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:
University of Alabama

University of Alabama

MFA, BA
TUSCALOOSA, AL
The Program in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama offers a lively and innovative forty-eight-hour course of study, culminating in the MFA degree. The MFA thesis and its oral defense are required of all degree candidates.
Narrative Author Faculty: Charlie Smith
Narrative Author Graduates: Anthony Caleshu, Brad Watson
University of Alaska, Fairbanks

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

MFA, BA
FAIRBANKS, AK
The Master of Fine Arts program is a rigorous three-year residency combining in-depth study of literature with an intensive focus on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The program is made up of a core of writers who have come to Alaska looking for a different, more attentive way of life and the support of a community of like-minded artists.
Narrative Author Graduates: David Abrams
University of Arizona

University of Arizona

MFA
TUSCON, AZ
A fully funded three-year program in three genres: poetry, fiction and nonfiction, with active encouragement to work across genres. Students have funding opportunities for research and travel via the departmental English Graduate Union, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, the Confluence Center, and the Institute of the Environment, among other organizations.
Narrative Author Faculty: Jane Miller
Narrative Author Graduates: Alma García, Antonya Nelson
University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

MFA
FAYETTEVILLE, AR
Our sixty-hour curriculum enhances the typical workshop experience with coursework in craft and literary studies so that students develop their own creative voices. Our small class sizes and dedicated faculty—award-winning writers themselves—guarantee that students receive hands-on attention through their four years of study.
Narrative Author Faculty: Molly Giles
Narrative Author Graduates: Adam Prince, C. D. Wright (d. 2016)
University of Baltimore

University of Baltimore

MFA, BA
BALTIMORE, MD
Most students complete the forty-eight-credit degree in three years. Students take an average of two classes a semester, sometimes three, which meets the requirements for financial aid.
Narrative Author Faculty: Jane Delury
University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

BA, PHD
BERKELEY, CA
The Creative Writing Program is an interdisciplinary minor program offered by the Office of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies in the Division of Undergraduate Studies in the College of Letters & Science. The approved courses students take to satisfy the minor course requirements are offered by over forty departments and programs on campus.
Narrative Author Graduates: Javier Zamora
University of California, Davis

University of California, Davis

BA
DAVIS, CA
Students major in English by taking courses in a wide variety of media, genres, topics, and historical periods. All students are introduced to the major by completing twenty units spread over courses in writing, any one of many topics courses, and the gateway series to the English major.
Narrative Author Faculty: Lynn Freed, Tom Jenks, Clarence Major
Narrative Author Graduates: Melissa Stein
University of California, Los Angeles Extension

University of California, Los Angeles

CERTIFICATE
LOS ANGELES, CA
Our curriculum includes four hundred annual writing courses, offered both onsite and online, taught by a diverse corps of two hundred published and produced professionals. We also offer certificate programs, specializations, literary and screenplay competitions, scholarships, a Writers Studio, and one-on-one mentorships and consultations.
Narrative Author Faculty: Michelle Bitting
University of California, Riverside

University of California, Riverside

MFA
RIVERSIDE, CA
The MFA program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts offers study in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, and playwriting. Our program consists of workshops in chosen genres, culminating in a final project (the master’s thesis/manuscript) that showcases the writer’s cultivated talents.
Narrative Author Faculty: Maurya Simon, Jane Smiley
Narrative Author Graduates: Douglas Wood
University of California, San Diego

University of California, San Diego

MFA, PHD
SAN DIEGO, CA
The MFA Program in Writing is a two-year residency program that offers interdisciplinary approaches to verbal art. Our cross-genre curriculum allows students to explore poetry and prose and encourages the exploration of writing that falls between or beyond genre categories.

Narrative Author Faculty: Malachi Black
University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

BA, MA, PHD
CINCINNATI, OH
For undergraduates, we offer a track within the English major, as well as a certificate in Creative Writing. For graduate students, we offer an MA and a PhD. Students at all levels focus on either fiction, poetry, or literary nonfiction. We are home to an undergraduate journal, Short Vine, and the nationally prominent literary journal The Cincinnati Review.
Narrative Author Faculty: Tessa Mellas
Narrative Author Graduates: Peter Grimes, Katie Knoll, Sarah Rose Nordgren
University of Colorado, Denver

University of Colorado, Denver

BA, MA
DENVER, CO
The Composition Program introduces students to academic conversations at the university and continues the lifelong process of preparing students to engage the many reading and writing opportunities they face in their communities and in the world.
Narrative Author Faculty: Nicky Beer
University of Connecticut

University of Connecticut

MA
STORRS, CT
Graduate students may opt to take creative writing workshops (ordinarily, at least one workshop in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction is offered each academic year) as well as submit their work to the numerous writing contests open to UConn graduate students.
Narrative Author Faculty: Susan Kinsolving
University of Denver

University of Denver

BA, PHD
DENVER, CO
The masters program in creative writing at the University of Denver focuses on craft as well as the business side of publishing, including working with agents and publishers and creating a personal brand. The doctoral program resembles a pure mathematics or philosophy PhD. Doctoral students do a good deal of hard critical reading and research, and some of them write and publish traditional literary critical works.
Narrative Author Faculty: John Williams (d. 1994)
University of Florida, Gainesville

University of Florida, Gainesville

BA, MFA, PHD
GAINESVILLE, FL
We require an equal interest in writing and in reading literature. We don’t believe in any particular school of writing; we have no wish to foster or found one. Criticism in the writing workshop here attempts to fulfill the design of a poem or a story on its own terms.
Narrative Author Faculty: Padgett Powell
Narrative Author Graduates: Peter Grimes
University of Georgia

University of Georgia

MA, PHD
ATHENS, GA
The Creative Writing Program at the University of Georgia directs and supports the emergence of the artistic voice in print by offering a PhD in English with a creative dissertation.
Narrative Author Faculty: Ed Pavlić
University of Idaho, Moscow

University of Idaho, Moscow

MFA, BA
MOSCOW, ID
Polish your craft and develop your voice as a professional writer in a program that features intensive theoretical and practical training across genres. Enjoy a supportive learning environment with an award-winning faculty and benefit from opportunities to be published and mentored through the Distinguished Visiting Writers Program.
Narrative Author Graduates: Jerry D. Mathes II