up to a maximum of 24 semester hours in English earned for that degree toward the MFA degree, with the approval of the graduate coordinator. A student’s advisor will insure that the combination of MA credits and courses taken in the program has appropriate breadth. Credit previously earned at another institution must be presented for evaluation not later than the end of the student’s second semester of enrollment.

Program Requirements

All students must fulfill the 48-hour degree requirement from the Core Requirements in section 1 in combination with one area of specialization under the Additional Requirements in section 2: the Studio Option, the Literary Studies Option, The Creative/Professional Option, the TESL/TEFL Option, or the Cross-Disciplinary Option.

Core Requirements

Writing workshops and forms courses.

A total of 6 courses (18 hours) required:

Four Workshop courses, at least three of which must be in chosen genre:

• ENGL 7601 - Creative Nonfiction Wkshp Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7602 - Fiction Workshop Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7603 - Poetry Workshop Credit Hours: (3)

One Forms course in chosen genre:

• ENGL 7470 - Forms Creative Nonfict Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7471 - Forms Of Fiction Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7472 - Forms Of Poetry Credit Hours: (3)

One Cross-Genre Course:

For Poetry Students

• ENGL 6610 - Creative Writing/Translation Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7602 - Fiction Workshop Credit Hours: (3) for poets

For Fiction and Creative Nonfiction students:

Cross-genre course.

ENGL 6610    may serve as a cross-genre course if the focus was on a cross-genre, but the student must submit a portfolio of cross-genre work from the course and get written approval from the Creative Writing Coordinator.

Creative Writing Colloquium

At least two sections of ENGL 7900    must be taken (6 hours).

NOTE: Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.

• ENGL 7996 - Thesis Credit Hours: (1-6) (3 hours)

Comprehensive Exam

A Comprehensive Exam based on a reading list formed by the student and the student’s thesis director.

Oral Review of Thesis

Although it is not a core requirement for the degree, all students receiving a Teaching Assistantship must take ENGL 7003    either before they become a teaching assistant or during their first semester of teaching. It is included as an alternative course in each of the options for additional requirements below.

Specialization Requirements:

Studio option:.

7 courses, 21 hours, chosen from the following:

• ENGL 7475 - Literary Publishing Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7485 - Lit Arts Programming Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7604 - Creative Writing Wkshp Credit Hours: (3)

Students may take, as an alternative to replace up to 3 of these courses, an equivalent number of other courses (of 3 hours each) from other disciplines within the Department of English (this includes ENGL 7003   , which is a requirement if the student receives a Teaching Assistantship). Note: as stated in the course descriptions, ENGL 7475    and ENGL 7485    can only be counted for a maximum of 6 hours each toward the degree requirements.

Literary Studies Option:

7 courses, 21 hours, made up of the following:

At least 9 hours of Literature Courses

At least 3 hours of theory of writing and english language/linguistics courses, selected from:.

• ENGL 7020-7049 - Special Topics in English Credit Hours: (3) through
• ENGL 7003 - Thry/Prac Tchng Comp Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7501 - History English Lang ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7511 - Survey of Linguistics ** Credit Hours: (3) through
• ENGL 7517 - Discourse Analysis Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7531 - Theory and History of ESL ** Credit Hours: (3) through
• ENGL 7537 - Issues in Second Language Reading ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7590 - Appl/Theory Linguistics Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7801 - History Composition Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7805 - Foundations of Writing Studies Credit Hours: (3)

Literary Editing

Up to 6 hours of

Literary Arts Programming

Forms courses.

Up to 9 hours of

Creative/Professional Writing Option:

At least 9 hours of professional writing courses:.

• ENGL 6618 - Document Design ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 6619 - Web Design/Online Writing ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7013 - Wkshp Hlth Care Writing ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7014 - Wkshp Public Hlth Care Writing ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7806 - Resch Meth In Writing Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7807 - Wksp/Govmt & Corp Wrtg ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7808 - Wksp/Sci & Techn Wrtg ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7809 - Technical Editing ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7818 - Collaborative Writing ** Credit Hours: (3)

Note: Up to 6 hours of ENGL 7811 - Internship Prof Wrtng    may be counted toward this requirement. All internships must be pre-approved by the coordinator of the Creative Writing program along with another professor in the student’s primary genre.

Up to 6 hours of:

Tesl/tefl option:.

• 15 hours in the Certificate Program in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TESL/TEFL), including 12 hours in the certificate core:
• ENGL 7530 - Field Experience and Practicum in ESL ** Credit Hours: (3-6)
• ENGL 7531 - Theory and History of ESL ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7532 - Principles of Skills Assessment ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7535 - ESL Grammar ** Credit Hours: (3)

3 elective hours selected from:

• ENGL 7533 - Methods/Techniques of ESL in K-12 ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7536 - Issues in Second Language Writing ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 7538 - Cultural Issues in ESL ** Credit Hours: (3)
• ENGL 6533 - ESL/EFL in Multicultural Settings Credit Hours: (3)

6 hours of electives in English, Creative Writing, or Foreign Languages

Cross-disciplinary option:.

Up to 9 hours of English courses from any discipline (includes  ENGL 7003   )

At least 12 hours of courses from another department: Art, History, Journalism, Theater, Foreign Languages, or other department in which course work, or independent study, seems particularly pertinent to the student’s creative thesis.

Up to 9 of the 21 hours may be fulfilled by independent study in another department and/or internship hours, but all cross-disciplinary courses/independent studies/internships must be pre-approved by the coordinator of the Creative Writing program along with another professor in the student’s primary genre. Internships must be of a nature that will allow the student to participate in research that will form the basis of the student’s thesis.

Although taking all 12 hours of the cross-disciplinary minimum in only one other department is not required, it is recommended that the student focus primarily on one area or else have a clear rationale for fulfilling the 12-hour minimum in more than one cross-disciplinary area.

Retention Requirements

Upon entering the MFA program, a student chooses an advisor in his or her concentration. The advisor will monitor the student’s progress toward completion of the degree. Each semester the Graduate Studies Committee will examine the academic progress of all students for retention in the program. If a student receives either two C’s, one D, or one F grade in any English graduate level course, that student will be subject to review and could be dismissed from the program. In order to remain in good standing, all graduate students must maintain a 3.0 average in all courses. Students who are on academic probation for two consecutive semesters will not be allowed to continue in the program.

Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing

Master of fine arts in creative writing and poetics (low-residency).

Our low-residency MFA provides the structure, support, and professional development you need to take your writing to the next level .

Program Overview

Naropa’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing is designed for writers ready to hone their craft and earn their Master of Fine Arts degree through rigorous, cross-genre study. Students who can’t relocate to our Colorado Campus can acquire a quality asynchronous education with in-person residencies.

Whether you have a novel in progress, are preparing for a PhD program, or looking to strengthen your prose, poetry, and hybrid writing, our low-residency creative writing MFA program provides you with resources, accountability, and inspiration that fit your schedules.

Naropa takes traditional low-residency MFA programs a step further with our history of experimental and innovative writing, critical study, and cross-genre publishing. Our unique cross-genre online writing courses, generative residencies, and one-on-one mentorship provide students with a writing community, no matter where they live.

Cross-Genre Curriculum

Unlike other Creative Writing MFA programs, our low-residency MFA is open-genre. This means that writers can work in fiction, poetry, prose, non-fiction, playwriting, and hybrid forms throughout their degree program. Students experiment with narrative structures and forms that fit their unique voices. Writers develop their unique style, critical ear, and vast knowledge of contemporary trends across literary genres.

One-on-One Mentorship

One-on-one mentorship and small online writing classes help writers develop their style, refine their editing skills, and publish their work. Each writer dedicates their final semester to a thesis manuscript. Working one-on-one with their thesis mentor and workshopping with classmates through written exchange, students finish their MFA with a completed manuscript in the genre of their choice.

Generative Residencies

Every semester, our Low-Residency MFA students gather in Boulder, Colorado, for enriching and energizing residencies. MFA students meet one-on-one with mentors, enjoy master classes with guest writers, attend readings, and bond with writers. Residencies also overlap with our spring and fall symposiums, providing students with a rich 4-days of community and inspiration. Each academic year culminates in a week-long writing intensive at Naropa’s Summer Writing Program. This annual festival brings over 60 artists, writers, and thinkers to Boulder, for workshops, readings, panels, and professional development.

Quick Facts

• Fifteen annual days of residency in Boulder, CO
• Open-genre curriculum
• One-on-one mentorship with accomplished faculty
• Unique Experimental Approach
• Participation in the Summer Writing Program
• Cohort model developing a strong sense of community among MFA students
• Several Scholarship and Financial Aid Opportunities
• Applications open for August 2024

Program Format

Naropa’s Creative Writing MFA is a rigorous, generative, low-residency two-year program with 4 writing residencies in beautiful Boulder Colorado. The program combines asynchronous craft courses with on-campus residencies. 

Annual fall and spring residencies allow writers to connect with other writers and faculty , deepen their craft, and participate in symposium readings and panels with other MFA students in Boulder, CO. Spring and Fall Residencies run from Saturday through Tuesday during the Spring and Fall JKS Symposiums.

The summer residency immerses writers in a full week of the Jack Kerouac School’s world-renowned Summer Writing Program . Here, students attend workshops, lectures, panels, and readings by numerous visiting writers to hone their craft, make connections, speak on student panels, and prepare for the next step in their writing career.

Course Spotlight

Craft of writing: rooting in the archive.

This course delves into the Naropa University Archive and its rich offerings to explore traditions, movements, and/or schools of writing that inform or extend the aesthetic vision of the Jack Kerouac School toward mindful writing. Possible recent historical examples include New American Poetry, the Beats, San Francisco Renaissance, the New York School, Black Mountain Poetics, the Black Arts Movement, and Language poetry, among others.

Degree Requirements

Unlike many online creative writing MFA programs, our asynchronous classes build community through writer-to-writer feedback and a structured curriculum.

Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Requirements

26 credits of online asynchronous craft courses.

Students work one-on-one with a mentor, exchanging packets —consisting of letters, bibliographies, contemplative reflections, creative manuscripts, and critical essays—throughout the semester.

• WRI-631E Craft of Writing: Rooting in the Archive(6)WRI-648E Craft of Writing: Contemplative Experiments(6)
• WRI-678E Craft of Writing: Cultures & Communities(4)
• WRI-735E Craft of Writing: Contemporary Trends(6)
• WRI-755E Craft of Writing: Professional Development(4)

6 credits of MFA Thesis

6 credits of MFA Thesis (faculty mentorship on a book-length creative manuscript)

4 credits of the Summer Writing Program

Two eight-day summer residencies are completed at Naropa’s Boulder campus. Choose two of the following:

• WRI-751 Summer Writing Program(2)
• WRI-752 Week Two Summer Writing Program(2)
• WRI-753 Summer Writing Program(2)

4 credits of fall and spring residencies in Boulder, CO.

• WRI-789WE Fall Residency(1)
• WRI-791WE Spring Residency(1)

Why Choose Naropa?

Strong writing tradition.

Founded in 1974 by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics encourages experimental forms across genres , pushing for innovation inside and outside the classroom.

Career Readiness

Whether a student plans to teach, write, edit, or work in publishing, our low-residency program provides the framework they need to develop their professional skills alongside a vibrant and supportive writing community.

In-house Publishing

The Kerouac School’s student-run Bombay Gin literary journal publishes work from promising students and distributes it nationally through Small Press Distribution. Students interested in fine-craft letterpress printing can learn at Naropa’s Harry Smith Print Shop and Kavyayantra Press.

How this Program Prepares You

Professional dossier.

Graduates from our low-residency Creative Writing MFA emerge from the program with a solid record of written work . The pieces that make up their dossier are workshopped with peers and perfectioned with guidance from their tutor.

Critical Analysis

You’ll emerge from the program with critical analysis skills that go beyond reading between the lines of a written work. The program will teach you to recognize the role of intersectionality in the literary arts, looking at the wider spectrum that surrounds a piece, and identifying bias, assumptions and stereotypes.

Unleashing creativity

Our workshops, classes and Summer Writing Program encourage students to harness their creativity by exploring experimental forms . Low-residency students receive on-on one mentoring to help them develop their creative writing skills to the fullest, as well as feedback from their writing community, be it online or during their residency.

What You'll Learn

Highly developed writing craft.

Hone your voice in every step of the writing process.

Skill in Critical Analysis

Learn to discuss literary works through a variety of critical lenses.

Contemplative Writing Practice:

Use your writing practice as a tool for self-inquiry and discovery.

Social and Cultural Awareness

Recognize the role of race, class, and gender in literary history and works.

Career Preparedness

Graduate with a publishable manuscript and/or professional dossier.

Career Opportunities with a Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing

• Lyricist: write words for songs, matching melody and rhyme.
• Poet: use language to creatively express emotion, ideas and experiences.
• Proofreader: check written work for errors and inconsistencies.
• English Teacher: teach at the postsecondary level.
• Author: craft and publish original material.
• Editor: review and improve written work for publication.

Hear from a Graduate

Jackie henrion, faqs about the low-residency mfa in creative writing, what is a low residency mfa in creative writing, why choose a low residency mfa creative writing program, how long does it take to complete a low residency mfa in creative writing, how is naropa’s low residency mfa in creative writing different from other programs, what types of funding are available.

Funding includes the Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Anselm Hollo Graduate Fellowships.

The fellowships are awarded annually to three incoming MFA Creative Writing and Poetics students (residency program). Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Anselm Hollo fellowship recipients will receive full funding (tuition and fees), plus an additional $5,000 scholarship as well as a $4,500 stipend. Fellowship recipients may not simultaneously hold a Graduate Assistantship.

Additionally, partial funding is provided for students who have applied for and been offered graduate assistantships with the Naropa Writing Center.

Visit our Graduate Scholarship page to read more about funding, fellowships and scholarships for the Low-Residency Creative Writing & Poetics MFA and other degrees.

Learn More About the Program

Connect with your counselor

Olivia phipps.

Graduate Admissions Counselor

• [email protected]
• Schedule an Appointment
• Attend An Info Session

Ready to Apply?

Admission requirements.

Naropa University values both academic excellence and critical self-reflection . Our application process not only evaluates academic performance but also candidates’ openness and willingness to engage in contemplation.

Learn more about admission requirements and the application process for our Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA.

Graduate Students

Prospective students who have completed an undergraduate degree are welcome to apply to Naropa. When applying, candidates must submit a transcript of their undergraduate coursework, a statement of interest, a resume, two letters of interest and a creative writing sample. They may also apply for financial aid at this stage. Discover all admission requirements.

International Students

If you obtained your undergraduate diploma from a non-US university, we require additional documentation to review your application. Learn how to apply to Naropa as an international student.

Costs and Financial Aid

Naropa University students have access to several financial aid opportunities and scholarships – over 75% of our graduate students receive some sort of financial support to pursue their studies. Use our calculator to estimate your tuition, housing, materials and other costs.

Undergraduate Scholarship Opportunities

Interested in our Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA?

Read our blog or listen to our podcast, heartfire festival returns to naropa university, episode 92. andrew schelling: writing as a spiritual practice, womxn of naropa celebrates national poetry month, summer writing program from the archives, together in spirit, student support and resources, academic support, online student support, career services, financial aid, accessibility, related programs, mfa in creative writing, ba in creative writing and literature, request information, plan a visit, about naropa, events & community, user information, support naropa.

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Naropa campuses closed on friday, march 15, 2024.

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

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Poetry MFA Student Celebrates Upcoming Chapbook

If you’re interested in going to graduate school for poetry, Emerson’s Creative Writing MFA may be the program for you. Today we’re interviewing Creative Writing grad student Katie Mihalek ‘24. She’ll share what led her to graduate school, her experience in Emerson’s Creative Writing MFA program , and details about her upcoming chapbook: Aurora Uteralis. 

What Led You to an MFA Poetry Program?

In undergrad, Katie was a biology major on the pre-med track with a minor in English. For her, poetry has always been a passion. 

“I have always loved writing, but convinced myself I love science and health and things like that more,” Katie says. “So I [told] myself I wanted to go M.D. and then did a master’s in medical sciences at Boston University.” After completing her MS and working jobs in health care consulting, infectious disease, and global health, Katie considered if she wanted to finally get her M.D. or her Ph.D. 

Then, during the pandemic, she saw an ad for a creative writing program. That’s when she knew she needed to fulfill this part of her. “I definitely made a big career switch, but it felt like an inevitable thing. I finally just was like, ‘No, I’m going to go do it,’” Katie says. 

Why Did You Choose Emerson?

One reason Katie applied to Emerson was the established community she already had in Boston. She’d done undergrad at Tufts University and a master’s at BU. She was, however, specifically interested in the program’s flexibility when it comes to scheduling. 

“I saw that [Emerson was] trying to appeal to a lot of different people in different stages of their lives. It was really nice and refreshing to see,” Katie says. “And I liked how you have a track that you can go into with creative writing. You pick a genre, but they encourage you to take other courses. I knew I wanted to investigate other genres and think about how I could incorporate science into my writing.”

There are three genres students can choose to concentrate on: poetry, nonfiction, or fiction . Students’ genre of choice is what their required workshops and thesis will focus on.

Katie also appreciates that the program is three years long. She feels like the program has given her the time to focus on her studies and field the college’s different opportunities.  

How Are the Workshops? 

At Emerson, MFA students in all concentrations have to take 20 credits of workshops . Students’ workshops will center around their concentration, but they can explore different genres through elective courses. While poetry is Katie’s lifeblood, she took a Futurist and Fabulist workshop with Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing Graduate Program Director, Katie Williams . She also did a cultural translations course with Interim Dean, Maria Koundoura .

Katie also finds the professors to be very supportive and approachable. “They really do care about your personal work,” she says. “They’re not trying to make your work look like theirs or what they think good poetry is. They’re trying to bring out your own voice, which is great.” 

She feels the workshop spaces have built up a sense of community to lean on post-grad. Specifically, to have readers and friends to help continue the lessons of the MFA. 

Are There Opportunities Outside of the Classroom?

“One of my professors described the MFA as kind of having the training wheels on. I’ve really appreciated how much I’ve been able to explore professionally,” Katie says. She praises that Emerson doesn’t coddle you too much. You still need to advocate for yourself, but she finds there to be many professional opportunities to take advantage of. 

During her time at Emerson, Katie had the opportunity to teach the undergraduate WR101 Introduction to College Writing course. Grad students can apply to teach for it after completing the required WR600 Teaching College Composition course. Katie also had the opportunity to join Redivider , a literary journal operated by Emerson graduate students. She started as a reader and is now the Editor-in-Chief. 

What Have You Learned Working for Redivider ?

“Working for Redivider feels like it’s preparing and connecting you to the literary world outside of Emerson, which I love,” Katie says. “We’re trying to hit that balance of making it so it feels like a community within Emerson, even though all of our contributors are outside of the Emerson community.” 

MFA students primarily run the journal, but graduate students outside of the WLP (Writing, Literature, Publishing) programs are welcome, too. In the last couple of years, the journal has grown. In fact, Redivider attended AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) , the foremost writing and publishing conference in the US for contemporary creative writing, this year. Katie says MFA Graduate Program Director, Mako Yoshikawa , has been active getting Emerson MFA students to participate in AWP. 

“I think it’s important to help us with alumni networking and developing connections, as well as having a community to return to,” Katie says. It is important to be active in AWP because it’s a way for current Emerson students and alumni to connect since oftentimes writing can be very individual. It’s crucial to make those connections. “I think Emerson has shown us the ways that [writing] can be more community-oriented.”

Can You Tell Us About Your Chapbook Aurora Uteralis ? 

“The title is a take on Aurora Borealis,” Katie says about the titular poem of her chapbook. “The poem is one I actually wrote in Dan Tobin’s workshop, the one that the book is named after. It is about an experience I had in my master’s in medical sciences program.”

Katie’s chapbook Aurora Uteralis will be available to purchase on November 8th, 2024 from Finishing Line Press . The presale begins July 8th. The inspiration for the titular poem came from studying endometrial tissue and her professor explaining the biology behind vaginal fluid. 

“My professor had explained that vaginal fluid is actually blood plasma and it’s filtered through the individual tissue’” Katie says. “So I was thinking of blood plasma and it made me think of plasma in the sky. And then thinking about how we honor our bodies and reproductive organs. I feel like we don’t talk a lot about reproductive health in a way that is de-stigmatizing.”

Katie writes a lot about reproductive health, and, especially in her chapbook, she pulls in different scientific knowledge and language as a way to reconsider our relationships with our bodies and the world around us. She also writes a lot about sexuality and the environment. 

“It’s really a chapbook about self-acceptance,” she says. The chapbook does coalesce around the many different themes that Katie writes, but it’s not a project book. “I try to push away from this anthropomorphic view of the world, which is a more subtle theme, but it’s something that I like to try to do. If we want to be more aware of the world around us and feel very mentally conscious as I try to kind of break down those walls, I would say, in my writing and I hope that I can kind of help shift perspective.”

Katie workshopped a majority of the poems from the chapbook at Emerson. “I would not have been the writer that I am today without Emerson,” she adds. 

The titular poem is also in the literary magazine Beyond Words (print only). You can check out Katie’s other poems “You always liked my curves.” in Mistake House Magazine and “Jonah” in Spectrum .

What’s Next For You? 

Katie is currently in her final semester completing her MFA thesis . A thesis is a near-publishable manuscript. It’s either a collection of poems, short stories, essays, a novel, novel expert, or a nonfiction book or excerpt. 

Her chair is Daniel Tobin , and her reader is Mary Kovaleski Byrnes . Both professors have been integral parts of Katie’s journey at Emerson. Her thesis, currently titled “FingerPrint,” will comprise of cross-sectional “slices.” The slices are different poems that’ll make up a 3D cast of her hands. 

“When you stack all of the poems, it would physically make the 3D shape of the hands,” Katie says. For example, “You get to the palm and she’s one long stanza. So thinking a little bit about how to break out of linear narratives, kind of blurring those lines a little bit. But then you think about it content-wise, each poem is about hands, what do we hold close to us? What do we reach towards?”

Once graduated, Katie has been considering applying to Ph.D. programs in creative writing. “I feel like I’m not really done in academia.” 

Do You Have Advice For Anyone Thinking About an MFA? 

“ I would just say you really get what you put into it. When you’re looking, think about the faculty, but ask questions about what the community is like,” Katie says. “What’s the workshop style like?” 

She stresses the importance of building up relationships in MFAs. It’s important to find your people to continue the sense of community after your degree. She also stresses the importance of not being afraid to ask questions. 

“Don’t be afraid to go up to your professors and ask for help,’” Katie says. “Talk about demystifying not only the MFA, but all the questions you may have about the literary world.” 

To keep up with Katie, be sure to check out her website , and follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram . For more information about Emerson’s Creative Writing MFA schedule a call with an admissions counselor today . 

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Katherine Klima

Social Media Coordinator for Graduate Admissions

Kat is a third-year student in Emerson's Creative Writing MFA program. She's originally from Long Island, but loves her life in Boston. When she's not working, she's hanging out with friends or chilling with her cat.

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On Wednesday, March 27, please join us for a Zoom Info Session at 5:30 p.m. EST to learn more about our programs, ask questions, and prepare for the last chance to apply to our MFA in Film and MFA in TV Writing. RSVP for details: [email protected] Final application deadline for Fall 2024: May 5 for International Applicants, June 1 for Domestic Applicants. 

Application deadline.

New admissions for Fall 2024 have begun. Priority Deadline is March 1, 2024. 

Current tuition is $471/credit for New York State residents and $963 /credit for non-residents. A New York resident who takes a full-time load of four courses for 12 credits would pay $8,596.00 for the semester, exclusive of fees and health insurance.  The current billing rates can be found  here . 

The cost compares favorably to any number of film programs charging twice or three times as much, upward of $50,000 for a single year at some institutions. At ours, the whole MFA degree costs approximately $40,000 for New Yorkers. Unless you are getting a full tuition waiver somewhere, our rates are pretty hard to beat.

Out-of-state residents pay more, so if you are accepted to the program, you should consider establishing residency  in New York State, a process that takes one year. If you're out of state or international, the whole degree is approximately $50,000.

Admission Requirements

This MFA program is intensive, and admission to it is highly selective.  Upon review, finalists may be invited for an on-campus interview. 

Please use Stony Brook Graduate School's Online Application .

You must create an account to start a new application. You can also log in to continue an application after an account has been created.

For admission, the following, in addition to the minimum Graduate School requirements, are required:

1.  A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

2.  Undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0.

3.  Three letters of recommendation.

4. A current resume

5.   A statement of purpose . Describe in a page or two why you are interested in this opportunity, how you would benefit, and what makes you a particularly deserving candidate. Upload this to the Additional Supplemental Materials, personal statement section of the application.

6. Your specialization : Screenwriter/ Television Writer/Director/Producer/Independent Track. (Add this to the bottom of your personal statement.)

Your specialization:   Film or TV Writing MFA.  If Film, specify Screenwriter, Director, Producer or Independent Track.

7. Video Pitch. (Go to Portfolio Instructions and upload Video Pitch to the Digital Portfolio section of the application.)

• All candidates: This is one of the more important elements to your application. You have probably seen people pitching for donations on a crowdsourcing site. In this case, you should pitch us yourself as a candidate. You can mention a project you want to work on, or something  else that is exciting to you but we are interested in who you are as a creative artist/storyteller . The video pitch should be creative, polished, inventive. We want you to win us over here! SUGGESTED LENGTH: 3 MINUTES

8. Directing and Producing Video Samples. (URLs for all video links may be uploaded in the Qualifications section.)

• Directing candidates only (not required for Screenwriting, Television Writing, or Producing candidates): Please include a link (or links) to up to 4 video samples of work to which you made a significant contribution. Be clear about what role you played: producer, writer, director, editor, production designer, cinematographer, etc. You may submit links for more than one piece but the total running time should not exceed 15 minutes. If you submit an excerpt, please describe the full work. Unless you are applying as a cinematographer or production designer, the entirety of your video sample should not be in the format of a professional reel but should also show us the substance of your work. (A reel might accompany another sample). In lieu of video, you may submit up to ten photographs, design samples, or photographs of your artwork.

9. Written materials: (All written materials may be uploaded in the Additional Supplemental Materials section)

Your written material should include:

a. All Candidates: The Scene. Write a short, 2-3-page scene inspired by one of these words that have no English language translation. We prefer a scene with two characters where one character wants something from the other, and that you do NOT explicitly use the word you have chosen .

• Glas wen (Welsh) - A smile that is insincere or mocking. Literally, a blue smile.
• Yuputka (Ulwa) - The phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.
• Iktsuarpok (Inuit) - You know that feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and you keep going outside to see if they’re there yet? This is the word for it.

b. All Candidates: The Logline. Write an extended log line or a paragraph describing a project you’d like to realize with us. Attach this logline to the bottom of your scene.

c. Screenwriting, Television Writing, and Directing Candidates: The Writing Sample. Please include a writing sample of up to 10 pages. This can be a complete short film, web episode, play, short story, or an excerpt of a feature screenplay, a television script, a webisode, a sketch or series of sketches.  If you choose to submit an excerpt, please include a few lines describing the full work. 

d. Producing Candidates: The Writing Sample. Please include a writing sample of up to 10 pages, including, critiques, production program notes, and/or literary criticism of a chosen screenplay, excerpts of a film or screenplay you have written, acquired or produced; or a brief statement describing your view of the role of Producing in today’s platform agnostic film industry.

10. Proficiencies. Directing Candidates Only

Please include a list of technical proficiencies in:  camera, lighting, editing, and any related skills at the bottom of your statement of purpose.

UPON ACCEPTANCE BY THE MFA PROGRAM IN FILM

If a student accepted into the M.F.A. program wishes to offer, either for credit toward the degree or for exemption from enrollment in courses required by Stony Brook, analogous courses taken at another university, transcripts and other supporting material must be presented for consideration by the graduate program director before the end of the student’s first semester in the program (see Transfer of Credit from Other Universities).

Robert  Sklar   Diversity  Fellowship In Fall 2024 , we will award a handful of full and partial Graduate and Teaching Assistantships to our incoming students, particularly to those students who can contribute to the diversity of Stony Brook. All applications for full-time study in the Fall term are considered, provided that the application is submitted by December 15, 2023 . These GA/TA awards are extremely competitive.

A full TA/GA offer comes with an academic-year stipend of approximately $23,100, a 15-20 hour/week workload, full tuition waiver and subsidized health insurance. A partial TA/GA offer comes with a 50% tuition remission scholarship, and an academic-year stipend of approximately $11,550, as well as subsidized health insurance and an 8-10 hour/week workload. A 25% GA offer comes with a 25% tuition remission scholarship and an academic-year stipend of approximately $5,775, subsidized health insurance, and a 5-6 hour/week workload. Students in good standing could expect to have their funding renewed for their second year, when they teach film and screenwriting courses to Stony Brook undergraduates.

Recipients of funding offers who can contribute to the diversity of Stony Brook may be additionally eligible for the  Turner Fellowship . Those with outstanding academic promise may be eligible for the  Graduate Council Fellowship . These fellowships award an additional $30,000 over the course of three years to their recipients, along with tuition waiver and stipend.

GRE - Even though the application will ask for it, you do not need GRE scores. In the program drop-down menu, please choose MFA in FILM, and indicate whether you are applying as a part-time or full-time student. 

If a recommender does not want to submit a letter online or doesn’t use email, you may print out a blank recommendation form for him or her to fill out and mail directly to the program.

Electronic official transcripts from any undergraduate and graduate institutions you have attended should be sent to the Office of Graduate and Health Sciences Admissions, at  [email protected] . 

or snail-mailed directly to the graduate school:

Stony Brook University Graduate School Office of Admissions and Student Services Old Computer Science Bldg, Room 2401 Stony Brook, NY 11794-4433

For questions, please call Margaret Grigonis at (631) 632-5028

Qualified graduate students without TA/GA funding are encouraged and, in their second year, eligible to apply for teaching artist and administrative jobs as they arise. 

To favor one incoming student over another, by awarding assistantships or prizes, runs counter to our philosophy that we are all in this together, faculty and students alike, struggling with the extraordinarily difficult work of putting words together. If you earn admission to our program, with funding or without, we guarantee that you will be treated with the same respect as any other member of our community.

Then there's your own resourcefulness in defraying the costs of graduate study. Applicants are encouraged to explore opportunities for external funding independent of our program's limited resources. For more information on other types of financial aid, contact the  Office of Student Financial Aid Services  at (631) 632-6840 .  

BACK TO TOP

For More Information

The fine print about transfer credits, international students, and other admissions arcana is revealed in the  Graduate Bulletin .

Or contact us:

MFA Programs in Film & TV Writing Stony Brook Manhattan Center for Creative Writing & Film  535 Eighth Ave 4th & 5th Floors New York, NY 10018 Phone: ‭(646) 472-2025‬ Fax: (646) 472-2090‬ E-mail:   [email protected]

Write of Passage 2024: Creative Writing MFA Student Reading

Admin options.

This event is part of UCF Celebrates the Arts 2024. 

Write of Passage 2024 showcases the work and talent of the Spring 2024 graduating students of UCF’s creative writing MFA graduate program.

This reading will feature works by Justin Ahlquist, Camila Cal Mello, Fernanda Coutinho Teixeira, Kristi Dao, Colleen Dieckmann, Kianna Greene, Michelle Munoz, Spencer Reynolds, Jessa Santiago, Dani Sarta and Nicholas Stovel.

Arrive early to enjoy a showcase of other projects from the English department, including:

• The Florida Review , UCF’s international literary journal
• The Cypress Dome , UCF’s undergraduate student literary journal
• Writers in the Sun, UCF’s visiting writers’ series
• UCF Creative Writing Faculty Book Display
• Zeppelin Books and Burrow Press Display

One of Central Florida’s favorite new traditions celebrates ten years!   UCF Celebrates the Arts is an immersive and dynamic cultural extravaganza that fuses creativity, innovation and community engagement. This annual festival showcases the artistic prowess of UCF’s faculty and students and invites the broader community to enjoy performances, exhibitions, presentations and interactive experiences. With a focus on accessibility, partnership and diverse offerings, UCF Celebrates the Arts is a unique opportunity for the community to experience the creative side of UCF’s innovative spirit. Events will be held April 3-14 at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Learn more at   arts.cah.ucf.edu/celebrates .

Event Registration

Tickets: FREE

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Aram Mrjoian

• MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency

Contact Information

Graduate Admission

Phone: 253-535-8570

Email: [email protected]

Pacific Lutheran University 12180 Park Avenue South Tacoma, WA 98447-0003

Speak to the Program Director

Make a phone appointment

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Creative Nonfiction, Fiction

Aram Mrjoian is the editor-in-chief of  The Rumpus  and a 2022 Creative Armenia-AGBU Fellow. His debut novel,  Waterline , is forthcoming with Harper Via in 2025. Aram has previously worked as an editor at the  Chicago Review of Books , the  Southeast Review , and  TriQuarterly . He is the editor of the anthology  We Are All Armenian: Voices from the Diaspora , published by the University of Texas Press in 2023. His writing has appeared in  The Guardian ,  Runner’s Worl d, Literary Hub, Catapult, West Branch, Electric Literature, Gulf Coast, Boulevard, Joyland ,  Longreads , and many other publications.

Mentor. Workshops and classes in creative nonfiction and fiction.

Statement: My primary goal as an educator is to help students develop artistic agency and encourage creative sustainability. Rather than fall back on craft axioms around what makes good writing, my teaching emphasizes individual decision-making, creative exploration, and radical revision, with the hope that you will develop enduring strategies for maintaining your writing practice long after completing the program. Being a writer takes time, patience, and practice, there’s no universal formula for finding your voice and improving your craft. As you progress, my focus remains on process and revision, with the understanding that eventually you’ll likely have to negotiate your work’s intentions more directly with readers, editors, and critics. No matter your artistic and professional goals, I want you to feel a sense of authority over your work. My reading selections and recommendations will often mirror this philosophy—I enjoy readings that showcase an author’s risks and challenge or subvert commercial expectations.

As a workshop leader and mentor, I center collaborative conversations in which you can explain your reasoning and make a case for how you have put together a specific piece of writing. From there, I enjoy asking questions and discussing benefits and opportunities for revision, always maintaining the acknowledgment that your vision for your work takes priority (that’s not to say I won’t challenge you on it). Together, we will develop systems for navigating your personal aspirations, creative setbacks, and future writing goals.

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“The SMSU RN to BSN Program does not have you take a set amount of credits each semester. This flexible scheduling was perfect for me as it allowed me to vary the amount of credits I took each semester. I would have struggled without that flexibility as I am a non-traditional student who is also a wife, mother of four, and worked full time while completing my degree. This program is designed to fit into your life, whether you want to be a full-time or part-time student.” Leah Bittner, '22 Alum

18th Annual Fine Arts Celebration

Published Monday, April 01, 2024

The SMSU Fine Arts and Communications Department with the Creative Writing Program present the 18 th Annual Fine Arts Celebration the entire month of April through May 2, 2024 showcasing creative works from SMSU students and faculty.

The 18th Annual Fine Arts Celebration schedule includes:

Art and design.

• Gold College: Unsung Heroes - Dr. Pat Brace speaking on Rosa Bonheur March 28 at 12:00 to 1:30pm in BA 102
• Art Exhibit "Gender Expression" April 2 to April 15 in the Whipple Gallery, spo nsored by LGBTQ+ and the Art Club with contributions from SMSU students                
• Graduating Senior Art Exhibition April 16 to April 30 in the Whipple Gallery 
• Senior Art Exhibit Reception April 17 at 5:30 to 7:30pm in the Whipple Gallery                                                          

Communication Studies

• Broadcast Digital Media Student Media Showcase May 1 at  4:00 to 6:00pm in BA 102

Creative Writing

• Perceptions Student Literary & Art Journal Reading April 12 at 12:00 to 1:00pm in Whipple Gallery 
• "Stanger Than Fiction: A Fanfiction Celebration of Stanger" April 17 at 12:00 to 1:00pm in Whipple Gallery      
• Telling Women's Stories: Readings from Competition Winners April 24 at 12:00 to 1:00pm in Whipple Gallery   
• SMSU Student Recital April 3 at 1:00 to 2:00pm in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre       
• Southwest Minnesota Orchestra "Children's Concert" April 10 at 10:00am and 1:00pm at SCCPA
• SMSU Glee Club & Alta Voce "Murmurations" April 13 at 2:00 to 3:00pm at First Lutheran Church 
• SMSU Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert April 15 at 7:30 to 8:30pm in the Fine Arts Theatre
• SMSU Student Recital April 17 at 1:00 to 2:00pm in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre
• SMSU Music Alumni Weekend April 19-21
• SMSU/Community Concert Band & Symphonic Chamber Winds "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" April 20 at 3:00 to 4:5pm in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre, also featuring members of the Alumni Band
• Music Alumni Reception April 20 at 5:30 to 7:30pm in the Whipple Gallery
• SMSU Chorale "Flyover Country" April 21 at 2:00 to 3:00pm at First Lutheran Church,  also featuring members of the Alumni Choir
• SMSU Student Recital April 24 at 1:00 to 2:00pm in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre
• Southwest Minnesota Orchestra & St. Paul Conservatory of Music Orchestra Festival April 27 at 10:00 to 5:00pm, String Festival in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre April 27 at 5:00 to 7:00pm, Festival Orchestra Joint Concert in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre
• Southwest Minnesota Orchestra "Mozart Mania"  with guest violinist, Risa Schuchter and artist-faculty from the St. Paul Conservatory April 28 at 4:00 to 6:00pm at Holy Redeemer Church Tickets $12, $5 for students
• An Inspector Calls  public performances in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre April 10-13 at 7:30pm and April 14 at 2:00pm. Tickets $10 at the door. Free to SMSU students and faculty with valid ID.
• 14th Annual Fashion Runway April 16 at 6:00 to 8:00pm in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre Lobby
• Stage Management Showcase May 2 at 10:00am to 12:00pm in the Upper FA Hallway

Mustang Ovations

• April 18 at 4:00 to 5:30pm in the Upper Level Conference Center

General Information All events are free and open to the public unless noted.  For more information, call the Fine Arts and Communication  office at (507) 537-7482. Tune in to Marshall Radio for weather-related announcements.

ADA/Section 504 : Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please call SMSU Accessibility Services at 507-537-7318, or the Minnesota Relay Service at 1-800-627-3529.  Please allow 5-7 days advance notice to schedule the accommodation. 

Parking Directions Generally, parking is available without a permit anywhere on campus after 4:30 p.m., except in specified parking areas.  If you are visiting the campus during the day for a Fine Arts event, call the department office, or Security at (507) 537-7252, for parking updates.  We will coordinate free parking for events upon request.

To find event locations, or an adjacent parking lot, visit the SMSU Interactive Campus Map .  Scroll down on the campus map to check the areas you wish to locate on campus.

On-Campus Locations BA - Bellows Academic CC - Conference Center  CH - Charter Hall FA - Fine Arts

Off-Campus Locations First Lutheran Church, 100 Church St, Marshall Marshall-Lyon County Library, 205 C S, Marshall SCCPA: The Schwan Community Center for the Performing Arts at Marshall Senior High School, 400 Tiger Dr

Thank you for your interest and support of the Fine Arts!

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Art in Moscow: Museums, Galleries and Museum-Reserves

There is no strict dress code in Moscow museums. However, if you are going to explore ancient churches and holy places we recommend more conservative outwear. Women should have their heads covered.

All state museums and galleries are free every third Sunday of the month. Some of the Moscow museums are free on holidays, and during the «Museum days» and «Museum Night».

If you’re looking for great cultural tours around art points of Moscow, we have a great MOSCOW ART & DESIGN TOUR , available for you everyday except Mondays.

Moscow Museums

The Moscow Kremlin

Don’t miss a chance to see the very heart of Moscow, the Kremlin, the symbol of the Russian State, one of the greatest architectural ensembles in the world, a treasury of unusual relics and monuments of art. It is situated on a high Borovitskiy hill above the Moskva River, so you’ll be able to see a spectacular view of the city center. The famous Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund are real treasure-houses, where you can see ancient Russian regalia, ceremonial tsar’s dress, church hierarchs’ vestments, arms, gold and silverware by Russian, European and Eastern masters. The Kremlin is the official President’s residence and remains a gorgeous political landmark. The UNESCO has included the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin in the World Heritage List.

Site: http://www.kreml.ru/

The State Historical Museum

Ivan Zabelin, Aleksey Uvarov, and several other Slavophiles founded the State Historical Museum in 1872 to promote Russian history and national self-awareness. During its century-long history, the museum has collected more than 4.5 million of valuable items and over 12 million pages of documental archives. Its exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that lived in the territory of present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The museum’s historical building which was reconstructed and equipped to meet all the visitors requirements is on the Red Square.

Site: http://www.shm.ru/

The State Tretyakov Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery takes a special place among the national art museums of the world. Established with the efforts of one person, the dedicated collector Pavel Tretyakov, it possesses a unique collection of Russian art, more than 150000 masterpieces, created by famous Russian artists throughout the centuries. The historic building of the State Tretyakov Gallery at Lavrushinski Lane presents Russian art from the 11th through the early 20th century. The state Tretyakov Gallery at Krymsky Val has an excellent collection of Russian art of the 20th century, modern art and holds temporary exhibitions.

Site: http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is one the largest European museums of fine art. It has one of the most remarkable collections of fine arts in Russia that consists of artworks from ancient times to the present day. Visitors can see great paintings by world famous artists: Rembrandt, Botticelli, Canaletto, Tiepolo, along with the remarkable collections of Impressionists, Post-impressionists, modernists: Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso and others. Moreover, the museum holds the private collectors’ galleries, many of were inaccessible to public for many years.

Site: http://www.arts-museum.ru/

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Moscow Museum of Modern Art specializes in the modern art of 20th and 21st centuries. The famous Russian artist and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has founded it. The museum is located in four historic buildings in Petrovka Street, Gogolevsky Boulevard, Ermolaevsky lane and Tverskoy Boulevard. The museum’s collection depicts the development of avant-garde. The largest part of the collection consists of masterpieces of Russian artists, but you can also find works by Anri Russo, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and many others.

Site: http://www.mmoma.ru/

The Moscow Planetarium

The Planetarium in Moscow first opened its doors in 1929. After a global reconstruction, it was reopened in 2011. Now it is a multifunctional complex that combines scientific and educational resources: the interactive museum «Lunarium», the Museum of Urania, the Big Star Hall and the Sky Park, family recreation center, that focuses on different age groups. The Moscow Planetarium is one of the biggest planetariums in the world.

Site: http://www.planetarium-moscow.ru/

Moscow Galleries

Garage museum of contemporary art.

Exhibit on display during the opening of «Art Experiment»

The museum is a kind of independent platform aimed to disclose and reveal a new way of thinking. The Garage Center currently reflects the contemporary innovations of national and world’s culture. It invites you to the beautiful world of modern art, showing its best pieces. This center offers a great number of various exhibitions, educational projects for kids and adults, and publishing. The Garage Center is also called The Museum of Everything. It provides ways and reasons for public dialogue and the creation of progressive ideas.

Site: http://garageccc.com/

The Multimedia Art Museum

Fifty Years of Bond Style Exhibition

The Multimedia Art Museum opened in October 2010 at the base of the Moscow House of Photography. One of the main principles of MAMM s work is complete openness to the new forms of visual expression and for the fresh, innovative trends in the Russian and foreign media art and photography. There are seven floors of spacious exhibition halls and minimalist architecture that is a great font for modern art. The exhibition history of MAMM and Moscow House of Photography counts more than 1300 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Moreover, Multimedia Art Museum has different educational programs and holds famous Moscow art festivals: Photobiennale, «Fashion and Style in Photography» and others.

Site: http://www.mamm-mdf.ru/

Lumiere Brothers Photography Center

This modern photo gallery is located in the very heart of Moscow, next to the Kremlin, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, big art galleries, design studios famous clubs and restaurants. The photography Center houses in an old and huge mansion at the Moskva River Embankment. Lumiere Brothers Photography Center has three huge exhibition rooms, lecture hall, library with an immense collection of rare books in photography and an independent bookshop. The Center is conducting research work, organizing educational projects, providing a base for the future Russian Museum of Photography.

Site: http://www.lumiere.ru/

Winzavod (Wine Factory) is the first and the biggest Center of Contemporary Art in our country. It unites all the areas of modern culture: exhibitions, festivals, lecture programs, cinema, concerts, theater premieres. You will find here a big amount of art galleries, artists’ workshops, designers and photographers studios, art cafes, fashion showrooms, a bookshop, children’s studio and many other things. The purpose of Winzavod is to support and to develop Russian contemporary art, art initiatives and help talented young people. Visiting Winzavod you will see the art that defines not only today’s but also tomorrow’s life.

Site: http://www.winzavod.ru/

The Manezh was built in 1817 in honor of the 5th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the 1812 war. Then it was called «Exerzierhaus», building, intended for military drills. The building has the unique construction – wooden structure trusses overlap the space of 44.86 square meters without any intermediate supports. After 1917, Manezh served as a garage for government vehicles. And since 1957 it has been continuously used for exhibitions and public events. In 2004, the building was severely damaged by fire. Renovated in 2005 the Manezh doubled its area. Nowadays it is one of the leading Moscow exhibition halls. There are two exhibition spaces, a conference room and a cafe on the third-floor observation deck. The Manezh hosts numerous fairs, festivals, and exhibitions.

Site: http://moscowmanege.ru/

Flacon Design Factory

Flacon Design Factory, located in the territory of a former glass factory, has become a pioneer in the revitalization of industrial zone outside the historic center of Moscow. Flacon has become a powerful launch pad for multiple cool projects, self-expression of creative individuals and carrying-out of sociocultural initiatives. No wonder that the atmosphere at Flacon entirely coincides with its motto: «Create as you please!» The Factory includes offices, co-working zone, shops, workshops, exhibition and creative projects spaces. Lectures, film screenings, fairs, design festivals, innovative exhibitions, presentations, concerts, limited actions and design community work days pass here weekly.

Site: http://flacon.ru/

Artplay is near Winzavod in the former industrial space in the area Kurskaya metro station and occupies an area of 75,000 square meters. Artplay, providing a new life to carefully reconstructed factory buildings, has become an important part of the contemporary cultural landscape of the city. Artplay unites designers, architects, furniture, lighting, ceramics, decorative materials shops, involving them in cooperation with each other. Young Moscow galleries, artists’ studios, cafes, bars, bookstores, music club, school of design, theater, children’s art studio are also situated here. Three exhibition halls regularly host contemporary art exhibitions, festivals, video art, alternative music concerts, performances, film screenings, lectures and master classes.

Site: http://www.artplay.ru/

CCI Fabrika

The Center For Creative Industries «Fabrika» is an art space for non-commercial creative projects. Today it is the example of peaceful coexistence of art business, operating enterprise, production, and workplaces for talented people in Moscow. CCI Fabrika is a member of the international network of non-profit cultural centers – Trans Europe Halls. This project is a typical umbrella-center. It is developing in both ways: creating and exhibiting its cultural projects and offering workspaces for other creative groups. Here you can find art studios and workshops of design, architecture, cinema, theater, cartoon animation and contemporary music studios.

Site: http://www.proektfabrika.ru/

Moscow Museum-Reserves

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve is one of the largest historical, cultural, recreation and touristic complexes. Its total area is more than 700 hectares. It is an excellent combination of nature – marvelous rivers, ponds, streams, forests – and scientifically restored and renovated architectural and landscape monuments. The museum’s collection of historical items, exhibitions, and educational programs will be attractive for both national visitors and foreign tourists.

Site: http://www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru/

Arkhangelskoye Country Estate

Russian cultural monument is a good sublimation of the stunning beauty of a green space and luxurious collection of paintings, sculptures, unique books and pieces arts and crafts. During its long history, the estate was used as a recreation place for emperors, politicians, famous writers and poets. Today it is the finest place to have an enjoyable walk and to see the richest collection Russian art.

Site: http://www.arhangelskoe.su/

Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve

A unique historic place – Kolomenskoe – is situated in the picturesque surrounding over the Moscow River banks. A magnificent country estate has appeared at the lands full of legends. Archeological discoveries state that the first settlements appeared here in the VIII century. It is an ancient and uniquely formed place. Today this is a unique complex of cultural monuments of high historical value.

Site: http://mgomz.ru/kolomenskoe

Sergiev-Posad City

Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve

Museum of Sergiev-Posad is a historical and art reserve. It is located within the unique wall of the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra. This ancient monastery gathered its treasures during centuries from the tsars, princes and boyars donations. Moreover, many art and craft items were made at Lavra’s workshops. Now, the collections of Sergiev-Posad Museum-Reserve include rare, ancient icons, Cyrillic alphabet books, medieval manuscripts, visual art items, gold and silver showpieces.

Site: http://www.stsl.ru/

PLAN YOUR TRIP WITH US

Happy to help you with everything, from general plan of your visit to plane tickets or hotel stay. We may also support your Russian Visa request with a letter of invitation if you need so.

SEE OUR TOURS

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Every year we host more and more private tours in English, Russian and other languages for travelers from all over the world. They need best service, amazing stories and deep history knowledge. If you want to become our guide, please write us.

Contact Info

+7 495 166-72-69

[email protected]

119019 Moscow, Russia, Filippovskiy per. 7, 1

Mon - Sun 10.00 - 18.00

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Resources to equip Christendom

Explore our blog, upcoming events, saving civilization since 1994, “the true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”.

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2024 -“Juried Undergraduate Exhibition,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID -At Invitation, University of Idaho’s President’s House, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID -“In Medias Res,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID (Forthcoming)

2023 -At Invitation, “Painting Show,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID -“VAC is Back!”, Reflections Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID -“Pens, Pencils & Paint,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID -At Invitation, University of Idaho’s President’s House, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. 2023-2024 -“Palouse Plein Air,” Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. (Winner: City Purchase Award) -“Mirage,” Reflections Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. -At Invitation, “Painting Show,” Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. Fall 2023-Spring 24

2022 -“Figures”, Downtown Arts Center, Honolulu, HI -“Palouse Plein Air”, Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. (Winner: Best Watercolor) -At Invitation, “Student Painters,” Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. -At Invitation, “Student Printmakers,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. -“Clay?!”, Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

2021 -At Invitation, “Student Show”, Iolan’i Gallery, Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI.

2020 -“Foundations Juried Exhibition”, The Looking Glass Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.

2019 -“Student Show”, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC.

2024 Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Painting and Ceramics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. (Forthcoming)

Extracurriculars and Honors

2022-2024 President of Visual Arts Community (VAC), University of Idaho President of Vandal Print Guild (VPG), University of Idaho Volunteer Artist, Vandaljacks, University of Idaho Dean’s List, University of Idaho Alumni Award for Excellence, University of Idaho

2019-2020 Resident Artist, Cannon Hall, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.

Work Experience/Training

2021-2022 Gallery Attendant, Iolan’i Gallery, Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI.

Studied Under: Kelly Oakes, Durham, NC. 2019-2020. William Zwick, Honolulu, HI. 2020. Mark Brown, Honolulu, HI, 2020-2022. Daunna Yanoviak, Kailua, HI. 2021- 2022. Mark Norseth, Honolulu, HI. 2021-.

Art: “Introduction to Figure Drawing,” Stacey Leanza, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2018. “Printmaking; Mono-prints,” Stacey Leanza, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2018. “Mixed Media,” Stacey Leanza, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2018. “Introduction to Portrait Drawing,” Kelly Oakes, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019. “Painting Portraits in Alla Prima,” Kelly Oakes, Workshop, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019. “Demystifying the Modern Portrait,” Marie Rossettie, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019. “Intuitive Painting,” Heather Gerni, Workshop, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019. “Oil Painting Crash Course,” Vanessa Murray, Workshop, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019. “Live Portrait Sessions,” Alla Parsons, Downtown Arts Center, Honolulu, HI. 2023. “Introduction to Watercolor,” Dwayne Adams, Class, Downtown Arts Center, Honolulu, HI. 2023.

Creative Writing: “Writing the Killer Mystery,” C1121, Central Carolina Community College, 2019. “Flash Fiction Made Easy,” C1058, Central Carolina Community College, 2019. “Charting Your Path To Publication,” C1060, Central Carolina Community College, 2019.

Newspapers and Articles

Long, Maryanne, “Windward Artists Turn Impression Into Expression,” Windward O’ahu Voice, February 9th, 2022