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:
Salem College

Salem College

BA
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
The creative writing major provides talented writing students with an opportunity to enhance their powers of expression through the close reading of literature, the free exchange of ideas, and the production of original works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Narrative Author Faculty: Amy Knox Brown
San Jose State University

San Jose State University

MFA, BA
SAN JOSE, CA
Our program structure is small and flexible, allowing writers to design study plans according to their specific needs. With full funding for all, and one of the best student-to-faculty ratios (3.5 to 1) in the country, the program ensures personal attention and a friendly writing community.
Narrative Author Faculty: Kara Levy
Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University

BA
SANTA CLARA, CA
The creative writing minor is firmly grounded within the liberal arts tradition, integrating courses in poetry, fiction, screenwriting, and creative nonfiction writing within their broader literary and cultural context.
Narrative Author Faculty: Rebekah Bloyd, Ron Hansen
Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College

MFA, BA
BRONXVILLE, NY
At the heart of our program are bi-weekly, one-on-one student-teacher conferences, in which our faculty engages with your work in depth, accompanying you every step of the way as you explore the possibilities of your art.
Seattle Pacific University

Seattle Pacific University

MFA, BA
SEATTLE, WA
The heart of the program involves the ancient relationship between mentor and apprentice. Writing is ultimately a solitary experience, so the rhythm of students sending packets of completed material and receiving detailed feedback from their mentors is both appropriate and highly effective.

Narrative Author Faculty: Gina Ochsner
Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University

BA
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ
This program teaches students the art and craft of poetry or fiction writing. It also emphasizes literature, because no one becomes a great writer without first consuming great literature.
Narrative Author Faculty: Cara Blue Adams
Sheffield Hallam University (MA in Creative Writing)

Sheffield Hallam University (MA in Creative Writing)

MFA
SHEFFIELD, UNITED KINGDOM
The MA in Creative Writing is an intensive course that treats your ambition as a writer seriously. Our students come from a range of backgrounds, including the arts, teaching, law, journalism, history, and writing. The course is for anyone with an interest in or ambition toward writing.
Narrative Author Faculty: Jane Rogers
Shippensburg University

Shippensburg University

BA
SHIPPENSBURG, PA
Students who graduate with a BA, a BA with Writing Emphasis, or a BA with Secondary Certification have learned to read critically and write intelligently about literature and related fields.
Narrative Author Faculty: John Taggart
Skidmore College

Skidmore College

BA
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY
Throughout the curriculum, English majors learn to read closely, think critically, challenge assumptions, practice methods of interpretation and research, analyze the formal qualities of texts, approach texts from various perspectives, place texts in various contexts, and write with clarity, coherence, and precision.
Narrative Author Faculty: Steve Stern
Southern Connecticut State University

Southern Connecticut State University

MFA, BA
NEW HAVEN, CT
The MFA in Creative Writing at Southern Connecticut State University is a full-residency, terminal-degree program, preparing students for careers as publishing writers, teachers, editors, and professionals in the publishing world.
Narrative Author Faculty: Robin Troy
Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University

MFA
CARBONDALE, IL
The fundamental elements of the program are writing workshops, in which students read and critique the writing of their peers under the guidance of a faculty writer; intensive tutorial work with the thesis director on the student’s writing; and the study of the traditions, forms, and theories of literature from a writer’s stance.
Narrative Author Faculty: Lucia Perillo (d. 2016)
Narrative Author Graduates: Chris Bryson, Kerry James Evans
Southern Utah University

Southern Utah University

BA
CEDAR CITY, UT
Our Creative Writing Program offers invigorating classes, internships, and workshops in which you can develop as a writer. The intermediate and advanced classes in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and playwriting result in collections of work that prepare our students for a variety of careers in the writing field.
Narrative Author Faculty: David Lee
Spalding University

Spalding University

MFA
LOUISVILLE, KY
Spalding’s low-residency MFA in Writing program offers serious intellectual stimulation in a noncompetitive, emotionally supportive atmosphere. We are here to help one another become better writers.
Narrative Author Faculty: Silas House
St. Lawrence University

St. Lawrence University

BA
CANTON, NY
A major in English provides valuable preparation for careers in professional areas such as law, business, banking, management, and public relations, as well as in those fields traditionally considered literary in nature: editing, publishing, journalism, advertising, freelance writing, teaching, writing for entertainment media, or librarianship.
Narrative Author Faculty: Joe David Bellamy (d. 2014)
St. Mary’s College of Maryland

St. Mary’s College of Maryland

BA
ST. MARY’S CITY, MD
St. Mary’s integrates literature and creative writing, so there is not a separate creative writing major or minor. Creative Writing is a large part of the campus community from our VOICES Reading Program to the literary magazine Avatar and to the various creative writing classes our school has to offer.
Narrative Author Faculty: Lucille Clifton (d. 2010)
St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College

BA
NORTHFIELD, MN
Creative writing courses converse with a broad range of experiences in literature, including cross-cultural studies, cross-disciplinary studies, genre studies, and literary history—the four categories of the English major.
Narrative Author Faculty: Jim Heynen
Stanford University—Wallace Stegner Fellowship

Stanford University—Wallace Stegner Fellowship

BA, MFA, PHD
STANFORD, CA
Stanford offers ten two-year fellowships each year, five in fiction and five in poetry. All the fellows in each genre convene weekly in a three-hour workshop with faculty.