Creative Writing

Our nationally recognized Creative Writing Program offers an intensive MFA (two semesters, plus summer study) in two genres: poetry and fiction. The program’s primary mission is to advance the original work of our MFA writers. It also prepares writers to teach creative writing at the university and/or secondary school level and to become better critics of their own work as well as work written by others. We strive to make our students scholars of literature—that is, writer-critics aware that their work is in an ongoing dialogue, not only with contemporary literature, but with the writers of the past. Graduate literature courses are therefore a part of the curriculum; so is familiarity with a second world language, and the program’s global outlook is confirmed by a Global Fellowship Program allowing each student who applies to live and travel abroad after completion of the degree requirements.

In our program, a distinguished faculty of world-class novelists, poets, and critics lead small weekly workshops, advise student MFA theses, and engage in professional mentoring. Our ultimate goal is to produce readers, critics, poets, and fiction writers of the highest quality.