Writing Programs

Whether you’re looking for a creative writing program that leads to an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree at a US or international school, and whether you want a residency or low-residency program, here you’ll find easily searchable listings of our selection of the most worthwhile programs. The listings include links to author bios and works by each program’s graduates and by current and former faculty members who are published in Narrative.


Location:
Degree:
Season (Northern):
Duration:
Bucknell University

Bucknell University

MA
LEWISBURG, PA
The graduate program in English offers a structure consisting of eight seminars in English or seven seminars in English and one in another humanities discipline. Seminars require active participation, student reports, oral and written, and a substantial paper.
Narrative Author Faculty: Harold Schweizer
California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts

MFA
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
CCA’s two-year graduate creative writing program, based in the San Francisco Bay Area with a deep literary history, connects you to a writing community of emerging and professional writers.
Narrative Author Faculty: Tom Barbash, Rebekah Bloyd
California Institute of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts

MFA
VALENCIA, CA
Classes combine workshopping of student-generated work with discussion of assigned texts. Students are also encouraged to explore the intersections between writing and other media/art forms, such as performance, digital media, visual art, and film.
Narrative Author Graduates: Susan Kinsolving
California State University, Fresno

California State University, Fresno

MFA, BA
FRESNO, CA
We combine studio and academic approaches in a substantial fifty-four-unit degree program, providing students with critical workshop experience and a solid background in literature.
Narrative Author Faculty: Randa Jarrar
Narrative Author Graduates: T. L. Crum
California State University, Fullerton

California State University, Fullerton

BA
FULLERTON, CA
Our major program emphasizes the production of academic, professional, and creative writing and the study of the literatures of England and America, and intersecting countries across the globe.
Narrative Author Faculty: David Hernandez
California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach

MA, MFA, BA
LONG BEACH, CA
The MFA program at CSULB is a two-year, full-time program in which students complete forty-eight units of coursework with professors in the department of English. Each student is expected to submit an approved thesis of creative writing midway through the spring semester of her or his second year
Narrative Author Faculty: David Hernandez
Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

BA
PITTSBURG, PA
The Master of Arts in Professional Writing is a program designed for students who wish to directly enter the professional world as writers. Graduates of the MAPW program will be prepared to work as communication specialists in government, business, and industry. The program requires three semesters of coursework plus a professional internship.
Narrative Author Faculty: Jane Bernstein
Chapman University

Chapman University

MFA
IRVINE, CA
Our MFA students begin with a common course called “Aspects of a Writer” that introduces the practice and business of the writer’s life. Students read great literature and write fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or even screenwriting and can work in more than one genre and in digital modes.
Narrative Author Faculty: Richard Bausch, Victoria Chang, Lisa Cupolo
Chico State - CSU Chico

Chico State

MFA
CHICO, CA
The MFA in Creative Writing is offered by a consortium of California State University campuses, including Chico, Hayward, Los Angeles, Northridge, and San Luis Obispo. A minimum of three summers of enrollment at a consortium campus is required, as is continuous enrollment once the program is begun.
Narrative Author Graduates: Heather Brittain Bergstrom
City College of New York

City College of New York

MFA
NEW YORK, NY
The mission of our program is simple: We want all students to find their unique voice, whether through fiction, nonfiction, drama, screenwriting, experimental or genre fiction, or poetry, while simultaneously preparing them for life beyond graduate school as writers, teachers and scholars.
Narrative Author Faculty: Danielle Blau, Tracy O’Neill, Emily Raboteau
Claremont McKenna College

Claremont McKenna College

BA
CLAREMONT, CA
The literature major is designed to give students an understanding and appreciation of our literary heritage, and to allow them to develop and pursue their personal literary interests.
Narrative Author Faculty: Mary Gaitskill
Colby College

Colby College

BA
WATERVILLE, ME
Students in the Creative Writing Program work closely with faculty members who are also published authors. Classes are conducted as workshops—collaborative sessions where students share their work and receive constructive feedback from their instructors and peers.
Narrative Author Faculty: Adrian Blevins
Colorado College

Colorado College

BA
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO
The Colorado College English department invites students who are passionate about reading to explore literature from Chaucer and Shakespeare to the graphic novel, from global postcolonial writings to the foundational works of classical antiquity.
Narrative Author Faculty: David Mason
Colorado State University

Colorado State University

MFA
FORT COLLINS, CO
The MFA in creative writing is a three-year program that offers a balance of intimate and intensive writing workshops with courses in literature, form and technique, and related electives both in and out of the English Department.
Narrative Author Graduates: Carol Dines
Columbia College Chicago

Columbia College Chicago

MFA
CHICAGO, IL
This Master of Fine Arts program is a studio/academic program in which students’ own writing and craft (in workshops and craft seminars) is enriched by the study of literature and the form and theory of fiction.
Narrative Author Graduates: Hafizah Geter
Columbia University

Columbia University

MFA
NEW YORK, NY
At the core of the curriculum is the writing workshop. All workshops are small (seven to twelve students), ensuring that all students present work at least three times per semester. Students receive substantial written responses to their work from their professors and classmates; they also have regularly scheduled one-on-one conferences with faculty.
Columbia University School of Journalism

Columbia University School of Journalism

MS, MA, PHD
NEW YORK, NY
All MS students at the Journalism School take a seven-week writing module in the fall semester; options include news writing, feature writing, and classes in writing for the ear. In the spring, students who want to pursue writing careers can take more in­-depth classes such as literary journalism, digital longform, or the book seminar.
Concordia University

Concordia University

MFA
MONTREAL, CANADA
You’ll have the freedom to explore your creative vision and find your voice as a writer and scholar in the artistically vibrant city of Montreal. Our program’s flexibility allows you to propose a thesis project in traditional or innovative genres and media, including digital.
Narrative Author Faculty: Josip Novakovich
Narrative Author Graduates: Elisabeth Harvor
Corban University

Corban University

BA
SALEM, OR
Revel in your love for stories and refine your storytelling ability as a creative writing major. You’ll focus on your development as a writer and explore a variety of genres—short stories, novels, poetry, nonfiction, and screenplays.
Narrative Author Faculty: Gina Ochsner