MFA-Guide-2013

The NewPages Guide to
A directory of
graduate writing
programs in the
U.S. and Canada
www.newpages.com
Creative
Writing
Programs
2014 Edition

NewPages
Publisher: Casey Hill
Editor: Denise Hill
Managing Editor: Nicole Foor
Magazine Review Editor: Kirsten McIlvenna
NewPages website: www.newpages.com
The NewPages Guide to Creative Writing Programs. Copyright © 2014 by NewPages.
Published by NewPages, P.O. Box 1580, Bay City, Michigan 48706
Cover Design: Kirsten McIlvenna
The NewPages
Guide to Creative
Writing Programs
A directory of graduate writing
programs in the U.S. and Canada

3
Good Reading (and Research) Starts Here
An Introduction to the NewPages Guide to Creative Writing Programs
by Denise Hill and Kirsten McIlvenna
This guide is meant to be a starting point to
help prospective students find schools, or better
yet, the school that will be their best match. It
is a place to begin researching which schools
seem most interesting—based on any number
of factors: genre, type of program, length of
program, costs, approaches, faculty, and many
other criteria.
For teachers, this guide is a tool for best
practices in advising students and discovering
other programs beyond their own. Who’s
teaching where? What universities offer what
type of programs? Who’s on the leading edge for
innovation in higher learning in creative writing?
As a print resource, this guide is only a start. We
recommend using it alongside our truly-meant-
to-be exhaustive online guide to creative writing
programs (www.newpages.com/creative-writing-
programs) which includes separate listings for
both graduate and undergraduate programs.
Here you will find even more information for
many of the programs and up-to-date links
directly to the academic sites. If we’re missing
any links you think we should have, please just
let us know!
As much as we value this guide in print copy,
we realize changes happen continuously and
our job is to keep the information updated.
Therefore, a PDF version of this publication is
available online and will be kept current with new
editions noted. Simply visit www.newpages.com/
cwprograms to download your free copy.
Over the past decades, NewPages has come
to be known as the most reliable source for
quality curation of all things literary: publications,
calls for submissions, conferences, workshops,
seminars, academic writing programs, and
so much more. Our “guides to” are popular
because our work in this arena is trusted. We
have established and work diligently to maintain
positive relationships with editors, publishers,
and faculty and their academic institutions.
We do not “rank” any of the programs we list.
Instead, we see our role as more integral in
helping network connections between readers/
writers and publications, between students and
prospective programs, and so on. We don’t
push, we don’t prod, we simply provide. That’s
NewPages. Our motto “Good Reading Starts
Here,” means ‘reading’ for whatever kind of
research you are doing to engage in the greater
literary community.
By all means, see for yourself. Thumb through
this guide, mark it up, share it with others, visit
our full online resources, and judge whether
or not we are true to our motto. If you find
something that catches your attention, makes
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and decision making from a quality and valued
resource.

4
The NewPages Guide to Creative Writing Programs
Links to all programs at www.newpages.comReturn to Table of Contents
Antioch University Los Angeles....................................5
Arcadia University.........................................................5
Ashland University........................................................6
Augsburg College.........................................................6
Bard College.................................................................7
Bennington College......................................................7
Bluegrass Writers Studio..............................................8
Butler University...........................................................8
California College of the Arts........................................9
Chatham University......................................................9
The College of Saint Rose..........................................10
Columbia College Chicago.........................................10
Columbia University School of the Arts......................11
Converse College.......................................................11
Eastern Oregon University.........................................12
Eastern Washington University..................................12
Fairfield University......................................................13
Goddard College........................................................13
Hamline University......................................................14
Hollins University........................................................14
Lesley University........................................................15
Manhattanville College...............................................15
Mills College...............................................................16
Murray State University..............................................16
Naropa University.......................................................17
National University......................................................17
New York University....................................................18
New York University (low-res).....................................18
Northern Michigan University.....................................19
Northwest Institute of Literary Arts..............................19
Northwestern University.............................................20
The Ohio State University...........................................20
Oklahoma City University...........................................21
Pine Manor College....................................................21
Rosemont College......................................................22
Rutgers-Newark..........................................................22
Saint Mary’s College of California..............................23
San Francisco State University..................................23
School of the Art Institute of Chicago.........................24
Seattle Pacific University............................................24
Seton Hill University...................................................25
Spalding University.....................................................25
Stony Brook Southampton..........................................26
University of Arkansas at Monticello...........................26
University of California, Riverside Palm Desert..........27
University of Guelph...................................................27
University of Idaho......................................................28
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign....................28
University of New Hampshire.....................................29
University of North Carolina at Greensboro................29
University of South Carolina.......................................30
University of Southern Maine.....................................30
University of Tampa....................................................31
University of Wyoming................................................31
Vanderbilt University...................................................32
Vermont College of Fine Arts......................................32
Washington University St. Louis.................................33
Western State Colorado University............................34
West Virginia University..............................................33
Contents
NewPages Complete List of Graduate
Creative Writing Programs......................35

5
Links to all programs at www.newpages.com Return to Table of Contents
Antioch University Los Angeles
MFA in Creative Writing (low-res)
Website: www.antiochla.edu/mfa
Address: 400 Corporate Pointe, Culver City, CA 90230
Program director: Steve Heller, MFA, EdD
Phone: (310) 578-1080
Email: admissions.aula@antioch.edu
Degrees offered: MFA
Type of program: low-residency
Length of program: 2 years (4 semesters, 5 residencies)
Genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, young adult, mixed
genre, dual-genre
Enrollment: 150
Total credits required: 48 semester credits
Application deadlines: February 15, August 15
Scholarships: yes (see website)
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Steve Heller, Jenny Factor, Bernadette Murphy
Associate faculty: Dodie Bellamy, Francesca Lia Block,
Gayle Brandeis, Jim Daniels, Tananarive Due, Hope Edelman,
Richard Garcia, Christine Hale, Jim Krusoe, Alistair McCartney,
Carol Potter, Sharman Apt Russell, Erin Aubrey Kaplan, Alma
Villanueva, Terry Wolverton
Publishing/editing courses: yes (see website)
Literary magazine: Lunch Ticket
Recent visiting writers: Mary Gordon, Rick Moody, Lin
Oliver, Natasha Tretheway, Tobias Wolf
Program description: In Antioch University Los Angeles’
unique low-residency program, students explore the important
role of the writer in society, reading works by diverse and
socially-conscious authors. The MFA in Creative Writing program
is comprised of on-campus residencies—which include classes,
readings, and workshops—complemented by a five-month,
online project period during which students live and write in
their home communities. Antioch University Los Angeles offers
specialized fields of creative writing study in the following genres:
Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, and Writing for Young
People. Our distinguished instructors are all actively published
writers who serve as dedicated mentors throughout the program.
Arcadia University
Website: www.arcadia.edu/mfa-creative-writing.htm
Address: 450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, PA 19038
Program director: Prof. Joshua Isard
Program contact: Prof. Joshua Isard
Phone: (267) 620-4886
Email: isardj@arcadia.edu
Length of program: 2 years
Genres: fiction, poetry
Enrollment: 15
Total credits required: 39
Application deadlines: March 1st, and then rolling after
that as space is available
Scholarships: no
Assistantships: yes (see website)
Core faculty: Joshua Isard, Genevieve Betts, Paul Elwork,
Dorian Geisler
Publishing/editing courses: no
Literary magazine: Marathon Literary Review
Reading series: yes (see website)
Recent visiting writers: Tom Franklin, Brad Watson, Alice
Thompson, Marie Lamba, Alan Warner, Lauren Grodstein
Program description: Arcadia University’s low-residency
M.F.A. program in Creative Writing, the only one of its kind in
the Philadelphia area, is distinctive in that it incorporates both
a dynamic online environment and a study abroad experience.
The course emphasizes online workshops; personal attention
from faculty; studying abroad, with a residency in Edinburgh,
Scotland; and the preparation of both a book-length manuscript
and a plan to publish it.

6
Ashland University
Website: www.ashland.edu/graduate/mfa
Address: 401 College Avenue, Ashland, OH 44805
Program director: Stephen Haven
Program contact: Sarah Wells, Administrative Director
Phone: (419) 289-5957
Email: mfa@ashland.edu
Length of program: 4 semesters and 3 summer sessions
Genres: creative nonfiction, poetry
Enrollment: 72 maximum in summer sessions, 48 during year
Application deadlines: September 1 priority deadline for
Spring Semester – applications accepted through November 15
for January admission; February 1 priority deadline for Summer/
Fall – applications accepted through May 15 for Summer/Fall
Scholarships: no
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Jill Christman, Bob Cowser, Jr., Angie Estes,
Steven Harvey, Stephen Haven, Mark Irwin, Daniel W. Lehman,
Joe Mackall, Robert Root, Ruth L. Schwartz, Kathryn Winograd
Literary magazine: River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction
Narrative
Recent visiting writers: Mira Bartok, Brian Doyle, Andre
Dubus III, Linda Gregerson, Garrett Hongo, Laura Kasischke,
Alicia Ostriker, Cheryl Strayed (see website for additional visiting
writers)
Program description: Ashland University offers the only
two-genre low-residency program in the country, with a cross-genre
option and degree tracks in poetry and creative nonfiction. The
program is characterized both by an insistence on high aesthetic
standards for the creation of new literature and by an emphasis on a
supportive community of writers. Following the University’s century-
old tradition of “Accent on the Individual,” the MFAatAU provides
students a nurturing and challenging atmosphere for developing
their craft, with a student-teacher ratio of no greater than 5 to 1.
Augsburg College
Website: www.augsburg.edu/mfa
Address: 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454
Program director: Cass Dalglish
Program contact: Kathleen Matthews
Phone: (612) 330-1778
Email: matthewk@augsburg.edu
Length of program: 2 years, additional time required for
concentrations
Genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting,
playwriting
Enrollment: 25
Total credits required: 44 for MFA; 48 with Concentration
in Teaching or Translation; 52 with Concentration in Publishing
Application deadline: ongoing until the program reaches
enrollment caps for each genre with new cohorts beginning each
July
Scholarships: no
Core faculty: Nicole Brending, Stephan Clark, Cass Dalglish,
Jack El-Hai, Heid E. Erdrich, John Gaterud, Christina Lazaridi,
Sarah Myers, Cary Waterman, Steven Wingate
Literary magazine: no
Reading series: www.augsburg.edu/mfa/readings/
Recent visiting writers: Ed Bok Lee, Christina Lazaridi,
Benjamin Percy, Sue William Silverman, Deborah Blum,
Kristoffer Diaz, Alex Lemon, Helene Wecker, Bill Wheeler
Program description: Come to the Twin Cities and be
a part of a vibrant literary community where you’ll engage the
world thoughtfully, deepen and broaden your artistic sensibilities,
and enjoy individual attention with a 5:1 student to faculty
mentor ratio. The Augsburg MFA in creative writing is a two-year
low-residency program with tracks in fiction, creative nonfiction,
poetry, screenwriting and playwriting and concentrations in
translation, teaching, and publishing. Students enrolled in the
MFA’s publishing sequence are the editors of a literary press that
sponsors a national writing competition and publishes a book-
length collection of prose or poetry each year.

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Bard College
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts
Website: www.bard.edu/mfa/
Address: Bard College MFA, 30 Campus Road, PO Box
5000, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Program director: Arthur Gibbons
Program contact: Susan Tveekrem
Phone: (845) 758-7481
Email: mfa@bard.edu
Length of program: 26 months (3 summers)
Genres: any, but most suited to poetry, short fiction, sound,
internet, and mixed-media writing
Enrollment: 12
Application deadlines: January 15
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Anselm Berrigan, Robert Fitterman, Paul La
Farge, Ann Lauterbach, Anna Moschovakis, David Levi Strauss,
Matvei Yankelevich
Visiting faculty: Trinie Dalton, Renee Gladman, Carla
Harryman, Fiona Maazel, Tracie Morris, Fred Moten, Dana Ward
Literary magazine: Conjunctions
Recent visiting writers: Tim Griffin, Ben Lerner, Maggie
Nelson, Roberto Tejada, Lynne Tillman
Program description: Bard MFA is a nontraditional school
for interdisciplinary study in the visual and creative arts: film/
video, music/sound, painting, photography, sculpture, and
writing. Students are in residence on campus for eight weeks
during three consecutive summers, with two winter sessions
of independent study completed off campus. Each summer,
students meet one on one with faculty from all six disciplines.
This interdisciplinary context is ideal for writers, as it allows them
to explore issues common to the other arts while they address
those specific to writing. The program is most suitable for writers
working with poetry, short fiction, sound, internet, and mixed-
media writing.
Bennington College
Bennington Graduate Writing Seminars
Website: www.bennington.edu/MFAWriting
Address: 1 College Drive, Bennington, VT 05201
Program director: Sven Birkerts
Program contact: Victoria Clausi or Dawn Dayton
Phone: (802) 440-4452
Email: writing@bennington.edu
Genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, dual-genre
Enrollment: 100
Total credits required: 64; 80 for dual-genre
Application deadlines: March 1 for June term; September
1 for January term
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: BenjaminAnastas,April Bernard, Sven Birkerts,
Susan Cheever, Martha Cooley, Bernard Cooper, David Daniel,
David Gates, Nathalie Handal,Amy Hempel, Major Jackson, Bret
Anthony Johnston, Dinah Lenney, Alice Mattison, Jill McCorkle,
Askold Melnyczuk, Brian Morton, Rachel Pastan, Ed Ochester,
Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Peter Trachtenberg, Mark Wunderlich, Paul
Yoon
Visiting faculty: Frank Bidart, Tom Bissell, Lucie Brock-
Broido, Mark Doty, Elizabeth Cox, Mary Gaitskill, Lyndall Gordon,
Donald Hall, Barrah Hannah, Jane Hirshfield, Barry Lopez,
George Packer, Robert Pinsky, Bob Shacochis, Mac Wellman
Recent visiting writers: Geoff Dyer, Patricia Hampl,
Paul Muldoon, Francine Prose, Jim Shepard, Lyrae Van Clief-
Stefanon
Program description: The Bennington Graduate
Writing Seminars Low-Residency program can be seen as the
response of the literary sensibility to the realities of modern
life. It is an alternative time calculation, realistically reflecting
the seasons and rhythms of a writer’s actual work habits. It
offers considerable freedom to the student, but the student
must be willing to practice a good deal of Emersonian self-
reliance. At Bennington, freedom and responsibility exist on a
continuum just as freedom and responsibility exist in a dynamic
interdependence.

8
Bluegrass Writers Studio
Eastern Kentucky University
Website: www.bluegrasswriters.org
Address: 521 Lancaster Avenue, Cass Annex 467, Dept. of
English, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475
Program director: Derek Nikitas
Phone: (859) 622-3091
Email: derek.nikitas@eku.edu
Degrees offered: MFA, BA
Genres: literary fiction, popular fiction, poetry, creative
nonfiction
Enrollment: 45
Application deadlines: rolling admissions until one month
before Fall, Spring, or Summer Semesters
Core faculty: Derek Nikitas, Young Smith, Nancy Jensen,
Julie Hensley, R. Dean Johnson
Visiting faculty: Robert Olmstead, Tayari Jones, Adam
Levin, Denise Duhamel, Amanda Eyre Ward, Lee Durkee,
Charles Rafferty
Literary magazine: Jelly Bucket
Recent visiting writers: Joyce Carol Oates, Justin Cronin,
Kim Edwards, Megan Abbott, Julianna Baggott, Frank X Walker
Program description: The mission of the Bluegrass
Writers Studio is simple: to help our participants fulfill the dream
of becoming better writers—with more focus, speed, and support
than self-study can typically provide. Through our courses
and residencies, we also offer rare opportunities to connect
with accomplished writers, agents and editors. We provide an
apprenticeship in craft and form, while our residency and online
workshops provide focused feedback on your fiction, poetry,
or creative nonfiction. Your progress through the program
includes opportunities to study overseas in Lisbon, Portugal and
culminates in a guided thesis project in the genre of your choice.
Butler University
MFA in Creative Writing
Website: www.butler.edu/mfa-writing/
Address: 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Program director/Program contact: Hilene Flanzbaum
Phone: (317) 940-9860
Email: hflanzba@butler.edu
Type of program: residency
Length of program: flexible, 2 years average
Genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction
Enrollment: 60 total, 15 per year
Application deadlines: rolling (for Spring 2014)
Core faculty: Dan Barden, Hilene Flanzbaum, Chris Forhan,
Andrew Levy, Alessandra Lynch, Susan Neville, Dana Roeser,
Michael Dahlie, Allison Lynn
Visiting faculty: Lili Wright, Porter Shreve, Dan Wakefield,
Greg Schwipps, David Shumate, Ben Winters
Literary magazine: Booth
Reading series: Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series
Recent visiting writers: Chuck Klosterman, Major
Jackson, Laura Kasischke, Jennifer Egan, Albert Goldbarth,
Julianna Baggot
Program description: The MFA is a 36-hour studio MFA
that includes ten three-credit courses and six hours of formal
thesis work with an advisor. We offer programs in poetry, fiction,
and nonfiction, as well as electives in screenwriting, young adult
fiction, poetic form, literary editing and publishing, and teaching
creative writing. We offer top-flight, full-time faculty, nationally
recognized visiting faculty, and one of the finest visiting writers
series in the country. We operate a MFA-run literary magazine
and other publishing enterprises, and also offer teaching and
service opportunities through an array of programs.

9
California College of the Arts
Website: www.cca.edu/academics/graduate/writing
Address: 1111 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Program director: Aimee Phan
Program contact: David Morini
Phone: (415) 551-9237
Email: dmorini@cca.edu
Genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, cross-genre
Enrollment: 40
Core faculty: Juvenal Acosta, Faith Adiele, Anita Amirrezvani,
Tom Barbash, Hugh Behm-Steinberg, Dodie Bellamy, Donna de
la Perriere, Gloria Frym, Caroline Goodwin, Kevin Killian, John
Laskey, Joseph Lease, Denise Newman, Judith Serin, Matthew
Shears
Visiting faculty: Opal Palmer Adisa, Daniel Alarcon, Anne
Carson, Mary Gaitskill, Adam Haslett, Ishmael Reed, Al Young
Literary magazine: Eleven Eleven
Reading series: CCA MFA in Writing, Writers Series
Recent visiting writers: Jess Walter, Paul Harding,
Keorapetse Kgositsile, Paul Muldoon, Achy Obejas, Cheryl
Strayed
Program description: CCA’s MFA Program in Writing is
dedicated to leading talented writers toward their lifelong creative
careers. In our distinctly flexible yet rigorous curriculum, you’ll
engage in workshops that offer supportive yet instrumental
critiques of your work in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and
cross genre writing. You are not required to declare a specific
genre of study. Mentored-study courses provide one-on-one
instruction and guidance from accomplished faculty writers who
value interdisciplinary opportunities. Alumni have gone on to
publish books; launch publishing houses, literary journals, and
reading series; and teach at the some of the finest colleges and
universities.
Chatham University
Website: www.chatham.edu/mfa
Address: 1 Woodland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Program director: Sheryl St. Germain
Program contact: Erin Hutton
Phone: (412) 365-1190
Email: ehutton@chatham.edu
Degrees offered: MFA, BFA
Type of program: residency, low-residency
Genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, writing for children,
travel writing, nature writing
Enrollment: 100
Application deadlines: January 15 for early admission,
otherwise rolling admissions.
Core faculty: Sheryl St. Germain, Sheila Squillante, Sherrie
Flick, Lori Jakiela, Heather McNaugher, Kathy Ayres, Sally
Alexander, Jonathan Auxier, Joy Katz
Visiting faculty: BK Loren, Scott Russell Sanders, Pam
Houston, Dinty Moore, Ann Fisher Wirth, Janisse Raye, Robert
Hass, Barbara Hurd
Literary magazine: The Fourth River
Reading series: Summer Community of Writers
Recent visiting writers: BK Loren, Sean Thomas
Dougherty, Aaron Smith, Terrance Hayes, Toi Derricote, Mary
Karr, Geraldine Brooks
Program description: Chatham University’s MFA, focusing
on place-based writing and social outreach, is the premier
graduate program for students interested in place-based writing
and innovative community programs. No other MFA program
offers concentrations in travel writing, teaching, publishing, or
nature writing in addition to a primary genre focus (poetry, fiction,
creative nonfiction or children’s writing), and no other MFA
program offers the ability to have a dual-genre focus. We are
also the only MFA program to offer both a full residency program
and a low-residency program as well as the ability to easily move
between the two.

10
The College of Saint Rose
Website: www.strose.edu/mfa
Address: 432 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12208
Program director: Daniel Nester
Program contact: Daniel Nester
Phone: (518) 454-2812
Email: nesterd@strose.edu
Genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry
Enrollment: up to 20
Total credits required: 48 credits
Application deadlines: rolling
Core faculty: Daniel Nester, Barbara Louise Unger, Hollis
Seamon, Rone Shavers, Kenneth Krauss
Visiting faculty: Elisa Albert, Sparrow, Gregory Pardlo
Literary magazine: yes
Reading series: Frequency North
Recent visiting writers: Aaron Belz, Dana Spiotta,
Alexander Chee, David Rees, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Patricia
Smith
Program description: The College of Saint Rose Master
of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program offered by the English
Department provides serious writers with the opportunity to
develop their craft within a supportive and challenging academic
community of creative writers and literary scholars. This full-
residency program allows students to work rigorously within their
chosen genres—fiction, nonfiction and poetry—in workshops,
and to complete a full-length creative work as a thesis. A small
intimate program setting allows for easy access and strong
mentoring by accomplished faculty members who are deeply
committed to their students.
Columbia College Chicago
Website: www.colum.edu/Academics/CreativeWriting
Address: Department of Creative Writing, 600 S. Michigan
Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605
Program director: Matthew Shenoda
Phone: (312) 369-7611
Email: creativewriting@colum.edu
Degrees offered: MFA, BA, BFA
Genres: poetry, fiction, nonfiction
Enrollment: 400
Application deadlines: May 1 (undergraduate); January 1
(graduate)
Core faculty: Randy Albers, Garnett Kilberg Cohen, Don De
Grazia, Eric May, Patricia Ann McNair, Joe Meno, Nami Mun,
Sam Weller, Audrey Niffenegger, Samuel Park, David Lazar,
David Trinidad, CM Burroughs, Jenny Boully, Lisa Fishman
Literary magazine: Hotel Amerika
Reading series: The Department of Creative Writing Poetry
and Nonfiction Reading Series
Recent visiting writers: Kate Greenstreet, Bernadette
Mayer, Carmen Gimenez Smith, John D’Gata, Jane Hamilton,
Christine Sneed
Program description: Columbia College Chicago offers
undergraduate and graduate degrees in fiction, poetry, and
nonfiction, with internationally renowned faculty in the USA’s
largest not-for-profit private arts and media college as well as
distinguished writers-in-residence, teaching instructorships,
editorial opportunities, diverse reading series, annual literary
festivals, a thriving literary community, and small classes.
The MFA in Poetry is an intimate studio/academic program
with a curriculum that centers on writing and craft. The MFA
in Nonfiction is an intensive study of nonfiction and the theory
of nonfiction. Thesis seminars and one-on-one advising help
students complete program with book-length manuscript. The
MFA in Fiction offers Story Workshop® classes and a wide range
of specialty writing courses.

11
Columbia University School of
the Arts
Website: arts.columbia.edu/writing
Address: 415 Dodge Hall, MC 1804, 2960 Broadway, New
York, NY 10027
Program director: Sam Lipsyte
Program contact: Bill Wadsworth
Phone: (212) 854-4391
Email: writing@columbia.edu
Length of program: 2-3 years
Genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, joint course of
study in literary translation
Enrollment: 290
Application deadlines: January
Core faculty: Donald Antrim, Susan Bernofsky, Lucie
Brock-Broido, Nicholas Christopher, Stacey D’Erasmo, Timothy
Donnelly, Deborah Eisenberg, Richard Ford, Lis Harris, Richard
Howard, Margo Jefferson, Heidi Julavits, Binnie Kirshenbaum,
Dorothea Lasky, Victor LaValle, Sam Lipsyte, Richard Locke,
Phillip Lopate, Ben Marcus, Patricia O’Toole, Gary Shteyngart,
Mark Strand, Alan Ziegler
Visiting faculty: Paul Beatty, Jonathan Dee, Geoff Dyer,
James Fenton, John Freeman, Rivka Galchen, Edith Grossman,
Laura Kipnis, Hari Kunzru, Dorothea Lasky, Erroll McDonald,
Sigrid Nunez, Darryl Pinckney, Richard Rodriguez, James Wood
Literary magazine: Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art
Program description: The Columbia University School
of the Arts MFA Writing Program, offering concentrations in
Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry, and a joint course of study in
Literary Translation, is highly regarded for artistic diversity and
for its outstanding faculty of acclaimed writers and editors. The
rigorous approach to literary instruction requires 60 credits
over 2-3 years of study. Extracurricular programming includes
the Creative Writing Lecture Series, Nonfiction Dialogues,
student reading series, Our Word: Writers of Color, and events
to introduce students to editors and agents. Internships,
scholarships and teaching fellowships are available.
Converse College
Website: www.converse.edu/mfa
Address: 580 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302
Program director/contact: Rick Mulkey
Phone: (864) 596-9678
Email: rick.mulkey@converse.edu
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Enrollment: 34
Application deadlines: February 15 for Summer
Residency/Fall semester; October 1 for January residency/
Spring Semester
Core faculty: Denise Duhamel, Robert Olmstead, Leslie
Pietrzyk, Albert Goldbarth, Suzanne Cleary, Rick Mulkey, Marlin
Barton, Susan Tekulve, Richard Tillinghast, Dan Wakefield, Jim
Minick, Cary Holladay
Visiting faculty: C. Michael Curtis, Bruce Covey, Keith Lee
Morris, Jenny Bent, Susan Ludvigson, Terra Chalberg,
Literary magazine: South85 Journal
Recent visiting writers: Allison Joseph, Pam Durban,
Brock Clarke, Elizabeth Cox, Dorianne Laux, Jillian Weise
Program description: The MFA in Creative Writing is a
two-year co-educational low residency program designed for
serious, independent writers seeking advanced instruction in
poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction through a non-traditional
course of graduate study. The program’s emphasis on the
mastery and understanding of writing skills and contemporary
literature and craft, through the master-writer and apprentice
mentoring relationship, offers students a stimulating and
individually tailored curriculum of courses and projects.

12
Eastern Oregon University
Website: eou.edu/mfa
Address: College of Arts and Sciences, One University Blvd,
La Grande, Oregon 97850
Program director: Jodi Varon and David Axelrod, co-directors
Program contact: Jodi Varon or David Axelrod
Phone: Varon: (541) 962-3525, Axelrod: (541) 962-3633
Email: Varon: jvaron@eou.edu, Axelrod: daxelrod@eou.edu
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, wilderness writing
Enrollment: 5-7 students per workshop
Scholarships: no
Core faculty: David Axelrod, Susan Denning, Justin Hocking,
Christopher Howell, Barry Kitterman, Jon Raymond, Jodi Varon,
Lidia Yuknavitch, Christine Holbert
Visiting faculty: Jennifer Boyden
Literary magazine: basalt
Reading series: Ars Poetica Literary Lecture Series
Recent visiting writers: Anthony Doerr, Molly Gloss, Peter
Rock, Jess Walter, Mathew Dickman, Kim Barnes, Danielle
Duellen, Carl Adamshick, Michael McGriff, Crystal Williams,
Keetje Kuipers, Robert Wrigley
Program description: Innovative, intense, intimate. The
new low-residency MFAin Creative Writing combines the rigor and
energy of small, focused workshops (5-7 students working with
faculty mentors) in the heart of Northeast Oregon’s Grande Ronde
Valley. This year we offer a new track unique to our geography,
Wilderness Writing, that combines our access to research scientists,
the Starkey Experimental Forest, and Oregon’s largest wilderness
area. If you value close working relations with peers and mentors, a
strong program identity, a self-directed program, and the real West
over the resort town West, then join us in the low residency MFA
program at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.
Eastern Washington University
Website: www.ewumfa.com
Address: 501 N Riverpoint Boulevard Suite 425,
Spokane, Washington 99202
Program director: Natalie Kusz
Program contact: Nick Giammona
Phone: 509-359-4956
Email: ngiammona@ewu.edu
Enrollment: 60
Application deadlines: February 15
Core faculty: Gregory Spatz, Jonathan Johnson, Christopher
Howell, Natalie Kusz, Samuel Ligon, Rachel Toor
Visiting faculty: John R. Keeble, Nance VanWinckel, Melissa
Kwasny, Jess Walter
Publishing/editing courses: yes
Literary magazine: Willow Springs
Recent visiting writers: Melissa Kwasny, Lydia Millett,
Sally Tisdale, Lee Gutkind, Thomas Lynch, Marilynne Robinson
Program description: The Inland Northwest Center for
Writers offers an intensive, two-year, pre-professional course of
study with an emphasis on the practice of literature as a fine art.
The program is intellectually rigorous and includes course work in
the study of literature from the vantage point of its composition and
history. The student’s principal work is done in advanced workshops
and in the writing a of a book-length thesis of publishable quality
in fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry. Internships are available
with Writers In The Community, in which students teach creative
writing in schools, retirement communities, homeless centers,
correctional facilities, etc.; Willow Springs, in which students edit
and publish our nationally-acclaimed literary journal; Willow Springs
Editions, in which students work for a literary press to publish the
winning volume of a national fiction competition; and Get Lit!, in
which students learn arts administration through work on Eastern
Washington University’s annual literary festival. Past festival authors
have included Joyce Carol Oates, David Sedaris, and Yusef
Komunyakaa.

13
Fairfield University
Website: www.fairfield.edu/mfa
Address: Fairfield University - Graduate Admission Office,
1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824
Program director: Michael C. White
Program contact: Marianne Gumpper
Phone: (203) 254-4184
Email: mgumpper@fairfield.edu
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting
Enrollment: 55
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Rachel Basch, Da Chen, Al Davis, Carol Ann
Davis, Sonya Huber, Eugenia Kim, Kim Dana Kupperman, Peter
Nichols, Howard Norman, Karen Osborn, William Patrick, Hollis
Seamon, Michael C. White, Baron Wormser
Visiting faculty: Carlos Eire, Mary Karr, Wally Lamb, Rick
Moody, Anita Shreve, Charles Simic
Literary magazine: Mason’s Road
Reading series: The Inspired Writers
Recent visiting writers: Joan Didion, John Searles,
Joshua Henkin, Sue Monk Kidd, Lisa See
Program description: If you’re interested not only in
writing your book but getting it published, then Fairfield’s MFA
is the program for you. In the past two years our alumni have
published 14 books, in addition to hundreds of articles, essays,
stories, and poems. With our post-graduate teacher-training
program, students have also been offered teaching positions on
the college level, and our new concentration in publishing and
editing has helped students get internships at magazines and
publishing houses. With our flexible, twice-yearly residencies on
Enders Island in Mystic, CT, you don’t have to interrupt your life,
your career, or your family by attending weekly classes.
Goddard College
Website: www.goddard.edu/mfa-creative-writing
Address: 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, VT 05667
Program director: Paul Selig
Program contact: David De Lucca
Phone: (802) 322-1619
Email: david.delucca@goddard.edu
Length of program: 4 semesters
Genres: fiction, poetry, playwriting, memoir, screenwriting,
creative nonfiction, speculative fiction, young adult fiction,
graphic novel, scriptwriting
Enrollment: 100
Application deadlines: early December and late May;
exact dates vary
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Kyle Bass, Ryan Boudinot, Deborah Brevoort,
Kenny Fries, Beatrix Gates, Elena Georgiou, Bhanu Kapil, Susan
Kim, Aimee Liu, Rogelio Martinez, Victoria Nelson, Richard
Panek, Rachel Pollack, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, Darcey Steinke
Literary magazine: Pitkin Review
Reading series: Playwrights’ Enrichment Series
Recent visiting writers: Lynda Barry, Kathryn Davis,
Damien Echols, Nikky Finney, Todd Haynes, Tom Lutz
Program description: In the Goddard College Creative
Writing program, students work with faculty advisors to develop
rigorous individualized study plans for finding and strengthening
their creative voices and creative professional lives. The first low-
residency writing program, the Goddard MFA supports students
writing fiction, poetry, memoir, plays, screenplays, graphic novel
scripts, and nonfiction. The faculty are professional, working
authors and also devoted, effective teachers. Students can
gain editing experience with the student-run Pitkin Review
literary journal, and residencies include publishing workshops.
The Goddard MFA includes the unique and rewarding teaching
practicum, in which students teach creative craft in workshop,
community, and college settings.

14
Hamline University
MFA in Writing
MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults (low-res)
Website: hamline.edu/cwp
Address: 1536 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104
Program director: Mary Rockcastle
Phone: (651) 523-2900
Email: gradprog@hamline.edu
Degrees offered: MFA, BFA
Type of program: residency (BFA, MFA in Writing), low-
residency (MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults)
Genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, picture book, early
reader, middle-grade/young-adult fiction, graphic novel, comics
Enrollment: 125 (MFA), 65 (MFAC)
Total credits required: 48-60
Application deadlines: MFA in Writing: February 1,
November 15; MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults:
May 15, November 15
Core faculty: Swati Avasthi, John Brandon, Patricia Weaver
Francisco, Emily Jenkins (a.k.a. e. lockhart), Deborah Keenan,
Ron Koertge, Sheila O’Connor, Phyllis Root, Gary D. Schmidt,
Larry Sutin, Eleanora E. Tate, Anne Ursu, Katrina Vandenberg,
Gene Luen Yang
Visiting faculty: John Colburn, Mary Logue, Jim Moore,
Marilyn Nelson, Juliet Patterson, Matt Rasmussen
Literary magazine: Water~Stone Review
Recent visiting writers: Kate DiCamillo, Toi Derricotte,
Marilyn Nelson, Brenda Miller, Ben Percy, Jon Scieszka, Wells
Tower
Program description: At Hamline, you’ll benefit not only
from being a part of the only university in the U.S. with three fine
arts programs in creative writing and an award-winning national
literary magazine, but also from the cultural and literary bounty
of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Hamline students experience
a world-class education in the process and craft of writing taught
by award-winning practicing writers. Our faculty have published
more than 250 books and won the highest awards given for
excellence in writing for children, young adults, and adults. Our
alumni go on to publish, teach, and work in the literary publishing
industry.
Hollins University
Jackson Center for Creative Writing
Website: www.hollins.edu/jacksoncenter/
Mailing Address: PO Box 9603, Roanoke, VA 24020-1603
Physical Address: 8009 Hill House Court, Roanoke, VA
24019
Program director: Dr. Jeanne Larsen
Program contact: Hollins University Graduate Center
Phone: (540) 362-6575
Email: hugrad@hollins.edu
Genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction
Enrollment: 24
Core faculty: Carrie Brown, R. H. W. Dillard, Cathryn
Hankla, Jeanne Larsen, Thorpe Moeckel, Elizabeth Poliner, Eric
Trethewey
Visiting faculty: Karen McElmurray, spring 2014
Literary magazine: The Hollins Critic
Recent visiting writers: Eduardo C. Corral, Lydia Davis,
Mark Doty, Rebecca Dunham, Cornelius Eady, Nick Flynn, Alice
Fulton, Francine Prose
Program description: Our intensive two-year studio/
hybrid MFA program helps you find your way in an atmosphere
of cooperation and encouragement. We support college
graduates who want to concentrate on craft and on reading the
way writers do. The 24 students in this highly regarded program
work successfully in poetry, short fiction, novels, and creative
nonfiction—and between genres, too. We’re known for our
strong sense of community and our lively co-curricular program.
Our faculty take time to work with students. Hollins alums have
a remarkably high record of publication: this is a program for
people who really want to write.

15
Lesley University
Website: www.lesley.edu/mfa-creative-writing
Address: 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA 02420
Program director: Steven Cramer
Program contact: Jana Van der Veer
Phone: (617) 349-8369
Email: jvanderv@lesley.edu
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for stage & screen,
writing for young people
Enrollment: 100
Application deadlines: 9/1 for January/spring residency;
3/1 for June/fall residency
Scholarships available: yes (see website)
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Erin Belieu, Anne Bernays, Jami Brandli,
Barry Brodsky, Jane Brox, Sharon Bryan, Teresa Cader, Rafael
Campo, Leah Hager Cohen, Pat Lowery Collins, Jackie Davies,
David Elliott, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Tony Eprile, Laurie Foos,
Susan Goodman, Joan Houlihan, Alexandra Johnson, Rachel
Kadish, Hester Kaplan, Michael Lowenthal, Bill Lychack, Chris
Lynch, Rachel Manley, Cate Marvin, Kyoko Mori, Ronan Noone,
Pamela Petro, Kevin Prufer, Christina Shea, Kate Snodgrass,
Justin Torres, Sinan Ünel, A.J. Verdelle, Sara Zarr
Recent visiting writers: Nikky Finney, Jack Gantos,
Louise Glück, Vivian Gornick, Tom Perotta, Theresa Rebeck
Program description: Ranked #4 among low-residency
MFA Programs by Poets & Writers, and the only such
program located in a major U.S. literary city, Lesley offers five
concentrations: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Writing for Stage
and Screen, and Writing for Young People. Our graduates have
published books, been featured in prestigious journals, won
major literary prizes and fellowships, had theatrical productions,
and found teaching positions in numerous schools and colleges.
The faculty are celebrated writers and passionate teachers.
The program’s Interdisciplinary Studies component nourishes
students’ writing and aspirations to be working writers.
Manhattanville College
Website: mville.edu/mfa
Address: 2900 Purchase Street, Purchase, NY 10577
Program director: Mark Nowak
Program contact: Camille Rankine
Phone: (914) 323-5239
Email: mfa@mville.edu
Genres: fiction, poetry, cross genre, YA, nonfiction
Enrollment: 45
Core faculty: Mark Nowak, Camille Rankine, Jeff Bens,
Neela Vaswani, Elizabeth Eslami, Phyllis Shalant, Joanna
Herman
Visiting faculty: Justin Torres, Tayari Jones, Rita Williams
Garcia, Kazim Ali, Thanhha Lai, Dina Nayeri, Diane Glancy, Kao
Kalia Yang, Patricia Smith
Literary magazine: The Manhattanville Review
Recent visiting writers: Tracy K. Smith, Philip Gourevitch,
Nick Flynn, Terrance Hayes, Jennifer Egan
Program description: Manhattanville’s MFA program is
among the most flexible creative writing programs in the country.
With our unique, non-tracking curriculum, students have the
opportunity to work in a variety of genres, to experiment with
cross-genre writing, or to focus on a single genre with gifted
teachers and mentors who are also award-winning authors. MFA
students are encouraged to build an individualized program that
best fits their immediate interests and long-term goals. Course
offerings regularly include workshops in fiction (in short story and
novel), poetry, cross-genre writing, creative nonfiction, children’s/
young adult writing, and screenwriting as well as other electives.

16
Mills College
MFA Book Art and Creative Writing
MA in English and American Literature
Website: www.mills.edu/english
Address: 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613
Program director: Stephanie Young
Program contact: Jess Heaney
Phone: (510) 430-2240
Email: grad_eng@mills.edu
Degrees offered: MFA (in Creative Writing, Book Art and
Creative Writing), MA (in English and American Literature)
Length of program: MFAin Creative Writing/MAin Literature:
2 and 3 year programs, MFAin BookArt and Creative Writing: 2.5
year program
Enrollment: 100 graduate students in all programs combined
Total credits required: 11 or 12.5
Application deadlines: Dec. 15
Core faculty: Elmaz Abinader, Diane Cady, Julie Chen, Ajuan
Mance, Cornelia Nixon, Sarah Pollock, Patricia Powell, Stephen
Ratcliffe, Kathryn Reiss, Kirsten Saxton, Ruth Saxton, Cynthia
Scheinberg, Juliana Spahr, Thomas Strychacz, Kathleen Walkup
Visiting faculty: David Buuck, Rebekah Edwards, Marisa
Handler, Micheline Aharonian Marcom, Joyce Carol Oates, Achy
Obejas, Barbara Jane Reyes, Truong Tran, Stephanie Young
Literary magazine: 580 Split
Reading series: Contemporary Writers Series
Recent visiting writers: Ann Carson, Guillermo Gómez-
Peña, Eileen Myles, Achy Obejas, M. NourbeSe Philip, Ngũgĩ wa
Thiong’o
Program description: Part of the San Francisco BayArea’s
vibrant literary community, Mills College offers innovative MFA
programs in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and book art. Our
graduate English programs tap into the BayArea’s energy and
are distinguished by their long-established reputations; innovation;
outstanding faculty; intimate community of writers, scholars, and
alumni; and commitment to a vision of the literary arts as socially
transformative. Our graduate English programs enhance your
creativity and give you the tools to engage the world around you.
Murray State University
Website: www.murraystate.edu/mfa
Address: Murray State University, Master of FineArts Program, 7C
Faculty Hall-Dept of English and Philosophy, Murray, KY 42071
Program director: Ann Neelon
Program contact: Nita King, Administrative Secretary
Phone: (270) 809-4727
Email: msu.mfa@murraystate.edu
Enrollment: 40
Total credits required: 49 credit hours
Application deadlines: October 1 for January residency,
April 1 for July residency
Core faculty: Ann Neelon (director), Carrie Jerrell (associate
director), Blas Falconer, Tommy Hays, Riley Hanick, Gary
Jackson, Karen Salyer McElmurray, Elena Pasarello, Dale Ray
Phillips, Lynn Pruett, Jeffrey Skinner
Literary magazine: New Madrid
Recent visiting writers: Kazim Ali, Mark Doty, Beth
Ann Fennelly, Nick Flynn, Tom Franklin, Cristina Garcia, Max
Garland, Ross Gay, Stephen Graham Jones, Davy Rothbart,
Claire Vaye Watkins, Marcus Wicker, Padma Viswanathan
Program description: Our foremost goal is to facilitate the
growth of writers. We strive to do so in a supportive atmosphere
of shared inquiry, academic rigor, and good humor. Our faculty
are committed to engaging with students of all ages and working
with them to discover creative perspectives and practices that are
unconditionally their own. Our program, which is very flexible in
terms of its pace of studies and also highly affordable for those
residing outside Kentucky, provides the necessary academic
credentials for a writer to teach creative writing at the college or
university level. It also provides a foundation in writing that can
help prepare graduates for careers in a variety of fields such as
writing, publishing, advertising, or teaching at the secondary level.
Special features include internships on the staff of New Madrid
(with the chance to break into book reviewing), supervised teaching
opportunities, and cross-genre options.

17
Naropa University
Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics
MFA in Writing and Poetics
Website: www.naropa.edu/academics/jks/
Address: 2130 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Program director: Michelle Naka Pierce
Phone: (303) 546-3508
Email: JKS@naropa.edu
Types of programs: residency
Genres: poetry, prose, cross-genre
Core faculty: Anne Waldman (co-founder), Michelle Naka
Pierce (school director), J’Lyn Chapman, Andrea Rexilius, Junior
Burke, Reed Bye, Bhanu Kapil, Andrew Schelling
Literary magazines: Bombay Gin, not enough night,
Something on Paper
Reading series: What Where
Recent visiting writers: Harryette Mullen, Alice Notley,
Lyn Hejinian, Gary Snyder, Juliana Spahr, Joan Retallack
Program description: The Jack Kerouac School
emphasizes innovative approaches to literary arts. Our
programs problematize genre while cultivating contemplative
and experimental writing practices. Each year, we invite more
than sixty guest faculty to our internationally renowned Summer
Writing Program, a four-week colloquium of workshops, lectures,
and readings. This distinguishing feature fosters an intensely
creative environment for students to develop their writing
projects in conversation with a community of writers. Founded in
1974 by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, the Jack Kerouac
School consists of the undergraduate Core Writing Seminars, a
BA in Writing & Literature, a MFA in Writing & Poetics, and the
Summer Writing Program.
National University
MFA in Creative Writing (online)
Website: faculty.nu.edu/blogs/mcw/
Address: 5245 Pacific Concourse Drive, Suite 100, Los
Angeles, CA 90045
Program director: Frank Montesonti
Program contact: Frank Montesonti
Phone: (310) 662-2159
Email: fmontesonti@nu.edu
Type of program: online
Length of program: 20 months (min)
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting
Total credits required: 58.5
Application deadlines: rolling admissions
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Frank Montesonti, Amina Cain, Colin Dickey,
Michael Zimmer, Jervey Tervalon
Visiting faculty: Amanda Ackerman, Peter Bricklebank,
Jeannine Hall Gailey, Brandi Megan Granett, Sheyene Foster
Heller, Howard V. Hendricks, Bryan Hurt, Helen Kantor, Erin
Keane, Cheryl Klein, Kristi Maxwell, Seth Sherwood, David
Womack.
Literary magazine: The GNU
Reading series: no
Program description: The National University MFA
program is a completely online program with no residency
requirements. Students may focus in fiction, creative nonfiction,
poetry, or screenwriting. We recognize that many students
cannot attend even a low-residency MFA because of the
residency requirements. Our MFA program allows students to
have the workshop experience at home, guided by published,
experienced faculty. The courses are conducted in electronic
classrooms and are asynchronous, so you don’t have to be
in the classroom at any certain time of day. We are friendly to
genre fiction of literary merit and fiction for young adults. Our
workshops are accelerated eight-week courses, and students
take only one course at a time. Students may also take elective
courses from the extensive course selections of our MA in
English Literature program.

18
New York University
Graduate Creative Writing Program
Website: cwp.fas.nyu.edu
Address: 58 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10011
Program director: Deborah Landau
Phone: (212) 998-8816
Email: creative.writing@nyu.edu
Degrees offered: MA, MFA
Total credits required: 32 units
Application deadlines: 12/18
Core faculty: E. L. Doctorow, Sharon Olds, Zadie Smith,
Yusef Komunyakaa, Matthew Rohrer, Darin Strauss, Chuck
Wachtel, Jonathan Safran Foer, John Ashbery, Anne Carson,
Charles Simic, Deborah Landau (Director), Nathan Englander,
Meghan O’Rourke
Visiting faculty: Mary Gaitskill, Irini Spanidou, Major
Jackson, Craig Morgan Teicher, David Lipsky, Rick Moody,
Rachel Zucker, Brian Morton, Joyce Carol Oates
Literary magazine: Washington Square Review
Reading series: cwp.fas.nyu.edu/readingseries
Recent visiting writers: Anne Carson, Jonathan Lethem,
Karen Russell, Sherman Alexie, D.A. Powell, Lucie Brock-Broido
Program description: The graduate Creative Writing
Program at NYU consists of a community of writers working
together in a setting that is both challenging and supportive.
Through innovative literary outreach programs, a distinguished
reading series, special literary seminars with master writers,
and the production of a high-quality literary journal, students
participate in a dynamic literary community actively engaged in
all aspects of the literary arts. Situated in the heart of Greenwich
Village, students have the opportunity to enjoy America’s most
literary terrain while working closely with some of the finest poets
and novelists writing today.
New York University
MFA Writers Workshop in Paris (low-res)
Website: cwp.fas.nyu/edu/object/cwp.low.residency.paris
Address: 58 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10011
Program director: Deborah Landau
Phone: (212) 998-8816
Email: creative.writing@nyu.edu
Total credits required: 32 units
Application deadlines: 10/15, 3/15
Core faculty: Chris Adrian, Catherine Barnett, Mark Doty,
Nathan Englander, Meghan O’Rourke, Matthew Rohrer, Helen
Schulman, Darin Strauss, Colson Whitehead, Deborah Landau
Visiting faculty: Anne Carson, Lydia Davis, Timothy
Donnelly, Geoff Dyer, Percival Everett, Aleksandar Hemon,
Dinaw Mengestu, Julie Orringer, ZZ Packer, Elissa Schappell,
Danzy Senna, Brenda Shaughnessy, Charles Simic
Program description: The MFA Writers Workshop in Paris
constitutes an intimate creative apprenticeship that extends
beyond traditional classroom walls. Over two years, students
and faculty convene regularly in Paris for five intensive ten-day
residency periods (held biannually in January and July). While in
residency in Paris, students participate in a vibrant community
engaged in all aspects of the literary arts, including workshops,
craft talks, lectures, individual conferences, and manuscript
consultations, as well as a diverse series of readings, special
events, and professional development panels.
During the intervals between residencies, students pursue
focused courses of study, completing reading and writing
assignments under the close supervision of individual faculty
members. These ongoing dialogues with faculty are tailored to
specific student interests; students are mentored by a different
professor each term.
Students are expected to complete substantial writing and
reading assignments each term, regularly submitting packets of
work in exchange for detailed feedback. Graduating students
leave the program with four new literary mentors and a portfolio
of letters written by acclaimed writers in response to their work.

19
Northern Michigan University
MFA in Creative Writing, MA in Writing
Website: www.nmu.edu/english/
Address: 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855
MFA program director: Jennifer A. Howard
MA program director: Russ Prather
Phone: (906) 227-2711
MFA email: jenhowar@nmu.edu
MA email: rprather@nmu.edu
Degrees offered: MA, MFA, BA
Length of program: 3-year MFA, 2-year MA
Enrollment: 20
Application deadlines: February 1
Scholarships: no
Core faculty: Matt Bell, Jon Billman, Matthew Gavin Frank,
Jennifer A. Howard, Austin Hummell, Ron Johnson, Paul
Lehmberg, Beverly Matherne, Diane Sautter, John Smolens
Literary magazine: Passages North
Reading series: Visiting Writers
Recent visiting writers: Tom Bissell, Roxane Gay, Aimee
Nezhukumatathil, Kwame Dawes, John D’Agata, Richard Ford,
Tim O’Brien, Lan Samantha Chang, Elizabeth McCracken,
John McNally, Nahid Rachlin, Jim Harrison, Donald Hall, Mary
Clearman Blew.
Program description: NMU, located on the Lake Superior
shore of Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula, offers a three-
year MFA degree in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction, as well
as a two-year MA in writing, literature, pedagogy, or theater.
Teaching assistantships and fellowships are available, as
well as travel opportunities, summer grants, and internships
with Passages North. NMU grads have published work with
Knopf and Penguin, continued on to literary and creative PhD
programs, found full-time teaching positions, and started literary
magazines. Marquette, Michigan, a bike-friendly town even in
the snowy winter, is surrounded by some of the country’s most
stunning forests and water.
Northwest Institute of Literary Arts
Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA in Creative Writing (low-res)
Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA in Publishing and Editing (low-res)
Website: www.nila.edu/mfa
Mailing address: P.O. Box 639, Freeland, WA 98236
Physical address: 5611 Bayview Road, Langley, WA 98260
Program director and contact: Wayne Ude
Phone: (360) 331-0307
Email: ude@nila.edu
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, writing for children/young adults
Enrollment: 45
Application deadlines: March 15 forAugust residency and
fall semester; October 1 for January residency and spring semester
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Bonny Becker; Carmen Bernier-Grand;
Lawrence Cheek; Bruce Holland Rogers; Ana Maria Spagna;
David Wagoner; Carolyne Wright; Sandra Beris, Kate Gale,
Christine Holbert, Christopher Howell, Andrea Hurst, Terry
Persun
Visiting faculty: Marc Acito, Anjali Banerjee, Nancy Rawles,
Jacqueline Mitchard, Tess Gallagher, Peggy Shumacher, Gary
Lilley, Brian Doyle, Timothy Egan, Kathleen Dean Moore, Scott
Russell Sanders
Literary magazine: Soundings Review
Recent visiting writers: MarcAcito,Anjali Banerjee, Nancy
Rawles, Jacqueline Mitchard, Tess Gallagher, Peggy Shumacher,
Gary Lilley, Brian Doyle, Timothy Egan, Kathleen Dean Moore, Scott
Russell Sanders
Program description: The Northwest Institute of Literary
Arts, an organization of writers, sponsors the Whidbey Writers
Workshop’s two low-residency MFAs: the MFAin writing and the
MFAin Publishing and Editing. The only accredited MFAprogram
in the country sponsored by an association of writers includes
tracks in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, writing for children/young adults,
and publishing and editing. Each semester begins with a 10-day
intensive residency on Whidbey Island, Washington; classes begin
there and continue online for an additional 16 weeks. MFAin writing
students may take an additional Certificate in Publishing and Editing
for a total of 70 semester credits.

20
Northwestern University
School of Continuing Studies
MA/MFA in Creative Writing
Website: www.scs.northwestern.edu/grad/cw/
Address: 339 E. Chicago Avenue, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL
60611
Program director: S.L. (Sandi) Wisenberg
Founding director: Reginald Gibbons
Phone: (312) 503-6950, (847) 491-6512
Email: scs@northwestern.edu
Degrees offered: MFA, MA
Length of program: varies
Enrollment: about 100
Total credits required: 18 (MFA), 10 (MA)
Application deadlines: October 15; January 15; April 15;
July 15 (approximate)
Scholarships: no (see website for alternate options)
Core faculty: Ana Castillo, Eula Biss, Stuart Dybek,Alex
Kotlowitz, Michael McColly, Reginald Gibbons, Juan Martinez, Chris
Abani, Naeem Murr, SteveAmick, John Bresland, Ed Roberson,
Donna Seaman, Golda Goldbloom, Susan Harris, Peggy Shinner,
Christine Sneed, Marya Hornbacher, S.L. Wisenberg
Literary magazine: TriQuarterly
Program description: Keep (or find) a day job and
take evening classes on the Evanston and Chicago lakefront
campuses, as you live as a non-starving artist. Some students
choose Northwestern’s MA or MFA program as an alternative
to low-residency programs, plus they find it easy to adjust their
class schedules as their personal and professional lives demand
more or less time. (We seem to be experiencing a baby boom,
and new parents appreciate the program’s flexibility.) Workshops
are capped at a dozen students. We require courses in cross-
genre writing, teaching, and literature. Electives range from the
video essay to print and digital publishing. Students can also
enroll in a variety of classes offered by Northwestern. They’ve
also found internships at NU Press, the county juvenile jail,
senior citizen programs and local universities. The Chicago lit
scene is lively, varied—and welcoming to newcomers.
The Ohio State University
Website: english.osu.edu/creative-writing-/mfa-program
Address: 421 Denney Hall, 164 West 17th Avenue,
Columbus, OH 43210
Program director: Michelle Herman
Program contact: Tammy Carl
Phone: (614) 292-2242
Email: carl.34@osu.edu
Enrollment: 35
Application deadlines: first week of December (see
website)
Core faculty: Henri Cole, Kathy Fagan, Michelle Herman,
Andrew Hudgins, Lee Martin, Erin McGraw, Angus Fletcher -
Affiliated Faculty, Jennifer Schlueter - Affiliated Faculty
Visiting faculty: Steve Almond, Eula Biss, Amy Bloom, Dan
Chaon, Hope Edelman, Terrance Hayes, Brenda Hillman, Nick
Hornby, Phillip Lopate, Rebecca Makkai, Jill McCorkle, Brenda
Miller, Marilyn Nelson
Literary magazine: The Journal
Reading series: Visiting Writer Series
Recent visiting writers: Anne Carson, Robert Hass, Dan
Kois, Philip Levine, Scott Raab, Natasha Trethewey
Program description: The MFA at OSU is a fully funded
three-year program, unparalleled in its commitment to the
success of its students. The enthusiastic mutual support of
current students and alumni is legion. Course offerings are
varied and numerous, with core workshops/forms seminars in
fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction; seminars in playwriting,
screenwriting, and literary publishing; special topics workshops
(in the long poem, humor writing, etc.); cross-disciplinary
workshops; and a multidisciplinary seminar for artists across
the university. MFA students teach two courses a year, including
creative writing workshops, and have the opportunity to work as
editors on The Journal.

21
Oklahoma City University
The Red Earth MFA in Creative Writing (low-res)
Website: www.okcu.edu/english/redearthmfa
Address: 2501 N. Blackwelder Avenue WC 248, Oklahoma
City, OK 73106
Program director: Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
Program contact: Dyan Shaw
Phone: (405) 208-5127
Email: mfadirector@okcu.edu
Genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting
Enrollment: 30
Scholarships: no
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Allison Amend, Lou Berney, Jeanetta Calhoun
Mish, Da Chen, Kerry Cohen, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Kat Meads
Literary magazine: Red Earth Review
Recent visiting writers: Matthew Quick, Lori A. May,
James Bernard Frost, Peter Meinke, Alan Michael Parker,
Thomas Larson, Lan Samantha Chang, Chad Sweeney, Dawn
Lundy Martin, Margo Rabb, Joy Harjo
Program description: The Red Earth MFA in Creative
Writing at Oklahoma City University provides writers with the
time to create with experienced authors and professional writers.
While the two-year program concentrates on developing your
creative skills in writing, students also have the opportunity to
pursue strands in professional writing and college-level teaching.
Pine Manor College
Solstice Low-Residency
Website: www.pmc.edu/mfa
Address: 400 Heath Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Program director: Meg Kearney
Program contact: Tanya Whiton
Phone: (617) 731-7697, (617) 731-7684
Email: mfa@pmc.edu
Genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for young
people
Enrollment: 35
Application deadlines: rolling admissions year round
Core faculty: Kathleen Aguero, Venise Berry, Laure-Anne
Bosselaar, Amy Hoffman, Steven Huff, Randall Kenan, Robert
Lopez, Laura Williams McCaffrey, Anne-Marie Oomen, Dzvinia
Orlowsky, Iain Haley Pollock, Sandra Scofield, Sterling Watson,
Dave Yoo, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Nicole Terez Dutton
Visiting faculty: M. Evelina Galang, Terrance Hayes, Helen
Elaine Lee, Dennis Lehane, M.L. Liebler, Grace Lin, Michael
Steinberg, Jacqueline Woodson
Literary magazine: Solstice
Recent visiting writers: Naomi Shihab Nye, Dorothy
Alison, Phillip Lopate, Cornelius Eady, Nancy Willard, Stewart
O’Nan, Walter Dean Myers, Stephen Dunn, Andre Dubus III
Program description: The Solstice Low-Residency
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program of Pine Manor
College is designed to help students reach their full potential
as writers through a demanding curriculum that balances the
workshop experience with the study of literary craft, criticism,
and theory. The program embraces a wide range of voices and
artistic approaches in its faculty and its students, establishing
a learning environment that fosters community and celebrates
the individual. Working with some of the best writers in the
country, students of Pine Manor College’s MFA program emerge
with a deep, well-rounded knowledge of their art, a strategy
for continuing the development of their creative vision, and a
supportive circle of peers and mentors.

22
Rosemont College
Website: www.rosemont.edu/gp/creative-writing-poetry-or-fiction/
Address: 1400 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, PA 19010
Program director: Rone Shavers
Program contact: Rone Shavers
Phone: (518) 485-3787
Email: shaversr@strose.edu
Genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, novel, YA, dramatic
writing
Enrollment: 50
Application deadlines: rolling admissions
Scholarships: no
Core faculty: Randall Brown, Liz Abrams-Morley, Anne Kaier,
JC Todd, Richard Bank, BJ Burton, Cynthia Reeves, Blythe
Davenport, Amy Punt, Janice Merendino
Visiting faculty: Charles Holdefer, Elise Juska, Curtis Smith,
Joe Kulka, Elisabeth Mosier, Ru Freeman
Literary magazine: Rathalla Review
Recent visiting writers: Kevin McIlvoy, SteveAlmond,Andrea
Carter Brown, Michael Martone, Ethel Rackin, Kelly Simmons
Program description: The mission of Rosemont College’s
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is to empower students
with real-life skills and experiences that will enable them to
achieve their professional and creative goals as writers, and to
become productive contributors of larger writing communities as
authors, teachers, publishers, and readers. We have envisioned
a program where the students have opportunities to work with
established and accomplished writers, editors, and industry
professionals, in a variety of settings that allow our students to
blossom and discover their own unique voices as writers.
Rutgers-Newark
Website: www.ncas.rutgers.edu/mfa
Address: 43 Bleeker Street, Newark, NJ 07102
Program director: Professor Jayne Anne Phillips
Program contact: Melissa Hartland
Phone: (973) 353-1107
Email: rnmfa@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Length of program: 2 yrs full time/3 yrs part time
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction
Enrollment: 40
Application deadlines: 11/1-1/2
Core faculty: Jayne Anne Phillips, Akhil Sharma, Tayari
Jones, Alice Elliott Dark, Brenda Shaughnessy, Rigoberto
Gonzalez, Rachel Hadas, James Goodman, John Keene
Visiting faculty: Eduardo Corral, Cynthia Cruz
Reading series: The Writers At Newark Reading Series
Recent visiting writers: Edward P. Jones, Natasha
Trethawey, George Saunders, James Salter, Ruth Otzeki, Marie
Howe
Program description: The Rutgers-Newark MFA Program,
located on the most richly diverse undergrad campus in the
nation, is an 18-minute train ride from Manhattan. Our award-
winning faculty truly mentor our poets and fiction writers; our
studio/research MFA offers workshops, thesis hours, and 7
interdisciplinary elective courses to full (2 year) and part time (3
year) students. Aid includes TA’s and Part Time Scholarships
teaching Comp or Creative Writing, Half Tuition Scholarships,
and Capote Fellowships. The Writers At Newark Reading
Series is central to our curriculum; our Writers at Newark:
Contemporary American Lit courses and Newark High Schools
outreach are based on the work of Series’ writers each semester.

23
Saint Mary’s College of California
Website: www.stmarys-ca.edu/mfa
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4686, Moraga, CA 94575-4686
Physical Address: 1928 Saint Mary’s Road, Moraga, CA
94556
Program manager: Sara Mumolo
Program contact: Candace Eros Dias, Admissions
Coordinator
Phone: (925) 631-4762
Email: cd8@stmarys-ca.edu
Length of program: 2 years (a third year in second genre
is available through a selective application process that leads to
a dual degree)
Genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry
Enrollment: 7-8 per genre
Core Faculty: Marilyn Abildskov, Wesley Gibson, Rosemary
Graham, Brenda Hillman, Christopher Sindt, Lysley Tenorio,
Matthew Zapruder
Visiting faculty: Norma Cole, Joshua Mohr, Kaya Oakes
Publishing/editing courses: no (see website for options)
Literary magazine: Mary
Reading series: The Creative Writing Reading Series
Recent visiting writers: Cristina Garcia, Josh Braff, Peter
Trachtenburgh, Kathryn Ma, Elizabeth Stark, Jane Vandenburgh,
Rusty Morrison, Rebecca Wolff, Michael Palmer, and more
Program description: Founded in 1995, the MFA Program
in Creative Writing is a two-year course of study leading to the
MFA degree in creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry. The Program
provides the time and formal training necessary for serious
students to improve their writing, and it embodies the finest
qualities of Saint Mary’s College: an interest in the student as a
person, an emphasis on shared inquiry and critical thinking, and
a respect for new and various ways of knowing. We offer small
classes, an innovative permanent faculty, numerous visiting
writers and editors, close faculty-student contact, teaching
assistantships, and opportunities for social justice internships in
the community.
San Francisco State University
MA, MFA in Creative Writing
Website: creativewriting.sfsu.edu
Address: 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132
Program director: Maxine Chernoff
Email: cwriting@sfsu.edu
Degrees offered: MA, MFA, BA
Genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, playwriting, poetry
Application deadlines: BA: varies, MA & MFA: Dec. 15
Core faculty: Michelle Carter, Nona Caspers, Maxine Chernoff,
Roy Conboy, Camille Dungy, Bob Gluck, Paul Hoover, Dan
Langton, Toni Mirosevich, Peter Orner, ZZ Packer, Chanan Tigay
Visiting faculty: Dodie Bellamy, Katie Crouch, Matthew
Clark Davison, Donna de la Perriere, Steve Dickison, Anne
Galjour, Heather Gibbons, Brian Thorstenson, Barbara Tomash,
Truong Tran
Literary magazine: 14 Hills; Transfer
Recent visiting writers: Will Boast, Cooley Windsor
Program description: The Creative Writing Program at
SFSU offers three degree programs: B.A. in English with an
emphasis in Creative Writing, MA in English with an emphasis
in Creative Writing; and MFA in Creative Writing. Our curriculum
reflects our commitment to a variety of styles, subjects, and
approaches, recognizing the complexity and breadth of
contemporary writing. Students are instructed in literary analysis
and develop their craft to constructively critique their own work
and that of others. We are honored to be associated with the
SFSU Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives, which
curates two reading series a year.

24
School of the Art Institute of
Chicago
Website: www.saic.edu/admissions/grad/
Address: 36 South Wabash Avenue, Ste. 1201, Chicago, IL
60603
Program director: Ruth Margraff
Program contact: Amber Da
Phone: (312) 899-5094
Email: wprog@saic.edu
Genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, screenplay, essay,
collaborative projects
Enrollment: 60
Application deadlines: January 15, 2014
Core faculty: Sally Alatalo, Jesse Ball, Mark Booth, Janet
Desaulniers, Calvin Forbes, Adam Levin, Sara Levine, Ruth
Margraff, James McManus, Beth Nugent
Visiting faculty: Carol Anshaw, Rosellen Brown, Anne
Calcagno, Kevin Coval, Mary Cross, Amy England, Abigail
Elizabeth Geni, Matthew Goulish, Todd S. Hasak-Lowy, Beth
Kathleen Hetland, Jill K. Magi, Jennifer Magnus, Richard
O’Reilly, Elise Paschen, Bin Ramke, Jill Riddell, Deb Olin Unferth
Reading series: Writing Department Graduate Lecture
Series
Recent visiting writers: George Saunders
Program description: The two-year Master of Fine Arts
in Writing (MFAW) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
(SAIC) distinguishes itself from more conventional writing
programs in that it both questions typical genre distinctions and
nurtures traditional writing approaches. MFAW students are
immersed in an arts environment within the nation’s second-
highest rated MFA program, encouraging them to participate
in an active community of artists, writers, and scholars.
Collaboration is complemented by the program’s self-directed
nature: students work closely with faculty advisors who are also
prolific practitioners in their fields to create a course plan specific
to their interests.
Seattle Pacific University
Website: www.spu.edu/mfa/
Address: 3307 3rd Avenue West, Suite 318, Seattle, WA
98119
Program director: Gregory Wolfe
Program contact: Tyler McCabe
Phone: (206) 281-2727
Email: mfa@spu.edu
Application deadlines: rolling; apply before Nov. 15 for a
spring start, before May 15 for a summer start
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Robert Clark, Jeanine Hathaway, Paula
Huston, Gina Ochsner, Jeanne Murray Walker, Lauren F. Winner
Literary magazine: Image
Recent visiting writers: Carolyn Forché, David James
Duncan, Dana Gioia, Patricia Hampl, Thomas Lynch, Marilyn
Nelson, Josip Novakovich, Christian Wiman
Program description: The low-residency MFA at Seattle
Pacific University is for apprentice writers who want to pursue
excellence in the craft of writing and care about the relationship
between faith and literature. For us, faith is not a shortcut or a
warrant to produce didactic or sentimental work. We are inspired
by a tradition of writing in which the highest standards of art, an
open-eyed exploration of human experience, and a respect for
transcendent mystery come together. That’s why our program is
one of the most rigorous in the world. Our models are Augustine
and Dante, Donne and Dostoevsky, Eliot and O’Connor.

25
Seton Hill University
MFA in Writing Popular Fiction (low-res)
Website: setonhill.edu/fiction
Address: Seton Hill University, Office of Graduate & Adult
Studies, Greensburg, PA 15601
Program director: Dr. Albert Wendland
Program contact: Ellen Monnich
Phone: (724) 838-4221
Email: monnich@setonhill.edu
Length of program: 5 semesters, plus a graduation
residency
Genres: science fiction, romance, fantasy, horror, mystery,
children’s, young adult
Enrollment: 112
Application deadlines: On or near March 22 and
September 23 each year
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Dr. Albert Wendland, Dr. Michael Arnzen, Dr.
Lee McClain, Dr. Nicole Peeler
Visiting faculty: Shelley Bates, Tim Esaias, Anne Harris,
Scott Johnson, Felicia Mason, Barbara Miller, Heidi Ruby Miller,
Patrick Picciarelli, Randall Silvis, Lucy Snyder, Maria V. Snyder,
Jon Sprunk, Victoria Thompson, Tim Waggoner, Karen Williams
Reading series: Readings in Genre Fiction
Recent visiting writers: Orson Scott Card, Tess Gerritsen,
David Morrell, Stephanie Bond, Jonathan Maberry, Christopher
Paul Curtis
Program description: Seton Hill’s unique online program—
supported by intensive on-campus writers’ residencies—teaches
writers to create, market, and teach the fiction that sells. It is
designed for those authors who wish to write within the popular
fiction genres such as romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror,
and mystery. Seton Hill’s program features a flexible online/
residency format that allows students to earn a master of fine
arts degree while working full-time, one-on-one mentoring by
established writers, professors who are active and successful
authors, a supportive writing community that continues after
graduation, and the ability to write a full-length novel while
earning a degree.
Spalding University
MFA in Writing (low-res)
Website: www.spalding.edu/mfa
Address: 851 S. Fourth Street, Louisville, KY 40203
Program director: Sena Jeter Naslund
Program contact: Karen J. Mann
Phone: (800) 896-8941, ext. 4400 or (502) 873-4400
Degrees offered: MFA in Writing (Spalding’s School of
Liberal Studies offers a BFA; see www.spalding.edu)
Length of program: 4 semesters, plus a graduation residency
Genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children
and young adults, screenwriting, playwriting
Enrollment: about 70 per semester, fall, spring, summer
Total credits required: 65 credit hours
Application deadlines: February 1 for spring and summer
semesters; July 1 for fall semester (accepts application at any time)
Core faculty: Sena Jeter Naslund, K. L. (Kenny) Cook,
Robin Lippincott, Silas House, Greg Pape, Jeanie Thompson,
Roy Hoffman, Dianne Aprile, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Lesléa
Newman, Eric Schmiedl, and see www.spalding.edu/mfa for a
complete list.
Literary magazines: The Louisville Review
Reading series: Spalding’s Festival of Contemporary Writing
Recent visiting writers: Jacqueline Woodson, Barry
Lopez, Ann Patchett, Yusef Komunyakaa, Claudia Emerson,
Terry Tempest Williams, Marsha Norman, Heather Raffo, Michael
Ondaatje, Susan Vreeland, W.S. Merwin, Scott Russell Sanders,
Naomi Shihab Nye, Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket),
Nancy Willard, Donna Jo Napoli. For a complete list, see www.
spalding.edu/mfa
Program description: Our 65-hour, brief-residency MFA in
Writing combines superb instruction with unparalleled flexibility.
Each semester of the program begins with a ten-day residency, in
which students and faculty gather for an intensive workshopping
and learning experience. At the conclusion of the residency,
students return home to study independently with a faculty mentor
for the rest of the semester. During the semester, each instructor
supervises a small number of students, and each student’s program
is highly individualized to meet each student at his or her level of
writing. Students may customize the location, season, and pace of
their studies.

26
Stony Brook Southampton
MFA in Creative Writing and Literature
Website: www.stonybrook.edu/mfa/
Address: 239 Montauk Highway, Southampton, NY 11968
Program director: Julie Sheehan
Program contact: Carla Caglioti
Phone: (631) 632-5030
Email: Carla.caglioti@stonybrook.edu
Degrees offered: MFA, Advanced Certificate
Genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scriptwriting, children’s
literature. Students are encouraged to experience different
genres throughout program.
Total credits required: 40 credits of course work along
with a 6-credit thesis
Application deadlines: rolling; Jan. 15 for fall, Oct. 1 for
spring
Core faculty: Julie Sheehan, Robert Reeves, Roger
Rosenblatt, Lou Ann Walker, Melissa Bank, Star Black, Andrew
Botsford, Billy Collins, Jules Feiffer, Neal Gabler, Emma Walton
Hamilton, Ursula Hegi, Kaylie Jones, Matt Klam, Patty Marx,
Patricia McCormick, Daniel Menaker, Susan Scarf Merrell,
Frederic Tuten, Meg Wolitzer
Publishing/editing courses: yes
Literary magazine: The Southampton Review
Recent visiting writers: Michael Cunningham, Mary Karr,
Larry Kirshbaum, Heather McHugh, DT Max, Susan Minot, Paul
Muldoon, Marilyn Nelson, Téa Obreht, Ann Packer, Rachel
Pastan, Carl Safina, James Salter, Grace Schulman, Marisa
Silver, Helen Schulman, Robert Wrigley
Program description: We welcome aspiring writers who
seek to create original work primarily in fiction, poetry, or creative
nonfiction. We offer guidance that is friendly, rigorous, professionally
useful and hands on. Enrollment in our writing workshops is capped
at twelve. Unlike most MFAprograms, ours encourages students to
take workshops in all kinds of writing, rather than being tracked upon
acceptance into a single genre. We invite students to explore, in the
belief that writing outside their genres informs their primary areas of
interest. Beyond the familiar categories of fiction, poetry and creative
nonfiction, we offer workshops in other forms of creative expression
relevant to understanding and mastering a world constructed out of
words and images.
University of Arkansas at
Monticello
MFA in Creative Writing (online)
Website: www.uamont.edu/Arts_and_Humanities/mfa/
Address: 562 University Drive, Monticello, AR 71656
Program director: Diane Payne
Phone: (870) 460-1247
Email: payne@uamont.edu
Type of program: online
Enrollment: 10
Scholarships: no
Core faculty: Nan Cohen, Suzanne Cope, Karen Dietrich,
Sandy Longhorn, Peter Nichols, Melinda Palacio, Diane Payne,
Adam Prince, Mark Spencer, Cheri Randall
Literary magazine: Gravel Literary Magazine
Program description: The UAM Master of Fine Arts in
Creative Writing provides opportunity to talented and highly
self-disciplined individuals to earn an MFA tailored to fit their
lifestyles, interests, and goals at an affordable price relative
to other MFA programs and to develop their creative-writing,
critical-thinking, and literary analysis skills to an exemplary level
through study under successful and dedicated writer-teachers
from a range of backgrounds and aesthetic perspectives.
The mission of the program is directly related to the mission
of the university in that it enhances individuals’ abilities to
think creatively and critically, to effectively communicate, to
be technologically literate, to appreciate and contribute to the
cultures of their communities and beyond, and to possess
awareness and sensitivity to global issues.

27
University of California, Riverside
Palm Desert Graduate Center
MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts (low-res)
Website: palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu
Address: 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211
Program director: Tod Goldberg
Program contact: Agam Patel
Phone: (760) 834-0926
Email: palmdesertmfa@ucr.edu
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry – students also
work in a secondary genre, effectively as a minor, which includes
the above genres as well as playwriting
Application deadlines:Aug. 1st (for fall enrollment), Feb. 1st
(for spring enrollment)
Scholarships: no
Assistantships: no
Core faculty: Elizabeth Crane, Jill Alexander Essbaum, Tod
Goldberg, Mark Haskell-Smith, Stephen Graham Jones, Joshua
Malkin, Anthony McCann, Mary Otis, Bill Rabkin, Emily Rapp,
Rob Roberge, John Schimmel, Deanne Stillman, David Ulin,
Mary Yukari Waters
Visiting faculty: see website for updated list
Literary magazine: The Coachella Review
Recent visiting writers: Jane Smiley, Dan Chaon, Dave
Cullen, Steve Almond, Amy Gerstler, Geoff Dyer, Susan Straight,
Phoef Sutton, editors from Simon & Schuster, Grove, Viking,
Penguin, Other Voices, Dzanc, No Tell Books, Paris Review,
New York Times, The Collagist, Los Angeles Times
Program description: The low residency MFA program
at UCR-Palm Desert, the first such program in the University
of California system, is unique in that it directly marries your
academic pursuits with a real world emphasis on the next stage
of your writing career—namely publication and production.
Students work one-on-one with their professors during the
course of seven quarters of online study and five intensive 10-
day residencies at the beautiful Riviera Resort & Spa in Palm
Springs, CA. The program was designed and is taught by writers
for writers and is open to all genres of writing.
University of Guelph
Website: guelphcreativewritingmfa.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 187, Station E, Toronto, ON M6H
4E2, Canada
Physical address: University of Guelph Master of Fine Arts
in Creative Writing, (at The University of Guelph Humber) 207
Humber College Blvd, Toronto, ON M9W 5L7, Canada
Program director: Catherine Bush
Program contact: Meaghan Strimas
Phone: (647) 459-1331
Email: mstrimas@uoguelph.ca
Length of program: 2 years, full-time
Genres: creative nonfiction, drama, fiction, poetry
Enrollment: 24
Application deadlines: December 16
Core faculty: Dionne Brand, Catherine Bush, Judith
Thompson, Karen Connelly, Russell Smith, Michael Winter
Visiting faculty: Aleksandar Hemon, Sheila Heti, Yann
Martel, Lisa Moore, John Mighton, Shyam Selvadurai, Michael
Ondaatje, Fransciso Goldman, Emma Donoghue, Heather
O’Neill, A.L. Kennedy, Ben Lerner, Karen Solie, Dennis Lee,
Margaret Christakos
Reading series: Speakeasy
Recent visiting writers: Aleksandar Hemon, Sheila Heti,
Yann Martel, John Mighton, Lisa Moore, Shyam Selvadurai
Program description: Since September 2006, the
University of Guelph has offered an exciting Master of Fine Arts
(MFA) Program in Creative Writing, located in the University
of Guelph-Humber building on the north campus of Humber
College in Toronto. Our stellar faculty includes Dionne Brand,
Catherine Bush, and Judith Thompson as well as associated
faculty Karen Connelly, Russell Smith, and Michael Winter,
among others. We offer workshops in creative nonfiction, drama,
fiction, and poetry.

28
University of Idaho
Website: www.uidaho.edu/class/english/mfacreativewriting
Mailing address: Department of English, PO Box 441102,
Moscow, ID 83844-1102
Physical address: 875 Perimeter Drive, Moscow, ID 83844
Program director: Doug Heckman
Program contact: Doug Heckman
Phone: (208) 885-6156
Email: dheckman@uidaho.edu
Enrollment: 36
Core faculty: Robert Wrigley, Kim Barnes, Alexandra Teague,
Mary Clearman Blew, Daniel Orozco, Brandon R. Schrand, Joy
Passanante, Ron McFarland, Scott Slovic
Literary magazine: Fugue
Recent visiting writers: Natasha Tretheway, Patricia
Hampl, Mark Halliday, Tony Earley, Jo Ann Beard, Chris Abani,
Linda Bierds, Benjamin Percy
Program description: While we require applicants to apply
only in one genre, we encourage them to “cross-pollinate” once
they are admitted. We believe the poet has as much to gain from
learning the narrative pacing of prose as the prose writer does
from the placement of a single word. We encourage students
to experiment and to push themselves in new directions. But
we also insist that they know where they fit in the continuum of
writers of their genre, and that they understand and can speak to
that tradition.
University of Illinois Urbana-
Champaign
Website: creativewriting.english.illinois.edu
Address: Dept. of English, 608 South Wright Street, Urbana,
IL 61801
Program director: Jodee Stanley
Program contact: Steve Davenport, Assoc. Director
Phone: (217) 333-3979
Email: sdavenpo@illinois.edu
Enrollment: 18
Application deadlines: December 17, 2013
Core faculty: Philip Graham, Janice N. Harrington, LeAnne
Howe, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Michael Madonick, Audrey Petty, Alex
Shakar
Literary magazine: Ninth Letter
Recent visiting writers: Dan Chaon, Toi Derricotte,
Amelia Gray, Kathleen Graber, Joy Harjo
Program description: The MFA degree at the UIUC
provides students with graduate study and professional training
in the writing of fiction and poetry with our distinguished graduate
faculty: Philip Graham, LeAnne Howe, Janice N. Harrington,
Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Michael Madonick, Audrey Petty, and Alex
Shakar. The degree’s primary goal is to give writers time and
space to work on perfecting their art. Upon graduation, students
will have the skills necessary to teach writing and will produce a
book-length, publishable manuscript. Students will also have the
opportunity to gain experience in literary editing and publishing
while working on Ninth Letter.

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