nyu creative writing mfa reddit

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Creative Writing

Degrees and fields of study.

• M.F.A. in Creative Writing - Fiction
• M.F.A.  in Creative Writing - Poetry
• M.F.A.  in Creative Writing - Creative Nonfiction
• M.F.A.  in Low Residency Writers Workshop in Paris Program - Fiction
• M.F.A. in Low Residency Writers Workshop in Paris Program - Poetry
• M.F.A. in Low Residency Writers Workshop in Paris Program - Creative Nonfiction

Application Deadlines

Applications and all supporting materials must be  submitted online by 5PM  Eastern Time. If a listed deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or U.S. federal holiday, then the next business day will be the actual deadline.

Creative Writing Programs

• December 18 : Fall admission

Writers Workshop in Paris Programs

• September 1 : January residency (January term application)
• February 1 : June residency (summer application)

Requirements

In addition to the general application requirements, the department specifically requires:

Test Scores

• Please do not send GRE test scores — they will not be reviewed by our Admissions Committee.

TOEFL/IELTS

Applicants must submit official TOEFL or IELTS scores unless they:

Are a native English speaker; OR

Are a US citizen or permanent resident; OR

Have completed (or will complete) a baccalaureate or master's degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English.

Statement of Academic Purpose

In a concisely written statement, please describe your past and present work as it relates to your intended field of study, your educational objectives, and your career goals. In addition, please include your intellectual and professional reasons for choosing your field of study and why your studies/research can best be done at the Graduate School of Arts and Science at NYU. The statement should not exceed two double-spaced pages.

Writing Sample

A creative writing sample is required. It should not exceed 25 double-spaced pages for fiction and nonfiction applicants and 10 single-spaced pages for poetry applicants. The font size should be 12 point or larger.

Useful Links

• GSAS Bulletin
• Department Website
• Email [email protected]
• Application Portal
• Back to Programs, Requirements and Deadlines

The Graduate School of Arts and Science reserves the right to change this information at any time. This page supersedes all previous versions.

Last updated August 2023.

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• Program of Study

Course Offerings

Creative writing (2022 - 2024).

In addition to the on-campus creative writing courses offered throughout the year, special January term and summer programs offer students a chance to study intensively and generate new writing in Florence, New York, and Paris.

Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry CRWRI-UA 815  Formerly Creative Writing: Introduction to Fiction and Poetry. Identical to CRWRI-UA 9815. Not repeatable for credit. Workshop. Offered in fall, winter, spring, and summer. 4 points. An exciting introduction to the basic elements of poetry and prose, with in-class writing, take-home reading and writing assignments, and substantive discussions of craft. Structured as a workshop: students receive feedback from their instructor and their fellow writers in a roundtable setting and should be prepared to offer their classmates responses to their work.

Intermediate Workshops in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction CRWRI-UA 816   (Intermediate Fiction Workshop), CRWRI-UA 817 (Intermediate Poetry Workshop), CRWRI-UA 825 (Intermediate Creative Nonfiction Workshop) Prerequisite for Fiction : Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815), or Creative Writing (CRWRI-UA 9815), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835), or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Intensive Seminar in Fiction (CRWRI-UA 861; formerly Master Class in Fiction, CRWRI-UA 860), or equivalent. Workshop. Offered in fall, winter, spring, and summer. 4 points. Prerequisite for Poetry : Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815), or Creative Writing (CRWRI-UA 9815), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835), or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Intensive Seminar in Poetry (CRWRI-UA 862; formerly Master Class in Poetry, CRWRI-UA 870), or equivalent. Workshop. Offered in fall, spring, and summer. 4 points. Prerequisite for Creative Nonfiction : Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815), or Creative Writing (CRWRI-UA 9815), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835), or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Intensive Seminar in Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 863; formerly Master Class in Creative Nonfiction, CRWRI-UA 880), or equivalent. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Offer an opportunity to continue the pursuit of writing at the intermediate level. Integrate in-depth craft discussions and extensive outside reading to deepen students' understanding of their chosen genre and broaden their knowledge of the evolution of literary forms and techniques. Each may be repeated three times for credit.

Writers in New York: Fiction, Poetry, or Creative Nonfiction CRWRI-UA 818   (Writers in New York: Fiction), CRWRI-UA 819 (Writers in New York: Poetry), CRWRI-UA 835 (Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction) Application required. Workshop. Offered in the summer. 8 points per course. Offer poets and fiction writers an opportunity to develop their craft while living the writer's life in Greenwich Village. Students participate in daily workshops and craft classes, are mentored by accomplished professional writers, and attend readings, lectures, panel discussions, and seminars led by New York-based writers and editors. Assignments encourage immersion in the city. Students work intensively to generate new writing and also attend a lively series of readings, lectures, literary walking tours, and special events. May be repeated once for credit.

Advanced Workshops in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction CRWRI-UA 820 (Advanced Fiction Workshop), CRWRI-UA 830 (Advanced Poetry Workshop), CRWRI-UA 850 (Advanced Creative Nonfiction Workshop) Prerequisite for Fiction : Intermediate Fiction Workshop (CRWRI-UA 816), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Intensive Seminar in Fiction (CRWRI-UA 861; formerly Master Class in Fiction, CRWRI-UA 860), or equivalent. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Prerequisite for Poetry : Intermediate Poetry Workshop (CRWRI-UA 817), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Intensive Seminar in Poetry (CRWRI-UA 862; formerly Master Class in Poetry, CRWRI-UA 870), or equivalent. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Prerequisite for Creative Nonfiction : Intermediate Creative Nonfiction Workshop (CRWRI-UA 825), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835), or Intensive Seminar in Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 863; formerly Master Class in Creative Nonfiction, CRWRI-UA 880), or equivalent. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Provide students with the opportunity to hone their individual voices and experiment with different aesthetic strategies in genre-specific workshops taught by eminent writers in the field. Focus on revision techniques, the development of sustainable writing processes, and the broadening of students' knowledge of classical and contemporary masters. Each workshop has a distinct emphasis and area of exploration; course descriptions are available online prior to registration. Each may be repeated three times for credit.

Intensive Seminars in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction CRWRI-UA 861 Intensive Seminar in Fiction, CRWRI-UA 862 Intensive Seminar in Poetry, CRWRI-UA 863 Intensive Seminar in Creative Nonfiction Prerequisite for Fiction : Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815), or Creative Writing (CRWRI-UA 9815), or Intermediate Fiction Workshop (CRWRI-UA 816), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835) or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Advanced Fiction Workshop (CRWRI-UA 820), or equivalent. Recommended prerequisite: Advanced Fiction (CRWRI-UA 820). Application required. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Prerequisite for Poetry : Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815), or Creative Writing (CRWRI-UA 9815), or Intermediate Poetry Workshop (CRWRI-UA 817), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835), or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Advanced Poetry Workshop (CRWRI-UA 830), or equivalent. Recommended prerequisite: Advanced Poetry (CRWRI-UA 830). Application required. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Prerequisite for Creative Nonfiction : Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815), or Creative Writing (CRWRI-UA 9815), or Writers in New York: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 818), or Writers in New York: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 819), or Writers in New York: Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 835), or Writers in Paris: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9818), or Writers in Paris: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9819), or Writers in Florence: Fiction (CRWRI-UA 9828), or Writers in Florence: Poetry (CRWRI-UA 9829), or Intermediate Creative Nonfiction Workshop (CRWRI-UA 825), or Advanced Creative Nonfiction Workshop (CRWRI-UA 850), or equivalent. Recommended prerequisite: Advanced Creative Nonfiction (CRWRI-UA 850). Application required. Workshop. Offered in fall and spring. 4 points. Taught by acclaimed poets and prose writers to select NYU undergraduates. Application is required for admission. Each is limited to 12 students and provides intensive mentoring and guidance for serious and talented undergraduate writers. Full details of these courses and their applications are shared on the program’s undergraduate listserv; students are added to the listserv when they enroll in Creative Writing: Introduction to Prose and Poetry (CRWRI-UA 815). They may also contact [email protected] for information.

Creative Writing Internship CRWRI-UA 980 Prerequisites: a declared minor in creative writing, two CRWRI-UA courses or the equivalent, and approval of the program. An internship may not be used to fulfill the minimum requirements of the minor. For full policies, registration procedures, and the application form, please visit the program's website. Offered in fall, spring, and summer. 2 points. Requires 8 to 12 hours of work per week. Must be with an external (non-NYU) organization related to creative writing (e.g., a literary agency, magazine, publisher, or outreach program) and should involve some substantive aspect of writerly work. Requires a final five- to seven-page report, and an evaluation is solicited from the intern's supervisor. Grading is pass/fail. Students are responsible for finding the internship and receiving program approval before the end of the Albert add/drop period each term.

Writers in Paris: Fiction or Poetry CRWRI-UA 9818   (Writers in Paris: Fiction), CRWRI-UA 9819 (Writers in Paris: Poetry) Application required. Workshop. Offered in the summer. 8 points per course. Offer poets and fiction writers an opportunity to experience the writer's life in Paris. Students participate in daily workshops and craft classes, are mentored by accomplished professional writers, and attend readings and special seminars led by Paris-based writers and editors. Assignments encourage immersion in the city. Students work intensively to generate new writing and also attend a lively series of readings, lectures, literary walking tours, and special events. May be repeated once for credit.

Writers in Florence: Fiction or Poetry CRWRI-UA 9828   (Writers in Florence: Fiction), CRWRI-UA 9829 (Writers in Florence: Poetry) Application required. Workshop. Offered in the summer. 8 points per course. A literary retreat in Florence for poets and fiction writers. Students participate in daily workshops and craft classes, are mentored by acclaimed writers, and attend readings and special seminars on all aspects of the writer's life. Assignments are designed to encourage serious literary study, as well as immersion in the local landscape, and students are expected to work intensively to generate new writing. May be repeated once for credit.

Creative Writing in Spanish (MFA)

Program description.

Due to its location in New York City, home to an important and diverse Latino and Latin American community, NYU is uniquely situated to offer a graduate Creative Writing Program in Spanish. New York has been a meeting point for Spanish and Latin American writers and journalists since the 19th century and a home to many of them. José Martí (Cuba), Gabriela Mistral (Chile), Federico García Lorca (Spain), Julia de Burgos (Puerto Rico), Francisco Ayala (Spain), Pedro Pietri (Puerto Rico) Manuel Ramos Otero (Puerto Rico), Manuel Puig (Argentina) and Reinaldo Arenas (Cuba), among many others, have in the past either settled in New York or spent extended periods of time there.

The end of the 20th century has seen this community of writers grow considerably both in visibility and cultural significance. Nowadays many Spanish and Latin American writers, such as Carmen Boullosa (Mexico), Cecilia Vicuña (Chile), Eduardo Lago (Spain), Mercedes Roffé (Argentina), Carmen Valle (Puerto Rico), and Roger Santiváñez (Peru) make of New York their temporary or permanent home.

Dada su ubicación privilegiada—la ciudad alberga a numerosas y diversas comunidades latinoamericanas—New York University es el lugar ideal para cursar un programa de escritura creativa en español. Desde el siglo XIX Nueva York viene atrayendo a escritores y periodistas españoles y latinoamericanos, y ha sido lugar de residencia de muchos de ellos. José Martí (Cuba), Gabriela Mistral (Chile), Federico García Lorca (España), Julia de Burgos (Puerto Rico), Francisco Ayala (España), Pedro Pietri (Puerto Rico), Manuel Ramos Otero (Puerto Rico), Manuel Puig (Argentina) y Reinaldo Arenas (Cuba), entre otros, vivieron en Nueva York o pasaron allí largas temporadas.

Esta comunidad de escritores ha aumentado considerablemente a lo largo del siglo veinte. Hoy son muchos los escritores hispanos que residen en esta ciudad o que alternan largas permanencias en ella con regresos a sus respectivos países, como Carmen Boullosa (México), Cecilia Vicuña (Chile), Eduardo Lago (España), Mercedes Roffé (Argentina), Carmen Valle (Puerto Rico) o Roger Santiváñez (Perú), para nombrar sólo algunos.

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

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

See Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.

Program Requirements

Master of fine arts thesis.

This program is a two-year program of 32 credits (i.e., eight courses, two per semester) and a creative writing thesis at the end. Workshops will be offered in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, theater, and translation. Additional workshops will be added to the program as needed.

At least two in the field in which the student plans to specialize.

May be in the Creative Writing Program, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, or in another department, with an adviser’s approval.

Additional Program Requirements

Students will also write a thesis with the counsel of a faculty member and a second reader at the second year of their course of study. Students write this final independent project consisting of between 50-80 pages for prose, 40-50 pages for theater or translation (including source and target languages), 30 pages for poetry. This final project may include, or may be an expansion of work begun during previous courses, but it should represent a culminating effort to shape stories, prose pieces, a long narrative, a literary translation or a group of poems into a coherent, self-sufficient work.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:

• Learn to write, read, and revise creative pieces including the following genres and forms: Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Theater, Literary Translation, Film Script, Hybrid Writing, Digital Writing. They will become proficient in copy-editing and style editing.
• Gain expertise in selection and organization of materials, and virtually proofreading, copy editing and style editing of literary texts submitted by participating as Committee Members and/or Board Members in the layout and contents supervision of Temporales , our MFA online magazine.
• Be able to teach Language courses in Spanish, including elementary and intermediate levels.
• Be able to study and revise the literary traditions of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as that of Spain, and the USA, including those written and performed in Spanish, English and Spanglish.

NYU Policies

Graduate school of arts and science policies.

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

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

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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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What You Won’t Learn in an MFA

An mfa can teach you skills, but will it prepare you for a writing career.

By 2018, I had written five books and decided to pursue an MFA in creative writing with a concentration in fiction. For me, earning an MFA gave me the time and space I needed to quit my day job and transition to writing full-time, but that was something I had been building toward for over a decade. Of course, I can’t speak to all MFA programs, but in many cases, they focus almost exclusively on writing skills and don’t give writers the concrete skills they need to make money writing and publishing. I often found myself answering questions for my classmates about what publishing was really like. It simply wasn’t being taught, sometimes because faculty themselves were struggling with how to navigate writing as a business.

An MFA program may be the right choice to help you become a better writer, or because you want the qualification to teach writing at a college; it may not give you insights into navigating the publishing landscape.

Here are some of the professional development skills you may need to gain outside of the classroom on your writing journey.

Getting published

Many MFA programs don’t talk to authors about the good, the bad, and the ugly in both traditional publishing and self-publishing. There is often an assumption that if you’re in an MFA program, you’ll be seeking a traditional publishing deal. But most programs also don’t teach writers the skills to query small presses or agents who can query large presses. Even as self-publishing has become an increasingly popular publishing choice, many MFA programs aren’t giving students a clear picture of what it involves.

Contracting

My MFA program was great, but never once during my studies did I hear anyone talk about how to read, negotiate, or understand a contract. As an indie author, you’ll have fewer contracts to interact with than authors who choose to traditionally publish their work, but contracts will still come up—contracts with designers who are working on your books, contracts with podcasts or magazines publishing excerpts of your work. In my MFA program, students who were publishing were left to talk with each other to try to understand how contracts work. Most writers aren’t legal experts, and we benefit from having either a private attorney or an attorney through an organization such as the Author’s Guild review our contracts. I would love to see MFA programs better prepare writers to navigate these business interactions, to negotiate writing rates, and to understand what rights we may be signing away with a particular contract.

Writing to market

The culture of MFA programs often shames or diminishes the idea of writing to market, and instead prioritizes creating literary art for the sake of art. This is a completely valid way to approach your writing life. However, if your goal is to publish your work and sell books, understanding the market and how to write books that appeal to readers is important. There’s nothing wrong with writing books with mass-market appeal, but, depending on the program you attend, you may not hear that in classes. Especially for writers considering the self-publishing route, learning how to understand current trends and how to write books that connect to them is invaluable.

Writing is your passion, and seeing your name in print might be your dream, but when it happens, your writing also becomes a business. Understanding how to manage a writing business is something that most new writers won’t have a lot of experience with. For example, when you get paid from book sales, speaking arrangements, or most anything to do with your books, taxes aren’t going to be withheld. Instead, you’ll need to put money aside to pay your taxes. MFA programs generally don’t cover these details or highlight the importance of hiring an accountant or tax professional to help you with setting up your writing business. You may need to form an LLC for your self-publishing business, open a business bank account, and file taxes appropriately for your writing work. As a self-published author, you also may need to keep records tracking orders and inventory.

Most authors are not able to make a living from books alone. Many writers are balancing a variety of different content creation and income streams. This may include teaching at a college or university (for which a terminal degree such as an MFA is required), freelance writing, and independent teaching, to name a few possibilities. The more writing programs can give MFA students the tools they need to understand the business side of their work, the more successful they will be.

Sassafras Lowrey writes fiction and nonfiction and was the recipient of the 2013 Lambda Literary Award for emerging LGBTQ writers.

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Department of English

You are here

Mfa in creative writing.

Our innovative MFA program includes both studio instruction and literature courses. Writers can take workshop courses in any genre, and they can write a thesis in fiction, nonfiction, poetry or “hybrid” (multi-genre) form. In the second year, they teach popular Creative Writing courses to Davis undergraduates under faculty supervision, gaining valuable experience and sharing their insight  and enthusiasm with beginning practitioners.

Questions? Contact: [email protected] 

Admissions and Online Application

Events, Prizes, and Resources

At UC Davis, we offer you the ability to fund your MFA. In fact, all students admitted to the program are guaranteed full funding in the second year of study, when students serve as teachers of Introduction to Creative Writing (English 5) and receive, in exchange, tuition and health insurance remission as well as a monthly stipend (second year students who come to Davis from out of state are expected to establish residency during their first year). We have a more limited amount of resources – teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and out of state tuition wavers – allocated to us for first year students, but in recent years, we’ve had excellent luck funding our accepted first years. We help students who do not receive English department funding help themselves by posting job announcements from other departments during the spring and summer leading up to their arrival. We are proud to say that over the course of the last twenty years, nearly every incoming student has wound up with at least partial funding (including a tuition waiver and health insurance coverage) by the time classes begin in the fall.

We have other resources for students, too – like the Miller Fund, which supports attendance for our writers at any single writer’s workshop or conference. Students have used these funds to attend well-known conferences like AWP, Writing By Writers, and the Tin House Conference. The Davis Humanities Institute offers a fellowship that first year students can apply for to fund their writing projects. Admitted students are also considered for University-wide fellowships.

Cost of Attendance

The M.F.A. at Davis is a two-year program on the quarter system (our academic year consists of three sessions of ten-week courses that run from the end of September until mid-June). The program includes classes and a thesis project. It requires diverse, multidisciplinary study and offers excellent mentorship.

Writers concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or “hybrid” (multi-genre) forms. They take at least four graduate workshops, and they’re required to take one workshop outside their primary genre (many of our students choose to take even more). Writers at Davis also take graduate courses in literature from abundant options, including the program’s Seminars for Writers. Writers can also take graduate courses in literary study taught by scholars in the English Department. And many of our writers enroll in courses relevant to their work in other departments like art history, comparative literature, linguistics, and performance studies.

At the end of the first year, writers form a thesis committee with a Director and two additional readers from the faculty. In the second year, writers at Davis concentrate on Individual Study units with these mentors, working closely with their committee to create a book-length creative work. Writers present their projects at intimate, intense, celebratory defense in May with all members of their committee in attendance.

We’re a new MFA, but we’ve been a successful and respected Creative Writing Program since 1975—a “sleeper” program, as one guide to MFA programs called us. The people who founded the CW program at UC Davis were all lovers and teachers of literature, and chose to call the program an MA, rather than an MFA because they wanted to ensure that the degree would not be seen as a “studio” degree but one in which the study of literature was integral.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s, most often under the leadership of Jack Hicks and Alan Williamson, the program emphasized writing on the American West and the wilderness. Our high profile faculty included Sandra McPherson, Gary Snyder, Sandra Gilbert, Clarence Major, Katherine Vaz, Elizabeth Tallent, Max Byrd, and Louis Owens.

We also created an introductory sequence of workshops taught by graduate students, which has become one of the highlights of the program for the second years who teach the courses and the undergraduates who take them. There’s more to teaching these courses than learning to teach; teaching helps our writers understand their own writing in ways that no other aspect of a writing program can do. Pam Houston joined the program in the early 2000’s and she led a faculty that included Lynn Freed and Yiyun Li. As an MFA, we remain a place that values sustained literary study as core to the making of art, but we’re also allowing our vision of genre to expand and embrace the other arts and media.

The town of Davis began as "Davisville," a small stop on the Southern Pacific railway between Sacramento and the Bay Area.  Some of our graduate students choose to live in Sacramento or the Bay Area, making use of the commute-by-train option, which is still very much in place.  For those commuting by car, Davis is a 15-25 minute drive from Sacramento and a 60-90 minute drive from the Bay Area.

Students also choose to live in Davis itself, which CNN once ranked the second most educated city in the US.  Davis is a college town of about 75,000 people. Orchards, farms and ranches border it on all sides. The town boasts a legendary twice-weekly farmers market (complete with delicious food trucks and live music). Bike and walking paths lead everywhere (many students prefer not to own a car while they are here) and there are copious amounts of planned green space in every subdivision. The flatness of the land makes Davis ideal for biking, and the city over the past 5 decades has installed bike lanes and bike racks all over town. In fact, in 2006,  Bicycling Magazine , in its compilation of "America's Best Biking Cities," named Davis the best small town for cycling. Packed with coffee houses, bookstores, and restaurants that serve cuisine from every continent, Downtown Davis has a casual vibe. It’s a great place to hole up and write. Davis is filled with hard wood trees, and flower and vegetable gardens, and wild ducks and turkeys walk the campus as if they own the place. It’s a gentle place to live. Although summers get quite hot, the other three seasons are mild, and each, in their own way, quite beautiful. For more about the town, check out the Davis Wikipedia page .

Woodland and Winters, two small towns close by to Davis, are also options for housing—and they’re good options for those who are not so desirous of the college town scene.  Yet another option is to live in the scenic rural areas Davis is surrounded by.

To the west of Davis, Lake Berryessa and the Napa valley are close by.  To the east, the Sierra mountains are close by; Reno and Tahoe are just a couple hours drive in that direction.