Google Search

Academic Advising Center

Undergraduate studies, main navigation, english: creative writing, related programs.

u of u creative writing

Theatre Studies BA is a versatile degree that emphasizes the potential of theatre as one of the Liberal Arts. Originally intended as a basic course of study for potential theatre scholars and administrators.

u of u creative writing

Entrepreneurship

Learn to follow trends, identify emerging opportunities, and pursue those possibilities through the creation of new products and services and/or start a company.

u of u creative writing

The French major is intended for students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of French and Francophone cultures through the study of language, literature, and society.

What if I studied...

u of u creative writing

If you want to make music your life's work, consider the University of Utah's music degree.

Google Search

Department of English

College of humanities, main navigation, masters & phd programs.

  The Department of English Masters & PhD Programs

Masters and Doctoral studies are an integral part of the English Department at the University. To learn more about the programs offered, choose from the following.

English MA - Literary & Cultural Studies

The MA in English is designed to help students develop their knowledge of British and American literature and explore a range of cultural studies fields and interdisciplinary areas, including American studies, film studies, digital humanities, race and ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, and religious studies. In addition, students develop a strong background in literary criticism and theory.

Coursework Requirements

English ma timeline.

Students will take ten courses of at least three credit hours each:

  • English 6480: Introduction to Critical Theory
  • Three courses in literary history, including one covering literature before 1700 and one covering literature between 1700 and 1900
  • Six additional courses (up to two of which may be taken in departments other than English, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies)

The MA degree culminates in the writing of a scholarly essay that develops a sustained critical argument over the course of 25 to 30 pages. The MA essay generally arises out of a student’s coursework; it is written during the second year of the MA program under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. The essay gives students the opportunity to pursue topics suggested by their coursework in greater detail and at greater length, and it reflects a substantial course of independent reading and research. Students present their projects publicly at the MA symposium held at the end of the Spring semester, which is attended by faculty sponsors and readers, other interested faculty members, and graduate and undergraduate students in English as well as other disciplines. The symposium provides students the opportunity to discuss and defend their work.

Most MA essays are scholarly, critical papers. With the support of the faculty sponsor and the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, however, students may also satisfy the requirement with an equivalent project that takes a different form (for example, a digital humanities project).

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for an MA in English from our department.

icon  English MA Timeline

English MA - Rhetoric & Composition

The English MA in rhetoric and composition is designed to help students understand theories of persuasive discourse and related pedagogical, public, and scholarly practices. Through coursework in the English, Writing and Rhetoric Studies, and allied areas, students will develop their knowledge of rhetoric and writing as they interact with faculty members and fellow students in a range of fields, including literary studies, communication, education, and linguistics.

  • Three core courses in rhetoric and composition selected from: (1) WRTG 6020: Responding to Student Writing; (2) ENGL/WRTG 6350: Composition Theory and Research; (3) Studies in Writing and Pedagogy; (4) ENGL/WRTG 6770: Studies in Discourse Analysis; and (5) ENGL/WRTG 7760: Rhetoric/ Composition/Discourse
  • Three 6000- or 7000-level courses in ENGL
  • Three 6000- or 7000-level courses in CMM, ECS, ENGL, or LING, to be approved by the WRS Graduate Coordinator and the English Director of Graduate Studies

Administered during the spring semester, the exam will be in two parts: (1) one question that addresses perspectives on rhetoric and composition from allied disciplines, including English/literary studies, communication, education, and linguistics (timed); and (2) one question exploring a topic that arises from the student’s core courses in rhetoric and composition (take-home). Students have three opportunities to pass the exam; students who fail the exam three times are dismissed from the program. Students must be registered for at least three hours during the semester in which the exam is taken.

English MA - Environmental Humanities

The Department of English participates in the College of Humanities' Environmental Humanities program by offering courses and mentoring students. 

Contact for More Information

Environmental Humanities Graduate Program 1995 De Trobriand Street, FD 618A Salt Lake City, UT 84113 (801) 585-7052

English MFA - Creative Writing

The English MFA program in creative writing is small and selective. It gives students the   opportunity to study literature, participate in intensive writing workshops, and work in a close community of writers.   Studies may focus their literature coursework in any area of English or American literature.

English MFA Timeline

Students will take a minimum of nine courses of at least three credit hours each:

  • Four creative writing workshops
  • English 7450: Narrative Theory and Practice   or   English 7460: Theory and Practice of Poetry (depending on the genre of the thesis)
  • Four other courses, including at least two literary history courses

MA Thesis & Thesis Defense

During their residence, MFA students are expected to work closely with members of the creative writing faculty and write book-length thesis of publishable quality —a novel, a collection of stories, or a collection of poems.

A complete draft of the thesis should be submitted to the committee chair at least three weeks before the desired defense date. After the thesis has been approved by the chair, a defense date is scheduled and cleared with the other committee members. When the date and time have been set, the student should inform the Graduate Advisor, who will schedule a room for the defense and post an announcement so that the public may attend.

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for an MFA in English from our department.

icon    ENGLISH MFA TIMELINE

English MFA - Creative Writing (Modular Track)

The University of Utah Creative Writing Program offers a modular MFA program in poetry, fiction and nonfiction that allows students to take courses in Environmental Humanities, the History of the American West and Book Arts while completing a manuscript in the genre of their choice.

Funding Opportunities

About the modular track.

The modular MFA is the only MFA program in the nation that allows students to create courses of study that would capitalize on these three distinct areas, to use the historical, aesthetic and cultural knowledge gained from these subjects in their own creative writing.   Upon entering the MFA program, students interested in the modular MFA would declare whether they wanted to pursue a single track (MFA with an Environmental Humanities emphasis, for instance) or a multidisciplinary track (MFA with an American West/Environmental Humanities emphasis).

While enrolled in a writing workshop of their choice each semester, students will also take a wide variety of graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses from departments across campus, including History, Communication, Art and Art History, Philosophy and Film, as well as English.   These courses include topics such as Environmental Ethics, Film Directors of the American West, Bookbinding, Digital Arts, Global Environmental History, Videogame Studies, Sound Poetry, Artists’ Books, and Art and Architecture of the American West.   Students are also encouraged to take our hybrid graduate writing workshop called Experimental Forms in which students combine poetry, fiction, nonfiction and new media in diverse and original ways.

Modular MFA Requirements

Our traditional MFA program requires nine graduate courses, plus six hours of thesis research. Of these nine courses, four are creative writing workshops, one is a theory and practice in the genre of the student’s thesis, and at least four courses are in literary history and special topics.

Our modular MFA program requires the same number of courses and hours of thesis research, but allows students in particular modules (or multi-disciplinary modules) to take courses outside English to fulfill their four literary history/special topics requirements.

Approved Modular Courses

Below is a list of possible approved courses regularly offered at the university in each of the three modules that modular MFA students might take. This list is not exhaustive; modular MFA students are encouraged to research their departments of interest to find other graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses that might apply.  Courses not on this list must be pre-approved by both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Director of Creative Writing for the student to receive credit towards her modular MFA degree.

Environmental Humanities

EHUM 6900/005:  Environmental Leadership/Orientation Week 0, Fall1 EHUM 6101:  Foundation in Environmental Humanities Fall1 EHUM 6103:  Ecology of Residency (Taft-Nicholson Center - Summer) Fall2 EHUM 6105:  EH Writing Seminar Spring1 EHUM 6804:  Tertulia - Reading/discussion group - Fall1, Spring 1

Other courses of interest

Environmental Humanities encourages students to explore courses offered through the College of Humanities. Courses vary semester to semester, year to year. Courses of interest might include:

COMM 6360:  Environmental Communication COMM 7200:  Environmental Communication EHUM 6850:  Issues in Environmental Humanities - topic varies according to semester ENGL 5980:  Ecoctriticism ENGL 6240:  Literature of the American West ENGL 6810:  Post-humanist Theory & Practice ENGL 7700:  Seminar in American Studies ENGL 7850:  Digital Humanities HIST 6380:  US Environmental History HIST 7670:  Colloquium in Environmental History PHIL 5530:  Environmental Philosophy PHIL 6520:  Advanced Bioethics

American West

ENGL 6200:   Introduction to American Studies ENGL 7700:   Special Topics in American Studies ARCH 6231:   Art and Architecture of the American West HIST 6910:   Special Studies in American History HIST 7620:   Colloquium in the History of the American West HIST 7870:   Colloquium in the American West FILM 7870:   Special Topics in American West Film and Filmmakers

Book Arts / Publishing / New Media

Graduate students should contact the instructor to register for graduate study that meets with the following classes:

ART3060: Letterpress I ART4060: Letterpress II ART4070: Letterpress III ART3065: Bookbinding I ART4065: Bookbinding II ART4075: Bookbinding III ART4090: Artists’ Books I ART4095: Artists’ Books II ART3066: Papermaking ART4355: The Printed Book ART4080: Book Design and Production

Students interested in pursuing the Modular MFA have the option of applying or being considered for a number of fellowship opportunities. Students primarily interested in Environmental Humanities will be considered for a half-teaching fellowship that will cover half their tuition expenses and fees. Students interested in the American West and/or Book Arts/New Media studies will be eligible to apply for The Center for American West/ J.W. Marriott Special Collections Fellowships after they have been accepted into the MFA program. These fellowships will require that students work as archivists and transcribers in one of four areas:  Science and Technology in the West, Multimedia Archives of the West, Utah Oral Histories, and Utah Outdoor Recreation Oral Histories.

Students who are selected for one of these fellowships will receive first-year funding for tuition and fees of up to $12,400 with the possibility of the same amount of funding for a second year. Students who receive the Center for American West/J.W. Marriott Special Collections Fellowship will also be given credit for a one-credit independent study course in Archival Research that will be noted on their transcripts.

Publishing internships also may be made available with FC2, Eclipse, University of Utah Press, Red Butte Press/Book Arts, and other local journals and presses. Credit for internships may fall under the heading of ENGL 7810, the publications workshops for Literature and American Studies.

English PhD - Literary & Cultural Studies

English PhD candidates may specialize in a range of traditional literary-historical areas of study or develop a program that emphasizes such cultural studies fields or interdisciplinary areas as American studies, film studies, digital humanities, race and ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, or religious studies.

Qualifying Examinations

  • English PhD Timeline

Students will take ten courses of at least three credits each:

  • At least three courses in literary history, including one covering literature before 1700 and one covering literature between 1700 and 1900
  •  Six additional courses (up to two of which may be taken in departments other than English, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies)
  • British: Medieval, Early Modern, Restoration and Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
  • American: Colonial and Early National, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
  • Topics are devised in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee, especially the committee chair, and might focus on specific literary, generic, or thematic areas (e.g., history of lyric, gothic literature, graphic novels, the literature of war, queer literature, etc.) or a cultural studies field or otherwise interdisciplinary area (e.g., American studies, digital humanities, film studies, race/ethnic studies, religious studies, gender/sexuality studies, art history, etc.).
  • See the description of possible topics above.
  • The list of works for this field will be generated by the candidate in consultation with the supervisory committee. This field may be defined broadly (such as literary theory, cultural criticism, or ethnic studies) or more narrowly (such as feminism, Marxist theory, historicism, folklore, or narrative theory).

English Literary Studies PhD Timeline

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for a Literary Studies PhD in English from our department.

icon    ENGLISH Literary Studies PhD TIMELINE

English PhD - Rhetoric & Composition

The English PhD with a specialization in Rhetoric and Composition is an interdisciplinary program offered in conjunction with the Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies. Its aim is to give students solid preparation for academic careers in rhetoric and composition through courses, seminars, and independent study in composition theory, rhetorical theory and history, discourse analysis, literary studies, cultural studies, and pedagogical theory.

We encourage interested students to meet with Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty members at conferences or elsewhere before applying.   Individual faculty members will talk with applicants by phone or in person during the application process.

  • Supervisory Committee
  • ENGL/WRTG 6350: Composition Theory and Research
  • ENGL/WRTG 6500: Studies in Writing & Pedagogy
  • ENGL/WRTG 6770: Studies in Discourse Analysis
  • WRTG 7740: Rhetoric I
  • WRTG 7750 Rhetoric II
  • ENGL/WRTG 7760: Seminar: Rhetoric/Composition/Discourse
  • WRTG 7770: Research in Rhetoric and Writing
  • Four additional courses in English
  • Two additional courses in Writing and Rhetoric Studies or another department (with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies and advice from Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty.

After successfully completing the program of study described above, the student will take an oral examination covering the core fields. A member of the literature faculty will examine the student on the literary studies core.

Note on the Supervisory Committee in the Rhetoric & Composition Specialization

The supervisory committee chair must be a Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty member jointly appointed in English. The other four members will be appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the candidate and the Committee Chair. Normally at least one other English Department faculty member and one other Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty member will be on the committee. In addition, a faculty member from an appropriate department will be on the committee to represent the student’s allied field core.

English PhD - Creative Writing

The English PhD with a specialization in Creative Writing is neither a fine arts degree nor simply a traditional literature PhD with a creative dissertation. The program is designed to help the student become a better writer, as well as a writer who knows the history of his or her chosen genre and who is aware of the critical theory relevant to it.

The PhD is generally recognized as a writer's best preparation for a teaching career at the college or university level.   Many colleges cannot afford to hire someone to teach only creative writing; the PhD is strong evidence that the writer can also teach literature courses and that he or she can take a full and active part in the academic community.

  • At least three workshops (one in a genre other than the dissertation is recommended)
  • English 7450: Narrative Theory and Practice or English 7460: Theory and Practice of Poetry (depending on the genre of the dissertation)
  • One or two electives (depending on the number of workshops taken; one of these courses may be taken in a department other than English, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies)

In creative writing, exams focus on the genre (poetry or prose) of the student’s dissertation. Students will be examined in four fields; lists in each field normally include 25-30 major works or their equivalent. Students must complete all required coursework and satisfy the language requirement before scheduling their qualifying exams. Examination lists will be devised by students in consultation with the members of their committee.

  • The genre from its beginnings until the end of the nineteenth century
  • The genre from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present
  • Topics or themes are devised in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee, especially the committee chair, and might focus on specific literary, generic, or thematic areas (e.g., history of lyric, gothic literature, graphic novels, the literature of war, queer literature, etc.) or a cultural studies field or otherwise interdisciplinary area (e.g., American studies, digital humanities, film studies, race/ethnic studies, religious studies, gender/sexuality studies, art history, etc.).
  • This list will focus on theoretical questions relevant to the genre or the dissertation.

English Creative PhD Timeline

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for a Creative Writing PhD in English from our department.

icon    ENGLISH Creative Writing PhD TIMELINE

English PhD - BA to PhD Track

During their first two years of study, BA-to-PhD track students will complete ten courses satisfying the course requirements for the MA degree. BA-to-PhD students will complete the MA Essay in their second year. BA-to-PhD students will be officially admitted to the PhD program after the successful completion of the MA Essay and will then complete a third year of coursework. All BA-to-PhD students are admitted with a guarantee of five years of funding.

book an appointment with an Academic Advisor

English | Home

B.A. Creative Writing

Students engage in group writing session

Bachelors of Arts

Creative Writing

"An English/Creative Writing degree exposes you to diverse perspectives. It teaches you to think critically, to be quick on your feet, and adapt. These are the sort of skills that are applicable to nearly anything and can only support your interests, no matter what they might be." –B.A. in Creative Writing alumna

See Alumni Stories

Learn about contemporary writing and poetry from award-winning authors and develop your writing skills in small faculty and student workshops.

About the Major

Become a creative, powerful writer. As a student pursuing a B.A. in Creative Writing, you will develop your writing craft under the guidance of award-winning writers at one of the top-ranked creative writing programs in the country. In addition, you will build skills in writing, creativity, critical thinking, research, literary analysis, and independent thinking.

Areas of Study

You'll take introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as courses in literature, language, literary analysis, publishing, and elective courses in a range of topics in the research specialties of our internationally renowned faculty. After your first year in the program, you will choose to specialize in either fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

As a Creative Writing major, taking electives is part of the program, so we’ve also grouped together several unofficial “specialization areas” that emphasize skills, research directions, and preparation for potential careers. You can follow one specialization area, mix-and-match between them, come up with your own, or else ignore the whole thing entirely. Overall, these are just potential recommendations for anyone interested. Likewise, there’s no need to “declare” a specialization – just enroll in your chosen electives.

See degree requirements         CW Specialization Area Courses

Double Major Options

The writing and analytical skills you'll learn as a Creative Writing major can pair nicely with a second major in almost any field. Many of our students also double major in both Creative Writing and English ( see double major requirements ).

Career Pathways

Our graduates gain valuable skills that make them the top candidates for various employment opportunities and graduate programs. Your skills in creative writing, critical thinking, and literary analysis can be applied in a broad spectrum of industry and services. And you receive excellent training for graduate programs in creative writing, English, public policy, foreign service, rhetoric and composition, education, and many others.

Recent UA Creative Writing majors have put their degree to use in a wide variety of careers, including screenwriting, editing, publishing, technical writing, video game design, marketing, journalism, teaching, business, and professional writing.

Some of the career fields uniquely open to graduates with a Creative Writing B.A. include:

  • Speech writer
  • Grant writer
  • Video game script writer

Read more about career possibilities in our alumni stories .

Major Digital Brochure

PrepScholar

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 12 best creative writing colleges and programs.

College Info

feature_diary

Finding a dedicated creative writing program at a school you're excited about can be a real challenge, and that's even before you start worrying about getting in. Nonetheless, there are some great options. In order to help you find the best school for you, this list rounds up some of the best colleges for creative writing in the United States .

The Best Creative Writing Programs: Ranking Criteria

You should never take college rankings as absolute truth —not even the very official-seeming US News ones. Instead, use these kinds of lists as a jumping-off place for your own exploration of colleges. Pay attention not just to what the rankings are but to how the rankings are determined.

To help with that, I'll explain how I came up with this highly unscientific list of great creative writing colleges. I started by narrowing my search down to schools that offered a specific creative writing major. (If you don't see a school you were expecting, it's likely because they only have a minor.)

In ranking the schools, I considered five major criteria:

  • #1: MFA Ranking —If a school has a great graduate creative writing program, it means you'll be taught by those same professors and the excellent graduate students they attract. Schools with strong MFA programs are also more likely to have solid alumni networks and internship opportunities. However, many schools with great undergrad programs do not offer MFAs, in which case I simply focused on the other four options.
  • #2: General School Reputation —The vast majority of your classes won't be in creative writing, so it's important that other parts of the school, especially the English department, are great as well.
  • #3: Extracurricular Opportunities —One of the key advantages of majoring in creative writing is that it can provide access to writing opportunities outside the classroom, so I took what kind of internship programs, author readings, and literary magazines the school offers into consideration.
  • #4: Diversity of Class Options —I gave extra points to schools with a variety of genre options and specific, interesting classes.
  • #5: Alumni/Prestige —This last criterion is a bit more subjective: is the school known for turning out good writers? Certainly it's less important than what kind of education you'll actually get, but having a brand-name degree (so to speak) can be helpful.

The Best Creative Writing Schools

Now, let's get to the good stuff: the list of schools! The exact numbering is always arguable, so look at it as a general trend from absolutely amazing to still super great, rather than fixating on why one school is ranked #3 and another is ranked #4.

#1: Northwestern University

Northwestern's undergrad creative writing program boasts acclaimed professors and an unparalleled track record of turning out successful writers (including Divergent author Veronica Roth and short-story writer Karen Russell).

Outside the classroom, you can work on the student-run literary journal, intern at a publication in nearby Chicago, or submit to the Department of English's yearly writing competition . The university is also home to a top journalism program , so if you want to try your hand at nonfiction as well, you'll have plenty of opportunities to do so.

#2: Columbia University

Like Northwestern, Columbia is home to both a world-class creative writing program and a top journalism school (plus one of the best English departments in the country), so you have a wide range of writing-related course options. Columbia also benefits from its location in New York City, which is bursting at the seams with publishing houses, literary journals, and talented authors.

body_columbia

#3: University of Iowa

The University of Iowa's big draw is the infrastructure of its graduate Writers' Workshop, which is often considered the best MFA program in the country.

As an English and Creative Writing major here, you'll take classes from great young writers and established professors alike, and get to choose from a wide range of topics. This major provides transferable skills important for a liberal arts major with a creative focus. You'll also have access to the university's impressive literary community, including frequent readings, writing prizes and scholarships, and the acclaimed literary journal The Iowa Review .

#4: Emory University

Emory is renowned for its dedicated undergrad creative writing program , which draws the very best visiting scholars and writers. Students here have the chance to attend intimate question-and-answer sessions with award-winning authors, study a range of genres, compete for writing awards and scholarships, and work closely with an adviser to complete an honors project.

#5: Oberlin College

A small liberal arts school in Ohio, Oberlin offers very different advantages than the schools above do. You'll have fewer opportunities to pursue writing in the surrounding city, but the quality of the teachers and the range of courses might make up for that. Moreover, it boasts just as impressive alumni, including actress and writer Lena Dunham.

#6: Hamilton College

Hamilton is another small college, located in upstate New York. It's known for giving students the freedom to pursue their interests and the support to help them explore topics in real depth, both inside and outside the classroom. Hamilton's creative writing program takes full advantage with small classes and lots of opportunities to intern and publish; it also has one of the best writing centers in the country.

#7: Brown University

Brown's Literary Arts program offers one of the top MFAs in the US as well as an undergraduate major . For the major, you must take four creative writing workshops and six reading-intensive courses, which span an array of departments and topics, from music and literature to Middle East studies and Egyptology.

body_brown-1

#8: Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University has an excellent creative writing MFA program, lots of super specific class options, and a number of scholarships specifically earmarked for creative writing students. This school’s undergraduate English program also offers a concentration in creative writing that allows students to specialize in a specific genre: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. If you’re interested in exploring your potential in a specific writing genre, Washington University could be a great pick for you.

#9: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT might not be a school you generally associate with writing, but it actually has an excellent program that offers courses in digital media and science writing, as well as creative writing, and provides plenty of guidance on how graduates can navigate the tricky job market.

Not to mention the school is located in Cambridge, a haven for book lovers and writers of all kinds. Though it probably isn’t a good fit for students who hate science, MIT is a great place for aspiring writers who want to build writing skills that are marketable in a wide range of industries.

#10: University of Michigan

University of Michigan is one of the best state universities in the country and has a top-notch MFA program. This school’s undergrad creative writing sub-concentration requires students to submit applications for admittance to advanced creative writing courses. These applications give students crucial practice in both building a writing portfolio and articulating their interest in creative writing to an audience who will evaluate their work. If you're looking to attend a big school with a great creative writing major, this is a fantastic choice.

#11: Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins is another school that's known more for engineering than it is for writing, but, like MIT, it has a dedicated writing program. As a major here, you must take not only courses in prose, poetry, and literature, but also classes on topics such as philosophy and history.

#12: Colorado College

Colorado College is a small liberal arts school known for its block plan , which allows students to focus on one class per three-and-a-half-week block. The creative writing track of the English major includes a sequence of four writing workshops and also requires students to attend every reading of the Visiting Writers Series.

Bonus School: New York University

I didn't include NYU in the main list because it doesn't have a dedicated creative writing major, but it's a great school for aspiring writers nonetheless, offering one of the most impressive creative writing faculties in the country and all the benefits of a Manhattan location.

body_nyu

How To Pick the Best Creative Writing School for You

Just because Northwestern is a great school for creative writing doesn't mean you should set your heart on going there. (The football fans are completely terrifying, for one thing.) So where should you go then?

Here are some questions to ask yourself when looking at creative writing programs to help you determine the best school for you:

Does It Have Courses You're Interested In?

Look at the course offerings and see whether they interest you. While you can't predict exactly what classes you'll love, you want to avoid a mismatch where what you want to study and what the program offers are completely different. For example, if you want to write sonnets but the school focuses more on teaching fiction, it probably won't be a great fit for you.

Also, don't forget to look at the English courses and creative writing workshops! In most programs, you'll be taking a lot of these, too.

What Opportunities Are There To Pursue Writing Outside of Class?

I touched on this idea in the criteria section, but it's important enough that I want to reiterate it here. Some of the best writing experience you can get is found outside the classroom, so see what kind of writing-related extracurriculars a school has before committing to it.

Great options include getting involved with the campus newspaper, working on the school's literary journal, or interning at the university press.

Who Will Be Teaching You?

Who are the professors? What kind of work have they published? Check teacher ratings on Rate My Professors (but make sure to read the actual reviews—and always take them with a grain of salt).

If you're looking at a big school, there's a good chance that a lot of your teachers will be graduate students. But that's not necessarily a bad thing: a lot of the best teachers I had in college were graduate students. Just take into consideration what kind of graduate program the school has. If there's a great creative writing MFA program, then the graduate students are likely to be better writers and more engaged teachers.

What Are the Alumni Doing Now?

If you have a sense of what you want to do after you graduate, see if any alumni of the program are pursuing that type of career. The stronger the alumni network is, the more connections you'll have when it comes time to get a job.

What About the Rest of the School?

Don't pick a school for which you like the creative writing program but dread everything else about it. Most of your time will be spent doing other things, whether hanging out in the dorms, exploring off campus, or fulfilling general education requirements.

Many schools require you to apply to the creative writing major, so make doubly sure you'll be happy with your choice even if you aren't accepted to the program.

What's Next?

Are you sure a creative writing major is the right fit for you? Read our post on the pros and cons of the major to help you decide what path to take in college.

For more general advice about choosing a college, check out our complete guide to finding the right school for you. Some major factors to consider include deciding whether you're interested in a small college or a big university , an in-state or out-of-state institution , and a public or private school .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Get eBook: 5 Tips for 160+ Points

Alex is an experienced tutor and writer. Over the past five years, she has worked with almost a hundred students and written about pop culture for a wide range of publications. She graduated with honors from University of Chicago, receiving a BA in English and Anthropology, and then went on to earn an MA at NYU in Cultural Reporting and Criticism. In high school, she was a National Merit Scholar, took 12 AP tests and scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and ACT.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Join the Conversation

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

  • For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

u of u creative writing

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Department of English

  • Why English Studies?
  • Why Creative Writing?
  • Career Success
  • BA in English/Creative Writing
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Undergraduate Studies
  • MA/PhD in Literary/Writing Studies
  • Undergraduate Course Offerings
  • Graduate Course Offerings
  • MFA in Creative Writing
  • Blogs & Digital Projects
  • Conferences & Series
  • PhD Dissertations
  • Reading, Research, & Discussion Groups
  • Undergraduate Resources
  • Graduate Resources
  • Commencement
  • Faculty Resources
  • Department Calendar
  • Department News
  • Administration
  • Faculty by Specialty Areas
  • Affiliate Faculty
  • Emeriti Faculty
  • Specialized Faculty
  • Graduate Students
  • Stay Connected
  • Get Involved
  • Give to English
  • Undergraduate Alumni Spotlight
  • Graduate Alumni Spotlight

The Creative Writing Major

The undergraduate Creative Writing major at the University of Illinois, formerly known as the Rhetoric major, is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. Now in its seventh decade, the major combines small workshops (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) and a variety of literature courses.

Note: We also offer a Creative Writing minor. For an overview of our minor requirements, click here .

Members of UIUC's undergraduate Creative Writing Club

The undergraduate Creative Writing major at the University of Illinois, formerly known as the Rhetoric major, is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. Now in its seventh decade, the major combines small workshops (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) and a variety of literature courses. The result is a strong but flexible program of study that develops students' analytical and creative skills and prepares them for work or graduate study in any number of fields.

Members of UIUC's undergraduate Creative Writing Club

Students in the undergraduate program edit and publish an annual journal, Montage Arts Journal , which features poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art by University of Illinois undergraduate student writers and artists. For more information about Montage , visit montagejournal.wordpress.com .

Through our program, writers shape their literary voices, develop distinctive styles, and intensify their written, critical, and editorial skills. Students write about what matters most to them and learn about contemporary literary publishing through developing their imaginative, expressive, and dynamic writing.

Creative Writing Major Requirements

Literature for creative writers (6 credit hours).

  • CW 100: Introduction to Creative Writing
  • CW 200: Reading for Writers

Craft (3 credit hours)

  • CW 243: The Craft Essay:  Creative Reading, Reflection, and Revision  

Creative Writing Workshops (12 credit hours)

Creative Writing majors must complete at least one of the following 3-course (9-hour) sequences:

  • CW 106: Poetry Workshop I
  • CW 206: Poetry Workshop II
  • CW 406: Poetry Workshop III
  • CW 104: Fiction Workshop I
  • CW 204: Fiction Workshop II
  • CW 404: Fiction Workshop III

The remaining 3 hours in this category can be satisfied by a fourth CW Workshop outside of the chosen sequence.  CW 404 and CW 406 may be repeated once for credit, but may not be repeated to fulfill this requirement.

Writing and Literature (3 credit hours)

3 hours of Writing and Literature coursework, either:

  • 3 hours of non-Workshop CW coursework (CW 460, or another approved non-Workshop CW course)
  • 3 hours of ENGL coursework

Additional Literature Coursework (12 credit hours)

12 additional hours of approved ENGL coursework, including:

  • 9 hours of approved ENGL Literature coursework
  • 3 hours of an ENGL Difference & Diaspora course

For more information on the Creative Writing major and minor, please visit our listings in the Academic Catalog:

  • Creative Writing Major - full, detailed requirements
  • Creative Writing Minor - full , detailed requirements
  • Creative Writing Courses

The faculty of the Creative Writing Program represent a diverse range of writing and teaching styles and interests and are actively working in various genres and media, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, theater, and film. Faculty members have received numerous awards and fellowships. A small selection of these includes the Yale Series of Younger Poets, the Native Writers' Circle Award of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction, the FC2 National Fiction Competition, a Whiting Award, the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize, the Kate Tufts Discovery Prize, the William Peden Prize, the Academy of American Poets Award, the Bakeless Prize, Wallace Stegner fellowships, and fellowships from the NEA, Guggenheim Foundation, Yaddo, MacDowell, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, and many others.

Follow the links below to learn more about our undergraduate Creative Writing program's core faculty members:

Ángel García

Janice N. Harrington

Amy Hassinger

Christopher Kempf

Julie Price

John Rubins

Ted Sanders

Alex Shakar

Corey Van Landingham

David Wright

Ángel García

  • The Creative Writing Minor
  • UIUC's Creative Writing Club
  • Our MFA in Creative Writing

Instagram logo

Creative Writing, M.F.A.

College of Arts and Sciences

Expand your knowledge and hone your craft with our fully funded, three-year master’s degree in creative writing, which combines the intimacy of a small program with visits by renowned authors from around the world.

Our dynamic MFA program provides a rigorous yet nurturing community where aspiring writers can compose, experiment, learn and evolve. You’ll have the chance to work with stellar faculty, which includes winners of the National Book Award, the PEN Open Book Award, the Berkshire Prize and the Iowa Poetry Prize (to name only a few).

Program Highlights

Internationally recognized faculty.

Learn from our diverse and dynamic faculty of inspiring teachers, dedicated mentors and award-winning writers.

World-Class Visiting Authors

Engage with renowned authors from around the world through the Open Book as well as our Fall Literary Festival and other series.

Hone your teaching skills and ignite a love of writing in young learners by visiting local public schools as a Split P fellow.

Cola Literary Review

Support and promote new literary work by established and emerging authors by editing our annual print journal.

What You’ll Study

Popular experiences include Fiction and Poetry workshops as well as our annual literary events. Study literature, theory of teaching composition, and electives while completing a book-length MFA project with the mentorship of faculty. Graduates have gone on to careers as authors and agents, in publishing and on the faculty at universities.

Building Skills

Gain the professional and personal intelligence it takes to have a successful career.

Creating professional written content for inclusion in scholarly journal articles, books and reports

Thinking imaginatively, generating original ideas and expressing unique perspectives through art and innovation

Aesthetic and Conceptual Awareness

Cultivating an understanding of artistic and abstract concepts, enhancing appreciation for beauty and creative expression

Foster learning by conveying knowledge, skills and concepts to students

Gathering and analyzing information to increase knowledge or solve problems

Critical Thinking

Analyzing and evaluating information to make informed decisions or judgments

Using your degree

Make your college experience the foundation for a successful future.

Learn how alumni use degrees with outcome data from Gamecock GradStats , a service of the University of South Carolina Career Center.

Potential Careers

  • Fiction Writer
  • Creative Writing Professor
  • Literary Agent
  • Journalist / Essayist

Job Titles of Alumni

  • Writer and Editor
  • Poetry Fellow
  • English Teacher
  • Assistant Professor
  • Communications Specialist
  • Freelance Writer

Average Alumni Salary

Five to 10 years after graduation without additional education $76,434

Workplace Settings

  • Literary Journals and Magazines
  • Small or Large Presses
  • Literary Agencies
  • Freelance Writing
  • Journalism / Commentary
  • Higher Education
  • Yemassee Journal
  • Tulsa Artist Fellowship
  • Editorial Consulting
  • University of South Carolina
  • University of North Carolina at Asheville
  • Word Life Editorial
Faculty members in the creative writing program are generous with their time and advice, while taking a light hand in shaping your experience. I have the guidance I need while being able to make my own decisions and explorations.

u of u creative writing

You may also like

Related Degrees

Two students on stage in full costume.

Theatre, M.A.

Professor demonstrating proper conducting technique to a graduate student.

Conducting: Music, M.M.

School of Music

Opera performers on stage in full costume.

Opera Theatre: Music, M.M.

Student singing in a choir in class.

Music Performance, M.M.

Student teacher working with young kids learning how to play the violin.

Violin/Viola Pedagogy: Music, M.M.

Professor giving instruction to a student sitting at a baby grand piano.

Piano Pedagogy: Music, M.M.

Music professor pointing to music on a projected smart board.

Music Theory: Music, M.M.

Group of alumni and faculty in graduation regalia at a commencement ceremony.

Linguistics, M.A.

Student actor in full costume on stage sitting on a chaise lounge.

Theatre, M.F.A.

Welcome to the MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston

M.F.A. in Creative Writing

Get an m.f.a. in creative writing.

Our creative writing M.F.A. allows students to focus on creative writing in a specific genre while also studying a broad and diverse range of literatures in English. This degree is not a studio degree. It offers students preparation for the following areas:

  • Creative publication
  • Expert teaching in creative writing and literature
  • Leadership in communication for business, education, and arts organizations
  • Advanced studies in literature and creative writing in a doctoral program.

Admission to our creative writing program is extremely competitive, with up to 20 new students across the two genres selected each year from the hundreds of applications received from around the world. The curriculum for M.F.A. students emphasizes creative writing and literary study.

The city of Houston offers a vibrant, multi-cultural backdrop for studying creative writing at the University of Houston. With a dynamic visual and performing arts scene, the Houston metropolitan area supplies a wealth of aesthetic materials. 

Overview of Admissions Requirements

Minimum requirements for admission.

  • B.A. degree
  • 3.0 GPA in undergraduate studies 

Application Deadline

Applications to the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program are due January 15.

For more admissions information, visit the How to Apply web page for our M.F.A. in Creative Writing.

History of the Creative Writing Program

CW Reading Event

Over the years many more internationally acclaimed writers have made the Program their home, including Mary Gaitskill, Richard Howard, Howard Moss, Linda Gregg, Adam Zagajewski, Daniel Stern, David Wojahn, Edward Hirsch, Alan Hollinghurst, Mark Strand, David Wagoner, Philip Levine, Charles Wright, Claudia Rankine, Kimiko Hahn, Mark Doty and Ruben Martinez.

Current faculty includes Erin Belieu, Robert Boswell, Audrey Colombe, Chitra Divakaruni, Nick Flynn, francine j. harris, Antonya Nelson, Alex Parsons, Kevin Prufer, Brenda Peynado, Martha Serpas, Roberto Tejada, and Peter Turchi.

Quick Links

Program Breakdown

Program Breakdown & Degree Requirements

Financial Aid

Financial Aid

How to Apply

How to Apply

Inprint Student Writing Awards

Inprint Student Writing Awards

  • Make a Gift
  • Directories

Search form

You are here.

  • Programs & Courses
  • Creative Writing

The English Major: Creative Writing Option

Many pink blossomed cherry trees in bloom and many students.

Note!  The requirements below took effect in Summer 2022 .  If you declared your major before then, please see the old requirements .  If you have questions about which version of the major applies to you, please contact HAS .

The Creative Writing Concentration prepares students not only to be more effective communicators and artists, but also creative problem solvers and more nuanced critical thinkers. By situating small, student-oriented writing workshops alongside literary models, Creative Writing classes enhance the broader study of literature and critical theory, helping students gain a greater understanding of the social and cultural forces informing their work. A student completing the program is more able to situate themselves in a larger aesthetic and social context and make more meaningful, informed decisions about their own artistic practice. In addition, through the intense practice of creative writing, students are able to see the world more clearly, in a more nuanced and meaningful manner, and apply these skills to a wide variety of work and life situations.

This page describes the English Major Concentration in Creative Writing. For the major's other option, see English Language, Literature, and Culture ,.

Students enrolled in the Creative Writing Concentration will complete a major consisting of 65 ENGL credits, at least 30 of which must be completed in residence at the University of Washington. A maximum of 20 credits in 200-level courses may count toward the English major, and may be used to fulfill the distribution requirements.

Creative writing students’ coursework is distributed as follows:

  • ENGL 202: Introduction to English Language and Literature
  • A sequence of creative writing workshops: ENGL 283: Beginning Verse Writing, ENGL 284: Beginning Short Story Writing, ENGL 383: The Craft of Verse, and ENGL 384: The Craft of Prose
  • 15 credits in Historical Depth
  • 15 credits in Power and Difference
  • Two 400-level Creative Writing seminars

Please note: Creative writing students do *not* need to complete either ENGL 302 (satisfied by 383 & 384) or the senior capstone (satisfied by two 400-level CW classes), required for the major in Language, Literature, and Culture. All creative writing courses satisfy the Genre, Method, and Language distribution area, so Creative Writing students do not need to complete this area separately.

Applying to Creative Writing:

Applicants to the Creative Writing option must have already declared, or be eligible to declare, the English: Language and Literature major .

Applications for the Creative Writing option are accepted in autumn, winter, and spring quarters only, and should be submitted through this portal :  https://bit.ly/english- creative-writing   by the third Friday of the quarter at 4:00pm . Applications to creative writing are not accepted in summer quarter.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply for the Creative Writing option, you must

  • have already declared, or be ready to declare, the English major program ;
  • have completed ENGL 202, 283 (beginning verse writing) and ENGL 284 (beginning short story writing) or transfer equivalents.

Application Procedure:

Please submit online ONE complete attachment that includes the items below, by 4:00pm on the third Friday of autumn, winter, or spring quarter (no applications accepted in summer):

1. Undergraduate Creative Writing Option Application (PDF)

RIGHT-click the above link and save it as a PDF to your computer. Fill out the form using Acrobat Reader. Save your changes. Then combine it with the following materials:

Transcripts for all college work completed, both at the UW and elsewhere (these are additional sets of transcripts, separate from the transcripts you will have supplied as part of your application for the major):

  • Unofficial UW Transcript : Even if this is your first quarter after transferring to the UW, you should submit an unofficial UW transcript, available through the MyUW system ;
  • Complete set of Unofficial transcripts from all schools from which you have transfer credit : We need the information contained in the complete transcript from each transfer school; the transfer summary on a UW unofficial transcript is not sufficient. Photocopies of transcripts are acceptable.

2. A Writing Sample of 3-5 poems and 5-10 pages of fiction (preferably a complete story). Fiction should be double-spaced, with 12pt font (Times New Roman) and 1" margins:

  • Review writing sample guidelines and be sure to submit literary fiction and poetry
  • Be sure to proofread carefully.

Admission decisions are based primarily on the potential a student exhibits in his or her writing sample - grades and GPAs are usually not at issue. Admission decisions are sent to applicants by e-mail, normally within two weeks of the application deadline.

Completion of the requirements above does not guarantee admission.

Students who are denied admission to the Creative Writing option will continue to be English majors, and may complete the requirements for the literature BA in English. They may apply for the Creative Writing option one additional time, but if they are denied admission then, they must complete the literature major or elect another major in another department.

Distribution Areas:

The majority of English courses are distributed among three overlapping areas: Historical Depth, Power & Difference, and Genre, Method, and Language. Creative Writing students are required to complete 15 credits in two of these areas, Historical Depth and Power & Difference, with the remainder of their coursework focusing on Creative Writing workshops. 

Some courses can count towards both "Historical Depth" or "Power & Difference"; however, each course can ultimately only be used to fulfill one requirement. For example, ENGL 351 is listed under both “Historical Depth” and “Power and Difference" but it will only count in one of those categories in a student's degree progress. The student may choose (and can change their mind, shuffling courses as long as they are enrolled).  Students noticing issues with how these classes are applying to the distribution areas in their degree audit can contact an advisor at   Humanities Academic Services Center  (HAS), A-2-B Padelford Hall  for support. 

Descriptions of each area, along with the courses fulfilling it, are available below. 

Historical Depth:

People have been speaking, reading, and writing in English for more than a thousand years, producing literature that is at once timeless and deeply informed by the time in which it was written. Cultural artifacts from the English-speaking world have shaped, and been shaped by, social movements and historical conditions around the globe, as has the language itself. With this in mind, English majors are required to take 15 credits focused on materials produced before 1945, with at least 5 of those credits focused on materials produced before 1700. Distributing coursework in this way helps students to understand the depth, richness, and variability of English literature, language, and culture across time, and dramatizes how the ways we organize history affect the stories we tell about it. These courses open up past worlds that are in some ways totally alien and in others very similar to our own, revealing that what seems real and true to us can radically alter over time. Entering into these past realities offers a new perspective on the present and develops our capacity to imagine alternative futures.

Historical Depth Courses:

  • ENGL 210 Medieval and Early Modern Literature, 400 to 1600
  • ENGL 211 Literature, 1500-1800
  • ENGL 225 Shakespeare
  • ENGL 310 The Bible as Literature
  • ENGL 320 English Literature: The Middle Ages
  • ENGL 321 Chaucer
  • ENGL 322 Medieval & Early Modern Literatures of Encounter (P&D)
  • ENGL 323 Shakespeare to 1603
  • ENGL 324 Shakespeare after 1603
  • ENGL 325 Early Modern English Literature
  • ENGL 326 Milton (GML)
  • ENGL 351: Writing in the Contact Zone: North America 1492 - 1800 (P&D)
  • ENGL 376: Introduction to Middle English Language (HD)
  • ENGL 422 Arthurian Legends (GML)
  • ENGL 212 Literature, 1700-1900
  • ENGL 300: Reading Major Texts (can also count as pre-1700 depending on texts)
  • ENGL 303 History of Literary Criticism and Theory I (GML)
  • ENGL 312 Jewish Literature: Biblical to Modern (P&D)
  • ENGL 314: Transatlantic Literature and Culture (P&D)
  • ENGL 315: Literary Modernism (GML)
  • ENGL 327 Narratives of Bondage & Freedom (P&D)
  • ENGL 328 Eighteenth Century Literature & Culture
  • ENGL 329 Rise of the English Novel (GML)
  • ENGL 330 English Literature: The Romantic Age
  • ENGL 331 Globalization & Nationalism in the Age of Empire (P&D)
  • ENGL 332 Nineteenth Century Poetry (GML)
  • ENGL 333 Nineteenth Century Novel (GML)
  • ENGL 335 English Literature: The Victorian Age
  • ENGL 336 English Literature: Early Twentieth Century
  • ENGL 337 The Modern Novel (GML)
  • ENGL 338 Modern Poetry (GML)
  • ENGL 352 Literatures of the United States to 1865 (P&D)
  • ENGL 353 American Literature: Later Nineteenth Century
  • ENGL 354 American Literature: Early Twentieth Century
  • ENGL 373: History of the English Language (GML)
  • ENGL 380: Special Topics in History
  • ENGL 385: Global Modernism (P&D)

Power and Difference:

Literature, language, and culture have been shaped by and in turn shape systems of power. Such systems include capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and hierarchies of race, status, caste, sex, gender, and sexuality. Over time, systems of power elevate some voices and stories and marginalize and silence others. English majors are required to take at least 15 credits focused on how systems of power operate in and through literature, language, and culture. These courses explore the evolving relationship of literature, language, and culture to structures of violence and dispossession and center critical perspectives that have been marginalized or silenced. They embrace alternative ways of learning about the past and present, and the impress of the former on the latter. They highlight the complex, sometimes contradictory ways in which literature and culture mediate systems of power. In so doing, Power and Difference courses foster our imagination of more just and equitable futures.

Power and Difference Courses:

  • ENGL 207: Introduction to Cultural Studies (GML)
  • ENGL 208: Data and Narrative (GML)
  • ENGL 256: Introduction to Queer Cultural Studies (DIV) (GML)
  • ENGL 257: Introduction to Asian American Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 258: Introduction to African American Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 259: Literature and Social Difference (DIV)
  • ENGL 265: Introduction to Environmental Humanities (DIV, GML)
  • ENGL 307: Cultural Studies
  • ENGL 308: Marxism and Literary Theory
  • ENGL 311: Modern Jewish Literature in Translation
  • ENGL 312: Jewish Literature: Biblical to Modern (HD)
  • ENGL 314: Transatlantic Literature and Culture (HD)
  • ENGL 316: Postcolonial Literature and Culture (DIV)
  • ENGL 317: Literature of the Americas (DIV)
  • ENGL 318: Black Literary Genres (DIV, GML)
  • ENGL 319: African Literatures (DIV)
  • ENGL 322 Medieval & Early Modern Literatures of Encounter (HD)
  • ENGL 327 Narratives of Bondage & Freedom (HD)
  • ENGL 331 Globalization & Nationalism in the Age of Empire (HD)
  • ENGL 339: Globalization & Contemporary World Literature (GML)
  • ENGL 340: Irish Literature (P&D)
  • ENGL 349: Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • ENGL 351: Writing in the Contact Zone: North America 1492 - 1800 (HD)
  • ENGL 352: American Literatures to 1865 (HD)
  • ENGL 355: Contemporary American Literature
  • ENGL 357: Jewish American Literature and Culture (DIV)
  • ENGL 358: African American Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 359: Contemporary American Indian Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 361: American Political Culture After 1865 (DIV)
  • ENGL 362: Latino Literary Genres (DIV, GML)
  • ENGL 364: Literature & Medicine
  • ENGL 365: Literature & Environment (GML, DIV)
  • ENGL 366: Literature & Law
  • ENGL 367: Gender Studies in Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 368: Women Writers (DIV)
  • ENGL 372: World Englishes (DIV) (GML)
  • ENGL 379: Special Topics in Power & Difference
  • ENGL 385: Global Modernism (HD)
  • ENGL 386: Asian American Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 466: Queer and LGBT Literature (DIV)
  • ENGL 478: Language and Social Policy (DIV) (GML)
  • ENGL 479: Language Variation and Language Policy in North America (DIV, GML)
  •   Instagram
  •   Newsletter

Skip to Content

  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students

Creative Writing

  • News & Events

Other ways to search:

  • Events Calendar

The Department of English has moved from Hellems and Denison to Muenzinger . The main office is in Muenzinger D110.

Montage of book covers from published creative writing faculty

Since the 1970s, the Creative Writing Program at CU Boulder has provided a center for American experimental writing in the Rockies. Guided by our innovative and award-winning faculty, you will discover the heights of your imagination and explore new territories in language and form.

student with backpack looking into sky

Undergraduate Studies

Find out how to become an English major or minor, find your academic advisor, join a group, and apply for a scholarship, internship, independent study, or the honors program.

Learn more about undergraduate studies

Female student studying at table with books

Graduate Studies

Learn about the graduate degrees offered including MFA, MA, and PhD programs. Find scholarships, groups and explore faculty members and teaching opportunities.

Learn more about graduate studies

Published Works by Creative Writing Faculty 

Masses & motets: a francesca fruscella mystery, jeffrey deshell.

Noah Eli Gordon's "Is That the Sound of a Piano Coming from Several Houses Down? (Solid Objects)" included in The New York Times' April 3 "New & Noteworthy" list

Someone Shot My Book, Julie Carr

Objects from a Borrowed Confession, Julie Carr

My Hero, Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior, Stephen Graham Jones

See Published Works by Creative Writing Alumni

Check Out the CU Boulder MFA Showcase

Follow Creative Writing on Facebook

Check Out the CU Boulder Creative Writing Series

Creative Writing Faculty

Headshot of Julie Carr

  • Enroll & Pay
  • Prospective Undergraduate Students
  • Prospective Graduate Students
  • Current Students

Aerial of Frasier and Jayhawk Boulevard

Ph.D. Creative Writing

Ph.d. in creative writing.

A rigorous program that combines creative writing and literary studies, the Ph.D. in Creative Writing prepares graduates for both scholarly and creative publication and teaching. With faculty guidance, students admitted to the Ph.D. program may tailor their programs to their goals and interests.

The creative writing faculty at KU has been widely published and anthologized, winning both critical and popular acclaim. Faculty awards include such distinctions as the Nebula Award, Hugo Award, Osborn Award, Shelley Memorial Award, Gertrude Stein Award, the Kenyon Review Prize, the Kentucky Center Gold Medallion, and the Pushcart Prize.

Regarding admission to both our doctoral and MFA creative writing programs, we will prioritize applicants who are interested in engaging with multiple faculty members to practice writing across genres and forms, from speculative fiction and realism to poetry and playwriting/screenwriting, etc.

The University of Kansas' Graduate Program in Creative Writing also offers an  M.F.A degree .

Opportunities

A GTA appointment includes a tuition waiver for ten semesters plus a competitive stipend. In the first year, GTA appointees teach English 101 (first year composition) and English 102 (a required reading and writing course). Creative Writing Ph.D. students may have the opportunity to teach an introductory course in creative writing after passing the doctoral examination, and opportunities are available for a limited number of advanced GTAs to teach in the summer.

Department Resources

  • Graduate Admissions
  • Graduate Contacts
  • Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

Affiliated Programs

  • LandLocked Literary Magazine
  • The Project on the History of Black Writing
  • Center for the Study of Science Fiction
  • Ad-Hoc African/Americanists and Affiliates

Degree Requirements

  • At least 24 hours of credit in appropriate formal graduate courses beyond the M.A. or M.F.A. At least 15 hours (in addition to ENGL 800 if not taken for the M.A.) of this course work must be taken from among courses offered by the Department of English at the 700-level and above. English 997 and 999 credits cannot be included among the 24 hours. Students may petition to take up to 6 hours outside the Department.
  • ENGL 800: Methods, Theory, and Professionalism (counts toward the 24 required credit hours).
  • The ENGL 801/ENGL 802 pedagogy sequence (counts toward the 24 required credit hours).
  • Two seminars (courses numbered 900 or above) offered by the Department of English at the University of Kansas, beyond the M.A. or M.F.A. ENGL 998 does not fulfill this requirement.
  • ENGL 999, Dissertation (at least 12 hours).

If the M.A. or M.F.A. was completed in KU’s Department of English, a doctoral student may petition the DGS to have up to 12 hours of the coursework taken in the English Department reduced toward the Ph.D.

For Doctoral students,  the university requires completion of a course in responsible scholarship . For the English department, this would be ENGL 800, 780, or the equivalent). In addition, the Department requires reading knowledge of one approved foreign language: Old English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Greek, Latin, or Hebrew. Upon successful petition, a candidate may substitute reading knowledge of another language or research skill that is studied at the University or is demonstrably appropriate to the candidate’s program of study.

Doctoral students must fulfill the requirement  before  they take their doctoral examination, or be enrolled in a reading course the same semester as the exam. Students are permitted three attempts at passing each foreign language or research skill. Three methods of demonstrating reading knowledge for all approved languages except Old English are acceptable:

  • Presenting 16 hours, four semesters, or the equivalent of undergraduate credit, earned with an average of C or better.
  • Passing a graduate reading course at the University of Kansas or peer institution (e.g., French 100, German 100, etc.) with a grade of C or higher. In the past, some of these reading courses have been given by correspondence; check with the Division of Continuing Education for availability.
  • Passing a translation examination given by a designated member of the English Department faculty or by the appropriate foreign language department at KU. The exam is graded pass/fail and requires the student to translate as much as possible of a representative text in the foreign language in a one-hour period, using a bilingual dictionary.
  • Passing a translation examination given by the appropriate foreign language department at the M.A.-granting institution. Successful completion must be reflected either on the M.A. transcript or by a letter from the degree-granting department.

To fulfill the language requirement using Old English, students must successfully complete ENGL 710 (Introduction to Old English) and ENGL 712 (Beowulf).

Post-Coursework Ph.D. students must submit, with their committee chair(s), an annual review form to the DGS and Graduate Committee.

Doctoral students must take their doctoral examination within three semesters (excluding summers) of the end of the semester in which they took their final required course. If a student has an Incomplete, the timeline is not postponed until the Incomplete is resolved. For example, a student completing doctoral course work in Spring 2018 will need to schedule their doctoral exam no later than the end of Fall semester 2019. Delays may be granted by petition to the Graduate Director in highly unusual circumstances. Failure to take the exam within this time limit without an approved delay will result in the student’s falling out of good standing. For details on the consequences of falling out of good standing, see “Falling Out of Good Standing,” in General Department Policies and Best Practices.

A student may not take their doctoral exam until the university’s Research Skills and Responsible Scholarship requirement is fulfilled (ENGL 800 or equivalent and reading knowledge of one foreign language or equivalent).

Requirements for Doctoral Exams

Reading Lists: 

All students are required to submit three reading lists, based on the requirements below, to their committee for approval. The doctoral exam will be held on a date at least twelve weeks after the approval from the whole committee is received. To facilitate quick committee approval, students may copy the graduate program coordinator on the email to the committee that contains the final version of the lists. Committee members may then respond to the email in lieu of signing a printed copy. Students should work with their committee chair and graduate program coordinator to schedule the exam at the same time as they finalize the lists.

During the two-hour oral examination (plus an additional 15-30 minutes for a break and committee deliberation), a student will be tested on their comprehension of a literary period or movement, including multiple genres and groups of authors within that period or movement. In addition, the student will be tested on two of the following six areas of study:

  • An adjacent or parallel literary period or movement,
  • An author or group of related authors,
  • Criticism and literary theory,
  • Composition theory, and
  • English language.

No title from any field list may appear on either of the other two lists. See Best Practices section for more details on these six areas. See below for a description of the Review of the Dissertation Proposal (RDP), which the candidate takes the semester after passing the doctoral exam. 

While many students confer with the DGS as they begin the process of developing their lists, they are also required to submit a copy of their final exam list to the DGS. Most lists will be left intact, but the DGS might request that overly long lists be condensed, or extremely short lists be expanded.

Review of Literature

The purpose of the Review of Literature is to develop and demonstrate an advanced awareness of the critical landscape for each list. The student will write an overview of the defining attributes of the field, identifying two or three broad questions that animate scholarly discussion, while using specific noteworthy texts from their list ( but not all texts on the list ) as examples.

The review also must accomplish the following:

  • consider the historical context of major issues, debates, and trends that factor into the emergence of the field
  • offer a historical overview of scholarship in the field that connects the present to the past
  • note recent trends and emergent lines of inquiry
  • propose questions about (develop critiques of, and/or identify gaps in) the field and how they might be pursued in future study (but not actually proposing or referencing a dissertation project)

For example, for a literary period, the student might include an overview of primary formal and thematic elements, of the relationship between literary and social/historical developments, of prominent movements, (etc.), as well as of recent critical debates and topics.

For a genre list, the Review of Literature might include major theories of its constitution and significance, while outlining the evolution of these theories over time.

For a Rhetoric and Composition list, the review would give an overview of major historical developments, research, theories, methods, debates, and trends of scholarship in the field.

For an English Language Studies (ELS) list, the review would give an overview of the subfields that make up ELS, the various methodological approaches to language study, the type of sources used, and major aims and goals of ELS. The review also usually involves a focus on one subfield of particular interest to the student (such as stylistics, sociolinguistics, or World/Postcolonial Englishes).

Students are encouraged to divide reviews into smaller sections that enhance clarity and organization. Students are not expected to interact with every text on their lists.

The review of literature might be used to prepare students for identifying the most important texts in the field, along with why those texts are important to the field, for the oral exam. It is recommended for students to have completed reading the bulk of (if not all) texts on their lists before writing the ROL.

The Reviews of Literature will not be produced in an exam context, but in the manner of papers that are researched and developed in consultation with all advisors/committee members,  with final drafts being distributed within a reasonable time for all members to review and approve in advance of the 3-week deadline . While the Review of Literature generally is not the focus of the oral examination, it is frequently used as a point of departure for questions and discussion during the oral examination.

Doctoral Exam Committee

Exam committees typically consist of 3 faculty members from the department—one of whom serves as the Committee Chair—plus a Graduate Studies Representative.  University policy dictates the composition of exam committees . Students may petition for an exception for several committee member situations, with the exception of  the Graduate Studies Representative .

If a student wants to have as a committee member a person outside the university, or a person who is not in a full-time tenure-track professorship at KU, the student must contact the Graduate Secretary as early as possible. Applications for special graduate faculty status must be reviewed by the College and Graduate Studies. Requests for exam/defense approval will not be approved unless all committee members currently hold either regular or special graduate faculty status

Remote participation of committee members via technology

Students with committee members who plan to attend the defense via remote technology must be aware of  college policy on teleconferencing/remote participation of committee members .

A majority of committee members must be physically present for an examination to commence; for doctoral oral examinations this requirement is 2 of the 4 members, for master’s oral examinations the requirement is 2 of the 3 members. In addition, it is required that the student being examined, the chair of the committee, and the Graduate Studies Representative all be physically present at the examination or defense. Mediated attendance by the student, chair and Grad Studies Rep is prohibited.

The recommended time between completion of coursework and the doctoral examination is two semesters.

Final exam lists need to be approved and signed by the committee at least 12 weeks prior to the prospective exam date. This includes summers/summer semesters. The lists should then be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator. Reviews of Literature need to be approved and signed by the committee at least 3 weeks prior to the exam date. Failure to meet this deadline will result in rescheduling the exam. No further changes to lists or Reviews of Literature will be allowed after official approval. The three-week deadline is the faculty deadline--the last date for them to confirm receipt of the ROLs and confer approval--not necessarily the student deadline for submitting the documents to the faculty. Please keep that timing in mind and allow your committee adequate time to review the materials and provide feedback.

Students taking the Doctoral Exam are allowed to bring their text lists, the approved Reviews of Literature, scratch paper, a writing utensil, and notes/writing for an approximately 5-minute introductory statement to the exam. (This statement does not need to lay out ideas or any aspect of the dissertation project.)

Each portion of the oral examination must be deemed passing before the student can proceed to the Review of the Dissertation Proposal. If a majority of the committee judges that the student has not answered adequately on one of the three areas of the exam, the student must repeat that portion in a separate oral exam of one hour, to be taken as expeditiously as possible.  Failure in two areas constitutes failure of the exam and requires a retake of the whole.  The doctoral examining committee will render a judgment of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory on the entire examination. A student who fails the exam twice may, upon successful petition to the Graduate Committee, take it a third and final time.

Students cannot bring snacks, drinks, treats, or gifts for committee members to the exam. Professors should avoid the appearance of favoritism that may occur if they bring treats to some student exams but not others.

The doctoral oral examination has the following purposes:

  • To establish goals, tone, and direction for the pursuit of the Ph.D. in English for the Department and for individual programs of study;
  • To make clear the kinds of knowledge and skills that, in the opinion of the Department, all well-prepared holders of the degree should have attained;
  • To provide a means for the Department to assess each candidate’s control of such knowledge and skills in order to certify that the candidate is prepared to write a significant dissertation and enter the profession; and
  • To enable the Department to recommend to the candidate areas of strength or weakness that should be addressed.

In consultation with the Graduate Director, a student will ask a member of the Department’s graduate faculty (preferably their advisor) to be the chairperson of the examining committee. The choice of examination committee chair is very important, for that person’s role is to assist the candidate in designing the examination structure, preparing the Review of Literature (see below), negotiating reading lists and clarifying their purposes, and generally following procedures here outlined. The other three English Department members of the committee will be chosen in consultation with the committee chair. (At some point an additional examiner from outside the Department, who serves as the Graduate School representative, will be invited to join the committee). Any unresolved problems in negotiation between a candidate and their committee should be brought to the attention of the Graduate Director, who may choose to involve the Graduate Committee. A student may request a substitution in, or a faculty member may ask to be dismissed from, the membership of the examining committee. Such requests must be approved, in writing, by the faculty member leaving the committee and by the Graduate Director.

Reading Lists

Copies of some approved reading lists and Reviews of Literature are available from the Graduate Secretary and can be found on the U: drive if you are using a computer on campus. Despite the goal of fairness and equity, some unavoidable unevenness and disparity will appear in the length of these lists. It remains, however, the responsibility of the examining committee, and especially the student’s chair, to aim toward consonance with the most rigorous standards and expectations and to insure that areas of study are not unduly narrow.

To facilitate quick committee approval, students may copy the graduate secretary on the email to the committee that contains the final version of the lists and reviews of literature. Committee members may then respond to the email in lieu of signing a printed copy.

Comprehension of a literary period (e.g., British literature of the 18th century; Romanticism; US literature of the 19th century; Modernism) entails sufficient intellectual grasp of both the important primary works of and secondary works on the period or movement to indicate a student’s ability to teach the period or movement and undertake respectable scholarship on it.

Comprehension of an author or group of related authors (e.g., Donne, the Brontës, the Bloomsbury Group, the Black Mountain Poets) entails knowledge, both primary and secondary, of a figure or figures whose writing has generated a significant body of interrelated biographical, historical, and critical scholarship.

Comprehension of one of several genres (the short story, the lyric poem, the epistolary novel). To demonstrate comprehension of a genre, a student should possess sufficient depth and breadth of knowledge, both primary and secondary, of the genre to explain its formal characteristics and account for its historical development.

Comprehension of criticism and literary theory entails a grasp of fundamental conceptual problems inherent in a major school of literary study (e.g., historicist, psychoanalytic, feminist, poststructuralist, etc.). To demonstrate comprehension of that school of criticism and literary theory, a student should be able to discuss changes in its conventions and standards of interpretation and evaluation of literature from its beginning to the present. Students will be expected to possess sufficient depth and breadth of theoretical knowledge to bring appropriate texts and issues to bear on questions of literary study.

Comprehension of composition theory entails an intellectual grasp of fundamental concepts, issues, and theories pertaining to the study of writing. To demonstrate comprehension of composition theory, students should be able to discuss traditional and current issues from a variety of perspectives, as well as the field’s historical development from classical rhetoric to the present.

Comprehension of the broad field of English language studies entails a grasp of the field’s theoretical concepts and current issues, as well as a familiarity with significant works within given subareas. Such subareas will normally involve formal structures (syntax, etc.) and history of the English language, along with other subareas such as social linguistics, discourse analysis, lexicography, etc. Areas of emphasis and specific sets of topics will be arranged through consultation with relevant faculty.

Ph.D. candidates must be continuously enrolled in Dissertation hours each Fall and Spring semester from the time they pass the doctoral examination until successful completion of the final oral examination (defense of dissertation).

  • Students enroll for a minimum of 6 hours each Fall and Spring semester until the total of post-doctoral exam Dissertation hours is 18. One hour each semester must be ENGL 999. In order to more quickly reach the 18-hour minimum, and to be sooner eligible for GRAships, it is highly recommended that students enroll in 9 hours of Dissertation in the Spring and Fall semesters. 
  • Once a student has accumulated 18 post-doctoral exam  hours, each subsequent enrollment will be for a number of hours agreed upon as appropriate between the student and their advisor, the minimal enrollment each semester being 1 hour of ENGL 999.
  • A student must be enrolled in at least one hour of credit at KU during the semester they graduate. Although doctoral students must be enrolled in ENGL 999 while working on their dissertations, per current CLAS regulations, there is no absolute minimum number of ENGL 999 hours required for graduation.
  • Students who live and work outside the Lawrence area may, under current University regulations, have their fees assessed at the Field Work rate, which is somewhat lower than the on-campus rate. Students must petition the College Office of Graduate Affairs before campus fees will be waived.

Please also refer to  the COGA policy on post-exam enrollment  or the  Graduate School’s policy .

As soon as possible following successful completion of the doctoral exam, the candidate should establish their three-person core dissertation committee, and then expeditiously proceed to the preparation of a dissertation proposal.  Within the semester following completion of the doctoral exam , the student will present to their core dissertation committee a written narrative of approximately  10-15 pages , not including bibliography, of the dissertation proposal. While the exam schedule is always contingent on student progress, in the first two weeks of the semester in which they intend to take the review , students will work with their committee chair and the graduate program coordinator to schedule the 90-minute RDP. Copies of this proposal must be submitted to the members of the dissertation committee and Graduate Program Coordinator no later than  three weeks prior  to the scheduled examination date.

In the proposal, students will be expected to define: the guiding question or set of questions; a basic thesis (or hypothesis); how the works to be studied or the creative writing produced relate to that (hypo)thesis; the theoretical/methodological model to be followed; the overall formal divisions of the dissertation; and how the study will be situated in the context of prior scholarship (i.e., its importance to the field). The narrative section should be followed by a bibliography demonstrating that the candidate is conversant with the basic theoretical and critical works pertinent to the study. For creative writing students, the proposal may serve as a draft of the critical introduction to the creative dissertation. Students are expected to consult with their projected dissertation committee concerning the preparation of the proposal.

The review will focus on the proposal, although it could also entail determining whether or not the candidate’s knowledge of the field is adequate to begin the composition process. The examination will be graded pass/fail. If it is failed, the committee will suggest areas of weakness to be addressed by the candidate, who will rewrite the proposal and retake the review  by the end of the following semester . If the candidate abandons the entire dissertation project for another, a new RDP will be taken. (For such a step to be taken, the change would need to be drastic, such as a move to a new field or topic. A change in thesis or the addition or subtraction of one or even several works to be examined would not necessitate a new proposal and defense.)  If the student fails to complete the Review of the Dissertation Proposal within a year of the completion of the doctoral exams, they will have fallen out of departmental good standing.  For details on the consequences of falling out of good standing, see “Falling Out of Good Standing,” in General Department Policies and Best Practices.

After passing the Review of the Dissertation Proposal, the student should forward one signed copy of the proposal to the Graduate Program Coordinator. The RDP may last no longer than 90 minutes.

Students cannot bring snacks, drinks, treats, or gifts for committee members to the review. Professors should avoid the appearance of favoritism that may occur if they bring treats to some student exams but not others.

The Graduate Catalog states that the doctoral candidate “must present a dissertation showing the planning, conduct and results of original research, and scholarly creativity.” While most Ph.D. candidates in the Department of English write dissertations of a traditional, research-oriented nature, a creative writing candidate may elect to do a creative-writing dissertation involving fiction, poetry, drama or nonfiction prose.  Such a dissertation must also contain a substantial section of scholarly research related to the creative writing.  The precise nature of the scholarly research component should be determined by the candidate in consultation with the dissertation committee and the Graduate Director. Candidates wishing to undertake such a dissertation must complete all Departmental requirements demanded for the research-oriented Ph.D. degree.

Scholarly Research Component (SRC)

The Scholarly Research Component (SRC) of the creative-writing dissertation is a separate section of the dissertation than the creative work. It involves substantial research and is written in the style of academic prose. It should be 15-20 pages and should cite at least 20 sources, some of which should be primary texts, and many of which should be from the peer-reviewed secondary literature. The topic must relate, in some way, to the topic, themes, ideas, or style of the creative portion of the dissertation; this relation should be stated in the Dissertation Proposal, which should include a section describing the student’s plans for the SRC. The SRC may be based on a seminar paper or other work the student has completed prior to the dissertation; but the research should be augmented, and the writing revised, per these guidelines. The SRC is a part of the dissertation, and as such will be included in the dissertation defense.

The SRC may take two general forms:

1.) An article, publishable in a peer-reviewed journal or collection, on a specific topic related to an author, movement, theoretical issue, taxonomic issue, etc. that has bearing on the creative portion. The quality of this article should be high enough that the manuscript could be submitted to a peer-reviewed publication, with a plausible chance of acceptance.

2.) A survey . This survey may take several different forms:

  • A survey of a particular aspect of the genre of the creative portion of the dissertation (stylistic, national, historical, etc.)
  • An introduction to the creative portion of the dissertation that explores the influences on, and the theoretical or philosophical foundations or implications of the creative work
  • An exploration of a particular technical problem or craft issue that is salient in the creative portion of the dissertation
  • If the creative portion of the dissertation includes the results of research (e.g., historical novel, documentary poetry, research-based creative nonfiction), a descriptive overview of the research undertaken already for the dissertation itself
  • A combination of the above, with the prior approval of the student’s dissertation director.

The dissertation committee will consist of at least four members—two “core” English faculty members, a third faculty member (usually from English), and one faculty member from a different department who serves as the Graduate Studies representative. The committee may include (with the Graduate Director’s approval) members from other departments and, with the approval of the University’s Graduate Council, members from outside the University. If a student wants to have a committee member from outside the university, or a person who is not in a full-time tenure-track professorship at KU, the student must contact the Graduate Secretary as early as possible. Applications for special graduate faculty status must be reviewed by the College and the Office of Graduate Studies. Requests for defense approval will not be approved unless all committee members currently hold either regular or special graduate faculty status.

The candidate’s preferences as to the membership of the dissertation committee will be carefully considered; the final decision, however, rests with the Department and with the Office of Graduate Studies. All dissertation committees must get approval from the Director of Graduate Studies before scheduling the final oral exam (defense). Furthermore, any changes in the make-up of the dissertation committee from the Review of the Dissertation Proposal committee must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Once the dissertation proposal has passed and the writing of the dissertation begins, membership of the dissertation committee should remain constant. However, under extraordinary circumstances, a student may request a substitution in, or a faculty member may ask to be dismissed from, the membership of the dissertation committee. Such requests must be approved, in writing, by the faculty member leaving the committee and by the Graduate Director.

If a student does not make progress during the dissertation-writing stage, and accumulates more than one “Limited Progress” and/or “No Progress” grade on their transcript, they will fall out of good standing in the department. For details on the consequences of falling out of good standing, see “Falling Out of Good Standing,” in General Department Policies and Best Practices

Final Oral Exam (Dissertation Defense)

When the dissertation has been tentatively accepted by the dissertation committee (not including the Graduate Studies Representative), the final oral examination will be held, on the recommendation of the Department. While the exam schedule is always contingent on student progress, in the first two weeks of the semester in which they intend to defend the dissertation, students should work with their committee chair and graduate program coordinator to schedule it.

Although the dissertation committee is responsible for certification of the candidate, any member of the graduate faculty may be present at the examination and participate in the questioning, and one examiner—the Graduate Studies Representative—must be from outside the Department. The Graduate Secretary can help students locate an appropriate Grad Studies Rep. The examination normally lasts no more than two hours. It is the obligation of the candidate to advise the Graduate Director that they plan to take the oral examination; this must be done at least one month before the date proposed for the examination.

At least three calendar weeks prior to the defense date, the student will submit the final draft of the dissertation to all the committee members (including the GSR) and inform the Graduate Program Coordinator. Failure to meet this deadline will necessitate rescheduling the defense.  The final oral examination for the Ph.D. in English is, essentially, a defense of the dissertation. When it is passed, the dissertation itself is graded by the dissertation director, in consultation with the student’s committee; the student’s performance in the final examination (defense) is graded by the entire five-person committee

Students cannot bring snacks, drinks, treats, or gifts for committee members to the defense. Professors should avoid the appearance of favoritism that may occur if they bring treats to some student defenses but not others

These sets of attributes are adapted from the Graduate Learner Outcomes that are a part of our Assessment portfolio. “Honors” should only be given to dissertations that are rated “Outstanding” in all or most of the following categories:

  • Significant and innovative plot/structure/idea/focus. The writer clearly places plot/structure/idea/focus in context.
  • Thorough knowledge of literary traditions. Clear/flexible vision of the creative work produced in relation to those literary traditions.
  • Introduction/Afterword is clear, concise, and insightful. A detailed discussion of the implications of the project and future writing projects exists.
  • The creative dissertation reveals the doctoral candidate’s comprehensive understanding of poetics and/or aesthetic approach. The application of the aesthetic approach is innovative and convincing.
  • The creative dissertation represents original and sophisticated creative work.
  • The creative dissertation demonstrates thematic and/or aesthetic unity.

After much discussion about whether the “honors” designation assigned after the dissertation defense should be for the written product only, for the defense/discussion only, for both together, weighted equally, or eradicated altogether, the department voted to accept the Graduate Committee recommendation that “honors” only apply to the written dissertation. "Honors" will be given to dissertations that are rated "Outstanding" in all or most of the categories on the dissertation rubric.

Normally, the dissertation will present the results of the writer’s own research, carried on under the direction of the dissertation committee. This means that the candidate should be in regular contact with all members of the committee during the dissertation research and writing process, providing multiple drafts of chapters, or sections of chapters, according to the arrangements made between the student and each faculty member. Though accepted primarily for its scholarly merit rather than for its rhetorical qualities, the dissertation must be stylistically competent. The Department has accepted the MLA Handbook as the authority in matters of style. The writer may wish to consult also  the Chicago Manual of Style  and Kate L. Turabian’s  A Manual for Writers of Dissertations, Theses, and Term Papers .

Naturally, both the student and the dissertation committee have responsibilities and obligations to each other concerning the submitting and returning of materials. The student should plan on working steadily on the dissertation; if they do so, they should expect from the dissertation committee a reasonably quick reading and assessment of material submitted.

Students preparing their dissertation should be showing chapters to their committee members as they go along, for feedback and revision suggestions. They should also meet periodically with committee members to assess their progress. Prior to scheduling a defense, the student is encouraged to ask committee members whether they feel that the student is ready to defend the dissertation. Ideally, the student should hold the defense only when they have consulted with committee members sufficiently to feel confident that they have revised the dissertation successfully to meet the expectations of all committee members.

Students should expect that they will need to revise each chapter at least once. This means that all chapters (including introduction and conclusion) are shown to committee members once, revised, then shown to committee members again in revised form to assess whether further revisions are needed, prior to the submitting of the final dissertation as a whole. It is not unusual for further revisions to be required and necessary after the second draft of a chapter; students should not therefore simply assume that a second draft is necessarily “final” and passing work.

If a substantial amount of work still needs to be completed or revised at the point that the dissertation defense is scheduled, such a defense date should be regarded as tentative, pending the successful completion, revision, and receipt of feedback on all work. Several weeks prior to the defense, students should consult closely with their dissertation director and committee members about whether the dissertation as a whole is in a final and defensible stage. A project is ready for defense when it is coherent, cohesive, well researched, engages in sophisticated analysis (in its entirety or in the critical introduction of creative dissertations), and makes a significant contribution to the field. In other words, it passes each of the categories laid out in the Dissertation Rubric.

If the dissertation has not clearly reached a final stage, the student and dissertation director are advised to reschedule the defense.

Prior Publication of the Doctoral Dissertation

Portions of the material written by the doctoral candidate may appear in article form before completion of the dissertation. Prior publication does not ensure the acceptance of the dissertation by the dissertation committee. Final acceptance of the dissertation is subject to the approval of the dissertation committee. Previously published material by other authors included in the dissertation must be properly documented.

Each student beyond the master’s degree should confer regularly with the Graduate Director regarding their progress toward the doctoral examination and the doctorate.

Doctoral students may take graduate courses outside the English Department if, in their opinion and that of the Graduate Director, acting on behalf of the Graduate Committee, those courses will be of value to them. Their taking such courses will not, of course, absolve them of the responsibility for meeting all the normal departmental and Graduate School requirements.

Doctoral students in creative writing are strongly encouraged to take formal literature classes in addition to forms classes. Formal literature classes, by providing training in literary analysis, theory, and/or literary history, will help to prepare students for doctoral exams (and future teaching at the college level).

FALL SEMESTER            

  • GTAs take 2 courses (801 + one), teach 2 courses; GRAs take 3 courses.
  • Visit assigned advisor once a month to update on progress & perceptions. 1st-year advisors can assist with selecting classes for the Spring semester, solidifying and articulating a field of specialization, advice about publishing, conferences, professionalization issues, etc.

SPRING SEMESTER

  • GTAs take 2 courses (780/800/880 + one), teach 2 courses. GTAs also take ENGL 802 for 1 credit hour. GRAs take 3 courses.
  • Visit assigned advisor or DGS once during the semester; discuss best advisor choices for Year 2.

SUMMER SEMESTER

  • Enroll in Summer Institute if topic and/or methodology matches interests.
  • Consider conferences suited to your field and schedule; choose a local one for attendance in Year 2 and draft an Abstract for a conference paper (preferably with ideas/materials/ writing drawn from a seminar paper).  Even if abstract is not accepted, you can attend the conference without the pressure of presenting.
  • Attend at least one conference to familiarize yourself with procedure, network with other grad students and scholars in your field, AND/OR present a paper.

FALL SEMESTER

  • Take 2 courses, teach 2 courses.
  • Visit advisor in person at least once during the semester.

WINTER BREAK

  • Begin revising one of your seminar papers/independent study projects/creative pieces for submission to a journal; research the journals most suited to placement of your piece.
  • Begin thinking about fields and texts for comprehensive examinations.
  • Choose an advisor to supervise you through the doctoral examination process.
  • Visit assigned 1st-year advisor in person at least once during the semester (at least to formally request doctoral exam supervision OR to notify that you are changing advisors).
  • Summer teaching, if eligible.
  • Continue revising paper/creative writing for submission to a journal.
  • Begin reading for comprehensive exams.
  • Attend one conference and present a paper. Apply for one-time funding for out-of-state travel  from Graduate Studies .
  • Teach 2 courses; take 997 (exam prep).
  • Finalize comps list by end of September; begin drafting rationales.
  • Circulate the draft of your article/creative piece to your advisor, other faculty in the field, and/or advanced grad students in the field for suggestions.
  • Revise article/creative piece with feedback from readers.
  • Teach 2 courses; take 997 or 999 (dissertation hours). Enroll in 999 if you plan to take your comps this semester, even if you don’t take them until the last day of classes.
  • Take comps sometime between January and May.
  • Summer teaching, if available.
  • Submit article/creative work for publication.
  • Continuous enrollment after completing doctoral exam (full policy on p. 20)
  • Research deadlines for grant applications—note deadlines come early in the year.
  • Attend one conference and present a paper.
  • Teach 2 courses, take 999.
  • Compose dissertation proposal by November.
  • Schedule Review of Dissertation Proposal (RDP—formerly DPR).
  • Apply for at least one grant or fellowship, such as a departmental-level GRAship or dissertation fellowship. (Winning a full-year, non-teaching fellowship can cut down your years-to-degree to 5 ½, or even 5 years.)
  • Conduct research for and draft at least 1 dissertation chapter.
  • Conduct research and complete a draft of at least 1 dissertation chapter.
  • Revise & resubmit journal article, if necessary.
  • Attend 1st round of job market meetings with Job Placement Advisor (JPA) to start drafting materials and thinking about the process.
  • Research and complete a draft of at least 1 dissertation chapter, if teaching (1-2 chapters if not).
  • Visit dissertation chair  and  committee members in person at least once during the semester.
  • Research and complete a draft of at least 1 dissertation chapter (1-2 chapters if not teaching).
  • Apply for a departmental grant or fellowship, or, if already held, try applying for one from outside the department, such as those offered by KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities or the Office of Graduate Studies. For  a monthly list of funding opportunities , visit the Graduate Studies website.
  • Research and complete a draft of at least 1 dissertation chapter.
  • Attend job market meetings with JPA in earnest.
  • Apply for external grants, research fellowships, postdoctoral positions with fall deadlines (previous fellowship applications, your dissertation proposal, and subsequent writing should provide a frame so that much of the application can be filled out with the “cut & paste” function).
  • Research and complete a draft of at least 1 dissertation chapter (1-2 if not teaching).
  • Visit dissertation chair and committee members in person at least once during the semester.
  • Polish dissertation chapters.
  • Apply for grants and fellowships with spring deadlines.
  • Defend dissertation.

Creative Writing Faculty

Darren Canady

  • Associate Professor

Megan Kaminski

  • Professor of English & Environmental Studies

Laura Moriarty

  • Assistant Professor

Graduate Student Handbook

  • Departments and Units
  • Majors and Minors
  • LSA Course Guide
  • LSA Gateway

Search: {{$root.lsaSearchQuery.q}}, Page {{$root.page}}

  • News and Events
  • Inside East Quad
  • Signup for News
  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • Curriculum and Programs
  • Community-Engaged Learning
  • Alumni and Friends

Residential College

  • Visit the RC
  • RC Student Blog
  • What RC Alumni Are Saying
  • Meet the RC Ambassadors!
  • What RC Students Are Saying
  • RC Student Groups and Activities
  • Request Info & Connect with Us!
  • Transfer Students
  • Ten Reasons to Join the RC
  • Campus Resources
  • Incoming RC Students
  • RC Advising
  • Information for Parents and Families
  • Student Academic Forms
  • Welcome Week 2023
  • Fall 2023 RC Courses
  • Internship Opportunities
  • Student Life: Orgs & Opportunities
  • Arts and Ideas in the Humanities (Major)
  • Social Theory and Practice (Major)
  • Visual Arts Program
  • Creative Writing and Literature (Major)
  • BA, BS and BGS degree options
  • Language Lunch Tables

Requirements

  • Drama (Major)
  • First-Year Seminar Program
  • Music Program
  • Study Abroad
  • Spanish Language Internship Program
  • Prison Creative Arts Project
  • Migrant Worker Outreach and Education Program
  • Robertson Lecture
  • East Quad Garden
  • Center for World Performance Studies
  • Why I Fight, or Team Wristband
  • Freedom House Detroit
  • Semester in Detroit
  • Shakespeare in the Arb
  • The Community of Food, Society & Justice Conference, October 2019
  • Giving Opportunities
  • RC Graduation 2022
  • RC Graduation 2020
  • RC Graduation 2023
  • RC Graduation 2021

u of u creative writing

The Creative Writing and Literature Major is open to ALL LSA students.

Creative Writing and Literature Majors write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction under the close guidance of faculty mentors, and may workshop their writing with other student writers in small writing seminars. Majors also study the art of writing through the study of literature. Majors specialize in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction early in their studies.

Creative Writing graduates pursue successful careers as writers, editors, educators, advertising professionals, and many other writing related-fields.  Every year our graduates are admitted to competitive graduate school programs in the fine arts, education, law, business, public policy, social work, and other courses of professional study that demand proficient writing skills and creative approaches to problem solving.

RC Creative Writing students have demonstrated unparalled success in the esteemed U of M Hopwood Awards , winning over 100 awards since the 1994-95 school year.

Students meet with the creative writing major advisor when declaring, making course substitutions, discussing transfer/study abroad credit evaluations, internships, preparing major release forms, and information on graduate school study and career paths. 

Although students may pursue study in multiple genres, most specialize in a single genre:

Fiction / Creative Nonfiction

Digital Storytelling

Advising appointments can be made here or by calling RC Academic Services at 763-0032.

Minimum Credits: 28

The major is structured into four genre tracks. In addition to the Fiction / Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, and Digital Storytelling tracks, students may elect a multi-genre track in consultation with their principal writing instructors and the major advisor.

Each track consists of:

Four elective creative writing courses

Five elective upper level literature courses

Fiction / Creative Nonfiction Track

Students complete a minimum of four creative writing courses, at least three of which must be at the 300 level or above and at least three of which must be taken in the RC. A usual track is an introductory course (Narration) and three upper-level courses. Students may count one non-RC creative writing course towards the writing requirement.

Creative Writing Courses: Students may elect any combination of seminars and tutorials from the following:

RCHUMS 220 Narration: Intro to Fiction Writing

RCHUMS 325, 326, 425, 426 Tutorials: Permission of instructor required

RCHUMS 320 Narration: Advanced Fiction Writing

RCHUMS 334 (Section 005) Memoir: Writing from Within

Other departmental offerings listed under RCHUMS 334 or RCCORE 334. Details here.

Literature Electives: Students complete five literature courses, at the 300-level or above. One literature course must focus on either ancient literature or medieval literature (pre-1600). The ancient / medieval requirement may focus on non-Western or Western literature, but must pre-date Shakespeare if a Western literature course is elected. English 367 – Shakespeare’s Plays does not fulfill this requirement, although the course can count towards the literature requirement.

Students are encouraged to take literature courses in the RC Arts and Ideas Major, the  Department of English  or the  Comparative Literature Program . Students majoring in a second language may count one upper-level literature course in that language, or one upper-level literature course completed during a full semester studying abroad in a non-English speaking country. Upper-level literature courses taken abroad also may be counted. All literature courses counted toward the Creative Writing and Literature Major must be at least three (3) credits.

Courses that have been used to meet the requirement in the past include:

RCHUMS 354 Race and Identity in Music

RCHUMS 344 Reason and Passion in the 18th Century

RCHUMS 342 Representing the Holocaust in Literature, Film and the Visual Arts

Other RCHUMS courses listed in the Arts and Ideas in the Humanities major

English 350 Literature in English to 1660 (for ancient/medieval requirement)

English 328 Writing and the Environment

English 379 Literature in Afro-American Culture

Other English Department courses with a literature focus

CLCIV 385 Greek Mythology (for ancient/medieval requirement)  

Asian 314 Strange Ways: Literature of the Supernatural in Pre-modern Japan and China

MEMS 386 Medieval Literature, History and Culture 

Poetry Track

Students complete a minimum of four creative writing courses, at least three of which must be at the 300 level or above and at least three of which must be taken in the RC. A usual track is an introductory course (Writing Poetry) and three upper-level courses. Students may count one non-RC creative writing course towards the writing requirement.

RCHUMS 221 Writing Poetry

RCHUMS 321 Advanced Poetry Writing

RCHUMS 334 Workshop with Incarcerated Poets and Artists

Literature courses listed above under Fiction / Creative Nonfiction

English 340 Studies in Poetry

English 440 Modern Poetry

English 442 Studies in Poetry

Digital Storytelling Track

The digital storytelling track studies the ways story interacts with technology and the effect of digital media on writing and the creative process. Students electing this track pair writing practice with the study of the theory, ethics, and history of digital media.

Creative Writing Courses: At least 4 courses required over two categories 

Creative Writing Courses: choose a minimum of two Residential College creative writing courses that focus on writing fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. Only one course in a student’s major plan should be at the 200-level:

Introductory Courses (may elect 1 to count towards major):

Upper-level Courses:

RCHUMS 320 Advanced Narration 

RCHUMS 321 Advanced Poetry Writing 

RCHUMS 325, 326, 425, 426 Creative Writing Tutorials 

Digital Writing / Skills Courses: choose a minimum of two digital storytelling / writing courses at the 300-level or above that focus on digital media and/or electronic literature writing and practice. Courses that have been used to meet the requirement in the past include:

RCCORE 334 (Section 004) Digital Storytelling

English 420 Tech and the Humanities / Electronic Literature

RCSCI 360 (Section 001) Documentary Photography

RCHUMS 325, 326, 425, 426 Creative Writing Tutorials with a focus on writing for, and/or creating, electronic literature or digital media content (permission of instructor required)

Digital Studies Requirement: At least 2 courses required 

Choose a minimum of two digital studies theory courses at the 300-level or above that focus on the theory of digital culture and/or the digital humanities. Courses that have been used to meet the requirement in the past include:

AmCult 358 Topics in Digital Studies

AmCult 360 Radical Digital Media

FTVM 368 Topics in Digital Media Studies

English 405 Theories of Writing

Literature Requirement: At least 3 courses required 

Literature courses must be taken at the 300-level or above. Literature courses should not focus on digital studies but should offer complementary skills and additional context in the art and craft of literature. One course must focus on ancient/medieval literature. For more information on specific literature requirements, please see the Literature section listed under Fiction / Creative Nonfiction.

A student deemed eligible to attempt Honors typically completes the following process:

A student whose overall academic record meets the eligibility criteria for honors and whose creative work models originality and the promise of mastery in their chosen genre may apply for an honors thesis. Honors theses are typically 75-100 pages of polished fiction or creative nonfiction, or a collection of 25 or more poems. The student and their faculty advisor will determine the exact length and content of the final thesis. 

To be eligible to apply for honors, a student must demonstrate exceptional skill in the art and craft of prose, poetry, or creative nonfiction. The student must have completed a minimum of two Residential College creative writing classes, although honors students typically complete three or more by the start of their thesis sequence. The student also must hold a GPA of at least 3.4 overall. 

Students who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply for the honors thesis project in the winter term of their junior year, typically by late March. To apply, students shall submit:

A writing sample (10 pages of prose or 5 poems) that represents the student’s best, most polished work.

A brief statement (1-2 pages) describing the honors project. Applicants should also include the name of a faculty member they wish to request as their thesis advisor.

Questions about the submittal process can be directed to the creative writing major advisor  here

The Honors Committee, consisting of faculty in the Creative Writing program, will judge the student’s work on its quality, originality, and promise of mastery in their chosen genre. The Committee reviews all honors applications after the submission deadline. Students are notified of the Committee’s decision in late March or early April. If the planned project is accepted for honors, the Committee will assign a faculty thesis advisor to the student. 

Honors Theses require a two-semester commitment. Students enroll in RCCORE 490 for the fall term and RCHUMS 426 for the winter term. A passing grade in RCCORE 490 earns a Y grade, indicating that the thesis work will continue into the next semester. At the end of the second term, the Y grade converts to the grade earned in RCHUMS 426. Exceptions to the two-semester requirement are rare but may be discussed with the thesis advisor.

When the honors thesis project is complete (typically the last week of March or the first week of April of the senior year), the student’s honors thesis advisor and one other member of the Residential College’s Creative Writing faculty will determine if the project qualifies for honors and (if so) what level of honors the student receives. Honors thesis students also participate in a public reading with fellow thesis students at the end of the winter term (typically the second week of April).

To download the honors information, click here.

Creative Writing faculty

Laura Kasischke Poetry; Fiction

Christopher Matthews Fiction; Poetry

Sarah Messer Poetry; Creative Nonfiction; Prison Creative Arts Program

Susan Rosegrant Creative Nonfiction; Journalism; Fiction

Laura Thomas Fiction; Creative Nonfiction

A. Van Jordan Poetry, Film Studies

Aisha Sloan Creative Nonfiction, Digital Storytelling

Open to All

You don’t need to be a dedicated major to participate in workshops, tutorials, and classes taught by Creative Writing faculty, which are open to enrollment from all students. If even only for a semester, you wish to explore your interest in writing, consider taking a RC Creative Writing course !

For RC students, creative writing courses fulfill the RC Arts Practicum requirement. For RC and LSA students, RCHUMS 220, RCHUMS 221, and RCHUMS 325 satisfy Creative Expression distribution.

You can participate in the RC Review , our annual student-run journal featuring student poetry, fiction, and visual art. RC students can get a credit for participating in the RC Review.

Or consider joining the RC Creative Writing Forum , which like RC Review, offers RC students a credit, but is open to all for participation.

RC Writers website

Check out the  RC Writers Website,  for the Residential College writing community.

Recent Events

Paths to publication: a conversation with allison epstein and jon michael darga.

Link to the video recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ArrpiEKKc

Love & Zombies & Literature: What makes Genre Writing Literary?

Link to the recording of the webinar on our youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SD6LC4Zu-0

LSA - College of Literature, Science, and The Arts - University of Michigan

  • Information For
  • Faculty and Staff
  • More about LSA
  • How Do I Apply?
  • LSA Opportunity Hub
  • LSA Magazine
  • Student Resources
  • Academic Advising
  • Global Studies
  • Social Media
  • Update Contact Info
  • Privacy Statement
  • Report Feedback
  • louisville.edu
  • PeopleSoft HR
  • PeopleSoft Campus Solutions
  • PeopleSoft Financials
  • Business Ops
  • Cardinal Careers

University of Louisville

  • Undergraduate
  • International
  • Online Learning

Department of English

  • Contact Information
  • Discourse and Semiotics Workshop
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • The Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900
  • UofL Writing, Editing & Publishing Lab
  • The Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition
  • Full-Time Faculty
  • Full-Time Faculty Office Hours
  • Ph.D. Students
  • M.A. Students
  • Part-Time Faculty
  • Dual Credit Faculty
  • English Department Staff
  • Emeritus Faculty
  • Retired Faculty
  • English Major Requirements
  • English Major Track Descriptions
  • English Minor Tracks and Requirements
  • English BA to JD
  • English BA to MBA
  • Undergraduate Course Descriptions and Catalog
  • English Honors Program
  • Internship Program
  • Scholarships, Awards & Contests
  • Study Abroad & Course Credit
  • Undergraduate Research

University Writing Center

  • After Graduation & Alumni
  • M.A. in English
  • Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Composition
  • Graduate Course Descriptions
  • Information for Current Students
  • Graduate Program Interest Form
  • "After Graduation" & Alumni
  • The English Graduate Organization (EGO)
  • For Students
  • For Instructors
  • Cardinal Compositions
  • Dual Credit Program
  • Teaching Awards
  • Pedagogy Fellow Initiative
  • Creative Writing Scholarships and Awards
  • Creative Writing Contests
  • Axton Reading Series
  • Faculty Readings
  • Faculty Biographies
  • Miracle Monocle
  • Alumni News
  • Welcome to Dr. Kimberly Wieser-Weryackwe
  • English/Business Launches BA to MBA Program
  • Nettie Farris featured at InKY Reading Series
  • English Grads Receive National & Local Renown
  • Read the latest books from our English professors
  • Spotlight! English Department Alumni Interviews
  • Tim Roberts spotlights Marvel Comics in Teaching Webinar
  • Annika Reitenga featured on Courier-Journal panel
  • M.A. English Graduate Opens Bookstore/Featured on Local News
  • Bronwyn Williams named Endowed Chair
  • Recent English Alumni Spotlight Interviews
  • Former UofL English majors answer the "why English?" question
  • Mark Mattes wins fellowship and publishes 2 essays
  • Matthew Biberman launches Italian translation of his memoir
  • Nettie Farris publishes new chapbook
  • Andrea Olinger wins Gretchen Niva Service Award from the KY Council of English
  • Paul Griner's The Book of Otto and Liam named a Foreword INDIES finalist
  • PhD Candidate Olalekan Adepoju publishes book review
  • Article Publication by PhD Student Jessica Gottbrath
  • Michael Benjamin featured on the Big Rhetorical Podcast
  • Christina Davidson has won Grand Prize in the inaugural Cardinals Create Showcase
  • Tim Roberts to be keynote speaker at Adjunct Faculty Scholars Conference
  • Josh English wins short story prize
  • Neleigh Olson wins Mslexia short story competition
  • Ph.D. students Walker Smith and Caitlin Burns Allen co-edit special issue
  • Lana Helm elected to Board of Directors for Louisville Literary Arts
  • Neleigh Olson wins Kentucky Writers Fellowship
  • Paul Griner's novel on the longlist for Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
  • Humana Foundation Grant for Megan Poole and the Public Health Literacy Advisory Group
  • Megan Poole wins Top Paper Award from the journal Rhetoric of Health and Medicine
  • Joe Franklin (Ph.D. '21) starts as Interim Director of the writing center at Puget Sound
  • Claire Jackson (Ph.D. '21) starts as Visiting Assistant Professor at College of the Holy Cross
  • Jessica Newman (Ph.D. '21) director of tutoring at Jefferson Community & Technical College
  • Rachel Rodriguez (Ph.D. '21) starts as Writing Center director at Washington College
  • Mark Mattes publishes book on the history of handwriting
  • Kristi Maxwell publishes a new book of poetry
  • Alumni Spotlight: Joe Manning, Louisville Story Program
  • Undergraduate Courses
  • Graduate Courses
  • Creative Writing
  • / Creative Writing

Creative Writing Program

The Creative Writing Program at U of L offers a variety of creative writing courses covering the major genres of poetry, fiction, drama and creative nonfiction at the graduate and undergraduate level.

At the undergraduate level, we offer a full range of Creative Writing courses that guide the student through Introductory to Advanced courses, with Special Topics courses along the way. Students also have the opportunity to participate in Master Classes with notable visiting writers.

At the graduate level, we offer an MA with a concentration in Creative Writing where students take a variety of courses, including Graduate Level Creative Writing Workshops. These students have the opportunity to participate in Master Classes with notable visiting writers. The MA features a choice between a thesis or a non-thesis option.

The  Creative Writing program hosts several visiting writers each semester through the Anne & William Axton reading series. In addition to the public reading given by each writer, as mentioned above, the series affords students an opportunity to have their work read and critiqued in master classes led by these distinguished fiction writers, poets, and playwrights. Recent visiting writers include Terrance Hayes, Junot Diaz, Brian Teare, George Saunders, Kim Edwards, Maureen Howard, Colson Whitehead, Galway Kinnell, Edmund White, Cleopatra Mathis and Erin Belieu.

The Creative Writing program awards more than $20,000 in creative writing scholarships annually among exceptional, active students. The program also sponsors the Calvino Prize, an international contest which honors two writers of outstanding pieces of fiction in the fabulist, experimentalist style of Italo Calvino.

Ian Stansel Director of Creative Writing [email protected]    

318 D Bingham Humanities University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky 40292 Phone: ( 502) 852-5921 Fax: (502) 852-4182 

Creative Writing Student Features: Across the Bluegrass Creative Writing Scholarships and Awards Creative Writing Contests Axton Reading Schedule Faculty Readings Faculty Bios Alumni News

Gifts to the Creative Writing Program help us teach students to explore their creative potential.

Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture - Virtual Panels Feb 20, 2024 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture - In Person Feb 22, 2024 08:00 AM - 11:55 PM

Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture - In Person Feb 23, 2024 08:00 AM - 11:55 PM

Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture - In Person Feb 24, 2024 08:00 AM - 11:55 PM

Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition Feb 28, 2024 12:00 PM - 06:00 PM — Zoom-only groups

Upcoming events…

Department Calendar

Department Filling Cabinet

Equipment Request Form

Travel Forms

ProCard Form

International Travel

A&S Faculty Affairs

University Provost

Graduate Studies

Undergraduate Studies

Undergraduate Advising

Honors Program

Composition Program

Creative Writing Scholarships

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Bingham Humanities 315

2216 S. 1 st Street

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky 40292

(502) 852-6801

[email protected]

u of u creative writing

  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Graduate Division
  • College of Liberal and Professional Studies

Home

2024 Creative Writing Prizes

Dozens of prizes for fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalistic writing, scriptwriting, and reviews. Cash prizes of up to $500. Open to all enrolled Penn students. Deadline March 1st.

Photo from overhead of student arranging type in letterpress workshop

Declaring a major or minor

Declare your major in Creative Writing, your minor in Creative Writing, or your minor in Journalistic Writing in just a few steps.

Creative Writing at the University of Pennsylvania

Spring 2024 courses

Highlights of our spring 2024 courses include Attention Poetics, Science Fiction, Writing and Politics, Memoir Workshop, Planet on the Brink: Climate and Environment Journalism, and Deep Dive Arts and Culture Writing!

We are home to a faculty of award-winning writers who teach more than sixty workshops each year in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults, as well as innovative workshops in cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid writing, including writing that engages with community organizing, multimedia and visual arts, and performance.

Book Cover: Chemistry

University of Rochester

Search Rochester.edu

Popular Searches

Resources for

  • Prospective students
  • Current students
  • Faculty and staff

School of Arts & Sciences

Department of English

Undergraduate program, creative writing.

The Department of English offers a track in creative writing for students who want to explore the art of writing and refine their skills in critical reading.

Students work intensively on their own imaginative writing (fiction, poetry, and playwriting) in conjunction with the study of literature. Students wishing to pursue a concentration in creative writing must apply to the  creative writing advisor  in the department and receive written approval.

Major Requirements

• A minimum of ten, 4-credit courses are required for the major (for a minimum total of 40 credit hours).

• The upper-level writing requirement is fulfilled by completion of the major.

Four courses as follows:

  • ENGL 121: Creative Writing: Fiction
  • ENGL 122: Creative Writing: Poetry
  • ENGL 123: Playwriting
  • ENGL 125: Speculative Fiction
  • ENGL 275: Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction
  • ENGL 276: Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry
  • ENGL 277: Screenwriting
  • ENGL 375: Seminar in Fiction Writing
  • ENGL 376: Seminar in Poetry Writing

Two of the following courses:

  • ENGL 112: Classical and Scriptural Backgrounds
  • ENGL 113: British Literature I
  • ENGL 114: British Literature II
  • ENGL 115: American Literature

Four English courses at the 200 or 300 level:

  • Two in British or American literature before 1800
  • Two in British or American literature after 1800

See the pre- and post-1800 page for a list of courses.

Students accepted into the honors program in English can write original fiction (a collection of stories or a novella), poetry, or a play to fulfill the requirements for the honors essay. Students choosing this option must have the approval of the creative writing advisor .

Home

The Creative Writing Program

The PhD in English Literature with Creative Dissertation at the University of Georgia is for writers who wish to advance their expertise and sophistication as scholars. Our students are accomplished poets, fiction writers, essayists, translators, and interdisciplinary artists who are ready to move beyond the studio focus of the MFA to a more intensive program of literary study. Over the course of the five-year program our students develop research specialties that complement their writing practice and prepare them professionally for a teaching career at the university or college level.

Our creative writing faculty are nationally and internationally recognized writers and translators with academic specializations in a variety of literary and theoretical fields, including Genre Theory, Poetics, Global Literature, Native American Literature, African American Literature, Postcolonial Literature, and Translation Studies. Our program fosters serious conversations among our students about aesthetics and criticism, experience and culture, and politics and history—not only in the classroom but through public readings and lectures. Our faculty and students play an active role in the cultural life of Athens, both as artists and organizers.

Program Overview

During the first two years of study our Ph.D. candidates select from course offerings in the English Department, seminars that signal both our faculty’s recognition of intellectual and disciplinary change and our abiding commitment to traditional literary history. Each student takes at least one Creative Writing course a year in addition to courses in various literary specialties. A list of our department’s recent graduate course offerings can be found here .  Prior to beginning their third year, students prepare reading lists for comprehensive exams in three academic research fields of their choosing. Every CWP student chooses “Forms and Craft” as one of their exam areas. This reading list serves as a research field unique to each writer’s approach to their particular genre. Some of the “Forms and Craft” lists designed recently by CWP students include, “The Midwestern Novel”; “Occult and Visionary Poetics”; “History of Surrealism”; “Monstrosity in Epic Poetry”; and “Literary Translation: Theory and Practice.” The two other exam fields should complement and expand the student’s areas of expertise beyond craft in order to broaden their historical and theoretical understanding of literature. In recent years, CWP students have elected to take exams in fields such as, “A Global History of the Novel,” ”Modernism and the Historical Avant-Garde,” “Aesthetic Theory,” ”African American Literature,” “Latinx Literature,” “Ecopoetics,” “The Southern Novel,” “Lyric Theory,” and “Science Fiction.”

Typically the exam committee is headed by a member of the creative writing faculty and two other professors from the department at large, experts in the respective exam areas. During the third year students read in preparation for written and oral exams. Each written exam takes the form of a twenty-page written exhibit in which the student answers a directive question formulated in conjunction with the exam area’s director. This exhibit should demonstrate the student’s grasp of the field as a whole and serves as a demonstration of their ability to teach in this area at the undergraduate level. Once the student has passed written exams, they are admitted to an oral exam overseen by the exam committee as a whole. Once the student passes both oral and written exams, they are admitted officially to candidacy for the PhD and begin working on their dissertation.

During their fourth and fifth years CWP students complete a creative dissertation with a critical introduction. The dissertation typically is a full-length work in a single genre—a work of fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry. The introduction is the author’s scholarly address to their audience. In the past students have used the introduction as a scholarly analysis of the state of the genre, a critical meditation on process informed by literary history, or a theoretical tracing of literary influence.

CWP logo

CWP Faculty

u of u creative writing

[email protected] | 706-542-1261

Follow CWP on Socials

Youtube Logo

Upcoming Events

February 26 creative writing program town hall, february 29 the sea elephants: a reading & conversation with visiting author shashtri akella, latest news.

Aruni Kashyap

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Aruni Kashyap to deliver the 2024 Tagore Lecture in Modern Indian Literature at Cornell University

Hannah V Warren's Slaughterhouse for Old Wives' Tales

Monday, January 29, 2024

Creative Writing Program's Hannah V Warren Debuts Poetry Collection, Slaughterhouse for Old Wives' Tales

Dr. Jake Syersak

Creative Writing Program Graduate Jake Syersak Awarded Translation Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Support english at uga.

We greatly appreciate your generosity. Your gift enables us to offer our students and faculty opportunities for research, travel, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.   Support the efforts of the Department of English by visiting our giving section.  Give Now  

EVERY DOLLAR CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEPARTMENT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY.

Creative Writing - Letterpress

English and Creative Writing

English and Creative Writing majors learn to think, read, and write critically and creatively about how literature and language influence individuals and society. They study the major literary movements and genres in British, American, and global literature in English and learn the many dimensions of literature and how it is created and circulates in the world.

The University of Iowa is the number two university in the country for writing, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report . The Iowa Writers' Workshop, the Nonfiction Writing Program, and other programs bring world-renowned writers to campus. In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Iowa City its third "City of Literature" in the world.

For 75 years, the Department of English has been a leader in writing. Iowa's international reputation in writing is boosted by synergy across colleges, with the International Writing Program hosting published writers from around the world each fall and each spring traveling to other countries, taking Iowa writing "on the road." The university and Iowa City draw writers of all ages and nationalities to its writing community. This community is bolstered by the strong readings series offered by the Nonfiction Writing Program, the Writers' Workshop, and Prairie Lights Books, with hundreds of readings archived by the Iowa Digital Library.

Students interested in this major need to meet the requirements for admission to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

 Information

First-Year

  • First-Year Admission to Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • First-year Admissions Process

Transfer

  • Transfer tips
  • 2 plus 2 plan
  • Transfer Admission to Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Transfer Application Process

International

International

  • International Admissions Requirements
  • International Admission Process

Iowa graduates have a 95 percent job/grad school placement rate within six months of graduation. Our  Pomerantz Career Center  offers multiple resources to help students find internships and jobs. 

About 20 percent of English majors plan to teach, while another 50 percent plan to do writing or editing in marketing, book publishing, or writing for business or non-profit organizations. The rest use English as a background for the study of law, business, theology, social work, or other graduate programs. 

In addition to more than 500  student organizations , Iowa students choose from more than 100 study abroad  programs and multiple  undergraduate research opportunities .

The University of Iowa provides a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students through the  Iowa Scholarship Portal . Scholarships are available to first-year, transfer, and currently enrolled students. For additional details on scholarships for your program of study, check directly with the department or college.

The Office of Admissions and the Office of Student Financial Aid are great resources for students seeking scholarships.

Hear from current students

Who are the students in these programs? Students of Iowa’s English Department come from diverse backgrounds and are highly engaged readers and writers. They are interested in a range of studies including short stories, novels, YA literature, poetry, and nonfiction. Other students are drawn to criticism, scholarship, and multimedia.

For aspiring writers and teachers of writing, Iowa is the place to be, and the place where literary studies are being reimagined for the new millennium.

Literature and writing are the focus of the English and Creative Writing major. Students take at least five literature courses and eight writing courses. The major supports courses in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, translation, and writing for film, TV, and radio. Coursework in English literary studies on particular historical periods, geographical areas, and communities teach the significance of texts in the cultures from which they emerge. Due to the wide array of courses available, many English majors choose a second area of concentration, major, or minor.

Review English and Creative Writing in the General Catalog for more details about required coursework and graduating with honors.

English Honors Program

English and Creative Writing majors may apply to the English Honors Program . Admission is selective and requires a grade-point average of at least 3.33. The English Honors Program also fulfills Part 2 of the university's Honors Program.

Teaching Licensure

If you're interested in teaching English and Creative Writing at the secondary school level, you'll need to apply to and complete the College of Education's Teacher Education Program (TEP). Your English advisor can help you choose courses to take prior to application.

Department of English

Creative writing.

Students wishing to pursue a concentration in creative writing should bear in mind that four years of study at the undergraduate level is the beginning of a long apprenticeship; there is little profit in believing that one “discovers one’s voice” in the course of a few years of study, or, indeed, that such a discovery, a narrowing to a singularity, is ever to be desired. Diversity and experimentation are crucial throughout a writer’s career and perhaps at no time more important than in the initial stages of exploration and the acquisition of skills. Students are encouraged, therefore, to take workshops in both poetry and fiction, to take literature courses from various centuries and continents, and to take a wide variety of supplementary courses in English. The Creative Writing model, when sufficiently diverse, is adequate preparation for admission to graduate writing programs.

Category I: At least two, but not more than six, upper-division creative writing workshops. Students are encouraged to take one workshop in an alternate genre:

  • CRW 3310 Adv. Sem: Poetry
  • CRW 4906 Senior Adv. Workshop in Poetry
  • CRW 3110 Adv. Seminar in Fiction Writing
  • CRW 4905 Senior Adv. Workshop in Fiction

Category II: One course from two of three subcategories:

  • LIT 3374 The Bible as Literature

Before 1600:

  • ENL 3210 Medieval English Lit.
  • ENL 4220 Ren Lit. 16th Century
  • ENL 4311 Chaucer

From 1600 to 1800:

  • AML 4213 Am Col-Fed Period
  • ENL 3112 Eng Novel: 18th-C
  • ENL 3230 Age of Dryden/Pope
  • ENL 3234 The Long 18th Century: Themes and Interpretation
  • ENL 3235 The Long 18th Century: Imaginative Genres
  • ENL 3350 Age of Johnson
  • ENL 4221 Ren Lit: 17th-C
  • ENL 4333 Shakespeare

Category III: One course from each subcategory:

19th century:

  • AML 3031 Am Literature I
  • AML 3605 African-Am Lit II
  • AML 4225 19th-C Am Lit/Cult
  • AML 4311 Major Fig. of Am. Lit
  • ENG 4953 Dept Seminar
  • ENL 3122 Eng Novel: 19th C
  • ENL 3240 Romantic Period
  • ENL 3251 Victorian Lit
  • LIT 4930 Special Topics

20th century:

  • AML 3041 Am Literatures II
  • AML 3607 African-Am Lit. II
  • AML 3284 Am Women’s Lit.
  • AML 3285 Am. Lit.
  • AML 4170 Am. Lit Forms
  • AML 4242 20th-C Am Lit/Cult.
  • AML 4282 Genders & Sexualities in Am Lit/Culture
  • AML 4311 Maj Fig in Am. Lit
  • AML 4453 Am. Lit/Culture
  • AML 4685 Race & Ethnicity
  • ENG 4953 Senior Seminar
  • ENL 3132 Eng Novel: 20th-C
  • ENL 3154 20th-C Brit Poetry
  • ENL 4273 20th-C British Lit

Choose remaining electives from Categories II–V

Category iv. literature, general.

  • AML 4685 Ethnic Literature
  • LIT 3003 Forms of Narrative
  • LIT 3041 Studies in Drama
  • LIT 3173 Jewish Literature
  • LIT 3362 Age of Avant-Garde
  • LIT 4194 Afr Lit. in English
  • LIT 4322 The Folktale
  • LIT 4331 Children’s Lit

Category V. Theory

  • ENG 3010 Modern Criticism
  • ENG 3011 Major Theorists
  • ENG 4060 Hist of Eng Lang

Department of English faculty who regularly teach courses in this model include:

  • Uwem Akpan –  Creative Writing (Fiction)
  • Camille Bordas –  Creative Writing (Fiction)
  • Michael Hofmann  –  Creative Writing (Poetry)
  • David Leavitt  –  Creative Writing (Fiction)
  • William Logan  –  Creative Writing (Poetry)
  • Ange Mlinko  –  Creative Writing (Poetry)

Home

  • View your wishlist
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn

Creative Writing

About this program.

Have you longed to explore your creative potential?

Embrace the unknown and start your journey here. As part of one of the largest Creative Writing programs in Canada, you can learn the essentials of excellent writing and put them into practice. Whether you aspire to write a novel or short story, explore poetry, pen a script or screenplay, or explore other writing styles, we have the courses you need to improve your skills.

Class sizes and writers workshops are kept small to ensure you receive the individual attention you need to help your writing thrive, whether you take your class in-class or online. 

Courses in the genres listed below can be applied to the Certificate in Creative Writing

  • Creative Non-Fiction
  • Escritura Creativa en Español
  • Literary Fiction
  • Multi-genre
  • Poetry and Songwriting
  • Popular Fiction
  • Stage and Screenwriting
  • U of T Summer Writing School
  • Writing for Children

Course Spotlight

{{ course.d_course_name }}

Available Certificates ({{ data.certificates.length }})

  • {{ certificate.d_certificate_name }}

Course Search

Delivery Method

We currently have {{ courses.length }} Course(s) in {{ data.name }}

Viewing {{ ((pagination.currentPage-1) * pagination.numPerPage) + 1 }} - {{ filteredData.length }} pagination.currentPage*pagination.numPerPage && pagination.numPerPage">{{ pagination.currentPage*pagination.numPerPage }} of {{ filteredData.length }} result(s)

{{ course.d_course_code }} - {{ course.d_course_name }}

{{ course.lowest_fee }}

Sorry, no courses were found that matched your search criteria.

Sign up with us to receive the latest news about our courses and programs, speaker series, course bundles and more.

  • U of T Home
  • Current Instructors
  • Policies and Guidelines
  • Help and Information
  • Blueprint Career Services
  • Organizational and Corporate Training
  • U of T Community
  • PSE Preparedness
  • Knowledge Hub
  • Financial Aid
  • Biomanufacturing
  • Micro Courses and Micro-Credentials
  • Microsoft Canada Skills Program
  • Passing the CFA® Exams
  • Passing the Canadian Securities Course®
  • Professional Edge Program
  • SCS Boot Camps
  • SCS XR Courses
  • Skill Builder Courses
  • Health, Environment, and Science
  • Life and Leisure
  • Philosophy and Law
  • University Lecture Series
  • Visual Art and Architecture
  • Business Analysis
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Human Resources
  • Occupational Health and Safety
  • Process Improvement
  • Project Management
  • Test Preparation
  • Career Development
  • Workplace Communications
  • Public Health
  • Human Services and Social Work
  • Medical Sciences
  • Mindfulness
  • Continuous Professional Development
  • International Pharmacy Graduate Program
  • Building Science and Architecture
  • Engineering and Applied Science
  • Environment and Sustainability
  • Information Management
  • Information Technology (IT)
  • Property & Facilities Management
  • Arabic Translation
  • Spanish Translation
  • Portuguese Translation
  • Japanese Translation
  • French Translation
  • Chinese Translation
  • Korean Translation
  • Business English for International Professionals
  • Learning Design
  • Multimedia Journalism
  • Communications
  • Public Relations
  • Partnerships with Associations and Certifying Bodies
  • U of T Partnerships
  • English Language Program
  • Educational Credential Assessment
  • Leadership Team
  • Academic Leadership
  • Teach with us
  • Instructor Awards and Recognition
  • Instructor Biographies
  • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commitments
  • Our History
  • Media Inquiries
  • Curious U Blog

CRWR Creative Writing Program

AY22-23 Reading Series

  • Undergraduate
  • Kidd Workshops
  • Publications
  • Reading Series

u of u creative writing

Kidd Workshops 22-23

u of u creative writing

The Sewanee Review Podcast: Garrett Hongo & Eric Smith

u of u creative writing

For Poets Robin Coste Lewis and Garrett Hongo, Language Is a Musical Instrument

u of u creative writing

CRWR Business Plan

u of u creative writing

2022 Aiken Taylor Award Winner

u of u creative writing

Jayme Ringleb’s So Tall It Ends in Heaven, forthcoming Fall ’22

u of u creative writing

How A Woman Becomes A Lake

u of u creative writing

Keetje Kuipers, New Editor-in-chief

u of u creative writing

Garrett Hongo: A tribute

u of u creative writing

  • Give to CRWR!

Department of English

Dietrich college of humanities and social sciences, creative writing program, carnegie mellon university houses one of a small number of english departments in the country offering a major in creative writing..

In the Creative Writing program, undergraduate students will develop talents in writing fiction, poetry, screenwriting , and creative nonfiction. While studying with faculty members who are writers, Creative Writing majors will read a wide range of literature and genres, sharpen critical and verbal skills, better explore the resources and potential of imagination, and develop a professional attitude towards writing. The extracurricular writing activities and a variety of writing internships available on and off campus provide valuable experiences for planning both professional and academic futures.  After graduation, many Creative Writing majors go on to graduate writing programs and to careers in teaching, publishing, public relations, advertising, TV and film, or freelance writing and editing.

Declare Creative Writing

Introduction to Fiction

Explore Creative Writing

Primary major, additional major, creative writing faculty.

  • Undergraduate Admissions

Questions? Reach out to Laura Donaldson, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Programs and Academic Advisor at  [email protected]

Want To Visit? Schedule a visit to the Creative Writing program through  this form.

Spotlight: Kevin González

Associate professor of english kevin gonzález awarded the whiting creative nonfiction grant..

Associate Professor of English Kevin González has been awarded the 2021 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant for his upcoming memoir, Juracán .

This grant from The Whiting Foundation is awarded annually to writers who are completing cultural nonfiction books. González’s memoir focuses on his experiences growing up in Puerto Rico in the ‘80s and ‘90s, then immigrating to the United States.

Read more about Professor González's award.

Kevin González headshot

  • Faculty and Staff Resources
  • Current Student Resources
  • Carnegie Mellon University Press
  • Arts Greenhouse
  • Oakland Review

Close-button

Meet the 2024 Writing Freedom Fellows

By Jim Plank / February 13 2024

u of u creative writing

Job Postings

Find employment opportunities with legislatures, states and public policy organizations.

Posted February 13, 2024

Pew Charitable Trusts

Senior Associate, State Budget Policy, State Fiscal Health

Washington, D.C.

Competitive

Posted February 8, 2024

Fiscal Risk, Research and Writing Officer

Posted February 2, 2024

Sunset Advisory Commission

Review Director

Austin, Texas

Starting Salary: $110,000-$150,000 p/year

Posted February 1, 2024

Senior Associate, Civic Science Fellow, Evidence Project

Washington, D

Associate I, Evidence Project

Senior associate, evidence project.

Full Time (On-site)

March 14, 2204

Job Overview

The senior associate plays an important role in helping policymakers enact data-driven reforms that deliver lasting results for state budgets. Reporting to the associate manager, state fiscal health, the senior associate will provide strategic guidance and support on the project's lines of work by performing research and analysis on issues impacting state budget sustainability, and by using qualitative and quantitative skills to advance technical assistance efforts and other priorities. State Fiscal Health The state fiscal health project helps states advance sound, data-driven policies and practices that build fiscally well-managed states. The project: 1) conducts independent and nonpartisan research that documents states' fiscal and economic challenges and opportunities to address them; 2) provides targeted technical assistance that helps state and local policymakers design and execute policies that improve their governments' long-term fiscal health; 3) designs and promotes fiscal management models and tools that help state and local government officials evaluate policy options; and 4) supports networks and seminars that engage and educate key stakeholders.

Responsibilities

  • Foster a work environment that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible and in line with Pew and the project's related goals.
  • Collaborate with project leadership and contribute to explorations of new topics in state fiscal health. Identify key policy issues, develop research questions, conduct and coordinate research efforts, and prepare internal written materials and external publications.
  • Serve as a technical expert to support the project's work on long-term budget assessments, budget stress testing, and other relevant issues.
  • In collaboration with project leadership, help develop and execute engagement strategies, state-specific research, and technical assistance materials.
  • Build and maintain a deep understanding of the policy and political landscape across states; identify and monitor emerging issues relevant to project issue focus and project goals.
  • Contribute writing and editing support to projects as new research products are developed, including major reports, issue briefs, and shorter pieces of timely content.
  • Identify and cultivate relationships with subject-matter experts, key organizations, and in-state stakeholders to support the project's research agenda and to advance project goals.
  • Represent the project and Pew at conferences, meetings, and other events, including preparing materials for distribution and making presentations. Contribute to and participate in broader portfolio and Pew-wide projects and activities as assigned.

Qualifications

  • Exceptional writing and editing skills. Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively to produce a variety of written products for a range of audiences.
  • Aptitude with Excel required. Experience with statistical software (e.g., Stata, EViews, etc.) is desirable.
  • Demonstrated project and time-management skills, including thinking strategically and creatively, juggling multiple priorities, and adjusting to changing circumstances.
  • Strong analytical skills, including synthesizing information and identifying themes.
  • Excellent oral communication skills and work professionally and collegially.
  • Aptitude to apply a non-partisan, evidence-based approach to projects and campaigns that require support across the political spectrum.
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
  • Generally, four years of applicable experience.

Key attributes and preferred experience  

  • Previous experience working with state or local governments, or in an executive budget or legislative analyst office setting.
  • Skillful at setting short- and long-term planning goals in line with program strategies.
  • Natural interpersonal skills and diplomacy with cultural sensitivity.

Work Environment

Travel This position requires occasional domestic travel to meetings and conferences. Located in Pew's Washington D.C. office, this position will participate in Pew's core in-office days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with flexibility to work from home the remainder of each week. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the country for which they are seeking employment without visa sponsorship.

Total Rewards We offer a competitive salary and benefit program, including: comprehensive, affordable health care through medical, dental, and vision coverage; financial security with life and disability insurance; opportunities to save using health savings and flexible spending accounts; retirement benefits to help prepare for the future; and work/life benefits to maintain a good balance.

About the Organization

The Pew Charitable Trusts is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Pew considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity, military/veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.  

Contact NCSL

For more information on this topic, use this form to reach NCSL staff.

  • What is your role? Legislator Legislative Staff Other
  • Admin Email

Submit a Job Announcement

List your legislative, governmental or policy-related job. Fees may apply.

R. Stranger MFA’24 combines creative writing and visual arts in their multimedia approach to art

by Linda Lenhoff, February 15, 2024

u of u creative writing

  • facebook icon
  • twitter icon
  • linkedin icon

R. Stranger MFA’24 incorporates visual work into their writing, striving to find their own personal channel of creating. Through PNCA’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing program, Stranger has been able to pursue cross-genre, collaborative work, combining prose, poetry, photography, film, archiving, and cataloging. “I needed to be in a writing program situated within an art school, where I would have the ability and freedom to incorporate my visual work and embodied practice into my creative writing,” Stranger says. “Literature and art have been the portals through which I receive so much of the world.”

The program’s unique approach to treating writing as a multidisciplinary studio art practice offers Stranger the ability to build relationships across departments. Stranger is especially grateful for mentorship from faculty members Vi Khi Nao , a writer, and Dao Strom , an artist. “Each of them has undeniably affected my work and approach to writing and creating,” Stranger says, adding that Nao “opened my eyes to the depth of emotion we can allow ourselves to go and the necessary risks that an artist must take if they wish to be true to their work and themselves.

Stranger focuses on difficult issues in their art, including “the multidimensional nature of queerness, the complexities of having/being a body, and the transformative nature of grief,” Stranger says. Utilizing several mediums allows Stranger to “move through the work of mourning and living through different layers of humanness.”

PNCA and the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies have granted Stranger multiple opportunities to share and show their work. “I tabled my zines at the 2022 Do-It-Yourself / Do-It-Ourselves Graduate Symposium as well as at this year’s Form.a Art Press Fair at Oregon Contemporary,” Stranger says. Their photography was also selected for display at Lightbox Photographic Gallery’s New Visionaries exhibit through an Oregon BFA/MFA photo student exhibition call organized by PNCA faculty Rachel Wolf .

The proverbial cherry on top of Stranger’s experience at PNCA has been having a private studio within an institutional space, thanks to Strom and Creative Writing Program Director Jay Ponteri . “I can still be in the world while also receiving access to a nurturing art community and the institutional resources that aid my public art practice.”

Related Stories

Willamette University

Fortune names Willamette on ‘Best Master’s in Data Science Programs in 2024’ list

Once again, Willamette University’s Masters in Data Science program was the only program in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest to make the cut.

Willamette University

Akilah Deernose BA’04 breaks down barriers as Executive Director of the Montana ACLU

Through her leadership of the human rights organization, the politics major is pursuing her life’s mission: to care for others in the ways she was cared for at Willamette.

Willamette University

MBA for Professionals program helps Kyle Hopkins MBA’21 launch his new international role at IKEA

With the confidence he gained from his Willamette MBA for Professionals experience, Hopkins leads a team in Amsterdam focused on building software solutions for IKEA stores.

University Communications

  • instagram icon

Simon Fraser University Engaging the World

Student services, summer calendar.

  • A-Z directory

Please note:

To view the Spring 2024 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2024/spring.html .

Creative Writing

Admission to this program has been suspended effective Fall 2021.

This certificate allows students to investigate the theory and practice of creative writing from a variety of approaches, including creative practice in poetry, fiction, and screen writing, and aspects of material production/publishing.

Admission Requirements

Normal requirements for admission to Simon Fraser University apply. Prior to formal program admission, students must complete two of

  • CMNS 110-3 Introduction to Communication Studies
  • ENGL 208-3 Twenty-First Century Literatures in English
  • CA (or FPA) 136-3 The History and Aesthetics of Cinema I (or CA (or FPA) 137)

Program Requirements

Students successfully complete a minimum total of 20 units, including one of

A seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of creative writing with specific emphasis on poetry. Prerequisite: 30 units; or two 200-division English courses; or formal declaration in the creative writing minor and ENGL 272 .

A seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of creative writing with specific emphasis on prose fiction. Prerequisite: 30 units; or two 200-division English courses; or formal declaration in the creative writing minor and ENGL 272 .

and at least two of

This course introduces the methodologies of writing for the screen in various styles, including dramatic, documentary and experimental forms, with an emphasis on structure and the creative expression of visual ideas. Students will perform a variety of writing assignments and each will be expected to complete one or more short original scripts. Prerequisite: One of CA (or FPA) 136, 137 or 253 and prior approval. Students with credit for CA (or FPA) 332 or 238 for credit may not take this course for further credit. Students with credit for FPA 238W may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

A study of different historical methods of measuring poetry in English, with practice in scanning and analyzing poems using different methods of quantitative analysis (e.g. Syllabic, rhythmic, alliterative). Prerequisite: 12 units or one 100-division English course. Students with credit for ENGL 212 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.

Students will engage in theoretically informed practice of writing in various non-academic genres. Emphasis will be placed on the kinds of writing that students are likely to use after graduation. Prerequisite: 30 units or two 200-division English courses. Recommended: One of English 199, 199W, or 214. This course may be repeated for credit if a different topic is taught, though students who obtained credit for English 371 prior to Summer 2015 may not take this couse for further credit.

An analysis of the various facets of the book publishing industry in Canada including ownership patterns, legal foundations, criteria for book selection and marketing. Includes examination of both commercial and educational publishing. The industry will be analysed within the framework of Canadian cultural and other government policies affecting the industry. Prerequisite: 60 units. Students with credit for CMNS 371 may not take this course for further credit.

Students will follow the book-publishing process from the acquisition and editing of manuscripts through to production, promotion and distribution. Each topic proceeds from basic concepts and precepts to case studies of particular kinds of publishing companies (e.g., literary, regional and general trade) and particular types of books (e.g., children's, genre, fiction and poetry). The publishing decision-to-publish process is simulated. Required readings focus on the history of book publishing, as well as on current developments. Prerequisite: 60 units. Students with credit for CMNS 372 may not take this course for further credit.

A project course covering core issues in magazine media publishing whether it is in print, online, video, audio, or interactive media. The course covers best practices for team work, publishing, editorial, design marketing and distribution. Prerequisite: 60 units. Students with credit for CMNS 375 may not take this course for further credit.

A creative writing workshop focusing on students' production of original works, translingual writing, and/or literary translation. This course may be repeated for credit when different topics are offered. Prerequisite: 45 units. Breadth-Humanities.

An advanced seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of poetry or fiction. Genre varies from term to term. Prerequisite: ENGL 372 or 374 . Students with credit for ENGL 472 prior to fall 2015 may not complete this course for further credit. Otherwise, course may be repeated for credit when the genre varies. Writing.

Examines aspects of critical writing associated with the historical and contemporary arts and encourages students to participate as writers in the artistic and cultural debates of their day. Forms examined will include but not be limited to reviews, articles, descriptive synopses for exhibition and festival programs, curatorial essays, project proposals and artists' statements. Prerequisite: 60 units including at least six units in CA (or FPA) history/theory courses. Students with credit for CA (or FPA) 319 may not take this course for further credit. Students with credit for FPA 319W may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

This course will present advanced theory and techniques for writing dramatic, experimental and documentary film and video scripts. Additional topics covered include script analysis, production breakdown, and the writing of treatments and proposals. Prerequisite: One of CA (or FPA) 238 or 353 or 457 and prior approval. Strongly recommended for all students developing projects for production in CA (or FPA) 430. Students with credit for FPA 338W may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

Advanced seminar in linguistic, pragmatic, historical and social theories of the English language. Prerequisite: 45 units including at least one upper division English course, or permission of instructor. Reserved for English honours, major, joint major and minor students. The course may be repeated for credit if a different topic is taught, though students who obtained credit for English 470W prior to Summer 2015 may not take this course for further credit. Students with credit for ENGL 470 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

Advanced seminar on selected works of North American poets and/or poetry theorists. May be organized by author, genre, or critical approach. This course may be repeated for credit if a different topic is taught. Prerequisite: 45 units or two 300-division English courses. Writing.

An in-depth study of the design methods fundamental to books in print and digital media. Students evaluate, and engage in the design and repurposing of publications, exploring current practices of content delivery online and through mobile devices. Emphasis is placed on innovative methods and design practices for screen-based publishing. Prerequisite: PUB 231 .

An exploration and application of marketing concepts to book publishing. Concepts and skills taught focus on differentiation of product categories and markets, and the creation of a marketing strategy for existing or new publications. Consideration of reading trends for all publication forms is included. Prerequisite: 60 units. Students with credit for CMNS 472 may not take this course for further credit.

This course examines business practices within book publishing firms. It emphasizes financial planning and operations, acquisitions, marketing and promotion. Prerequisite: 75 units. Students with credit for CMNS 474 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.

Of the six required courses, no more than four may be in any one department, while a minimum of two must be in the Department of English. Substitutions may be approved on a case-by-case basis by the student advisor. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required in the courses used for the certificate.

College of Arts and Sciences » Academic Units » English » Creative Writing » Graduate Program » PhD in Creative Writing

PhD in Creative Writing

Program overview.

The PhD in Creative Writing and Literature is a four-year course of study. Following two years of course work that includes workshop, forms classes, pedagogical training, literature, and theory, students take exams in two areas, one which examines texts through the lens of craft and another which examines them through the lens of literary history and theory. Recent examples of the genre area include Comic Fiction, History of the Love Lyric, and Fantasy; recent examples of the scholarly area include History of the Novel, 20th Century American Poetry, and Modern & Contemporary British Fiction. In the first two years, students take three courses per semester; the teaching load throughout the program is one class per semester. Every PhD student has the opportunity to teach creative writing, with many also teaching literature classes. Most students are funded by teaching, with two or three at a time funded by editorial work at The Cincinnati Review , and others funded in their dissertation year by college- or university-level fellowships. Fifth-year support, while not guaranteed, has generally been available to interested students in the form of student lecturerships, which carry a 2-2 load. The Creative Writing PhD at the University of Cincinnati has maintained over the last decade more than a 75% placement rate into full-time academic jobs for its doctoral graduates. Two-thirds of these positions are tenure-track.

Application Information

  • Exam Areas and Committee
  • Doctoral Candidacy Form
  • Foreign Language
  • Exam Procedures
  • Dissertations
  • Applying for Fifth-Year Funding
  • Working for The Cincinnati Review
  • Teaching Opportunities
  • All Creative Writing Graduate Courses
  • Archive of Technique & Form Courses

IMAGES

  1. 20+ Letter U Crafts & Activities

    u of u creative writing

  2. 13 Unbelievable Letter U Crafts & Activities

    u of u creative writing

  3. Creative Expressions Mini Stencil Upper Case Letter U

    u of u creative writing

  4. U Creative Modern Blue Gradient Alphabet Stock Vector (Royalty Free

    u of u creative writing

  5. Letter U Doodle Fonts, Doodle Lettering, Creative Lettering, Lettering

    u of u creative writing

  6. U is for umbrella!

    u of u creative writing

COMMENTS

  1. Creative Writing

    Karli Sam Graduate Advisor [email protected] Graduate Degrees in Creative Writing We offer two graduate degrees in Creative Writing: An MFA and a PhD that prepares students to pursue careers as teachers of writing. The creative Writing faculty also sponsors an annual Guest Writers Series and the Utah Symposium in Science and Literature.

  2. English: Creative Writing

    The U's Department of English is committed to developing well-rounded writers, with training in literature of multiple genres: students must complete courses in literary history and creative writing, in addition to workshops in writing fiction, poetry, or non-fiction.

  3. Masters & PhD Programs

    In creative writing, exams focus on the genre (poetry or prose) of the student's dissertation. Students will be examined in four fields; lists in each field normally include 25-30 major works or their equivalent. Students must complete all required coursework and satisfy the language requirement before scheduling their qualifying exams.

  4. B.A. Creative Writing

    About the Major Become a creative, powerful writer. As a student pursuing a B.A. in Creative Writing, you will develop your writing craft under the guidance of award-winning writers at one of the top-ranked creative writing programs in the country.

  5. The 12 Best Creative Writing Colleges and Programs

    In ranking the schools, I considered five major criteria: #1: MFA Ranking —If a school has a great graduate creative writing program, it means you'll be taught by those same professors and the excellent graduate students they attract. Schools with strong MFA programs are also more likely to have solid alumni networks and internship opportunities.

  6. The Creative Writing Major

    The undergraduate Creative Writing major at the University of Illinois, formerly known as the Rhetoric major, is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. Now in its seventh decade, the major combines small workshops (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) and a variety of literature courses. Note: We also offer a Creative Writing minor.

  7. Creative Writing, M.F.A.

    Creative Writing, M.F.A. | University of South Carolina Expand your knowledge and hone your craft with our fully funded, three-year master's degree in creative writing, which combines the intimacy of a small program with visits by renowned authors from around the world.

  8. Creative Writing

    Creative Writing. The English Department is home to a thriving Creative Writing program. Our faculty have collectively published fifty books of fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, and criticism. They have won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Fulbright Program, as well as University-wide ...

  9. Creative Writing Program

    The University of Washington English Department's Creative Writing Program offers a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and a two-year Master of Fine Arts degrees in Poetry and Prose.

  10. M.F.A. in Creative Writing

    The curriculum for M.F.A. students emphasizes creative writing and literary study. The city of Houston offers a vibrant, multi-cultural backdrop for studying creative writing at the University of Houston. With a dynamic visual and performing arts scene, the Houston metropolitan area supplies a wealth of aesthetic materials.

  11. The English Major: Creative Writing Option

    Students enrolled in the Creative Writing Concentration will complete a major consisting of 65 ENGL credits, at least 30 of which must be completed in residence at the University of Washington. A maximum of 20 credits in 200-level courses may count toward the English major, and may be used to fulfill the distribution requirements.

  12. Creative Writing

    Creative Writing | English | University of Colorado Boulder The Department of English has moved from Hellems and Denison to Muenzinger. The main office is in Muenzinger D110. Creative Writing Since the 1970s, the Creative Writing Program at CU Boulder has provided a center for American experimental writing in the Rockies.

  13. PhD Creative Writing

    The University of Kansas' Graduate Program in Creative Writing also offers an M.F.A degree. Opportunities. A GTA appointment includes a tuition waiver for ten semesters plus a competitive stipend. In the first year, GTA appointees teach English 101 (first year composition) and English 102 (a required reading and writing course).

  14. Creative Writing and Literature (Major)

    Majors specialize in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction early in their studies. Creative Writing graduates pursue successful careers as writers, editors, educators, advertising professionals, and many other writing related-fields. Every year our graduates are admitted to competitive graduate school programs in the fine arts, education, law ...

  15. Creative Writing Program

    The Creative Writing Program at U of L offers a variety of creative writing courses covering the major genres of poetry, fiction, drama and creative nonfiction at the graduate and undergraduate level.

  16. Home

    Welcome to the Creative Writing Program at Penn. We are home to a faculty of award-winning writers who teach more than sixty workshops each year in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults, as well as innovative workshops in cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid ...

  17. Creative Writing : Undergraduate Program

    Creative Writing. The Department of English offers a track in creative writing for students who want to explore the art of writing and refine their skills in critical reading. Students work intensively on their own imaginative writing (fiction, poetry, and playwriting) in conjunction with the study of literature. Students wishing to pursue a ...

  18. The Creative Writing Program

    The PhD in English Literature with Creative Dissertation at the University of Georgia is for writers who wish to advance their expertise and sophistication as scholars. Our students are accomplished poets, fiction writers, essayists, translators, and interdisciplinary artists who are ready to move beyond the studio focus of the MFA to a more intensive program of literary study.

  19. English and Creative Writing

    The University of Iowa is the number two university in the country for writing, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The Iowa Writers' Workshop, the Nonfiction Writing Program, and other programs bring world-renowned writers to campus.

  20. Creative Writing

    Students wishing to pursue a concentration in creative writing should bear in mind that four years of study at the undergraduate level is the beginning of a long apprenticeship; there is little profit in believing that one "discovers one's voice" in the course of a few years of study, or, indeed, that such a discovery, a narrowing to a singulari...

  21. Creative Writing

    Creative Writing | School of Continuing Studies - University of Toronto Programs and Courses Creative Writing Creative Writing ABOUT THIS PROGRAM Have you longed to explore your creative potential? Embrace the unknown and start your journey here.

  22. Creative Writing Program

    "This week on the Sewanee Review Podcast, managing editor and poetry editor Eric Smith catches ...

  23. Creative Writing

    The extracurricular writing activities and a variety of writing internships available on and off campus provide valuable experiences for planning both professional and academic futures. After graduation, many Creative Writing majors go on to graduate writing programs and to careers in teaching, publishing, public relations, advertising, TV and ...

  24. Meet the 2024 Writing Freedom Fellows

    Stefani was a 2023 Lambda Literary Fellow. Dee Farmer (she/her) is a creative nonfiction writer, poet, and a trailblazer in transgender and prison litigation, having built a robust legal writing practice. She is the architect of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Farmer v. Brennan.

  25. Senior Associate, State Budget Policy, State Fiscal Health

    Contribute writing and editing support to projects as new research products are developed, including major reports, issue briefs, and shorter pieces of timely content. Identify and cultivate relationships with subject-matter experts, key organizations, and in-state stakeholders to support the project's research agenda and to advance project goals.

  26. R. Stranger MFA'24 combines creative writing and visual arts in their

    R. Stranger MFA'24 incorporates visual work into their writing, striving to find their own personal channel of creating. Through PNCA's Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing program, Stranger has been able to pursue cross-genre, collaborative work, combining prose, poetry, photography, film, archiving, and cataloging. "I needed to be in a writing program situated within an art school ...

  27. Creative Writing

    Admission to this program has been suspended effective Fall 2021. This certificate allows students to investigate the theory and practice of creative writing from a variety of approaches, including creative practice in poetry, fiction, and screen writing, and aspects of material production/publishing.

  28. PhD in Creative Writing

    Program Overview. The PhD in Creative Writing and Literature is a four-year course of study. Following two years of course work that includes workshop, forms classes, pedagogical training, literature, and theory, students take exams in two areas, one which examines texts through the lens of craft and another which examines them through the lens ...