creative writing bfa

Creative Writing, BFA

Among Public National Universities, U.S. News & World Report

Featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges

Nationally, Best Online Bachelor's Programs, U.S. News & World Report

Our alumni work as:

BFA graduates can apply their training in positions that call for writing and editing. This includes options in digital/tech fields.

BFA students who earn the certificate in publishing are equipped to move into careers in the publishing industry.

BFA graduates are qualified to move into fields of professional communication, including those with government agencies and marketing firms.

With training in powerful communication, our students are uniquely equipped to attend law school.

Participate in a rigorous apprenticeship in the art and craft of creating literature

Develop critical faculties, understanding of literary forms, and aesthetic judgment

Build a strong foundation in the historical literary tradition and a grounding practice of the art of writing

Construct a thoughtful interdisciplinary foundation for understanding the relationship of creative writing to other arts and scholarly areas

“ I admire the energy, artistic nuance, and emotion with which a writer can carry a story. This is what I love about reading what other writers have created: discovering the heart of a story. ”

Liberal Arts Foundation

We encourage our graduate students to become people of letters, and our goals for undergraduates are no less ambitious.

We offer a broad liberal arts education that fosters creativity, exercises communication skills, sharpens analytical perception, and encourages informed, integrated cultural viewpoints.

Studio-Academic Experience

Our BFA program provides aspiring writers an apprenticeship in writing, informed by the close study of literature among a community of professional writers.

As a studio-academic experience in writing fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, our BFA program unites passionate people who believe the creation of art is a pursuit valuable to self and culture.

Sample Courses

How do i major in creative writing.

Students may  declare a major  in pre-creative writing at any point upon completing at least 24 hours of college credits.

Admission to the full creative writing major comes through application only.

Application process

• Complete at least   24 hours of college credits
• CRW 207: Introduction to Fiction Writing
• CRW 208: Introduction to Poetry Writing
• CRW 209: Introduction to Creative Nonfiction Writing
• Submit BFA application for admission through Canvas  
• Submit creative work/portfolio for review by faculty members

Application deadlines

• September 15

Explore More Program Details

Learn more about the Department

Related Programs

English, b.a..

Provides an exceptional academic experience grounded in critical inquiry, creativity, and application through three robust curriculum tracks in literary studies, professional writing, and teacher licensure.

History, B.A.

Teach, research, and write about the history of just about everywhere.

Philosophy and Religion, B.A.

Foster philosophy and the study of religions and to encourage a critical appreciation of the deepest issues of human experience of the past and present, in our own culture and globally.

Certificate & Graduate Programs

Creative writing, mfa.

A terminal degree that focuses on the study and craft of creative writing.

Publishing Certificate

A pathway to careers in the publishing industry.

 Professional Writing Certificate

The certificate in professional writing advances writing skills by providing foundational education in rhetoric, design and editing.

Undergraduate Creative Writing (BFA)

Develop the talent and technique it takes to excel as a creative writer in our BFA program.

About the Undergraduate Creative Writing Major

Words have power. They can catapult people out of their mindsets, throw them out of time, motivate them to rethink beliefs, and move them to introspection and tears. At Emerson College, writers have the opportunity to examine the power of the written word and experiment with offbeat ideas, novel approaches, and timeless topics. 

Our undergraduate Creative Writing BFA program is designed for the imaginative, the curious, and the poetic. Housed in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing in the School of the Arts, the program’s faculty challenge you to sharpen your writing skills and find your own voice, ensuring that you leave Emerson as a formidable communicator—and also a unique one. Our writing courses give you a deep understanding of how writing as an art form has developed over time and across cultures, leaving you well-positioned to succeed in creative writing—a life of provoking and persuading, entertaining and educating, imagining and inspiring.

I enjoy the Creative Writing program because I am able to focus on specific genres….I am able to explore different forms of writing to solidify what I am interested in and what I am not interested in. I have learned a lot from my professors, who are all experienced writers—they are very helpful.

Real-World Experience as a Writer

Creative Writing majors have ample opportunity to gain real-world learning experience. Here are a few examples:

• Students can write or work for a number of student literary journals and magazines, including Redivider, em Magazine, The Emerson Review, Concrete Literary Magazine, and Your Magazine.
• Emerson hosts a Pitch Slam event during which students give a one-minute pitch to a board of local and national editors for the opportunity to have their writing published. 
• Beyond campus, students have access to coveted internships through our alumni network, which includes New York Times –bestselling authors, editors, and publishing professionals. Recent internship sites include: Boston magazine, Reader’s Digest , and Yale University Press.
• Through a partnership with Penguin Random House, students are mentored during a semester-long program.

Careers for Creative Writing Majors

Our Creative Writing graduates have gone on to become prominent authors, screenwriters, and critics. Examples of careers include:

• Acquisitions Editor
• Book Reviewer
• Social Media Specialist
• Writing Instructor

Notable Writing, Literature and Publishing Alumni

• Lara Egger, Author, H ow to Love Everyone and Almost Get Away with It
• Alex Garner, Assistant Editor, Museum of Modern Art
• Jaweed Kaleem, National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times
• Kira Salak, Travel Writer and Contributing Editor, National Geographic

Meet Our Faculty

Ready to pursue your daring ideas.

• Learn More about the Undergraduate Creative Writing (BFA) Program
• Apply to the Undergraduate Creative Writing (BFA) Program

Media Gallery Creative Writing

View our Creative Writing program in action

Emerson Today

Bce cohorts bring new ideas, help revive reagle music theatre.

ELA’s 6 in 60 Gives Emerson Filmmakers Screenings, Support

Writing for boston globe class, emerson polling team up.

• For Current Students
• For Parents
• For Faculty
• For the Media

Learn more about updates regarding the 2024–2025 FAFSA process.

• School of Liberal Arts & Sciences
• Undergraduate Programs
• Graduate Programs
• Continuing Studies

Study Abroad

• Center K–12
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• Undergraduate Advising

Admissions & Aid

• Undergraduate
• Admissions Contacts
• Student Financial Services

Life at Pratt

• Life in Brooklyn
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Residential Life & Housing
• Health & Safety
• Student Success
• Athletics & Recreation
• Student Involvement
• Student Affairs
• Title IX & Nondiscrimination
• Current Students
• Prospective Students
• International Students
• Administrative Departments
• People Directory

History of Art and Design

• History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science, MA/MS
• History of Art and Design, BA
• History of Art and Design, BFA
• History of Art and Design, MA

Humanities and Media Studies

• Media Studies, MA

Math and Science

Social Science and Cultural Studies

• Critical and Visual Studies, BA
• Writing, BFA
• Writing, MFA

English Language Support for International Students

General Education

• Writing and Tutorial Center
• School of Liberal Arts and Sciences >

Writing at Pratt

Pratt’s BFA in Writing prepares you to become a highly proficient and self-sustaining creative writer. Through our studio-based approach and our commitments to inquiry, creative research, and critical self-reflection, you’ll expand your creative range, investigate the cultural and historical forces that have sculpted literary traditions, become an expert practitioner, and explore other fields offered at Pratt. Your creative expression is our focus, balanced with professional preparation and community engagement to prepare you to navigate the changing literary landscape. Combining rigor with care, we actively shape your time at Pratt and connect you to campus resources, so that—despite the solitude that sometimes attends the writing life—you’ll feel supported and equipped to achieve your goals. 

The Experience

Interdisciplinary, socially engaged, and deeply personalized, our tight-knit writing community values a plurality of voices and approaches to writing, both on and off the page. You’ll gather with your peers twice a week for intensive studios, where feedback sessions, generative writing, and collaborative thinking take place. You can explore specialized writing electives in screenwriting, dystopian fiction, environmental writing, psychoanalysis, and feminist thought. First-year foundational courses include critical thinking and writing, world literature, writing elements, and community as classroom. A small student-to-faculty ratio on the Brooklyn campus fosters an intimate sense of community, as do on-campus readings and departmental social events.

The BFA Writing offers a suite of courses designed to prepare undergraduates for a life in writing, in all of its dimensions. Taken in the first year, the “Community as Classroom” course will immerse you in the vast literary series, institutions, venues, and activities across the city, as sources not only for what kinds of things are happening in writing right now but also the artistic lineages they are part of.

Professional Development 

We help our students build meaningful, creative, and sustainable writing lives, especially in the years following graduation. The third year course “Writer as Worker” provides concrete skills and guidance to discern, acquire, and plan for a professional development track in the spring semester. Weekly visits with guest authors, agents, editors, journalists, teachers, filmmakers, and theater artists helps you make informed choices about the work/life experiences you’d like to explore in the coming semesters, and beyond. Practical survival skills and support like internships, job search basics, grants, fellowships, and grad school are covered as ways to build a writing life that inspires you.

Internship & Fieldwork

A one-semester credit-bearing internship or independent fieldwork project is accompanied by a guided professional exploration course. Depending on your interests, you could intern at a publishing house, literary agency, film/TV studio, podcast network, news publication, arts organization or nonprofit. Fieldwork projects could include starting a literary journal, publishing a zine, planning a symposium, developing a podcast pilot, building an artist website, learning how to produce and fund theatrical and film productions, and many others. Past sites have also included The Poetry Project, Nightboat Books, Belladonna* Collaborative, Ugly Duckling Presse, The Brooklyn Rail , and Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. The accompanying course ensures your work becomes an educational opportunity through which you can effectively discern the material realities of the writing life and the labor that sustains it.

Berlin, Germany is an ideal city for you to broaden your cultural, intellectual, and creative horizons. For a writer, spending a semester abroad can be a powerful experience, offering you the chance to shift perspectives, learn new cultural narratives, and form more expansive world views, all of which deepen and complicate your imaginative potential. The chance to learn a new language is also a direct way to more fully understand and develop your own native language. The Pratt Berlin study abroad program offers sophomores and juniors a chance to spend a semester in one of Europe’s most vibrant artistic and literary cities. Housed in a newly renovated button factory in Kreuzberg, one of Berlin’s most central and exciting neighborhoods, the program offers writing majors and minors in creative writing, critical and visual studies, and humanities and media studies a full 16 credits of core classes and electives with BFA Writing faculty. Visit Pratt’s Study Abroad Program page .

Events and Visiting Writers

Our Writer at Large program, the annual Michael Mahoney Memorial Reading, the MFA’s Writing Activisms series, and other events bring renowned writers to campus for readings, workshops, and manuscript consultations. Beyond these events, department faculty regularly invite writers to spend time with their classes including Ottessa Moshfegh, Ross Gay, Simone White, Layli Long Soldier, Alexander Chee, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Michelle Tea, Asiya Wadud, Chloë Bass, Sarah Thankam Mathews, and others.

Writer-at-Large 

The Leslie Scalapino Lecture in Innovative Poetics

Learning Resources

We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate.  Learning resources

Our Faculty

Pratt’s distinguished faculty of ou- tstanding creative professionals and scholars share a common desire to develop each student’s potential and creativity to the fullest. All are practicing writers who are engaged in New York City’s vibrant literary community. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives they provide a rigorous educational model in which students make and learn. See all Writing faculty and administrators .

Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

Assistant Professor

Laura Henriksen

Visiting Assistant Professor

Christian Hawkey

Laura Elrick

Associate Professor

Dianca Potts

Alysia slocum laferriere.

Acting Assistant Chairperson; Visiting Assistant Professor

Christopher Perez

Visiting Professor

Anna Moschovakis

Adjunct Associate Professor with CCE

Sarah Mathews

Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.

Where They Work

• Carly Tagen-Dye, Editorial Assistant, People Magazine
• Anika Jade Levy, Founding Editor, Forever Magazine 
• Alexa Trembly and Emory Harkins, Twenty Stories Bookstore
• Ryan Carson, Founder, NO OD NY
• Erin Perez, Poetry Teacher, Saint Ann’s School

MFA Programs Attended by BFA Writing Alumni

• Erica Ammann, Brown University MFA Literary Arts Program
• Leia Bradley and Anika Jade Levy, Columbia University MFA Writing Program
• Adrian Shirk, University of Wyoming MFA Creative Writing Program
• Cristina Merino, The New School MFA Creative Writing Program

Alumni Publications

• Adrian Shirk, Heaven Is a Place on Earth (Counterpoint, 2022)
• Laura Henriksen, Laura’s Desires (Nightboat Books, 2024)
• Phoebe Robinson, Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes (Tiny Reparations Books, 2021) 
• Brandi Spering, This I Can Tell You (Perennial Press, 2021)
• Kate Gavino, A Career in Books (Plume, 2022)

Success Stories

Culture & community.

New Writing Studios Offer Space to Create and Collaborate

An Award-Winning Film Editor’s Childhood Creativity Flourished at Pratt

In a Shifting Design Industry, a Pratt Grad Supports Future Creative Leaders

Writing alumni stories, ready for more.

@prattwriting

From the Catalog

Sample courses.

• WR-101 Writer’s Studio I 4 credits
• WR-102 Writer’s Studio II 4 credits
• WR-110 Critical Thinking & Writing I 3 credits
• WR-120 Writing Elements I: The Sentence 3 credits
• WR-121 Writing Elements II: Forms 3 credits

Program Overview

The BFA in Writing at Pratt Institute prepares students to become highly proficient and self-sustaining creative writers. Through our studio-based approach and our commitments to inquiry, creative research, and critical self-reflection, we invite students to expand their creative range, to investigate the cultural and historical forces that have sculpted the literary traditions they seek to enter, to become expert practitioners, and to explore the other fields on offer at Pratt. Our focus is students’ creative expression, balanced with professional preparation and community engagement via hands-on courses, internships, and colloquia, so that students are prepared to navigate the changing literary landscape. Our pedagogy combines rigor with care, and the department administration and faculty work actively on behalf of students to shape their time at Pratt and to connect them to campus resources, so that—despite the solitude that sometimes attends the writing life—students feel supported and equipped to achieve their goals.

Learning Outcomes

Via completion of the program, BFA Writing students will:

• Expand their creative process through practices of creative making, experimentation, and play
• Learn to ask and investigate a question through the refinement of curiosity, attention, and research
• Acquire an eloquent critical language for discussions of their work and its place in diverse literary traditions
• Demonstration through informed reading and writing practices, an understanding of the social and historical forces that have shaped their imagination
• Develop expertise in a selected form or genre
• Learning to assemble a revised, cohesive, and polished body of work
• Acquiring professional skills and knowledge that will support a working life

School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Creative Writing, B.F.A.

School of humanities and social sciences, program overview.

As a creative writing major, you will join a community of students, faculty, and mentors who will help you develop as an imaginative writer and a bold thinker. You’ll pursue a course of study that combines training in the art and craft of writing alongside literary scholarship. Working closely with our active, publishing, and award-winning faculty, you’ll sharpen your expertise in reading and analyzing literature and develop your skills at creating meaningful, transformative narratives.

Where You'll Go

The skills you will learn as a creative writing major—how to read and think critically, how to write with precision and ingenuity, how to do research—will prepare you well to be a creative writer, grants writer, content strategist, editor, copywriter, social media manager, and more.

Major Details

The program information listed here reflects the approved curriculum for the 2023–24 academic year per the Brooklyn College Bulletin. Bulletins from past academic years can be found here .

Major Requirements (47–52 Credits)

I. english 2120 and 2121 (8 credits).

English 2120 and 2121 are required. Creative writing majors should complete either English 2120 or 2121 , or be enrolled in one or the other, before continuing in other electives. No ENGL course numbered lower than 2115 may count toward the major.

II. Creative writing courses (16 credits)

• English 2301 .
• English 3301 , 3302 .
• English 3304 , 3305 .
• English 3306 , 3307 .
• One additional creative writing courses in the English Department: ENGL 2302 , or any of the courses 3301–3307 that has not been used to satisfy requirement (ii)b.

III. Periods of Study (10-12 credits)

One course from from 900–1800 and two from 1800 to the present:

• 900–1500: English 3111 , 3112 , 3520 , 4101 ; Comparative Literature 3614 .
• 1500–1660: English 3120 , 3121 , 3122 , 3123 , 3124 , 3125 , 4102 ; Comparative Literature 3615 .
• 1660–1800: English 3131 , 3132 , 3133 , 3234 , 4103 ; Comparative Literature 3616 .
• 1800–1900: English 3140 , 3141 , 3142 , 3143 , 3145 , 3151 , 3156 , 3157 , 3158 , 3160 , 4104 , 4107 ; Comparative Literature 3606 , 3617 .
• 1900–1950: English 2402 , 3152 , 3153 , 3156 , 3159 , 3160 , 3161 , 3162 , 3163 , 3164 , 3165 , 3170 , 3171 , 3172 , 3173 , 3193 , 4110 , 4107 , 4108 ; Comparative Literature 3607 , 3608 , 3610 , 3618 , 3622 , 3623 , 3624 , 3625 .
• 1950–the Present: English 2402 , 3154 , 3161 , 3162 , 3166 , 3167 , 3174 , 3180 , 3187 , 3193 , 3194 , 3254 , 4109 , 4112 , 4113 , 4114 ; Comparative Literature 3609 , 3611 , 3619 , 3621 , 3622 , 3623 , 3625 , 4601 , 4602 .

IV. Electives (13-16 credits)

• A) A course that addresses race/ethnicity or empire/post-colonialism (e.g., English 3158 , 3160 , 3161 , 3162 , 3166 , 3169 , 3182 , 3194 , 3234 , 3240 , 3526 , Comparative Literature 3620 , 3623 , 3625 , 3632 , or another course with permission of the chair)
• B) A genre course, or a thematic studies course (addressing a theme such as memory, migration, environmental humanities, literature and psychology, gender and sexuality), or an interdisciplinary studies course (English 3156 , 3157 , 3158 , 3159 , 3163 , 3181 , 3182 , 3183 , 3184 , 3185 , 3186 , 3188 , 3189 , 3190 , 3191 , 3192 , 3265 , 3281 , 3282 , 3286 , 3287 , 3288 , 3292 , 4107 , 4110 , 4111 , Comparative Literature 3601 , 3602 , 3603 , 3604 , 3605 , 3608 , 3612 , 3613 , 3628 , 3629 )
• Capstone seminar: ENGL 4301
• Three to four additional credits in advanced English Department courses. Related courses offered by other departments may be substituted with permission of the English Department chair.

Student Learning Outcomes

Department goal 1: read and think critically..

Program Objective 1: Learn to read literature with a focus on the ways in which form serves content.

Program Objective 2: Use close reading effectively to identify literary techniques, styles, and themes.

Program Objective 3: Learn to read and comment constructively and critically on the creative writing of peers in the workshop context.

Department Goal 2: Understand how language operates.

Program Objective 1: Demonstrate knowledge of literary tropes and techniques (e.g., metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, word play, and sonic effects such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhythm, etc.)

Department Goal 3: Express ideas—both orally and in writing—correctly, cogently, persuasively, and in conformity with the conventions of the discipline.

Program Objective 1: Create original examples of creative writing that demonstrate complexity through attention to rhetoric, syntax, and tone.

Program Objective 2: Comment and write cogently and persuasively about classmates’ writing in the workshop context.

Program Objective 3: Demonstrate the ability to respond to constructive criticism from instructor and peers by effectively revising writing assignments.

Program Objective 4: Demonstrate the ability to use the currently accepted conventions of standard English mechanics and grammar, with an eye toward how those standards can be stretched in order to achieve innovative modes of expression.

Department Goal 4: Conduct research

Program Objective 1: Learn how to research and seek out historical and contemporary literary voices relevant to their individual voice.

Program Objective 2: Make use of the opportunities that Brooklyn College and New York City afford by attending readings, plays, literary panel discussions, and submitting to literary magazines.

Outcomes for demonstrating achievement of objectives

Written work (including poems/stories/plays, in-class writing exercises, short written reflections on literary techniques used by published writers, workshop responses for peers, revised writing samples, etc.)

Contributions to class discussions and workshops

Attendance at readings, panels, performances or a related research project (such as researching literary magazines/submitting one’s work); documented via written summary of the activity handed into instructor

Degree Maps

View all past degree maps .

Contact the  English Department for information on academic advisers and office hours.

Or contact:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions

222 West Quad Center 2900 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11210 E:  [email protected]

To make an appointment with an undergraduate admissions counselor, visit:

Virtual Admissions Counselor Appointments

The Support You’ll Find

Brooklyn College is an integral part of the cultural and artistic energy of New York City. Our faculty members in English offer incomparable expertise and tremendous talent, and each brings a unique perspective to their teaching and mentoring in and out of the classroom.

Helen Phillips

Helen Phillips is the author of six books, including the novel THE NEED (Simon & Schuster, 20...

Tanya L. Pollard

Tanya Pollard trained in Classics, English, and Comparative literature, at Oxford and Yale. She t...

Karl T. Steel

For Karl Steel’s CV, see

Dorell Thomas

Dorell Thomas earned master’s degrees in both English Adolescent Literature, Grade 7-12 and...

Monica De La Torre

Simanique Moody

Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism. He was the “The ...

Sophia Bamert

Matthew Burgess

Matthew Burgess began teaching at Brooklyn College in 1999 while pursuing his M.F.A. in Poetry. H...

Joseph Entin

Joseph Entin teaches in the English Department and the American Studies program at Brooklyn Colle...

Nicola Masciandaro

The Whim (blog) Current Projects: Appalling Melodrama, ...

Roni Natov has lived her entire life (almost) at Brooklyn College, where she was a student and ha...

Jonathan Nissenbaum

Jon Nissenbaum earned his Ph.D. under the supervision of Noam Chomsky and David Pesetsky. Before ...

Ellen Tremper

Native New Yorker Ellen Tremper has taught at New York University and joined the Brooklyn College...

Internships and Employers

Through job fairs, the internship database, and internship panels, the Magner Career Center gives students in the creative writing B.F.A. program access to career opportunities at a wide variety of employers, including:

• CBS News and Stations
• Harlem Children’s Zone
• Planned Parenthood
• Rent the Runway
• Varsity Tutors

Student Resources

Take the Next Step

Request Info Visit Our Campus Apply Now

Brooklyn. All in.

Deposit by May 1 for Early Decision Perks!

Learn more about Southeastern University

Pursue your passion with one of our 100+ degree programs.

We’re here to make your education journey easier.

Discover why students love the SEU experience.

1000 Longfellow Blvd, Lakeland, FL 33801  |  800.500.8760

• Consumer Information
• State Authorizations
• Non-Discrimination
• Safety & Security

Creative Writing Major (BFA)

Your creativity can take you to the stars, and we're here to give you the fuel. Hamline's bachelor of fine arts in creative writing empowers you with the skills you'll need in your career in creative writing, whether that's in publishing, communications, writing, or more. 

You'll develop communication and organizational skills that employers covet and learn how to collaborate, give and receive constructive feedback, conduct research, and operate under deadlines—abilities that will serve you well in any field, from publishing and teaching to nonprofits, law, and marketing. Program faculty consists of well-known authors whose work includes the books shown above; additionally, actively publishing, award-winning writers and filmmakers visit classes regularly and provide context for your growing skills in a professional, post-college setting.

From the craft and process of writing to strategies of digital storytelling, you'll build a comprehensive toolkit in your studies of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary traditions, textual analysis, and the theoretical dimensions of reading and writing. You can craft work in any number of genres, from realistic or speculative fiction; formal poetry or spoken word; and memoir, personal essay, lyric essay, and more.  

• Creative Writing Major Home
• Writing Scholarships
• Creative Writing Programs
• In this section

Explore the creative writing major

Creative writing major.

Explore the creative writing BFA, and take a deep dive into the craft and process of writing.

Creative writing courses

Enhance your major – or explore an interest – with one of Hamline's many creative writing courses.

Engaged-learning projects

At Hamline, students participate in research with faculty as early as their first year, something usually reserved for graduate students at other institutions. You'll design and conduct your own research project based on your individual interests and goals.

The list of possible engagement projects is as varied as our students. For example, picture yourself:

• Co-editing and publishing the BFA program’s annual award-winning undergraduate online literary magazine, Runestone
• Examining the publishing fields of specific genres, including speculative literature, folk and fairytale, fantasy, flash fiction, and sportswriting
• Working at one of the many Twin Cities publishing houses or literary organizations
• Leading one of Hamline’s student-run publications, such as The Fulcrum literary magazine, Untold Magazine lifestyle publication, or The Oracle student newspaper

During your research process, you’ll collaborate with professionals at major research institutions, publish your research in academic journals, and present your work at local, regional, and national conferences.

Learn more about undergraduate research at Hamline

Runestone is an online undergraduate literary journal that provides mentorship and hands-on experience for student editors as they publish and promote the nation’s finest undergraduate writers in an online forum. Undergraduates—mentored by graduate students—also comprise the student editorial board.

Visit Runestone

Internships for BFA in creative writing students

We make sure you leave Hamline with work experience in creative writing on your resume. And the opportunities are boundless. Whether you want to explore a career in publishing, communications, journalism, education, or more, we have internship opportunities for you.

Examples of past creative writing student internships include:

• Graywolf Press, publishing intern
• Minnesota Historical Society, oral history office intern
• Minnesota Women’s Press, advertising sales intern
• KFAI Fresh Air Radio, journalism and content intern
• Saint Paul Public Schools, communications intern
• Milkweed Editions, editorial intern
• Alight (formerly the American Refugee Committee), operations intern
• The Loft Literary Center, communications intern
• The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School, operations intern  

Explore career paths for creative writing

What can you do with a major in creative writing? Our innovative courses and one-on-one mentoring by faculty will provide you with the tools to succeed in a variety of careers, such as:

Examples of possible positions

• Essayist, poet, or fiction writer
• Magazine writer and editor
• Book publisher
• Teacher or professor
• Literary critic
• Nonprofit manager

Actual positions acquired by new grads

• Editorial Coordinator, American Academy of Neurology
• Freelance Editor, Fantasy Flight Games
• Lead Communications and Digital Media Specialist, NewPublica
• Marketing and Communications Associate, Northern Clay Center
• Educator, Hunting Learning Center
• Staff Writer, Iowa Information

Take your studies further with graduate school

Our graduates have gone on to graduate schools across the country in the pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees. Examples of programs and schools include:

• MFA in creative writing, Hamline University
• MFA in fiction, Pacific University 
• MFA in poetry, Western Michigan University 
• MFA in creative nonfiction, University of South Florida 
• MFA in fiction, University of North Carolina at Wilmington 
• MFA in writing for children and young adults, Hamline University
• MFA in writing for children and young adults, The New School in New York

Creative writing program news

Pelster-Wiebe Podcast Interview

Pelster-Wiebe Publishes Essay

Related programs, english and communication studies, digital storytelling, theatre and dance: performance, production, and community, take your first step, contact information.

1536 Hewitt Avenue, MS-C1930 Saint Paul , MN 55104 United States

1536 Hewitt Avenue, MS-A1730 Saint Paul , MN 55104 United States

• Looking for faculty? See our faculty page.

1536 Hewitt Ave

Saint Paul, MN 55104

General Information

Undergraduate Admission

Public Safety Office

Graduate Admission

ITS Central Service Desk

© 2024 Hamline University

In association with Mitchell | Hamline School of Law ®. Mitchell Hamline School of Law ® has more graduate enrollment options than any other law school in the nation.

• On-Campus Transfer
• Online Degree Completion
• International
• Admitted Students
• How to Apply
• Grants & Scholarships
• First-Year and Transfer Aid
• Online Degree Completion Aid
• Graduate Aid
• International Aid
• Military & Veteran Aid
• Undergraduate Tuition
• Online Degree Completion Tuition
• Graduate Tuition
• Housing & Food Costs
• Net Price Calculator
• Payment Info
• Undergraduate
• Continuing Education
• Program Finder
• College of Liberal Arts
• School of Business
• School of Education & Leadership
• Mitchell Hamline School of Law
• Academic Bulletin
• Academic Calendars
• Bush Library
• Registration & Records
• Study Away & Study Abroad
• Housing & Dining
• Counseling & Health
• Service, Spiritual Life, & Recreation
• Activities & Organizations
• Diversity Resources
• Arts at Hamline
• Meet Our Students
• The Neighborhood
• The Hamline Academic Experience
• Student Research Opportunities
• Paid Internships
• Career Development Center
• Alumni Success Stories
• Center for Academic Success & Achievement
• Writing Center
• Why Hamline?
• Mission & History
• Fast Facts and Rankings
• University Leadership
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Alumni and Donors
• Request Info

• Creative Writing

BA and BFA in Creative Writing

Why study with us?

Creativity used to be a term reserved for alternative professions and hobbies. Today, it is being embraced in offices around the world.  – Forbes

Our multi-disciplinary focus on creativity, storytelling, empathy, and poetics develops the professional skills valued in today’s workplace. Students can prepare for jobs in the private sector, hone their writing skills for publication, or develop a portfolio for applying to an MFA program.

BA in Creative Writing

A traditional creative writing degree of 120 credits with background in literature and literary studies. See the Degree Requirements for BA in Creative Writing.

BFA in Creative Writing

An intensive program of 120 credits that prepares students to be professional writers. There are currently 35 BFA degrees in creative writing in the U.S.. See the Degree Requirements for BFA in Creative Writing.

Creative Writing Minor

A program of 24 credits including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. See the Degree Requirements in Creative Writing Minor.

For the current Catalog, please visit the Boise State Undergraduate Catalog . Creative Writing is listed in the Theatre, Film and Creative Writing portion of the catalog.

Department of Theatre Arts and Creative Writing

• Follow us on Facebook
• Follow us on Instagram

• be_ixf; php_sdk; php_sdk_1.4.18
• iy_2024; im_04; id_19; ih_01; imh_07; i_epoch:1.71351406534E+12
• ixf-compiler; ixf-compiler_1.0.0.0
• py_2024; pm_04; pd_08; ph_21; pmh_53; p_epoch:1.71263843672E+12
• link-block; link-block_link-block; bodystr
• pn_tstr:Mon Apr 08 21:53:56 PST 2024; pn_epoch:1.71263843672E+12
• https://sou.edu/academics/creative-writing/programs/creative-writing-bfa/

Creative Writing, BFA

Anything is possible in the worlds that you create.

• Creative Writing

Creative Writing – Bachelor of Fine Arts

Offered as a Bachelor of Fine Arts Major

The BFA in Creative Writing at SOU is a structured sequence of workshops and seminars with fiction, poetry, and non-fiction at its core. Electives can be chosen from a wide range of relevant fields including songwriting, playwriting, digital composition, comics, and more, giving students the opportunity to interact with visual artists, musicians, digital innovators, and others within the larger arts complex at SOU. The Emergent Forms reading series brings in different writers each quarter (past guests include Lyn Hejinian, Douglas Kearney, Joshua Clover, Dodie Bellamy, Clark Coolidge, Sandra Simonds, Rodrigo Toscano, Chris Nealon, Catherine Wagner, and many other stars of the contemporary writing scene). Seniors collaborate to produce Main Squeeze, the student literary magazine. The BFA degree culminates in a capstone project that showcases students’ work and creates a powerful centerpiece for their portfolios as they move on to the next phases of their careers.

Program Preparation

The BFA in Creative Writing is designed for students who have a inner passion for writing and want to take their skills to the next level. If writing is your one true love, then this is the place for you to flourish.

Degree Roadmap

Through the course of the Creative Writing program, students learn to develop their own styles, to communicate original ideas clearly, and to present their understanding of themselves and the larger world through cogent, expressive writing in a variety of forms. They study established traditions as well as emerging content and methods. Students are encouraged to be curious, adaptive, and flexible to develop lifelong habits to generate good work and remain current in a changing market.

The capstone is the culmination of the BFA degree where students create a body of written work, drawing on readings, research, and experience with close faculty mentorship and critique with the class cohort. The result is a polished portfolio piece that serves as a springboard to the next step, be it the professional world or graduate school.

Guided Pathways

Contact: David Bithell –  541.552.7033 –  [email protected]

Associate Degree Paths

AAOT English Interest, RCC – AAT English, RCC – AAOT English Flightpath, UCC

Similar Majors

English, BA

Similar Minors & Certificates

Creative Writing, Minor – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Certificate

Similar Micro-Credentials

Foundations of Professional Writing

Sample Graduate Degrees

MFA in Creative Writing, UO – MFA in Creative Writing, OSU – MFA in Creative Writing, PNCA

Credit for Prior Learning – Learn More

Career Opportunities & Outlook

Section contents: creative writing programs.

• Creative Writing BFA
• Creative Writing Minor

Achieve Your Degree in Creative Writing at SOU

Contact creative writing.

SOU Creative Writing Program 1250 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 541.552.6101

– Questions About Creative Writing? –

• SOU Housing
• Raider Student Services
• Academic Calendar
• Class Schedule
• Hannon Library
• Technical Support

Goddard College

• Home ›
• Academics ›
• Undergraduate Degrees ›

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Goddard College (BFAW) is an undergraduate degree program comprised of a community of learners, students, and faculty who aspire toward innovation, creativity, and experimentation within the realm of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, other poetic and prose works, all hybrids, and any genres we can’t even conceive of yet! We see creative writing as an art and craft done individually and with others, an engaged study of literature, an understanding of language and the social context, and reflection on the role of the artist in the world. The program is low-residency and grounded in the principles and practices of student-centered, emancipatory education.

The BFA community values experimentation and innovation and encourages students to write in hybrid forms, across genres, and between art forms: visual art / creative writing hybrids are encouraged, for example, as are academic and theoretical works mixed with the creative. Students are invited to produce an experimental thesis. This program is non-tracking and genre-bending. BFAW students, in concert with faculty, design a program that aligns with socially engaged art-making and a foundation of transgressive makership that is the basis of Goddard College.

Students will also have access to practices in publishing, support around lo-fi and established publishing practices, alongside an interrogation of the practices of producing and sharing work.

About Goddard

Education for real living, through the actual facing of real life problems

• The Goddard Difference

Our philosophy starts with the idea experience and education are intricately linked

The  BFA in Creative Writing Faculty  are writers who have been published and produced internationally, and are recognized in their fields. Faculty members work one-on-one with students as faculty advisors throughout the semester, as well as facilitating group studies, teaching workshops at residency, and acting as second readers to students’ final projects. Our faculty is comprised of national and international scholar practitioner with extensive experience supporting students taking charge of their learning. Faculty members’ work with students is focused, clear, and rigorous.

Twice a year, at the  start of each semester , students attend an intensive eight-day residency at the College’s  Plainfield, Vermont campus . Residencies are a rich time of exploration, connection, and planning.

Degree Requirements

All students must satisfy  General Requirements for the BA/BFA at Goddard College . In addition, students pursuing the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing will demonstrate a particular competency in the arts and humanities.

Example Workshops / Group Studies

• “Divination and The Document”  a nonfiction group study that will explore divinatory poetics/writing as it relates to documentary modes: how can relationships to chance and randomness function as a mechanism for makership? How do practices of divination (somatics, astrology, tarot, bibilomancy, chiromancy) relate to “the document”–particularly when “documents” often functions as tools of white/western bureaucracy & supremacy? Can we use these practices to rebuild a radical kind of makership? We’ll look at Bhanu Kapil, M NourbeSe Phillip, and others who use these kinds of practices on behalf of nonfiction & we’ll make some things together! All are welcome!
• “Magical Realism as a tool for Social Justice”  In this group study we will explore the world of magical realism, its origins, and contemporary usage. Students will be given a number of writing prompts designed for the student to produce magical realist fiction. We will read a variety of short stories and novel excerpts by writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, Etgar Keret, Aimee Bender, and others. Students will write short responses to the readings, and we will meet via Zoom during the semester in a workshop format.
• “Decolonizing Craft: Methods and Material”  this group study explores and reconfigures the colonial gaze of craft techniques belonging to other cultures that is rampantly primitivized, fetishized, appropriated, stolen and stripped of their original context.
• “WTF is Workshopping?”  The intention of this workshop is to provide artists and writers of all genres (including hybrid, experimental modes) a supportive space to share work and receive feedback during the semester. At the same time, we will engage in a philosophical inquiry about the structure of feedback giving and receiving in the arts and creative writing worlds: what actually is “workshopping”? What’s the point? Can we dismantle the hierarchical (racist, classist, cisheterosexist, colonialist, ableist etc…) structures that rule these environments? We’ll do it together, try different techniques, and share work.

The Creative Thesis / Senior Study

You will present your Senior Study in the form of:

• A manuscript of 25-100 pages of creative work. Hybrid and experimental manuscripts are welcome as are hybrid visual art and written manuscripts.
• A 15-30 page reflective critical paper on the subject of craft, integrating literary criticism and explication of the writer’s own work.
• A reflective essay on the cultural/societal responsibilities of the writer.
• Bibliography and annotated bibliography.
• A reading of your senior study manuscript work to the residency community, followed by a question and answer period facilitated by members of the BFAW faculty.

You will leave the program with a complete draft of a creative manuscript that has gone through a number of revisions. At the same time, you will have gained a deep connection to your writing peers, many of whom will continue to sustain you as the work of writing continues.

Latest Posts

Alumni Mwalim Daphunkee Professor Peters

Faculty Member Louise Glück

Keynote Speaker Dharna Noor Addresses Climate Change

Pandemic Theater? A Goddard Playwright Adjusts

• Undergraduate Degrees
• Graduate Degrees
• Concentrations
• Accreditation and Approvals
• President’s Office
• Contact Admissions
• Academic Affairs
• Access & Disability Support
• Campus Services
• Registrar’s Office
• Student Handbooks
• Student Services
• Get Involved
• Stay Connected
• Clockworks Magazine
• Alumni Update Form
• Alumni Weekend
• Ordering a Transcript

Important Announcement

Demo Description

The Board of Directors for Goddard College have made the difficult decision to close the college at the end of the 2024 Spring term.  

Current Goddard students will have the opportunity to complete their degrees at the same tuition rate through a teach-out with like-minded institution, Prescott College . Updates and scholarship funds will be available in the coming weeks and months. Information will be posted to www.goddard.edu . 

This will close in 0 seconds

• Faculty Directory
• Staff Directory
• Faculty Mentors
• CFAM News & Events

BFA in Creative Writing

• Senior Thesis & Internships
• Scholarships
• Master of Fine Arts in Writing
• Admission Information
• Semester Work
• Enrichment Study
• Military-Affiliated Students
• Fellowship Opportunities
• Tuition and Fees
• Writer's Workshop Reading Series
• Community Engagement
• Support CFAM

Pursue a program of intensive study in the making of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting.

The BFA in Creative Writing requires a minimum of 75 semester hours of major coursework designated by the candidate’s area of emphasis in consultation with the student’s program advisor.

Students must successfully complete all major courses with a grade of “C” (2.0) or better. The degree requires 120 total credit hours of coursework. Candidates for the degree must meet the requirements listed below.

Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for the most current information.

General Education Requirements

All students enrolled in a degree program in the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media must meet the university general education requirements. Additional information on these requirements can be found on the University General Education website .

Please consult with an academic advisor for recommended choices for the major.

Writer’s Workshop Core Requirements

Foreign language.

6-10 hrs. Minimum of one academic year of the same college-level foreign language; high school equivalent of foreign language is not acceptable for this requirement.

Literature and Theory Core: 12 hrs.

• WRWS 1010 Contemporary Writers
• WRWS 4000 Form & Theory (6 hrs.) or WRWS 4000 Form & Theory (3 hrs.) and WRWS 3990 Internship (3 hrs.)

Students may enroll a third time for WRWS 4000 for literature credit. Topic must be different each time.

Lower Level Literature: 9 hrs.

• Select 3 2000-level literature courses from any language or discipline offering a course in primary sources of literature
• ENGL 2310, 2320, 2450, 2460, 2500, 2510, 2520, ENGL 2310, WRWS 2000, Literature courses in Black Studies, Women’s Studies, History, Religion, Philosophy

Upper Division Literature: 18 hrs.

• Select six 3000-4000 level literature courses
• English, foreign languages, Writer’s Workshop, or other appropriate departments (in consultation with faculty advisor).

Fiction & Poetry Track

Writing core: 18 hrs..

• WRWS 2050 Fundamentals of Fiction, 3 hrs.
• WRWS 2060 Fundamentals of Poetry, 3 hrs.
• WRWS 2100 Basic Fiction Studio, 4 hrs.
• WRWS 2200 Basic Poetry Studio, 4 hrs.
• WRWS 2300 Creative Nonfiction Studio, 4 hrs.

Concentration Area:

• Fiction Studio sequence WRWS 3100, 4100, 4110, 12 hrs. OR
• Poetry Studio sequence WRWS 3200, 4200, 4210, 12 hrs.

Creative Nonfiction Track

Writing core: 7 hrs..

Concentration Area: 12 hrs.

• Creative Nonfiction sequence WRWS 3300, 4300, 4310

Choose three (9 hrs.):

• ENGL 4860, Modern Familiar Essay
• ENGL 4820 Autobiography
• JOUR 3400 Magazine Article Writing
• JOUR 3500 Pub. Design & Graphics
• JOUR 4220 Literary Journalism
• JOUR 4250 Public Relations Writing
• JOUR 3210 Critical Writing for Mass Media

Screenwriting Track

Select one of the following course groups:

• WRWS 2600 Basic Screenwriting and Television Studio, 4 hrs.
• WRWS 2060 Fundamentals of Poetry Writing, 3 hrs.
• WRWS 2300 Basic Creative Nonfiction Studio, 4 hrs.
• WRWS 2600 Basic Screenwriting and Television Studio, 3 hrs.
• WRWS 3600 Intermediate Screenwriting Studio, 4 hrs.
• WRWS 4600 Advanced Screenwriting Studio I, 4 hrs.
• WRWS 4610 Advanced Screenwriting Studio II, 4 hrs.

Chose three (9 hrs.)

• WRWS 3000 Special Topics in Writing, 3 hrs.
• THEA 4020 Advanced Projects in Theatre, 3 hrs.
• JMC 3320 Video Field and Studio Production, 3 hrs.
• JMC 4380 Film Theory & Criticism, 3 hrs.
• JMC 4810 Digital Literacies for Technical Communicators, 3 hrs.
• JMC 4820 Politics & Film, 3 hrs.

Appropriate 3000 - 4000 level courses may be selected from other departments, with approval of WRWS advisor.

Minor in Creative Writing

A minor in creative writing requires a minimum of 27 credit hours of course work to be completed under one of four different emphasis areas: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or combined genres.

Prerequisite Courses: English Composition 1150 & 1160

Fiction: 27 hrs.

• WRWS 2050 Fundamentals of Fiction
• WRWS 2060 Fundamentals of Poetry
• WRWS Studio Sequence 2100, 3100, 4100 or 4110

Six hours of upper division (3000+) literature courses

Poetry 27 hrs.

• WRWS Studio Sequence, 2200, 3200, 4200

Creative Nonfiction: 27 hrs.

• Creative Nonfiction Studio Sequence, 2300, 3300, 4300

Nine hours of upper division (3000+) courses, choose 3:

BFA in Creative Writing

A BFA in Creative Writing educates students who have decided to develop and hone their creative writing skills. This intensive undergraduate program provides students with a strong foundation in the fundamentals of multiple genres of creative writing and in its interdisciplinary breadth. By working closely with the department’s nationally and internationally acclaimed and well-published authors—including novelists, poets, screenwriters, memoirists, game designers, and essayists—as well as with their fellow students, the program’s undergraduates actively participate in a creative and literary community that focuses on successfully learning the craft of writing in multiple genres.

Our curriculum is writing and workshop intensive, offering students many opportunities to develop their writing in community with other BFA students. Every year of the program features cohort classes in such subjects as introduction to creative writing; introduction to form, craft, and influence; and introduction to digital editing and publishing. Students also take creative writing courses in an array of genres. They learn about a variety of literatures so they can build a portfolio of literary influences and hone their style. They pursue electives in other theories, histories, and practices of artistic expression. The program concludes with a year-long, thesis style course sequence that includes developing a major creative writing project with a thesis director, workshopping with fellow senior BFA students, and learning about such aspects of being a professional writer as finding an agent, publishing, and giving public readings. Upon completion of the degree, the successful student will have completed a creative senior thesis.

For more details about the curriculum, see the Academic Program page.

For more information, contact the Department of English at 662-915-7439 or bfacreativewriting@olemiss.edu.

Freshman and transfer prospective students: priority deadline January 10th

** Fall 2024 spots still available! Applications reviewed on a rolling basis! 

Current students: priority deadline October 1st

Request Info

• Admissions Overview
• Visit UMass Boston
• Financial Aid
• First-Year Students
• Transfer Students
• Graduate Students
• International Students
• Academics Overview
• Majors & Programs
• Online Learning
• Colleges & Schools
• Academic Calendar
• Healey Library
• Student Equity, Access & Success
• Global Programs
• Study Abroad
• Fellowships
• Campus Life Overview
• Student Groups & Activities
• Housing & Dining
• Health & Wellness
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Safety & Security
• Orientation & New Students
• Research Overview
• Community-Driven Research
• Recognizing Excellence
• Student Research
• Centers & Institutes
• Core Facilities
• Research & Sponsored Programs
• About Overview
• Leadership & Administration
• Mission & Vision
• Facts & Figures
• Accreditation & Rankings
• History of UMass Boston
• Student Consumer Information
• Athletics Overview
• Recreation at UMass Boston
• Current Students
• Parents & Families
• Faculty & Staff

UMass Boston

• Creative Writing MFA

Further your commitment to writing as the center of your professional life.

Intensive study and practice of fiction and poetry writing with award-winning and nationally renowned faculty at the most diverse university in new england..

UMass Boston's Creative Writing MFA offers you an intense, 3-year program and focused opportunity to further your commitment to writing as the center of your professional life. Through a combination of mentoring by accomplished faculty in a series of creative writing workshops, courses focused on the study of literature offered through the English MA Program, and electives that include the practice of literary editing, the teaching of creative writing, documentary poetics, the art of memoir, and more—you will have the guidance to develop and shape your work to the full extent of your talent.

All accepted students receive funding. Graduate assistantships offer the opportunity to work with students as teaching assistants and fellows, or in editorial positions with one of our sponsors, including 826 Boston, Hanging Loose Press, Write on the Dot, Consequence Magazine, Breakwater Review, and Arrowsmith Press.

Career Possibilities

Pursue a career as a professional writer, publishing your work in literary journals, magazines. Work as an editor and collaborate with writers to refine their work and shape the final product for publication. These are just a few of the possibilities.

Become a(n):

• Writer/Author
• Literary Agent
• Writing Instructor/Professor

Start Your Application

Plan Your Education

How to apply.

Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements in addition to the following program-specific requirements:

• A 3.0 GPA overall and in the student’s major
• Three substantive and detailed letters of recommendation, from former teachers familiar with the applicant’s most recent academic and creative work
• A 3-5 page personal statement focusing on the role of the candidate’s reading life in his or her development as a writer. (Note: The general Graduate Admissions application refers to this as a statement of interests and intent. They are one and the same.)
• Applicants must indicate whether they are applying in FICTION or POETRY in their Statement of Purpose. If you want to apply in both genres, include one writing sample in FICTION and one in POETRY and indicate in the Statement of Purpose that the application is for both.
• A writing sample of 10 manuscript pages of poetry or 20 manuscript pages of fiction

Deadlines & Cost

Deadlines: January 15 (priority) for fall. While rare, if space is available, we’ll happily consider applications until June 1 (final deadline).

Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.

Program Cost Information: Bursar's website

Writing Workshops (24 Credits)

Complete one from below four times.

• CW 601 - MFA Poetry Workshop 6 Credit(s) or
• CW 602 - MFA Fiction Workshop 6 Credit(s)

Literature Courses (9 Credits)

Complete three graduate literature courses.

Electives (9 Credits)

Complete three from below.

• CW 605 - Memoir Workshop 3 Credit(s)
• CW 606 - Literary Editing and Publishing 3 Credit(s)
• CW 614 - The Teaching of Creative Writing 3 Credit(s)
• CW 675 - Creative Writing Internship 3 Credit(s)
• CW 697 - Special Topics in Creative Writing 1-6 Credit(s)

Students may elect courses offered by other graduate programs with approval from the graduate program director.

• ENGL 459 Seminar for Tutors may be taken for graduate credit (see Undergraduate Catalog)
• ENGL 675 - Reading and Writing Poetry 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 676 - Reading and Writing Fiction 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 681 - Advanced Workshop in Poetry 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 682 - Advanced Workshop in Fiction 3 Credit(s)

Thesis Courses (6 Credits)

Complete the course below both semesters of the third year.

• CW 699 - MFA Thesis 3 Credit(s)

Graduation Criteria

Complete 48 credits from twelve courses including four writing workshops, three literature courses, three electives, and two semesters of thesis workshops.

The MFA degree requires six semesters of full-time study, with 9 credits required in each of the first four semesters, and 6 credits in the final two semesters, during which students will concentrate on completing a thesis in fiction or poetry under the direction of a faculty member. MFA workshops are limited to 12 students, and seminars are limited to 15. Students have the opportunity to interact with writers in our Global Voices Visiting Writer series (recent visitors have been Raquel Salas Rivera and Carole Maso), and work with visiting prose writers - recently these have included Jane Unrue, ZZ Packer, and Fanny Howe.

Capstone: Completion of an MFA thesis of 48 to 64 pages of poetry or 100 to 200 pages of fiction written under the supervision of a thesis advisor, reviewed by a thesis committee, and subject to a public defense.

Statute of limitations: Five years.

Contact & Faculty

Graduate Program Director John Fulton john.fulton [at] umb.edu (617) 287-6700

English & Creative Writing MFA Department englishmfaprogram [at] umb.edu (617) 287-6702

Fiction Faculty

John Fulton , Program Director & Associate Professor Askold Melnyczuk , Professor Eileen Pollack , Visiting Assistant Professor

Poetry Faculty

Jill McDonough , Professor Shangyang Fang , Associate Lecturer

English Department

Learn more about UMass Boston's English department, our programs, and our faculty.

College of Liberal Arts

Learn more about the faculty, research, and programs that make up our College of Liberal Arts.

Ashleigh F. Streiff

B. 2000, Maryland, USA.

“Juried Undergraduate Exhibition,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

At Invitation, University of Idaho’s President’s House, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

“In Medias Res,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

At Invitation, “Painting Show,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

“VAC is Back!”, Reflections Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

“Pens, Pencils & Paint,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

At Invitation, University of Idaho’s President’s House, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. 2023-2024

“Palouse Plein Air,” Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. (Winner: City Purchase Award)

“Mirage,” Reflections Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

At Invitation, “Painting Show,” Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. Fall 2023-Spring 24

“Figures”, Downtown Arts Center, Honolulu, HI

“Palouse Plein Air”, Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID. (Winner: Best Watercolor)

At Invitation, “Student Painters,” Moscow City Council, Moscow, ID.

At Invitation, “Student Printmakers,” Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

“Clay?!”, Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

At Invitation, “Student Show”, Iolan’i Gallery, Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI.

“Foundations Juried Exhibition”, The Looking Glass Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.

“Student Show”, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC.

Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Painting and Ceramics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. (Forthcoming)

Extracurriculars and Honors

President of Visual Arts Community (VAC), University of Idaho

President of Vandal Print Guild (VPG), University of Idaho

Volunteer Artist, Vandaljacks, University of Idaho

Dean’s List, University of Idaho

Alumni Award for Excellence, University of Idaho

Resident Artist, Cannon Hall, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.

Work Experience/Training

Gallery Attendant, Iolan’i Gallery, Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI.

Studied Under:

Kelly Oakes, Durham, NC. 2019-2020.

William Zwick, Honolulu, HI. 2020.

Mark Brown, Honolulu, HI, 2020-2022.

Daunna Yanoviak, Kailua, HI. 2021- 2022.

Mark Norseth, Honolulu, HI. 2021-2023.

“Introduction to Figure Drawing,” Stacey Leanza, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2018.

“Printmaking; Mono-prints,” Stacey Leanza, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2018.

“Mixed Media,” Stacey Leanza, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2018.

“Introduction to Portrait Drawing,” Kelly Oakes, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019.

“Painting Portraits in Alla Prima,” Kelly Oakes, Workshop, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019.

“Demystifying the Modern Portrait,” Marie Rossettie, Class, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019.

“Intuitive Painting,” Heather Gerni, Workshop, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019.

“Oil Painting Crash Course,” Vanessa Murray, Workshop, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC. 2019.

“Live Portrait Sessions,” Alla Parsons, Downtown Arts Center, Honolulu, HI. 2023.

“Introduction to Watercolor,” Dwayne Adams, Class, Downtown Arts Center, Honolulu, HI. 2023.

“Writing the Killer Mystery,” C1121, Central Carolina Community College, 2019.

“Flash Fiction Made Easy,” C1058, Central Carolina Community College, 2019.

“Charting Your Path To Publication,” C1060, Central Carolina Community College, 2019.

Newspapers and Articles

Long, Maryanne, “Windward Artists Turn Impression Into Expression,” Windward O’ahu Voice, February 9th, 2022.

Moscow, Russia

See the official Rolling Stones web site in Russia , also having info in English!

How "the rolling stones" solve the problem of unemployment in moscow, their own uncompetence, their own openess, thanks to constantin preobrazhensky (moscow) for supplying info about the web site and the stones show in russia. also thanks to leonid ulitsky , italy, for info..

Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

• Patriarch’s Pond
• Old Arbat Street
• Maroseyka Street
• Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography. 

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. 

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

• Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
• Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
• Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
• Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
• After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
• To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

• Novoslobodskaya
• Mayakovskaya
• Elektrozavodskaya
• Komsomolskaya
• Ploschad Revolyutsii
• Dostoyevskaya
• Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem. 

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions. 

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev  and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

Click Here For More City Street Guides!

(A New Guide Posted Every Other Wednesday)

Comment Here! Cancel reply

For patreon exclusive educational content:.

Limited Edition Postcard Prints!

Street Photography Workshops

Donations Always Appreciated

I'll always keep Shooter Files free for everyone, but any donations would be greatly appreciated and help me keep it going. Many thanks to everyone following along!

Cheers! -f.d. walker

Search the Files

For Exclusive Patron Content: