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College of Charleston
South carolina, united states.
The MFA Creative Writing Program at the College of Charleston, a two-year residential program, offers advanced degree training in creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry writing and features separate curriculum emphases: Studio and Arts & Cultural Management. The MFA workshops are the backbone of the program, taught by a highly distinguished, award-winning writing faculty. Students learn the history and traditions associated with literature, learn theoretical and formal approaches to the craft of writing, and receive intensive peer and faculty feedback as they compose and revise their thesis—a full-length manuscript.
Application deadline: January 15
Contact Information
66 George Street Department of English Charleston South Carolina, United States 29424-0001 Phone: 843-953-5665 Email: [email protected] http://english.cofc.edu/graduate-programs/master-fine-arts-creative-writing/index.php
Bachelor of Arts in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing +
Undergraduate program director.
Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston is a public liberal arts college that offers a BA in English with a Concentration or Minor in Creative Writing.
With a three-course sequence in poetry and fiction (beginning, intermediate, advanced), the Undergraduate Creative Writing Program also offers courses in creative nonfiction, flash fiction, writing the novel, literary publishing and editing, reading for writers, and special topics courses in creative writing. Students can enroll in an independent study or the Bachelor's Essay of their design to complete a creative project.
Master of Fine Arts in Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction +
Graduate program director, gary jackson.
Born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, Gary Jackson is the author of the poetry collections origin story (University of New Mexico Press, 2021) and Missing You, Metropolis (Graywolf Press, 2010), which received the 2009 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. He’s also the co-editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry (Blair Publishing, 2021). His poems have appeared in numerous journals including The Sun, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Copper Nickel. The recipient of Cave Canem and Bread Loaf fellowships, he’s also been published in Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology and was featured in the 2013 New American Poetry Series by the Poetry Society of America. He’s an associate professor in English and creative writing at the College of Charleston where he’s currently the Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing and teaches in the MFA program and serves as the associate poetry editor at Crazyhorse.
Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fourteen books, most recently the nonfiction collection Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian (Crossway 2013) and the novel Dead Low Tide (Random House 2012). Other books include the story collection The Difference Between Women and Men, the nonfiction book Before We Get Started: A Practical Memoir of the Writer’s Life, and the novels Jewel, an Oprah Book Club pick, and A Song I Knew by Heart. His work has appeared in, among other places, The Yale Review, The New York Times, The Georgia Review, Vanity Fair Online and in dozens of anthologies.
Born in Los Angeles, he received his BA in English from Cal State Long Beach in 1981, and his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1984, where he studied under James Baldwin. From 1986 to 2004 he was writer-in-residence and professor of English at The College of Charleston, leaving to take the position of editor and director of the journal The Southern Review at Louisiana State University. Three years later, in the fall of 2007, he returned to The College of Charleston and the job he most loves: teaching.
His honors include being named Fulbright Senior American Scholar and writer-in-residence to Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, speaking on Flannery O’Connor at The White House, and having served as a member of the National Council on the Arts from 2006 to 2012.
Malinda McCollum
Malinda McCollum is the author of The Surprising Place, winner of the Juniper Prize for Fiction. Her stories have appeared in The Paris Review –– which awarded her the Plimpton Prize –– McSweeney’s, ZYZZYVA, Epoch, and elsewhere. Her stories have also been anthologized in The Paris Review Book of People with Problems and The Worst Years of Your Life: Stories for the Geeked-Out, Angst-Ridden, Lust-Addled, Deeply Misunderstood Adolescent in All of Us.
McCollum has been the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and a Stegner fellowship at Stanford University. She’s a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has taught at the University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford University. She is an Assistant Professor and an editor at Crazyhorse.
https://malindamccollum.com
Emily Rosko
Emily Rosko's newest poetry collection is Weather Inventions (University of Akron Press, 2018). She is the author of two previous award-winning poetry collections: Prop Rockery, winner of the 2011 Akron Poetry Prize, and Raw Goods Inventory, winner of the 2005 Iowa Poetry Prize. Raw Goods Inventory also received the 2007 Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers from Shenandoah. Her other honors include: the Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, a Ruth Lilly Fellowship from Poetry magazine, and a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri and a M.F.A. from Cornell University. Her poems have been included in a variety of literary journals, such as Antioch Review, AGNI, The Beloit Poetry Journal, The Denver Quarterly, New American Writing, Pleiades, and West Branch. Her pedagogical essays on poetic craft have been anthologized in Poets on Teaching: A Sourcebook and The Working Poet II. She is the editor of A Broken Thing: Poets on the Line (University of Iowa Press 2011) and is poetry editor for Crazyhorse.
https://www.erosko.com
Anthony Varallo
Anthony Varallo is the author of a novel, The Lines (University of Iowa Press), as well as four short story collections: This Day in History, winner of the John Simmons Short Fiction Award; Out Loud, winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize; Think of Me and I’ll Know (Northwestern University Press/TriQuarterly Books); and Everyone Was There, winner of the Elixir Press Fiction Award. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker “Daily Shouts,” One Story, The Sun, STORY, Gulf Coast, New England Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, and elsewhere. He earned his MFA from the University of Iowa/Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has received an NEA Fellowship in Literature. Currently he is a professor of English at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, where he teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing and serves as the fiction editor of Crazyhorse.
Jonathan Bohr Heinen
Jonathan Bohr Heinen began working on literary magazines as an assistant for Cimarron Review. He has since served as managing editor for Blue Mesa Review, senior managing editor for Iron Horse Literary Review, associate fiction editor for Q Avenue Press, and has worked as a publishing consultant for the Lighthouse Writers’ Workshop’s Lit Fest and the Tomales Bay Workshops Writers Conference. Currently, he is the managing editor for Crazyhorse at the College of Charleston. His writing has appeared in The Florida Review, Arroyo, Cimarron Review, The Boiler, among others, and has received special mention in the Pushcart Prize anthology. Beyond his writing and editing, he is a staff member at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.
Publications & Presses +
Visiting writers program +.
Beth Bachmann, Hadara Bar-Nadav, Charles Baxter, Mary Biddinger, Venita Blackburn, Stephanie Burt, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Jennifer Chang, Oliver de la Paz, Tarfia Faizullah, Sarah Gorham, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Patricia Hampl, Adam Johnson, T. Geronimo Johnson, Donika Kelly, Rebecca Lee, Dana Levin, Rebecca Makkai, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Emily Nemens, Julie Orringer, Christine Schutt, Kevin Simmonds, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Natasha Trethewey.
Reading Series +
Dorothea Benton Frank Writing Series ( https://english.cofc.edu/graduate-programs/master-fine-arts-creative-writing/How%20to%20Apply%20%20/index.php )
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Creative Writing
Our workshop classes in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction invite students to think deeply about the world around them and to render it alive on the page. Together, our classes form a true community of writers . Here, you'll find s upport and encourage ment.
Why Creative Writing?
Creative Writing courses encourage students to critically engage with texts ; teach strategies for creative expression through clarity, concision, and audience engagement ; and give students the tools to revise their work through subsequent drafts suitable for publication. Students will be introduced and become familiar with traditional schools of writing and established authors, as well as contemporary nationally renowned and award-winning writers.
Students sharpen their skills by working directly with faculty on their creative w riting , attend ing readings by national award-winning authors . Students also have opportunities to attend panels and talks by literary agents, writers, and teachers for advice on how to apply their skills to various sectors and careers ; as well as support in applying to graduate MFA and PhD programs , writing residencies, fellowships, and internships post-graduation.
Students are encouraged to apply for study abroad opportunities in England, Italy, Spain and other countries , including t he Spoleto Study Abroad Progra m: for over a decade, students travel for 3-4 week s in the summer to Spoleto, Italy—a hilltop town in the Umbria region with ancient roots, great food, and gorgeous views—studying and practicing the art of travel writing, memoir, fiction, and poetry.
Alumni have b een accepted to top-tier MFA and PhD programs in Creative Writing, including Cornell University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop ; t hey’ve p ublished books with presses , including W.W. Norton/Liveright and Autumn House Press ; w on national writing awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature ; l anded jobs as editors at literary journals and commercial magazines ; and e arned tenure-track teaching jobs .
The Creative Writing program offers two capstone courses —The Advanced Workshop in Fiction Writing , and Poetry Writing . Both courses are designed for students to write and revise creative writing that is suitable to be submitted for publication. Capstone courses are also designed to help students gain confidence and expertise and prepare them for their post-undergraduate writing careers and paths.
F aculty in the Creative Writing program have published 26+ books in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and have won nationally recognized prizes including the Juniper Prize, Drue Heinz Literature Prize, The Iowa Poetry Prize, The Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and Oprah’s Book Club . Faculty have earned awards , including the National Endowment for the Arts, Bread Loaf Writers ’ fellowship, and the Wallace Stegner Writing Fellowship at Stanford .
Meet the award-winning faculty:
- Gary Jackson
- Malinda McCollum
- Emily Rosko
- Anthony Varallo
The College of Charleston, set in one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the country , also houses one of the country’s premiere literary journals, swamp pink, (rebranded from Crazyhorse ) . We bring internationally renowned visiting writers and editors to campus , including Hadara Bar-Nadav, Stephanie Burt, Jennifer Chang, Dana Levin, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, T. Geronimo Johnson, Donika Kelly, Rebecca Makkai, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Natasha Trethewey.
Every spring, the Creative Writing Program hosts the Sarah Margaret Goad Memorial Prizes for undergraduate creative writing, awarding six students up to $ 1 000 in prizes for their poetry and prose. The Creative Writing program is also home to swamp pink (previously Crazyhorse , active since 1969 ), a nationally ranked literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction .
Student Story
Jamie Carr ‘12 is a Senior literary agent at The Book Group where she represents adult literary and upmarket commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. She is based in her hometown of NYC.
http://www.thebookgroup.com/jamie-carr
Raena Shirali ’12 is an Assistant Professor of English at Holy Family University, where she serves as Faculty Advisor for Folio Magazine & co-organizes the Distinguished Writers Series . She won the 2013 “Discovery” / Boston Review Poetry Prize, a 2016 Pushcart Prize, and was awarded a Spring 2017 Philip Roth Residency at Bucknell University's Stadler Center, among other honors.
http://www.raenashirali.com/
Program Director
Gary Jackson (he/him) Associate Professor Poetry editor, swamp pink Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing Department of English College of Charleston 5 College Way Rm. 402 [email protected]
The official news site of the College of Charleston.
Caffeine fueled words: a creative story.
For most people with her workload, a steady stream of caffeine is a necessity. So, it’s a good thing that Laura Westby Cannon ’09 is a co-owner of a coffeehouse.
Her schedule on Wednesdays, her busiest day, illustrates her breakneck pace. She opens up the Orange Spot Coffeehouse in North Charleston’s eclectic Park Circle neighborhood at 5 a.m. She works the espresso machine, takes orders from customers looking for a morning pick-me-up, and makes sure the place is humming along until 11 a.m.
By noon, she’s got to make it down to the College’s downtown campus – that includes finding one of those mythical downtown parking spots – for a graduate assistantship that lasts until 4 p.m. She gets an hour break, and then it’s off to more than six hours of writing workshops and poetry survey classes. She wraps up her day at about 10 p.m.
Somewhere in there, she’s still got to find time to work on her novel.
“I have to have a very regimented schedule,” she says. “But it’s a means to an end and I’m able to do what I love and am passionate about.”
Cannon is one of 12 writers in the College’s new M.F.A. program in creative writing, which held its first classes in the fall of 2016. It’s the College’s first and only terminal degree program to date, and has already proven a valuable gateway for Cannon and others into the literary world.
“Our horizons have been expanded,” she says.
Cannon graduated from the College in 2009, majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing, but she didn’t immediately pursue an M.F.A. workshop outside of Charleston. She opted instead to start up the Orange Spot with her husband, Matthew, and friend Julie Simuang in 2013.
English professor Bret Lott helped launch the College’s M.F.A. program in creative writing, which enrolled its first students in fall 2016. ( Photos by Mike Ledford .)
The small cinderblock coffeehouse isn’t much larger than a couple of rooms in a Charleston carriage house, but its quirky decor, excellent coffee and tasty brunches quickly made it a go-to spot for java lovers in North Charleston and surrounding areas. Among the regulars was one of Cannon’s former English professors, Bret Lott .
Lott and his faculty colleagues had been trying to launch a creative writing M.F.A. program for many years, but creating the College’s first terminal degree program – that is, one above the master’s level that allows for recipients to pursue tenure-track positions at universities – didn’t come easy.
The first big break came in 2001, when the College took over production of Crazyhorse , a world-renowned literary journal founded in 1960 in Los Angeles by poet Thomas McGrath and included works from Pulitzer Prize–winning authors such as John Updike.
Then, Lott says, about five years ago, the College created a committee to explore the possibility of creating an M.F.A. program. It looked plausible, so the department aimed to accept its first dozen students for the fall 2016 semester.
Lott was at the Orange Spot when he told Cannon about the program. She’d been in his undergraduate workshop classes and he recalled one of her essays, “Danger in the Valley,” about growing up in North Dakota.
“I remembered her from my classes that even then, she had something that was really on the ball,” he says. “She has a really good voice for storytelling.”
Cannon blustered at first because the M.F.A. program focused on fiction and she prefers writing nonfiction. But Lott persisted, telling her that both forms of writing employ the same tools. “I told her the things we’re teaching here will apply to your creative nonfiction as well,” he says.
Cannon – with the support of her husband and business partner – decided to take Lott up on his offer and applied to the program. She was not only accepted into the program, but was one of two students in the program to receive the Woodfin Scholarship, a $5,000 award given to the two best creative writing portfolios submitted by students accepted into the M.F.A. program.
The scholarships, the other of which was awarded to Nick Plasmati, were made possible through the extraordinary generosity, vision and goodwill of an alumnus and are designed to attract the very best writers from across the country to come study at the College. These awards, which help to offset tuition costs, will be available for renewal for the second year of study.
After only one semester, Cannon could tell she’d grown as a writer, even finding a new love for fiction. And she’s embarked on writing a novel about shifting family dynamics through traumatic experiences. The plot follows two children transitioning to adulthood after their father sustains a brain injury that affects how his body and mind age, putting extra pressure on their mother. But Cannon admits she’s already making big structural revisions based on feedback and techniques she’s learned in her workshops.
“I want to explore lost childhood, a family unit’s response to unexpected tragedies like this and the question of how to care for both parents in these types of situations as they age,” she says. “That’s the crux, but we’ll see what happens.”
The new program has also afforded Cannon new ways to interact with the creative communities in Charleston and across the country. She certainly engages with writers and creatives at her coffee house in North Charleston, but through the M.F.A. program, she’s been able to go on retreats across the country with other writers, attend literary conferences in Washington, D.C., and sit in on campus talks through the College’s Crazyhorse Lecture Series.
Among the professional writers who have embraced the program is popular Lowcountry fiction author Dorothea Benton Frank (and the parent of two CofC alumni), who has hosted the College’s M.F.A. writers on several occasions. “These experiences weren’t possible before this program was here,” says Cannon.
Lott says that Cannon’s growth as a writer – and that of all the students in the program – is astounding. It’s a little different from undergraduate workshops, where students have to balance writing with assignments and classes in other disciplines. In the master’s program, he and his fellow M.F.A. professors get to see what happens when a dozen writers sit together and hammer away at the creative writing process for 15 hours a week.
“Just to bring seven people, ten people into a room and concentrate on one thing and focus on it for a semester, and see how much can happen,” he says. “This is a cool thing … who knows what we will have at the end of two years?”
Cannon says that everyone in the program, from the writers to the professors, shares a passion for writing. That passion has drawn them together for constructive workshops and pizza parties at the Orange Spot after a long week. And it’s pushed her to sip a cup of coffee before each 15-hour Wednesday.
“Passion plays a big part in this program,” she says.
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Department of English
Welcome to the Department of English at the College of Charleston!
The study of English is fundamental to a liberal arts and sciences education. English faculty teach students to read perceptively and critically; to understand the historical, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions of language and literature; and to write with clarity and precision. We offer courses in composition, creative writing, film, literature, and rhetoric.
English majors benefit from small class sizes, individual attention from instructors, and unique opportunities for independent research, internships, and study abroad. Majors pursue concentrations in Literature and Film , Creative Writing , or Writing, Rhetoric, and Publication . Those who wish to teach at the secondary level can pursue a combined major in English and Secondary Education .
Our faculty possess expertise in a wide range of specializations within English studies and publish widely with top academic and literary presses and in leading journals.
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MFA Program
Poetry: Emily Rosko Fiction: Bret Lott, Malinda McCollum, Anthony Varallo
The program offers partial funding through graduate assistantships, graduate awards, and the Woodfin and James Banks fellowships.
Students also have the opportunity to earn an Arts & Cultural Management Graduate Certificate credential alongside the MFA degree. The Arts & Cultural Management curriculum offers training in entrepreneurial skills that support a public/nonprofit mission of the arts.
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Creative Writing at College of Charleston
Creative writing degrees available at c of c, c of c creative writing rankings, popularity of creative writing at c of c, c of c creative writing students, c of c creative writing master’s program.
Of the 8 students who earned a master's degree in Creative Writing from C of C in 2020-2021, 25% were men and 75% were women.
The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from College of Charleston with a master's in creative writing.
| Ethnic Background | Number of Students |
|---|---|
| Asian | 0 |
| Black or African American | 0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1 |
| White | 5 |
| Non-Resident Aliens | 0 |
| Other Races | 2 |
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15 Best Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2024
May 15, 2024
Whether you studied at a top creative writing university or are a high school dropout who will one day become a bestselling author , you may be considering an MFA in Creative Writing. But is a writing MFA genuinely worth the time and potential costs? How do you know which program will best nurture your writing? If you’re considering an MFA, this article walks you through the best full-time, low residency, and online Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.
What are the best Creative Writing MFA programs?
Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, let’s start with the basics. What is an MFA, anyway?
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications typically require a sample portfolio, usually 10-20 pages (and sometimes up to 30-40) of your best writing. Moreover, you can receive an MFA in a particular genre, such as Fiction or Poetry, or more broadly in Creative Writing. However, if you take the latter approach, you often have the opportunity to specialize in a single genre.
Wondering what actually goes on in a creative writing MFA beyond inspiring award-winning books and internet memes ? You enroll in workshops where you get feedback on your creative writing from your peers and a faculty member. You enroll in seminars where you get a foundation of theory and techniques. Then, you finish the degree with a thesis project. Thesis projects are typically a body of polished, publishable-quality creative work in your genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
Why should I get an MFA in Creative Writing?
You don’t need an MFA to be a writer. Just look at Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison or bestselling novelist Emily St. John Mandel.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons you might still want to get a creative writing MFA. The first is, unfortunately, prestige. An MFA from a top program can help you stand out in a notoriously competitive industry to be published.
The second reason: time. Many MFA programs give you protected writing time, deadlines, and maybe even a (dainty) salary.
Third, an MFA in Creative Writing is a terminal degree. This means that this degree allows you to teach writing at the university level, especially after you publish a book.
Fourth: resources. MFA programs are often staffed by brilliant, award-winning writers; offer lecture series, volunteer opportunities, and teaching positions; and run their own (usually prestigious) literary magazines. Such resources provide you with the knowledge and insight you’ll need to navigate the literary and publishing world on your own post-graduation.
But above all, the biggest reason to pursue an MFA is the community it brings you. You get to meet other writers—and share feedback, advice, and moral support—in relationships that can last for decades.
Types of Creative Writing MFA Programs
Here are the different types of programs to consider, depending on your needs:
Fully-Funded Full-Time Programs
These programs offer full-tuition scholarships and sweeten the deal by actually paying you to attend them.
- Pros: You’re paid to write (and teach).
- Cons: Uprooting your entire life to move somewhere possibly very cold.
Full-Time MFA Programs
These programs include attending in-person classes and paying tuition (though many offer need-based and merit scholarships).
- Pros: Lots of top-notch non-funded programs have more assets to attract world-class faculty and guests.
- Cons: It’s an investment that might not pay itself back.
Low-Residency MFA Programs
Low-residency programs usually meet biannually for short sessions. They also offer one-on-one support throughout the year. These MFAs are more independent, preparing you for what the writing life is actually like.
- Pros: No major life changes required. Cons: Less time dedicated to writing and less time to build relationships.
Online MFA Programs
Held 100% online. These programs have high acceptance rates and no residency requirement. That means zero travel or moving expenses.
- Pros: No major life changes required.
- Cons: These MFAs have less name recognition.
The Top 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs Ranked by Category
The following programs are selected for their balance of high funding, impressive return on investment, stellar faculty, major journal publications , and impressive alums.
FULLY FUNDED MFA PROGRAMS
1) johns hopkins university , mfa in fiction/poetry.
This two-year program offers an incredibly generous funding package: $39,000 teaching fellowships each year. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and the option to apply for a lecture position after graduation. Many grads publish their first book within three years (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Incoming class size: 8 students (4 per genre)
- Admissions rate: 4-8%
- Alumni: Chimamanda Adichie, Jeffrey Blitz, Wes Craven, Louise Erdrich, Porochista Khakpour, Phillis Levin, ZZ Packer, Tom Sleigh, Elizabeth Spires, Rosanna Warren
2) University of Texas, James Michener Center
The only MFA that offers full and equal funding for every writer. It’s three years long, offers a generous yearly stipend of $30k, and provides full tuition plus a health insurance stipend. Fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting concentrations are available. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $4,000 for the summer.
- Location : Austin, TX
- Incoming class size : 12 students
- Acceptance rate: a bone-chilling less-than-1% in fiction; 2-3% in other genres
- Alumni: Fiona McFarlane, Brian McGreevy, Karan Mahajan, Alix Ohlin, Kevin Powers, Lara Prescott, Roger Reeves, Maria Reva, Domenica Ruta, Sam Sax, Joseph Skibell, Dominic Smith
3) University of Iowa
The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a 2-year program on a residency model for fiction and poetry. This means there are low requirements, and lots of time to write groundbreaking novels or play pool at the local bar. All students receive full funding, including tuition, a living stipend, and subsidized health insurance. The Translation MFA , co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years long but with more intensive coursework. The Nonfiction Writing Program is a prestigious three-year MFA program and is also intensive.
- Incoming class size: 25 each for poetry and fiction; 10-12 for nonfiction and translation.
- Acceptance rate: 2.7-3.7%
- Fantastic Alumni: Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, Garth Greenwell, Kiley Reid, Brandon Taylor, Eula Biss, Yiyun Li, Jennifer Croft
Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued)
4) university of michigan.
Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students in UMichigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. This is a big university town, which is less damaging to your social life. Plus, there’s lots to do when you have a $25,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.
This is a 2-3-year program in either fiction or poetry, with an impressive reputation. They also have a demonstrated commitment to “ push back against the darkness of intolerance and injustice ” and have outreach programs in the community.
- Location: Ann Arbor, MI
- Incoming class size: 18 (9 in each genre)
- Acceptance rate: 2%
- Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward
5) Brown University
Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that only occasionally dips into arctic temperatures. All students are fully funded for 2 years, which includes tuition remission and a $32k yearly stipend. Students also get summer funding and—you guessed it—that sweet, sweet health insurance.
In the Brown Literary Arts MFA, students take only one workshop and one elective per semester. It’s also the only program in the country to feature a Digital/Cross Disciplinary Track. Fiction and Poetry Tracks are offered as well.
- Location: Providence, RI
- Incoming class size: 12-13
- Acceptance rate: “highly selective”
- Alumni: Edwidge Danticat, Jaimy Gordon, Gayl Jones, Ben Lerner, Joanna Scott, Kevin Young, Ottessa Moshfegh
6) University of Arizona
This 3-year program with fiction, poetry, and nonfiction tracks has many attractive qualities. It’s in “ the lushest desert in the world, ” and was recently ranked #4 in creative writing programs, and #2 in Nonfiction. You can take classes in multiple genres, and in fact, are encouraged to do so. Plus, Arizona’s dry heat is good for arthritis.
This notoriously supportive program is fully funded. Moreover, teaching assistantships that provide a salary, health insurance, and tuition waiver are offered to all students. Tucson is home to a hopping literary scene, so it’s also possible to volunteer at multiple literary organizations and even do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Incoming class size: usually 6
- Acceptance rate: 1.2% (a refreshingly specific number after Brown’s evasiveness)
- Alumni: Francisco Cantú, Jos Charles, Tony Hoagland, Nancy Mairs, Richard Russo, Richard Siken, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, David Foster Wallace
7) Arizona State University
With concentrations in fiction and poetry, Arizona State is a three-year funded program in arthritis-friendly dry heat. It offers small class sizes, individual mentorships, and one of the most impressive faculty rosters in the game. Moreover, it encourages cross-genre study.
Funding-wise, everyone has the option to take on a teaching assistantship position, which provides a tuition waiver, health insurance, and a yearly stipend of $25k. Other opportunities for financial support exist as well.
- Location: Tempe, AZ
- Incoming class size: 8-10
- Acceptance rate: 3% (sigh)
- Alumni: Tayari Jones, Venita Blackburn, Dorothy Chan, Adrienne Celt, Dana Diehl, Matthew Gavin Frank, Caitlin Horrocks, Allegra Hyde, Hugh Martin, Bonnie Nadzam
FULL-RESIDENCY MFAS (UNFUNDED)
8) new york university.
This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU also has one of the most accomplished faculty lists anywhere. Students have large cohorts (more potential friends!) and have a penchant for winning top literary prizes. Concentrations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are available.
- Location: New York, NY
- Incoming class size: ~60; 20-30 students accepted for each genre
- Acceptance rate: 6-9%
- Alumni: Nick Flynn, Nell Freudenberger, Aracelis Girmay, Mitchell S. Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, John Keene, Raven Leilani, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong
9) Columbia University
Another 2-3 year private MFA program with drool-worthy permanent and visiting faculty. Columbia offers courses in fiction, poetry, translation, and nonfiction. Beyond the Ivy League education, Columbia offers close access to agents, and its students have a high record of bestsellers. Finally, teaching positions and fellowships are available to help offset the high tuition.
- Incoming class size: 110
- Acceptance rate: not publicized (boo)
- Alumni: Alexandra Kleeman, Rachel Kushner, Claudia Rankine, Rick Moody, Sigrid Nunez, Tracy K. Smith, Emma Cline, Adam Wilson, Marie Howe, Mary Jo Bang
10) Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence offers a concentration in speculative fiction in addition to the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction choices. Moreover, they encourage cross-genre exploration. With intimate class sizes, this program is unique because it offers biweekly one-on-one conferences with its stunning faculty. It also has a notoriously supportive atmosphere, and many teaching and funding opportunities are available.
- Location: Bronxville, NY
- Incoming class size: 30-40
- Acceptance rate: not publicized
- Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado
LOW RESIDENCY
11) bennington college.
This two-year program boasts truly stellar faculty, and meets twice a year for ten days in January and June. It’s like a biannual vacation in beautiful Vermont, plus mentorship by a famous writer. The rest of the time, you’ll be spending approximately 25 hours per week on reading and writing assignments. Students have the option to concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Uniquely, they can also opt for a dual-genre focus.
The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available. Additionally, Bennington offers full-immersion teaching fellowships to MFA students, which are extremely rare in low-residency programs.
- Location: Bennington, VT
- Acceptance rate: 53%
- Incoming class: 25-35
- Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others
12) Institute for American Indian Arts
This two-year program emphasizes Native American and First Nations writing. With truly amazing faculty and visiting writers, they offer a wide range of genres, including screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. In addition, each student is matched with a faculty mentor who works with them one-on-one throughout the semester.
Students attend two eight-day residencies each year, in January and July, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At $12,000 in tuition a year, it boasts being “ one of the most affordable MFA programs in the country .”
- Location: Santa Fe, NM
- Incoming class size : 21
- Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder
13) Vermont College of Fine Arts
VCFA is the only graduate school on this list that focuses exclusively on the fine arts. Their MFA in Writing offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction; they also offer an MFA in Literary Translation and one of the few MFAs in Writing for Children and Young Adults . Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, either in-person or online. Here, they receive one-on-one mentorship that continues for the rest of the semester. You can also do many travel residencies in exciting (and warm) places like Cozumel.
VCFA boasts amazing faculty and visiting writers, with individualized study options and plenty of one-on-one time. Tuition for the full two-year program is approximately $54k.
- Location : Various; 2024/25 residencies are in Colorado and California
- Incoming class size: 18-25
- Acceptance rate: 63%
- Alumnx: Lauren Markham, Mary-Kim Arnold, Cassie Beasley, Kate Beasley, Julie Berry, Bridget Birdsall, Gwenda Bond, Pablo Cartaya
ONLINE MFAS
14) university of texas at el paso.
UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Accordingly, this program is geared toward serious writers who want to pursue teaching and/or publishing. Intensive workshops allow submissions in Spanish and/or English, and genres include poetry and fiction.
No residencies are required, but an optional opportunity to connect in person is available every year. This three-year program costs about $25-30k total, depending on whether you are an in-state or out-of-state resident.
- Location: El Paso, TX
- Acceptance rate: “highly competitive”
- Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here
15) Bay Path University
This 2-year online, no-residency program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. Featuring a supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and an optional yearly field trip to Ireland.
There are many tracks, including publishing, narrative medicine, and teaching creative writing. Moreover, core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, food/travel writing, and the personal essay. Tuition is approximately $31,000 for the entire program, with scholarships available.
- Location: Longmeadow, MA
- Incoming class size: 20
- Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here
Best MFA Creative Writing Programs — Final Thoughts
Whether you’re aiming for a fully funded, low residency, or completely online MFA program, there are plenty of incredible options available—all of which will sharpen your craft while immersing you in the vibrant literary arts community.
Hoping to prepare for your MFA in advance? You might consider checking out the following:
- Best English Programs
- Best Colleges for Creative Writing
- Writing Summer Programs
- Best Writing Competitions for High School Students
Inspired to start writing? Get your pencil ready:
- 100 Creative Writing Prompts
- 1 00 Tone Words to Express Mood in Your Writing
- 60 Senior Project Ideas
- Common App Essay Prompts
Best MFA Creative Writing Programs – References:
- https://www.pw.org/mfa
- The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students , by Tom Kealey (A&C Black 2005)
- Graduate School Admissions
Julia Conrad
With a Bachelor of Arts in English and Italian from Wesleyan University as well as MFAs in both Nonfiction Writing and Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, Julia is an experienced writer, editor, educator, and a former Fulbright Fellow. Julia’s work has been featured in The Millions , Asymptote , and The Massachusetts Review , among other publications. To read more of her work, visit www.juliaconrad.net
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View the College of Charleston academic catalog for information about degree programs, course offerings and more. ... ENGL 561 MFA Workshop in Creative Nonfiction (3) OR. ENGL 564 MFA Workshop in Poetry (3) OR. ... ENGL 569 Special Topics in Creative Writing (3) ENGL 702 Internship (1-3) ENGL 706 Publishing Practicum (3)
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program provides students with a rigorous education in the writing and craft of fiction or poetry. The program culminates with the completion a full-length manuscript of either prose fiction or poetry (the thesis). ... The College of Charleston's Master of Fine Arts Program offers advanced degree ...
The MFA Creative Writing Program at the College of Charleston, a two-year residential program, offers advanced degree training in creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry writing and features separate curriculum emphases: Studio and Arts & Cultural Management. ... Currently, he is the managing editor for Crazyhorse at the College of Charleston ...
Creative Writing courses encourage students to critically engage with texts; teach strategies for creative expression through clarity, concision, and audience engagement; and give students the tools to revise their work through subsequent drafts suitable for publication. Students will be introduced and become familiar with traditional schools of writing and established authors, as well as ...
By noon, she's got to make it down to the College's downtown campus - that includes finding one of those mythical downtown parking spots - for a graduate assistantship that lasts until 4 p.m. She gets an hour break, and then it's off to more than six hours of writing workshops and poetry survey classes. She wraps up her day at about ...
The MFA Creative Writing Program at the College of Charleston, a two-year residential program, offers advanced degree training in either fiction or poetry writing and features separate curriculum emphases: Studio and Arts & Cultural Management.
Welcome to the "New" Charleston. A top 10 fastest-growing city for software and Internet technology, an emerging hub for aerospace, and a hotbed for healthcare and biosciences. ... Take advantage of everything the College has to offer. Use your imagination. Move outside your comfort zone. Look at every new experience as an opportunity. And have ...
Welcome to the "New" Charleston. A top 10 fastest-growing city for software and Internet technology, an emerging hub for aerospace, and a hotbed for healthcare and biosciences. Academics › Majors and Minors › Colleges & Schools › Graduate School › Honors College
She completed a certificate in Creative Writing at the University of Toronto and is thrilled to turn her full attention to writing fiction as a member of CoC's MFA program. ... He now returns to his hometown as the 2022-2024 Woodfin Fellow in the College of Charleston poetry MFA. He concurrently studies at the European Graduate School, as an ...
We'll be starting our first classes in the MFA program in creative writing this fall, but the Department of English at the College of Charleston has long been dedicated to writing and the celebration of literature. Take a look at this list of writers who've visited the college over the last forty years to get an idea of both the tradition ...
Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we've published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests ...
Epiphyte Reading Series: First Reading, Tuesday, October 10, 6-7pm, Blue Bicycle Books, 420 King Street. Posted on November 5, 2023 by Anthony Varallo. CofC MFA Creative Writing A Part of the Main.
Find top graduate schools offering masters in creative writing degrees in South Carolina and PhD in creative writing programs in South Carolina. ... College of Charleston School of Education, Health, and Human Performance ... Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts. Conway, SC · Coastal Carolina University · Graduate School; Edwards ...
View the College of Charleston academic catalog for information about degree programs, course offerings and more. ... Creative Writing Concentration. Introduction. ENGL 220 Poetry Writing I (3) ENGL 223 Fiction Writing I (3) Focus. ENGL 377: Poetry Writing II.
CofC MFA in Creative Writing, Charleston, South Carolina. 128 likes. Coming in Fall 2016, the College of Charleston will offer an MFA in Creative...
"It makes total sense," Lott says of the Arts Management emphasis offered within the creative writing MFA. "The majority of the skills learned in arts management are also elements of the writing craft." The MFA program was in development for over a decade before it finally got underway with its inaugural class in the fall of 2016.
Creative Writing at College of Charleston. 8 Master's Degrees #165 Overall Quality. Here, you'll find out more about the major, including such details as the number of graduates, what degree levels are offered, ethnicity of students, and more. In addition, we cover how C of C ranks in comparison to other schools with creative writing programs.
1) Johns Hopkins University, MFA in Fiction/Poetry. This two-year program offers an incredibly generous funding package: $39,000 teaching fellowships each year. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and the option to apply for a lecture position after graduation.
CofC MFA Creative Writing A Part of the Main. By Hailey Williams and Jammie Huynh. Dr. Jason Koo visited the College of Charleston on January 20 to kick off the Spring semester's Dorothea Benton Frank Writing Series with an Industry Talk. MFA Director, Dr. Emily Rosko spoke to a large gathering of CofC's student-writers, saying she was "delighted to have Jason Koo here to speak today ...
The Cornell College MFA program is no longer accepting new students. Resources for current M.F.A in creative writing students. Learn more about program faculty and their books.. Refresh your memory on the low-residency program details.. Take a look at the programs our Center for the Literary Arts offers undergraduates and if you're on campus in person, what literary events you might be able to ...
Program: Creative Writing Minor - College of Charleston - Modern Campus Catalog™. Jun 11, 2024. 2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog [DRAFT] Catalog Home. Archived Catalogs. Accreditation, Catalog Policy, and Legal Statements. About College of Charleston. Admissions Information. Transfer Credit Information.
The Hood College MFA in creative writing program will host its Summer 2024 Residency Reading Series beginning June 14. This marks the program's inaugural session, as it was launched in the summer ...
When you apply to the MFA program in Creative Writing at the College of Charleston, we consider your portfolio for one of two $5,000 awards: one for poetry, one for fiction. The award, which offsets annual tuition, is renewable for the second year of study.