A Guide to Creative Writing MFA Programs

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree is, in most cases, the highest degree offered in creative writing. Most college level creative writing instructors have an MFA degree. Some common MFA in Creative Writing degree focuses are fiction, poetry, nonfiction, playwriting and screenwriting. In order to qualify for most MFA programs you need to have graduated from an accredited four-year college. You will need to submit your college transcripts and a sample of your own creative writing in the subject you hope to pursue. You will also need recommendations from people who are qualified to judge your past writing (such as past instructors or editors). Some writing programs require applicants to take the Graduate Records Exam (GRE) but most writing programs do not. In all cases, your writing sample will be the primary criteria on which your qualification for the program will be judged.

In a typical MFA program, you attend workshops in which you and your fellow students discuss each other’s creative working a collaborative (or sometimes adversarial) environment. As you progress through the program you produce a longer work such as a novel, play, screenplay or a book of poetry that serves as your graduate thesis. Additionally, you will study a variety of writing-related topics that vary widely from school to school.

MFA programs generally last two or three years. Standard MFA programs require that the student attend on-campus classes on a daily to weekly basis. In recent years though, many “low-residency” programs have sprung up. These programs allow students to take most of their classes online or through correspondence, but have one to three intensive workshops per year in which the students get together on the college campus for daily classes and meetings over a two to three week period.

Below is a partial list of MFA programs.

College/University: Arizona State University
Location: Tempe, AZ
Subjects: Poetry, Fiction, Playwriting
Key Instructors: Norman Dubie, Alberto Ríos, Beckian Fritz Goldberg, T.R. Hummer, Jeannine Savard, Melissa Pritchard, T.M. McNally, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Guillermo Reyes
Web: http://www.asu.edu/clas/english/creativewriting/

College/University: Antioch University
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction
Key Instructors: Dodie Bellamy, Leonard Chang, Susan Taylor Chehak, Jenny Factor, Richard Garcia, Steve Heller, Tara Ison
Web: http://www.antiochla.edu/academic-programs/mfa-in-creative-writing/2.html

College/University: Boise State University
Location: Boise, ID
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry
Key Instructors: Martin Corless-Smith, Janet Holmes, Brady Udall, Mitch Wieland
Web: http://www.boisestate.edu/english/mfa/

College/University: Brooklyn College
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting
Key Instructors: Julie Agoos, L.S. Asekoff, Maribeth Batcha, Jonathan Baumbach, Susan Choi, Erin Courtney, Michael Cunningham, Myla Goldberg, Francisco Goldman,
Web: http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/graduate/mfa/geninfo.htm

College/University: Georgia State University
Location: Atlanta, GA
Subjects: Poetry, Fiction
Key Instructors: Dr. David Bottoms, Dr. Beth Gylys, Dr. Sheri Joseph, Josh Russell,
Web: http://english.gsu.edu/graduate.php

College/University: Iowa State University
Location: Ames, IA
Subjects: Poetry, Fiction and Nonfiction with an emphasis on the environment
Key Instructors: Ven Begamudré, Debra Marquart, Stephen Pett, Mary Swander, David Zimmerman
Web: http://programs.gradschools.com/central-plains/creative_writing.html

College/University: University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, IA
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry
Key Instructors: Ethan Canin, Lan Samantha Chang, James Alan McPherson, Marilynne Robinson, James Galvin, Mark Levine, Cole Swensen, Dean Young
Web: http://www.uiowa.edu/~iww/

College/University: University of Texas
Location: Austin, Texas
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry, Screenwriting, Playwriting
Key Instructors: James Magnuson, Michael Adams, Oscar Casares, Kurt Heinzelman, Robert Foshko, Suzan Zeder
Web: http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mcw/mfa.shtm

College/University: New College of California
Location: San Francisco, CA
Subjects: Poetics and Writing
Key Instructors: Tom Clark, Adam Cornford, David Meltzer,
Web: http://newcollege.edu/poetics/faculty.cfm

College/University: Ohio State University
Location: Columbus, OH
Subjects: Creative Writing
Key Instructors: Kathy Fagan, Michelle Herman, Andrew Hudgins, Lee Martin, Erin McGraw
Web: http://english.osu.edu/programs/creativewriting/

College/University: Ohio University
Location: Athens, OH
Subjects: Playwriting
Key Instructors: Charles Smith, Erik Ramsey
Web: http://www.ohioplaywriting.org/

College/University: Old Dominion University
Location: Norfolk, VA
Subjects: Nonfiction, Poetry, Fiction
Key Instructors: Luisa Carino Igloria, Michael Pearson, Janet Peery, Sheri Reynolds, Tim Seibles
Web: http://al.odu.edu/english/mfacw/index.shtml

College/University: Pacific Lutheran University
Location: Tacoma, WA
Subjects: Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction
Key Instructors: Stan Sanvel Rubin, Linda Bierds, Thomas Barbash, Charles Bergman, Mary Clearman Blew
Web: http://www.plu.edu/~mfa/

College/University: Pacific University
Location: Forest Grove, Oregon
Subjects: Creative Writing
Key Instructors: Sandra Alcosser, Ellen Bass, Marvin Bell, Judy Blunt, Claire Davis,
Web: http://www.pacificu.edu/as/mfa/index.cfm

College/University: Saint Mary’s College of California
Location: Moraga, CA
Subjects: Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry
Key Instructors: Marilyn Abildskov, Thomas Cooney, Graham Foust, Wesley Gibson
Web: http://stmarys-ca.edu/

College/University: Spalding University
Location: Louisville, KY
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Writing for Children, Playwriting, Screenwriting
Key Instructors: Dianne Aprile, Rane Arroyo, Julie Brickman, Louella Bryant, Richard Cecil
Web: http://www.spalding.edu/content.aspx?id=1912&cid=686

College/University: University of Arizona
Location: Tucson, AZ
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Key Instructors: Peter Wild, C.E. Poverman, Steve Orlen, Jane Miller, Jon Anderson, Richard Shelton
Web: http://english.arizona.edu/index_site.php?id=100mfaprogram.htm

College/University: University of Florida
Location: Gainesville, FL
Subjects: Creative Writing
Key Instructors: Debora Greger, Michael Hofmann, William Logan, and Sidney Wade; in fiction, Jill Ciment, David Leavitt, Padgett Powell, Mary Robison
Web: http://web.english.ufl.edu/crw/

College/University: University of Oregon
Location: Eugene, OR
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry
Key Instructors: Karen Ford, Garrett Hongo. Dorianne Laux,
Web: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~crwrweb/mfa.htm

College/University: University of Southern Maine
Location: Portland, Maine
Subjects: Fiction, Popular Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Key Instructors: Tanya Maria Barrientos, Joan Connor, Brad Barkley, David Anthony Durham, Kazim Ali
Web: http://www.usm.maine.edu/stonecoastmfa/

College/University: University of Utah
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Subjects: Fiction, Poetry
Key Instructors: Margaret Brady, Karen Brennan, Francois Camoin, Norman Council
Web: http://www.hum.utah.edu/display.php?pageId=25

College/University: Warren Wilson College
Location: Asheville, NC
Subjects: Poetry, fiction
Key Instructors: Joan Aleshire, Adria Bernardi, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Robert Boswell
Web: http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~mfa/index.shtml

Related links

• The Technical Writing FAQ (0.500)
• How To Pick a Major for Writers (0.500)
• College Majors for Aspiring Writers (0.500)
• 30 Poems in 30 Days: Why you should write poetry (0.500)
• 30 Poems in 30 Days: Poetry of Place (0.500)

Contact John Hewitt

Writing Content and Web Consulting

Email: hewitt@poewar.com
Phone: (520) 261-6104
LinkedIn: poewar
Twitter: @poewar
Facebook: pwar2