mfa creative writing paris

NYU Launches MFA Writers Workshop in Paris

Newswise — New York University’s Creative Writing Program has launched a low-residency Master’s of Fine Arts program, which provides students the opportunity to work with internationally acclaimed authors and poets—including new faculty hire Nathan Englander—throughout the academic year and during a series of residency periods in Paris.

A two-year program, the MFA Writers Workshop in Paris constitutes an intimate creative apprenticeship that extends beyond traditional classroom walls.

Over the length of the program, students and faculty convene in Paris for five intensive 10-day residency periods (held in January and July). While 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.

“The city of Paris itself—with its storied literary history and rich cultural attractions—provides an ideal opportunity for students to learn the art and craft of writing, immerse themselves in the creative process, and live the writer’s life,” said Deborah Landau, director of NYU’s Creative Writing Program. “Unlike the traditional MFA, the low-residency program is designed to offer both freedom and rigor, offering a productive and inspiring balance between the intense and stimulating community of each residency and sustained solitary work.”

During the intervals between residencies, students pursue focused courses of study in the art of Creative Writing, completing reading and writing assignments under the close supervision of individual faculty members and regularly submitting packets of work in exchange for detailed feedback and critique. These ongoing dialogues with faculty, which may also occur over email or Skype, are tailored to specific student interests and needs. Students are mentored by a different professor each term and work closely with four different writers during the two-year program.

Requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree include the completion of 32 credits of coursework (over four semesters), participation in five 10-day residencies, and the submission of a creative thesis in poetry or fiction, consisting of a substantial piece of writing—a novel or novella, a collection of short stories, or a group of poems—to be finished in the student’s final semester. The project requires the approval of the student’s faculty thesis advisor and the director of the Creative Writing Program.

For more information on the program, go to: http://cwp.fas.nyu.edu/object/cwp.low.residency.paris

MFA Writers Workshop in Paris Faculty are:

● Nathan Englander (fiction) is the author of the internationally bestselling story collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, the novel The Ministry of Special Cases, and the collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (Knopf, Spring 2012). ● Meghan O'Rourke (poetry) is the author of The Long Goodbye (Riverhead), a memoir about grief, and the poetry collections Once and Halflife (W.W. Norton).● Matthew Rohrer (poetry) is the author of A Hummock in the Malookas, Satellite, A Green Light, Rise Up, A Plate of Chicken, and Destroyer and Preserver. ● Helen Schulman (fiction) is the author of the novels This Beautiful Life, a New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book of 2011, A Day At The Beach, P.S., The Revisionist and Out Of Time, and the short story collection Not A Free Show.● Deborah Landau (director) is the author of Orchidelirium, which won the Anhinga Prize for Poetry, and The Last Usable Hour, a Lannan Literary Selection published by Copper Canyon Press.

The MFA Writers Workshop in Paris will begin accepting applications for the Spring 2013 term beginning in late May 2012. Students may apply for either the MFA in Fiction or in Poetry. The admissions deadline is September 15, 2012. All applicants must submit using the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application form, which may be downloaded here: http://gsas.nyu.edu/page/grad.admissionsapplication.html. For more information about the MFA Writers Workshop in Paris, including details on academics, housing, costs, and the application process, please contact the NYU Creative Writing Program at 212.998.8816 or [email protected] .

Editor’s Note:The NYU Creative Writing Program, among the most distinguished programs in the country, is a leading national center for the study of writing and literature. The undergraduate and graduate programs provide students with an opportunity to develop their craft while working closely with some of the finest poets and novelists writing today. The Creative Writing Program occupies a townhouse on West 10th Street in the same Greenwich Village neighborhood where many writers have lived and worked. The Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House allows writers—established and emerging—to share their work in an inspiring setting. For more, visit www.cwp.fas.nyu.edu .

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Top Creative Writing Workshops in Paris

Paris offers many opportunities for creative writing workshops, here you’ll find the best creative writing workshops in paris, conducted in english, wice – paris writers’ workshop.

The Paris Writers’ Workshop is the longest-established English-language writing program in France. Choose from four writing courses in Paris taught by distinguished authors:

• Writing Novels led by Ayana Mathis
• Writing Short Stories and Novellas led by Nahid Rachlin
• Writing Poetry led by Marilyn Hacker
• Writing Creative Nonfiction led by Michelle Huneven

In addition to the morning master classes, the workshop will also include an expert panel, author readings and social events. Come improve your writing skills with guidance from accomplished instructors. Surround yourself with other writers who are working to elevate their craft. Immerse yourself in Paris, the city that has inspired authors and creative minds for generations. Other writing courses in Paris include Shaping the Short Story, Paris Vignettes, Travel Blogging in Paris, The Craft of Memoir Writing and Writing Your First Novel.

Join select students and professional writers for an intensive course in Paris . College credit is available for this hands-on writing program, with instruction in:

• Travel Writing
• Personal Essay
• Journal Writing
• Plays and Screenplays
• Presentation and Performance

In addition to taking French writing classes in Paris and participating in workshops, students will receive one-on-one consultations with professional writers, attend literary panel presentations, give readings in beautiful venues and receive survival French lessons in Paris . Between classes and tutorials, there will be ample time to experience the city, attend cultural events, visit museums, learn history, take day-trips to the countryside, read books, hang out in cafes, dance by the Seine, and make friends from around the world.

The Paris American Academy is located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, on the rue Saint Jacques, a block from the Luxembourg Gardens, and less than a mile from the Seine and Notre Dame cathedral.

• Paris Lit Up Drop-in Writing Workshop

Are you a writer? Have you written something that needs fresh eyes? Want some feedback on your work? Paris Lit Up has weekly Drop-in Writing Workshop. This feedback workshop is for any writers – poetry or prose – looking for eagle-eye editing and constructive group criticism of their work. The workshop is held every Saturday afternoon. Simply bring up to 2 poems  or  5 pages  of prose (in multiple copies, double-spaced, 12 pt. font) and our expert workshop hosts will guide the group through a careful reading and discussion of it. All participants will be encouraged to share their opinions on how the work reads, what thoughts it provokes, and to comment on it. Any style or form of written word, prose, poetry, scripts, essays, your English homework… if you can write it, we’ll read it. Come once or come every week, no commitment necessary.

Writing classes in Paris are conducted by Jason Francis Mc Gimsey,  a professional writer and translator with a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Translation. He has published short stories and experimental prose in many publications including  Today ,  Flashficiton ,  Through Europe ,  The Bastille ,  Belleville Park Pages . His translations (English, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese) have been published by Princeton University Press, Cambridge University Press, Semiotext(e), Einaudi Editori, Il Manifesto, Autonomedia and many others. The French writing course in Paris takes place at Berkeley Books of Paris, 8 Rue Casimir Delavigne, 75006 Paris (métro Odéon).

• Low-Residency MFA Writers Workshop in Paris

WRITE IN PARIS. The NYU Creative Writing Program has distinguished itself for over thirty years as a leading national center for the study of writing and literature, inviting promising new writers to work closely with a faculty of the finest contemporary poets and novelists.

That tradition continues with the low-residency MFA Writers Workshop in Paris, which offers students the opportunity to develop their craft under the guidance of internationally-acclaimed faculty—including Chris Adrian, Catherine Barnett, Mark Doty, Nathan Englander, John Freeman, Myla Goldberg, Aleksandar Hemon, Katie Kitamura, Nick Laird, Meghan O’Rourke, Matthew Rohrer, Helen Schulman, Zadie Smith, Darin Strauss, and Colson Whitehead—while writing and studying in one of the world’s most inspiring literary capitals.

Recent visiting writers and editors include Charles Bock, Olena Kalytiak Davis, Lydia Davis, Geoff Dyer, Percival Everett, Jonathan Safran Foer, Marilyn Hacker, Matthea Harvey, Edward Hirsch, Marie Howe, Ishion Hutchinson, Leslie Jamison, Etgar Keret, Hari Kunzru, Ben Lerner, David Lipsky, Dinaw Mengestu, Julie Orringer, Claudia Rankine, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Danzy Senna, Brenda Shaughnessy, Charles Simic, Tracy K. Smith, Craig Morgan Teicher, Michael Wiegers, and Rachel Zucker, among many others.

• Paris Writers Retreat

May 23 – 27, 2016. Story and manuscript development come alive at this acclaimed, professional workshop for authors of fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, plays and poetry. Develop your book, fine tune your manuscript, and perfect your writing in progress. Writers of all levels attend to generate new material, develop ideas, or shape their stories.

The  Paris Writers Retreat  is hosted by the Rohm Literary Agency and led by NY Times best-selling author and literary agent  Wendy Goldman Rohm . Ms. Rohm’s conferences have  been held since 2002 worldwide, originally inspired by the series of honorary Masters Teas she presented at Yale University. At the conference, participating writers are guided through the creation process, fine tuning and perfecting their work – from the seed of an idea to a high-quality draft. The conference includes all sessions for five days and continental breakfast each morning. There is an optional networking soiree and group dinner each evening.

• Lucy Wadham

Paris-based British author, Lucy Wadham will now be offering creative writing and personal narrative workshops in Montmartre every Saturday morning. Limited to 10 participants, Lucy’s 3 hour workshops are designed to help you find your writing voice and build the confidence you’ll need to start and/or sustain your project – whatever it may be: short story, script, memoir, or novel. Knowing from her own experience how tough writers can be on themselves, Lucy has crafted her workshops to provide a nurturing but hard-working atmosphere in which you can build your confidence. Her personalised exercises and feedback will help you improve your technique and boost your motivation. The creative writing workshops in Paris take place in Lucy’s sitting room between 10h and 13h.

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On this page

Major overview.

• Learning Outcomes

Learning Environment

• Major Components

Core Courses

Related links, undergraduate program.

We invite you to join an international community of authors, publishers, artists, translators, and critics, as you bring your writing into dialogue with other forms of art and media. Our program encourages you to deepen the quality of your writing by exploring multiple genres and to appreciate the nuances of language and culture through literary translation. As you create connections between your academic study and your creative production, you will gain an extensive knowledge of literature in its historical and geographical contexts. This insight will come coupled with well-informed attention to linguistic and cultural diversity and close analysis of the details of literary production, which will prove crucial to improving your writing as well as your workshop discussion.  

Featured Course

Advanced creative writing projects.

Have you yearned to start a novel, a collection of related short stories or narrative essays, a memoir, or a series of poems?

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The educational goals for this major are as follows:

• You will demonstrate knowledge of the history of literary forms, and of the techniques involved in the creation of contemporary literary works and works from earlier periods, across several genres and in more than one culture.
• You will analyze literary works, reflect on their qualities, and show awareness of appropriate methods in literary criticism.
• You will create literary works in one chosen genre which are complete, carefully edited, and which show awareness of the conventions of the genre.
• You will demonstrate advanced capacities in the use of the English language as a creative and communicative tool, and basic capacities in your understanding of the relation between English and French, and show awareness of the challenges involved in translation.

Your classes will be taught by literary and artistic practitioners. Here, you will produce original work, develop creative and professional skills, and acquire the capacity to reflect upon, analyze, and evaluate your work. You will take part in advanced workshops, while enjoying individual mentorship from your advisor and other faculty. You will develop and articulate a personal focus for your reading and your creative production, culminating in a portfolio that combines academic and creative work, along with a senior project in the final year.

Professor Greene

Faculty spotlight.

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Beirut Poetry Slam

Student work.

I stumbled upon The Poetry Pot, a Beirut-based poetry collective that...

Major Components Build Your Degree

With every single one of our majors, you’ll find a carefully curated medley of core courses and electives, which will provide you with the tools you need to establish an unshakeable foundation in the principles and concepts fundamental to your growth within your disciplines of choice. Many majors also enable you to specialize further within the broader area of study.

We aim to help you develop a range of skills, capacities, and modes of inquiry that will be crucial for your future since employers and graduate schools are looking for the critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills that are associated with a liberal arts education, including sophisticated writing abilities, willingness to pose difficult questions, and an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts surrounding a topic or decision.

Scroll to Core Courses

Each elective provides you with entry to a variety of subject areas which you can choose among to further focus your studies. With the help of your academic advisor, you’ll be able to tailor your major so that it most effectively prepares you for the next step in your academic and professional journey.

See all Major Electives

Specialization

You have the option to focus your Creative Writing major in the Creative Arts specialization. While reinforcing your writing skills and your knowledge of literature, you will also create meaningful connections between your work and other art forms of your choosing. Learn the basics of video production, find out how to write fiction for television, develop your drawing skills, start acting in French, and so much more, all while figuring out how these and other artistic pursuits can feed into how and what you write, no matter the genre.

See Creative Arts Specialization Requirements

BROWSE ALL MAJORS AND REQUIREMENTS

The Creative Writing core courses, which you must take as part of the major requirements, will provide you with the tools you’ll need to ground your present and future studies. Your introduction to the history of world literature and to the fundamentals of Creative Writing will help pave the way for your successful completion of other Creative Writing courses. When you have acquired specialized skills in your elective courses, you develop them in the core Advanced Creative Writing Projects course, which serves as a capstone to the major and a gateway to the Honors Thesis.

Considers closely three moments when the practice of writing changed radically in response to historical and cultural processes, from Ancient Greece to 1800 (specific contents change each year). Investigates the forces that inform creative imagination and cultural production. Places those moments and those forces within a geographical and historical map of literary production, and introduces the tools of literary analysis.

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This team-taught course opens up a historical panorama of European literature stretching from the 18th to the 21st century. It does not pretend to provide a survey of this period but rather showcases a selection of significant moments and locations when literary genres changed or new genres appeared. The idea is to open as many doors as possible onto the rich complexity of comparative literary history. In order to help students orient themselves within various histories of generic mutations and emergences, the professors have put together a vocabulary of key literary critical terms in the fields of narrative structure, style, and rhetoric.

In this course, students practice writing fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry while exploring the boundaries between genres. The workshop format includes guided peer critique of sketches, poems, and full-length works presented in class and discussion and analysis of literary models. In Fall, students concentrate on writing techniques. In Spring, the workshop is theme-driven. May be taken twice for credit.

Ce cours introduira les étudiants aux techniques et aux problématiques de la traduction littéraire par le cas particulier des traductions en anglais de romans contemporains écrits en français. La traduction sera discutée comme un transfert culturel : en observant comment des écrivains représentatifs (Houellebecq, Djebar, Gavalda…) ont été reçus aux USA, et en GB, et en faisant le commentaire de trois traductions récentes. L’essentiel du cours sera consacré à l’expérience collective et individuelle de la traduction d’un livre non encore traduit.

This workshop offers an introduction to literary and cultural translation between French and English. Students encounter, through practical exercises, key differences between French and English linguistic and cultural forms, and find ways to resolve and explore these differences in their literary translation and in their creative writing. Practice in translation is supplemented by reflection on translation.

Have you yearned to start a novel, a collection of related short stories or narrative essays, a memoir, or a series of poems? This cross-genre, seminar-style course is designed for students who want to pursue larger, more advanced creative writing projects. Students will submit project proposals for discussion and approval, and then present significant installments of writing at regular intervals during the semester. Revisions will be required along with student-professor individual conferences. Readings will be used as guiding examples, and required reaction papers will be tailored to individual projects. May be taken twice for credit.

Under the supervision of the major advisor, students prepare a portfolio of at least 5 essays from their major courses, along with relevant work in other courses, and identify, evaluate and justify the personal focus of their work in an introductory essay. Examined orally by a panel of faculty.

Creative Writing program Summer Workshop

Program overview.

The Paris Writing Workshop in July is a month-long creative writing workshop taught by four renowned professional writers. Craft classes in the first two weeks are taught in Fiction, Poetry, Travel Writing, Memoir, Personal Essay, Journal Writing, Plays and Screenplays, and Presentation and Performance, while the second half of the month is centered around the writing workshop, where students have the opportunity to share and revise their own work with the feedback of their peers and teachers.

In addition to taking classes and participating in workshops, students will receive one-on-one consultations with professional writers, attend literary panel presentations, and give readings in Parisian venues. Between classes and tutorials, there will be ample time to experience the city, attend cultural events, visit museums, learn history, take day-trips to the countryside, read books, write in cafes, dance by the Seine, and make friends from around the world.

See http://www.pariswritingworkshop.com for testimonials, a detailed schedule, and information on how to apply.

Course Details

Required coursework, literary fiction workshop.

Under the direction of novelists John Biguenet and Robin Wasserman, this class will offer students an opportunity to write  short fiction  and  poetry . Examining the student’s own writing alongside published works, the workshop will present instruction in the essential elements of literary forms while providing each participant a community of readers to respond to his or her work. The fundamentals of publishing will also be addressed along with other aspects of succeeding as a professional writer.

Creative Nonfiction Workshop

Travel writer Rolf Potts and memoirist Dinah Lenney will facilitate this workshop, which delves into the essence of nonfiction storytelling. Since the Paris setting is ripe for place-based narrative,  travel writing  will be a central aspect of this workshop – but students will also be encouraged to explore the art of  personal essay  and  memoir.  Though this class primarily aims to sharpen and evolve writers’ instincts for constructing narratives, it will also touch on the practical matters of working with agents and editors, and submitting stories for publication.

Elective Classes

The paris notebook (journal writing).

Students will keep a notebook throughout the course, working in a variety of modes of journal writing. This notebook will become a source for more finished pieces – poems, memoir, etc. – in the other courses. Daily journal prompts, and in-class free-writing assignments will dovetail with independent student excursions in and around Paris.

Presentation and Performance

The drama of the spoken word is the focal point of this one-time seminar. Participants will learn how best to achieve the desired effect when reading their written work aloud; how to use and interact with the audience; how to convey meaning in all its nuance. We will also learn how to bring the lessons of reading aloud back to writing and revision, so that our work lands as we intend, and sounds like us, regardless of who’s reading it and where.

Plays and Screenplays

This one-time seminar will take a practical and literary approach to writing dramatic works for the stage and screen. Writers will learn how these forms differ from other literary genres at both the practical and conceptual level. This class will also examine the intricacies of adapted versus original playwriting and screenwriting.

Submissions and Publication

This end-of-month seminar will give students information, insight and strategies for getting their portfolio work published. Topics covered include literary agents, book publishing and periodical markets – as well as online publishing and new-media venues.

Summer Workshop

School fees:  $5500 (USD)

Please note that the tuition fees do not include housing, supplies or meals.

Housing fees -shared accommodation in private furnished apartment: $2500 (USD) -shared three-star hotel twin room: $3600 (USD) -private three-star hotel single room: $6200 (USD)

Part scholarships available; see below.

Richard Roy Scholarship

Applicants who have been accepted to study at the Paris American Academy may apply for partial scholarships through the Richard Roy Scholarship Fund. These scholarships range in value from $500 to $1,200 off tuition, and from $300 to $700 off housing.

Students wishing to be considered for a scholarship must submit a brief personal statement (1-2 paragraphs) along with their application. This statement should emphasize the student’s personal and educational background, demonstrating why he / she is in need of financial assistance and how a scholarship might benefit the student’s professional goals.

Fellowship Program

Returning students and alumni may have the option of participating in the summer workshop for a second time, at a reduced cost and with additional program responsibilities / work-study arrangements. Interested students should contact Rolf Potts, Program Director at [email protected] .

How much does the workshop cost?

The month-long creative writing program costs $5500 — a great value, given the unrivaled setting and quality of this intensive writing program.

Tuition for the four weeks includes all classes (4-5 days a week of instruction), formal orientation and introduction to Paris and the Latin Quarter, welcome and farewell banquets, and a few informal activities that introduce students to French language and culture.

Students are encouraged to find their own accommodation in Paris (Airbnb, Craigslist, and related online services can help with this). The Paris American Academy does offer some housing options , including a shared three-star hotel twin room, including daily buffet breakfast ($3,600); and a three-star hotel single room ($6,200). All accommodation options are close to the school in the Latin Quarter.

Those interested in immediately reserving a slot in the program must send in a $250 non-refundable deposit. You can pay by check, bank transfer, or credit card.

To start the application process, send an email to: [email protected]

What expenses aren’t included with the tuition?

As detailed above, school-arranged housing is an optional expense. Insurance and airfare (usually $1000-$1,500 from North America; much less from Europe) are not included. Nor are most food expenses, which should run about $20-$50 a day. Ground transportation (including airport shuttle) is not included — but Paris is inexpensive and easy to navigate by foot, bus and subway. Tips on how to live cheaply in Paris are included with the course orientation.

Do I need to speak French?

French fluency is not required, as all of the courses will be taught in English.

What kind of students typically take the program?

It’s usually a mix of young-to-mid-career professionals and university students. The program also attracts a number of retirees (often couples). Most students are Americans, Canadians, Australians or Brits — though students from around the world have participated in the past (workshops in recent years have included participants from Ireland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana, China, Japan, Brunei, Brazil, Grenada, and Mexico). Students of all nationalities are welcome, of course — though class instruction will be in English only.

Is there an age requirement?

The Paris American Academy writing program is open to all qualifying adults. Applications from older teenagers (i.e. 18 and 19 year olds) will be considered if the potential student can establish that he or she has completed at least one semester of university, or has lived/traveled abroad for an extended period of time.

Are scholarships available?

The Paris American Academy doesn’t offer any scholarships for first-year participants, but many students attend the writing program on grants, fellowships, or scholarships from their local school, civic organization, or business community.

How does college credit work?

The international transfer of academic credits to your local university or college is possible because the Paris American Academy is registered by the Academie de Paris as a private institution of higher learning. If you’re interested in receiving college credit, we will provide a transcript to your dean, advisor, or registrar that can be used to request up to six semester hours of academic credit. In recent years, PAA credit transfers have been accepted by the likes of Columbia University, Bard College, Ohio State University, the University of Connecticut, and Wittenberg University.

Can I take all of the classes offered?

Absolutely. There will be ample time for students to participate in each class offered. In fact, all the writing classes dovetail with one another thematically, and we encourage students to participate in as many as possible.

What if I don’t want to take all the classes?

That’s fine. The coursework is flexible, and students can take as many or as few classes as they wish. Students seeking formal college credit, of course, will need to attend all the classes if they wish to receive full credit.

Inside the Creative Writing program

Creative writing alumni publications, study in paris.

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Online MFA in Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts

Earn an MFA in Creative Writing Online

• $637/credit (48 credits total)
• Transfer up to 12 graduate credits
• 100% online – no residency required
• Four fiction genres to choose from
• Career-focused certificate included
• No application fee or GRE/GMAT scores required

Online MFA in Creative Writing Program Overview

Share your story with the world and let the power of storytelling take your career to new heights with an online Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing . As one of the only programs available that encourages a focus on genre fiction, our online MFA lets you hone your craft in an area specific to your strengths and interests. You'll also learn about the business side of creative writing, preparing you to market your work in the real world.

While most MFA programs require a residency, Southern New Hampshire University's online MFA in Creative Writing can be completed entirely online, with no travel necessary.

“Traditional MFA programs, whether full-time or low residency, are out of reach for many writers,” said Paul Witcover , associate dean of creative writing. “The SNHU online MFA was designed to make the MFA experience accessible to all fiction writers, opening the door to diverse voices excluded for too long from the literary conversation. Our program is dedicated to giving writers the tools to succeed on the page and beyond it.”

Graduates leave the program with a completed and revised novel in one of our four offered genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance and Speculative. With the included certificates in either online teaching of writing or professional writing , you'll have the skills to support your writing career, no matter where it takes you.

.st0{fill:#21386D;} What You'll Learn

• The business and technical sides of professional writing
• How to navigate the publishing ecosystem, identify agents and editors, and market your work to appeal to decision-makers
• Using social media to gain a following and build your brand
• How to teach writing in a classroom setting

.cls-1 { fill: #21386d; } How You'll Learn

At SNHU, you'll get support from day 1 to graduation and beyond. And with no set class times, 24/7 access to the online classroom and helpful learning resources along the way, you'll have everything you need to reach your goals.

The Value of an Online MFA

Emily Jones ’20 embraced a transformational experience through the online MFA in Creative Writing program, which supported her in taking her writing career to the next level. “I can now say, without even a hint of imposter syndrome, that I am a writer,” said Jones. “And that is because of Southern New Hampshire University.”

Career Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, writers and authors made a median annual salary of $69,510 in 2021, while editors made $63,350. 1

“Our mission is to give students a degree and associated practical skills they can use to forge successful pathways in academia, business, or by blazing their own career trail,” said Paul Witcover , associate dean of creative writing.

Earning one of the included certificates in online teaching of writing or professional writing will also be an invaluable addition to your resume for part-time, full-time and freelance jobs in a variety of fields, including:

• Higher education. Instruct writing courses in higher education settings. In 2021, postsecondary teachers made a median annual wage of $79,640, and you can expect to see a 12% growth in available positions through 2031, according to the BLS. 1
• Advertising. Use your storytelling skills in a way that influences consumer action. As a copywriter, you could find yourself doing any number of writing projects from crafting emails and ads to writing entire commercials.
• Marketing. If you're more comfortable with long-form prose, many businesses have invested in content writers who create quality content such as blog posts, ebooks and podcasts to attract and retain customers.
• Entertainment. Good at building suspense or setting up punchlines? From movies and plays to comedy and podcasts, being a good storyteller and writer is important to finding success in the entertainment industry.
• History. Every person's life has a plot, but it takes writers like you to tell their stories in a compelling way. Help readers relive the experiences of historic figures and pop culture icons as a biographer.

Higher Education

Instruct writing courses in higher education at a college or university, either in-person or online.

Advertising

Influence consumer action through copywriting, from print ads to digital advertising and broadcast commercials.

Create written content such as blog posts, ebooks and podcasts to attract and retain customers.

Entertainment

From movies and plays to comedy and podcasts, writers often find success in the entertainment industry.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts favorable job growth in postsecondary education. And while statistics are not available for all job settings mentioned above, the BLS reports the following:

.cls-1 { fill: #21386d; } Job Growth

The BLS predicts an 8% growth in available postsecondary teaching positions through 2032. 1

.cls-1 { fill: #21386d; } Potential Salary

Writers and authors made a median annual salary of $73,150 in 2022, while editors made $73,080 and postsecondary teachers made $80,840. 1

Understanding the Numbers When reviewing job growth and salary information, it’s important to remember that actual numbers can vary due to many different factors — like years of experience in the role, industry of employment, geographic location, worker skill and economic conditions. Cited projections do not guarantee actual salary or job growth.

Start Your Journey Toward an Online MFA in Creative Writing

If you're looking to earn your Master of Fine Arts online, you've found the right program. Even though there are no residency requirements, you'll still interact frequently with other students and faculty members in asynchronous discussions, critique workshops and within our online writer’s community, where students come together to share industry news, extend writing tips and develop critique partnerships.

"I liked MFA-514 (Advanced Studies in Genre Literature) best," said student Jamilla Geter . "It was a great look into the different genres. It really helped me narrow down what genre I wanted to write in."

"Though it was not writing exactly, its connection to it – especially in our digital world – was made clear almost immediately," she said. "Writing is not just providing content of value to your readers, but also creating avenues of access so those readers can find your content. This course helped me to understand that and to learn how I can create those avenues."

Besides allowing you to focus on your own creative interests, part of our 48-credit online MFA curriculum requires you to choose from 2 certificate offerings designed to round out your education and better prepare you for a multitude of writing-related careers.

The first choice is a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching of Writing , which is tailored to those who see themselves teaching in an online classroom setting as a supplement to their writing careers. Students practice approaches to editing and coaching, learning how to establish a virtual instructor presence and cultivate methods for supporting and engaging students within online writing communities.

Learn more about the online teaching of writing graduate certificate .

Students can also choose the Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing , which highlights the technical and business opportunities available to writers. Students will develop a range of skills, such as copywriting, social media, marketing principles and/or content generation, learning many of the freelancing skills integral to today’s project-driven economy.

Learn more about the professional writing graduate certificate .

All of our courses are taught by accomplished authors and industry professionals who know both the craft and business of creative writing. They will work closely with you to develop both your creative and professional skill set.

"All instructors within my program were extremely knowledgeable and helpful," Warden said. "I learned a lot about the different career paths my instructors chose. ... The course instruction, along with their anecdotal experiences, helped in offering knowledge in different areas of our field.

MFA Program Thesis

The thesis for the Online MFA in Creative Writing is required to be a novel of at least 50,000 words in one of the four genres the program offers: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, and Speculative.

Every Southern New Hampshire University online MFA student who graduates from the program will do so with a revised novel manuscript in their chosen genre, which is completed in a three-course thesis series. Throughout your tenure in the program, you can either work on a singular idea that you will develop during the three thesis courses, or you can begin a new project for your thesis. You can also combine elements of the four genres offered in the program for your thesis. For example, your thesis might be a YA Speculative Fiction novel.

"My three thesis classes for the MFA degree were the most helpful," said Kathleen Harris '21 . "I was actually writing a book as my thesis, so it was both enjoyable and advantageous for the degree. And it was the end of a very long milestone of accomplishments."

Minimum Hardware Requirements Component Type   PC (Windows OS)   Apple (Mac OS)   Operating System  Currently supported operating system from Microsoft.   Currently supported operating system from Apple.  Memory (RAM)  8GB or higher  8GB or higher  Hard Drive  100GB or higher  100GB or higher  Antivirus Software  Required for campus students. Strongly recommended for online students.  Required for campus students. Strongly recommended for online students.  SNHU Purchase Programs  Visit Dell   Visit Apple   Internet/ Bandwidth  5 Mbps Download, 1 Mbps Upload and less than 100 ms Latency  5 Mbps Download, 1 Mbps Upload and less than 100 ms Latency  Notes:   Laptop or desktop?   Whichever you choose depends on your personal preference and work style, though laptops tend to offer more flexibility.  Note:   Chromebooks (Chrome OS) and iPads (iOS) do not meet the minimum requirements for coursework at SNHU. These offer limited functionality and do not work with some course technologies. They are not acceptable as the only device you use for coursework. While these devices are convenient and may be used for some course functions, they cannot be your primary device. SNHU does, however, have an affordable laptop option that it recommends: Dell Latitude 3301 with Windows 10.  Office 365 Pro Plus  is available free of charge to all SNHU students and faculty. The Office suite will remain free while you are a student at SNHU. Upon graduation you may convert to a paid subscription if you wish. Terms subject to change at Microsoft's discretion. Review system requirements for  Microsoft 365 plans  for business, education and government.  Antivirus software:  Check with your ISP as they may offer antivirus software free of charge to subscribers.  if (typeof accordionGroup === "undefined") { window.accordionGroup = new accordion(); } accordionGroup.init(document.getElementById('f756dce5bd874c61855f6f6e92d88470')); University Accreditation

Tuition & Fees

Tuition rates for SNHU's online degree programs are among the lowest in the nation. We offer a 25% tuition discount for U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty.

Tuition rates are subject to change and are reviewed annually. *Note: students receiving this rate are not eligible for additional discounts.

Additional Costs: Course Materials ($ varies by course). Foundational courses may be required based on your undergraduate course history, which may result in additional cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

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The Best 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2023

April 7, 2023

Whether you studied at a top creative writing university , or are a high school dropout who will one day become a bestselling author , you may be considering an MFA in Creative Writing. But is a writing MFA genuinely worth the time and potential costs? How do you know which program will best nurture your writing? This article walks you through the considerations for an MFA program, as well as the best Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.

First of all, what is an MFA?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications require a sample portfolio for entry, usually of 10-20 pages of your best writing.

What actually goes on in a creative writing MFA beyond inspiring award-winning books and internet memes ? You enroll in workshops where you get feedback on your creative writing from your peers and a faculty member. You enroll in seminars where you get a foundation of theory and techniques. Then you finish the degree with a thesis project.

Reasons to Get an MFA in Creative Writing

You don’t need an MFA to be a writer. Just look at Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison or bestselling novelist Emily St. John Mandel.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons you might still want to get a creative writing MFA. The first is, unfortunately, prestige. An MFA from a top program can help you stand out in a notoriously competitive industry to be published.

The second reason: time. Many MFA programs give you protected writing time, deadlines, and maybe even a (dainty) salary.

Third, an MFA in Creative Writing is a terminal degree. This means that this degree allows you to teach writing at the university level, especially after you publish a book.

But above all, the biggest reason to pursue an MFA is the community it brings you. You get to meet other writers, and share feedback, advice, and moral support, in relationships that can last for decades.

Types of Creative Writing MFA Programs

Here are the different types of programs to consider, depending on your needs:

Fully-Funded Full-Time Programs

These programs offer full-tuition scholarships and sweeten the deal by actually paying you to attend them.

• Pros: You’re paid to write (and teach).
• Cons: Uprooting your entire life to move somewhere possibly very cold.

Full-Time MFA Programs

These programs include attending in-person classes and paying tuition (though many offer need-based and merit scholarships).

• Pros: Lots of top-notch programs non-funded programs have more assets to attract world-class faculty and guests.
• Cons: It’s an investment that might not pay itself back.

Low-Residency MFA Programs

Low-residency programs usually meet biannually for short sessions. They also offer one-on-one support throughout the year. These MFAs are more independent, preparing you for what the writing life is actually like.

• Pros: No major life changes required. Cons: Less time dedicated to writing and less time to build relationships.

Online MFA Programs

Held 100% online. These programs have high acceptance rates and no residency requirement. That means zero travel or moving expenses.

• Pros: No major life changes required.
• Cons: These MFAs have less name-recognition

The Top 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs Ranked by Category

The following programs are selected for their balance of high funding, impressive return on investment, stellar faculty, major journal publications , and impressive alums.

Fully Funded MFA Programs

1) johns hopkins university, mfa in fiction/poetry (baltimore, md).

This is a two-year program, with $33,000 teaching fellowships per year. This MFA offers the most generous funding package. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and a guaranteed lecture position after graduation (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).

• Incoming class size: 8 students
• Admissions rate: 11.1%
• Alumni: Chimamanda Adiche, Jeffrey Blitz, Wes Craven, Louise Erdrich, Porochista Khakpour, Phillis Levin, ZZ Packer, Tom Sleigh, Elizabeth Spires, Rosanna Warren

2) University of Texas, James Michener Center (Austin, TX)

A fully-funded 3-year program with a generous stipend of $29,500. The program offers fiction, poetry, playwriting and screenwriting. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $3,000 for the summer.

• Incoming class size : 12 students
• Acceptance rate: a bone-chilling less-than-1% in fiction; 2-3% in other genres
•   Alumni: Fiona McFarlane, Brian McGreevy, Karan Mahajan, Alix Ohlin, Kevin Powers, Lara Prescott, Roger Reeves, Maria Reva, Domenica Ruta, Sam Sax, Joseph Skibell, Dominic Smith

3) University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a 2-year program on a residency model for fiction and poetry. This means there are low requirements, and lots of time to write groundbreaking novels or play pool at the local bar. Most students are funded, with fellowships worth up to $21,000. The Translation MFA, co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years, but with more intensive coursework. The Nonfiction Writing Program is a prestigious three-year MFA program and is also intensive.

• Incoming class size: 25 each for poetry and fiction; 10-12 for nonfiction and translation.
• Acceptance rate: 3.7%
• Fantastic Alumni: Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, Garth Greenwell, Kiley Reid, Brandon Taylor, Eula Biss, Yiyun Li, Jennifer Croft

4) University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students U-Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. This is a big university town, which is less damaging to your social life. Plus, there’s lots to do when you have a $23,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.

This is a 2-3-year program, with an impressive reputation. They also have a demonstrated commitment to “ push back against the darkness of intolerance and injustice ” and have outreach programs in the community.

• Incoming class size: 18
• Acceptance rate: 4% (which maybe seems high after less-than-1%)
• Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward

5) Brown University (Providence, RI)

Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that doesn’t dip into arctic temperatures. Students are all fully-funded for 2-3 years with $29,926 in 2021-22. Students also get summer funding and—you guessed it—that sweet, sweet health insurance.

In the Brown Literary Arts MFA, students take only one workshop and one elective per semester. It’s also the only program in the country to feature a Digital/Cross Disciplinary Track.

• Incoming class size: 12-13
• Acceptance rate: “highly selective”
• Alumni: Edwidge Danticat, Jaimy Gordon, Gayl Jones, Ben Lerner, Joanna Scott, Kevin Young, Ottessa Moshfegh

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued) 

6) university of arizona (tucson, az).

This 3-year program has many attractive qualities. It’s in “ the lushest desert in the world ”, and was recently ranked #4 in creative writing programs, and #2 in Nonfiction. You can take classes in multiple genres, and in fact, are encouraged to do so. Plus, Arizona dry heat is good for arthritis.

This notoriously supportive program pays $20,000 a year, and offers the potential to volunteer at multiple literary organizations. You can also do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.

• Incoming class size: 9
• Acceptance rate: 4.85% (a refreshingly specific number after Brown’s evasiveness)
• Alumni: Francisco Cantú, Jos Charles, Tony Hoagland, Nancy Mairs, Richard Russo, Richard Siken, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, David Foster Wallace

7) Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ):

Arizona State is also a three-year funded program in arthritis-friendly dry heat. It offers small class sizes, individual mentorships, and one of the most impressive faculty rosters in the game. Everyone gets a $19,000 stipend, with other opportunities for financial support.

• Incoming class size: 8-10
• Acceptance rate: 3% (sigh)
• Alumni: Tayari Jones, Venita Blackburn, Dorothy Chan, Adrienne Celt, Dana Diehl, Matthew Gavin Frank, Caitlin Horrocks, Allegra Hyde, Hugh Martin, Bonnie Nadzam

FULL-RESIDENCY MFAS (UNFUNDED)

8) new york university (new york, ny).

This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU is private, and has one of the most accomplished faculty lists anywhere. Students have large cohorts (more potential friends!) and have a penchant for winning top literary prizes.

• Incoming class size: 40-60
• Acceptance rate: 6%
• Alumni: Nick Flynn, Nell Freudenberger, Aracelis Girmay, Mitchell S. Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, John Keene, Raven Leilani, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong

9) Columbia University (New York, NY)

Another 2-3 year private MFA program with drool-worthy permanent and visiting faculty. Columbia offers courses in fiction, poetry, translation, and nonfiction. Beyond the Ivy League education, Columbia offers close access to agents, and its students have a high record of bestsellers.

• Incoming class size: 110
• Acceptance rate: 21%
• Alumni: Alexandra Kleeman, Rachel Kushner, Claudia Rankine, Rick Moody, Sigrid Nunez, Tracy K. Smith, Emma Cline, Adam Wilson, Marie Howe, Mary Jo Bang

10) Sarah Lawrence (Bronxville, NY)

Sarah Lawrence offers speculative fiction beyond the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction course offerings. With intimate class sizes, this program is unique because it offers biweekly one-on-one conferences with its stunning faculty. It also has a notoriously supportive atmosphere.

• Incoming class size: 30-40
• Acceptance rate: N/A
• Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado

LOW RESIDENCY

11 bennington college (bennington, vt).

This two-year program boasts truly stellar faculty, and meets twice a year for ten days in January and June. It’s like a biannual vacation in beautiful Vermont, plus mentorship by a famous writer, and then you get a degree. The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available.

• Acceptance rate: 53%
• Incoming class: 40
• Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others

12)  Institute for American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM)

This two-year program emphasizes Native American and First Nations writing. With truly amazing faculty and visiting writers, they offer a wide range of genres offered, in screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Students attend two eight-day residencies each year, in January and July, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At $12,000 a year, it boasts being “ one of the most affordable MFA programs in the country .”

• Incoming class size : 22
• Acceptance rate: 100%
• Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder

13) Vermont College of Fine Arts

One of few MFAs where you can study the art of the picture book, middle grade and young adult literature, graphic literature, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry for young people. Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, in Vermont. You can also do many travel residencies in exciting (and warm) places like Cozumel.

VCFA boasts amazing faculty and visiting writers, with individualized study options and plenty of one-on-one time. Tuition is $48,604.

• Incoming class size: 18-25
• Acceptance rate: 63%
• Alumnx: Lauren Markham, Mary-Kim Arnold, Cassie Beasley, Kate Beasley, Julie Berry, Bridget Birdsall, Gwenda Bond, Pablo Cartaya

ONLINE MFAS

14) university of texas at el paso (el paso, tx).

The world’s first bilingual and online MFA program in the world. UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Intensive workshops allow submitting in Spanish and English, and genres include poetry and fiction. This three-year program costs $14,766 a year, with rolling admissions.

• Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here

15) Bay Path University (Long Meadow, MA)

This 2-year online program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. A supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and a potential field trip in Ireland.

There are many tracks, including publishing, Narrative Medicine, and teaching. Core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, and the personal essay. The price is $785/credit, for 39 credits, with scholarships available.

• Incoming class size: 20
• Acceptance rate: an encouraging 78%
• Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here

Prepare for your MFA in advance:

• Best English Programs
• Best Creative Writing Schools
• Writing Summer Programs

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs – References:

• https://www.pw.org/mfa
• The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students , by Tom Kealey (A&C Black 2005)
• Graduate School Admissions

Julia Conrad

With a Bachelor of Arts in English and Italian from Wesleyan University as well as MFAs in both Nonfiction Writing and Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, Julia is an experienced writer, editor, educator, and a former Fulbright Fellow. Julia’s work has been featured in  The Millions ,  Asymptote , and  The Massachusetts Review , among other publications. To read more of her work, visit  www.juliaconrad.net

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Creative Writing Certificate: Paris Writing Intensive

Enrollment Update:  Registration is open for all summer courses and intensives.  Browse courses

About This Certificate

Parsons Paris and the Creative Writing Program at the Schools of Public Engagement have joined forces to present a non-credit certificate: the Paris Writing Intensive. During the program, students will have a chance to focus on their own creative writing with a fresh perspective by attending a series of in-depth morning writing workshops in the genre of their choice: fiction, nonfiction, or graphic novel/memoir/poetry. In the afternoon, students will take a closer look at contemporary French culture, examining France's colonial history and Paris' immigrant communities, and taking walking tours of the outer arrondissements. Instruction will include lectures, walking tours, and reading seminars focusing on the published work of migrants and exiles who have made France their home.

Long lauded for its rich literary history, Paris remains a hotbed of aesthetic fermentation and changing norms. Students will learn from our renowned graduate Creative Writing faculty, a project-based experiential learning curriculum, and the resources and stimulating academic environment that a collaboration between the Schools of Public Engagement and Parsons Paris can provide.

All courses are taught in English.

2024 Program Information:

• Priority admissions deadline: December 15, 2023
• Rolling admissions until February 1, 2024
• Program Dates: May 31, 2024 - June 9, 2024
• On or before January 14, 2024: 100% of tuition refunded
• January 15, 2024 or later: 0%

What You’ll Gain

• Intensive focus on developing a writing project and creating new work
• One-on-one collaboration with leading MFA faculty
• Lasting connections with an intimate group of students and instructors
• An experience of writing in a community
• A deeper understanding of contemporary French culture and Francophone literature on migration and exile
• Cultural immersion that provides unique insight into Paris as a diverse, dynamic, and global city

What You’ll Earn

After completing the certificate requirements, you will be able to download and print a copy of your certificate and share it with your network. Your personal certificate will be accessible from your Student Portal.

Who Should Enroll

• Current and emerging writers who would like to hone their technique, expand and deepen an existing project, or create new work inspired by their explorations of Paris
• Anyone interested in learning about and engaging in contemporary French culture through the unique lens of postcolonial history and literature
• Upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, and continuing education working professionals

How You’ll Learn

• In the morning, students will have a chance to focus on their own creative writing by attending writing workshops in the genre of their choice: fiction, nonfiction, or graphic novel/memoir/poetry
• Afternoon instruction will include lectures, walking tours, and reading seminars focusing on the published work of migrants and exiles who have made France their home
• Small seminars and writing workshops allow for individualized attention
• Critiques from leading faculty practitioners

Why The New School?

The professional landscape as we've known it has changed dramatically, and ongoing learning is more important now than ever before. At The New School, we champion every student's creativity and growth. By combining integrated disciplines with collaborative problem solving, we deliver an immersive, transformative learning experience. Our faculty imparts the critical expertise students need to advance their careers or pivot to a new one in a constantly evolving world.

Additional Details

To apply, you need to have the following materials prepared before filling out the online application . 

Please submit:

• Statement of purpose (250 to 500 words) detailing what you would like to work on during the course
• Five-page writing sample
• Copy of your CV

Required Course

1 Course(s)

• NWRW 0003 Global Citizen Initiative–Creative Writing at Parsons Paris

Session Time-Out

Privacy policy, the new school student privacy notice.

This privacy notice describes how The New School collects and processes personal data about you at The New School; how we use, store, transfer, and protect this personal data; and your rights in relation to this personal data. This notice applies to The New School, with global headquarters at 72 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 USA, as well as to its affiliated legal entities and branches (collectively “we,” “us,” or “our”):

• TNS Parsons (“Parsons Paris”) of 45 rue Saint-Roch, 75001 Paris, France is the European branch of Parsons School of Design. Parsons Paris works closely with our US-based operations and certain information is shared between entities, so for purposes of this privacy notice, both The New School and Parsons Paris are data controllers. For more information on how your information is shared with third parties, please refer to Section 3 of this notice.

This privacy notice applies to all personal data we collect or process about you (i) from the information you provide to us when you interact with us before applying (e.g., when you express your interest in studying at The New School); (ii) when you apply to study at The New School and complete enrollment forms or other admissions documentation; (iii) when you communicate with us by telephone, email, or via our website (e.g., in order to make inquiries or raise concerns); (iv) when you interact with us during your time as a student at The New School; and (v) from third parties (e.g., from recruitment organizations, government agencies in connection with financial aid or student visas, or from your previous or current school, university, or employer(s), who may provide records or a reference about you, or who may sponsor or pay for your studies). This notice will inform you of:

• Personal data we collect and use;
• How we use your personal data and the basis on which we use it;
• Who has access to your personal data;
• How your personal data is protected and stored;
• International transfer of your data;
• How to exercise your rights;
• How to contact us; and
• Changes to the privacy notice.

1. Personal data we collect and use

We collect and use certain personal data about you. Personal data is information about you through which you can be identified (including where you can be identified by combining the information with other information).

Note that we may be required by law to collect certain personal data about you, or as a consequence of our contractual relationship with you. Failure to provide this personal data may prevent or delay the fulfilment of these obligations. We will inform you at the time your personal data is collected whether certain data is compulsory and the consequences of the failure to provide such personal data.

1.1 Personal data we collect directly from you

We collect some personal data directly from you. Personal data that is collected directly from you includes the following:

a) Personal details, such as your name(s), date of birth, and place of birth; b) Contact details, such as your phone number, personal email address, mailing address, and social media handles; c) Demographic details, such as your age, marital status, languages spoken, national origin, and current nationality; d) Citizenship status; e) Military or veteran status; f) Identification numbers, such as your Social Security number or other government-issued identification number; g) Authenticating information, such as user names, passwords, and security questions and answers; h) Passport and visa information; i) Financial information, such as your bank account information related to direct deposits; j) Information relating to financial aid, scholarships, and immigration status, such as information collected in connection with financial aid applications, financial aid and scholarship eligibility, immigration applications, and information about your or your family’s or your sponsor’s financial situation; k) Information about your location while on break from your studies; l) Information you submit in connection with your application for admission, including your personal essay, portfolio, academic transcript, test scores, disciplinary records, work history, and other information submitted with your résumé; m) Information about your preferences; n) Photographs for use in identification; o) Your emergency contact details, such as names of your emergency contacts and their contact information; p) Communications you send us, including your requests and information provided by you in the form of feedback or complaints about the program, housing, or other matters; and q) Information about your family, including the names of relatives who have attended The New School and education information.

1.2 Personal data generated by us

In addition, the following categories of personal data about you may be generated by The New School in the course of our relationship with you:

a) Student identifiers, such as your student ID number, NetID (user name for university systems), and other internal identification numbers; b) University email address; c) Employment details if you are employed by The New School as a student, such as work-study or other employment details, including salary or pay information, performance evaluations, and job actions; d) Travel information, including a log of travel excursions; e) Information about your computer and other devices, including your IP address, MAC address, and information about your browser and operating system; f) Records of emergency incidents; g) Student and education information, including your academic transcript, attendance records, grades, recommendations or feedback from teachers, and current and prior course schedules; h) Student conduct records; i) Audio and visual information captured by lecture capture systems, videoconferencing systems, web-based meeting applications, and similar technologies; j) Visual information captured by security cameras; k) Information regarding financial aid and eligibility for financial aid and scholarships; l) Federal immigration documents; and m) Information regarding building and cafeteria access.

1.3 Personal data we obtain from other sources

The New School may also obtain the following categories of personal data about you from third parties :

a) Contact and demographic information, including publicly available information, which we collect from third parties who provide us information about prospective students who may be interested in attending The New School. We may also collect this contact information from students about their parents, family members, and legal guardians; b) Feedback and information from your teachers, school faculty, and others; c) Information about your or your family’s or your sponsor’s financial status and ability to pay tuition or school expenses; d) Academic performance, test scores, student conduct (including complaints brought by you, about you, or to which you may be a witness), and attendance information from other institutions; and e) Non-academic performance information and feedback from organizations with which you have participated.

1.4 Sensitive data we collect and use

Some of the categories of personal data that we collect are considered special categories of personal data under European Union law. In particular, we may process the following types of sensitive data:

a) Health and medical information, including your medical history, information about your health during your time studying with The New School, information about disabilities or related accommodations, information about allergies or dietary restrictions, and health insurance information; b) Information about your racial or ethnic origin; c) Information about your gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and preferred pronoun (if you choose to disclose it for purposes of matching with roommates) and information about the facts and circumstances surrounding instances or allegations of sexual misconduct (which may be collected in the context of investigations into or adjudications of allegations of sexual misconduct, assault, or unlawful activity); and d) Information about criminal convictions.

2. How we use your personal data and the basis on which we use it

The New School uses your personal data in connection with your engagement with and your enrollment at The New School for the following purposes:

• Considering your applications for admission and financial aid. Our basis for doing so is the performance of the pre-contractual relations we have with you and to serve our legitimate interests in selecting a diverse and qualified student body;
• Contacting you about our academic programs, events, related opportunities, or other updates about The New School. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in marketing and student outreach. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent before sending you marketing communications.
• Communicating with applicants throughout the application process. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in responding to applicant requests and efficiently managing the application process.
• Carrying out our contractual obligations to you and exercising our rights in this respect, including provision of academic and support services, travel accommodations, insurance, housing, and related services associated with The New School academic program. Our basis for doing so is the performance of the contract we have with you.
• Identifying students, including for creating a student identification card that includes your photo. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in keeping our campus and associated facilities safe and secure.
• Supporting teaching, learning, and staff development using audio and/or video recording of lectures, presentations, or training events. Our bases for doing so are the performance of the contract we have with you and serving our legitimate interests in delivering educational services to students and enabling professional development for our faculty and staff;
• Responding to emergencies, such as contacting you or your family in the event of an incident. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in supporting the health and well-being of our students;
• Program development, travel planning, student development, tracking of academic progression, and commencement exercises. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in the efficient management and administration of our academic programs and extracurricular activities;
• Keeping our campus and associated facilities safe and secure. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in protecting our students, property, and facilities;
• Operating our information technology systems. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in supporting your use of the systems, understanding usage and performance of the systems, investigating information security or data integrity incidents, and providing evidence in disciplinary procedures;
• Maintaining our alumni records. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in fostering relationships with alumni, maintaining alumni networks, and supporting our fundraising efforts;
• Meeting the obligations of private organizations with oversight over The New School, such as accreditation organizations. This processing is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in maintaining accreditation;
• Keeping our records accurate and up-to-date. This processing is necessary to comply with legal obligations and to serve our legitimate interests in efficient management and administration; and
• Complying with legal obligations to which we are subject, including to defend your and our rights in legal proceedings and to cooperate with regulators, law enforcement, and governmental or other competent bodies. This processing is necessary to comply with legal obligations and to serve our legitimate interests in complying with the laws to which we are subject.

2.1 How we use sensitive data

• Health and medical information. To the extent we process health and medical information, we do so to support your health and wellbeing while attending The New School and to respond to medical and mental health issues and emergencies. In the case of information relating to disability or other accommodations, we process such data to provide learning assistance, mobility, and other necessary accommodations. Our basis for doing so is compliance with social obligations laws or where there is a substantial public interest in providing such services or accommodations. Additionally, in some contexts we may rely on your prior consent to process such data.
• Information revealing an individual’s racial or ethnic origin. To the extent we process information revealing racial or ethnic origin, such information is voluntarily disclosed during the application process for purposes of statistical reporting related to diversity. We rely on your prior consent for such processing.
• Information about an individual’s gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and preferred pronoun. To the extent we process information about an individual’s gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and preferred pronoun, such information is voluntarily disclosed to help facilitate matching with roommates for student housing purposes. Students are not required to provide such information, and where they do we rely on the student’s prior consent to process the information.
• Information about the facts and circumstances surrounding instances or allegations of sexual misconduct. To the extent we process such data, we do so only in the context of investigations into or adjudications of allegations of sexual misconduct, assault, or unlawful activity. Our basis for doing so is that the processing is necessary for the initiation, exercise, substantiation, or defense of legal claims and that processing of sensitive information in this context serves a substantial public interest. To the extent such investigations do not specifically involve special categories of data as defined by applicable law, our basis for processing is that it is necessary to serve our legitimate interests in complying with our legal obligations.
• Information about an individual’s criminal convictions. Where permissible under law, we may process this information in the context of the admissions process.

3. Who has access to your personal data

We treat your personal data with care and confidentiality. Your personal data will be available for the purposes mentioned above and only to employees on a need to know basis and to the extent reasonably necessary to perform their functions. We may share your personal data with third parties under the following circumstances:

• Service providers and business partners. We may share your personal data with our service providers and academic or business partners that perform services for us. For example, we may partner with other companies or entities to provide services for you in relation to our academic programs or affiliated study abroad programs (for example, our mobility program), such as learning management system providers, information technology providers, emergency service providers, study abroad providers or other foreign institutions involved in our study abroad programs, homestay facilitators, tour operators, or other academic institutions. We may also partner with companies or other employers to provide internship opportunities to interested students; The New School may transmit your personal data or provide a recommendation for you to these organizations.
• The New School’s global headquarters and branch campuses. The New School’s branch campuses are a part of The New School, whose global headquarters is located in the United States. The branch campuses work closely with our US-based operations and, from time to time, with each other. As a result, we may share certain personal data about you collected or used in the context of our academic programs with other New School personnel located at our main campus in the United States or other branch locations.
• Law enforcement agencies, courts, regulators, government authorities, or other third parties. We may share your personal data with these parties where we believe this is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or otherwise to protect our rights or the rights of any third party.
• Private organizations with oversight over The New School. We may share your personal data to the extent necessary to meet the obligations of private organizations with oversight over The New School, such as accreditation organizations.

Because we operate internationally, the recipients referred to above may be located outside the jurisdiction in which you are located (or in which we provide the services). See the section on “International transfer of your data” below for more information.

4. How your personal data is protected and stored

We implement physical, technical, and organizational measures designed to safeguard the personal data we process. These measures are aimed at ensuring the ongoing integrity and confidentiality of personal data.

We will retain your personal data for as long as we have a relationship with you (throughout the duration of your studies and in many cases afterwards, as part of the alumni community). Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal data for a period of time that enables us to:

• Maintain academic records;
• Comply with record retention requirements under applicable law;
• Defend or bring any existing or potential legal claims; and
• Resolve or otherwise address any complaints or queries relating to our programs.

Please note that personal data about admitted students is retained beyond graduation (or after your studies otherwise end), and the data is added to our permanent alumni records.

5. International transfer of your data

Your personal data may be transferred to, stored, and processed in a country that is not regarded as ensuring an adequate level of protection for personal data under the data protection laws of your locale.

We have put in place appropriate safeguards (such as contractual commitments) in accordance with applicable legal requirements to ensure that your personal data is adequately protected. For more information on the safeguards in place, please contact us at the details below.

6. How to exercise your rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal data. You have the right to access personal data The New School holds, and in some situations you have the right to have that personal data corrected or updated, erased, restricted, or delivered to you or a third party in a usable electronic format (the right to data portability). You may also object to how The New School uses your personal data if the legal basis for processing that information is our legitimate interest.

Where we are using your personal data on the basis of your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. You also have the right to register a complaint to the applicable supervisory data protection authority.

If you wish to exercise these rights, or to notify us of a change in your details, or if you have any questions on the content of this notice, please contact us at [email protected] .

7. How to contact us

If you have questions or concerns regarding the way in which your personal data has been used, please contact us at [email protected] or:

The New School Office of Information Security and Privacy 71 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor New York, NY 10003 USA

Our representative in the European Union is TNS Parsons, of 45 rue Saint-Roch, 75001 Paris, France.

We are committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution of any complaint or concern about your privacy. If, however, you believe that we have not been able to assist with your complaint or concern, you have the right to make a complaint to the applicable supervisory data protection authority:

• For Parsons Paris, the supervisory data protection authority is the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés – CNIL, 3 Place de Fontenoy, TSA 80715 – 75334 Paris, Cedex 07, https://www.cnil.fr/ .

8. Changes to the privacy notice

You may request a copy of this privacy notice from us using the contact details set out above. We may modify or update this privacy notice from time to time.

Where changes to this privacy notice will have a fundamental impact on the nature of the processing or otherwise have a substantial impact on you, we will notify you of the changes and give you sufficient advance notice so that you have the opportunity to exercise your rights (for example, to object to the processing). REVISED JUNE 24, 2020

REVISED APRIL 3, 2020

ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

Cookie Policy

This statement explains how we use cookies on our website. For information about what types of personal information will be gathered when you visit the website, and how this information will be used, please see our privacy policy.

How we use cookies

All of our web pages use "cookies". A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we place on your computer or mobile device if you agree. These cookies allow us to distinguish you from other users of our website, which helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and enables us to improve our website.

Types of cookies we use

We use the following types of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies- these are essential in to enable you to move around the websites and use their features. Without these cookies the services you have asked for, such as signing in to your account, cannot be provided.
• Performance cookies- these cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often. We use this information to improve our websites and to aid us in investigating problems raised by visitors. These cookies do not collect information that identifies a visitor.
• Functionality cookies- these cookies allow the website to remember choices you make and provide more personal features. For instance, a functional cookie can be used to remember the items that you have placed in your shopping cart. The information these cookies collect may be anonymized and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them please visit https://allaboutcookies.org .

Specific cookies we use

The list below identify the cookies we use and explain the purposes for which they are used. We may update the information contained in this section from time to time.

• JSESSIONID: This cookie is used by the application server to identify a unique user's session.
• registrarToken: This cookie is used to remember items that you have added to your shopping cart
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Changes to our Cookie Statement

Any changes we may make to our Cookie Policy in the future will be posted on this page.

15 Best Low Residency MFA Programs

Author: Natalie Harris-Spencer Updated: February 18, 2023

The best low residency MFA programs offer you a more cost-effective way to complete a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. The difference between a low residency and a fully remote program is that you’ll be expected to stay on campus for short periods throughout the year, giving you greater flexibility than if you’d have either been living on campus, or full-time in front of a computer screen.

What can you expect from the best low residency MFA programs?

These programs will force you to juggle your writing time around your day job , family, and cats, while still plunging you into that writers’ life you so crave. In many ways, they’re harder than the traditional brick-and-mortar school program, in that they give you a truer flavor of what it’s like to pursue a writing career with a million other things going on in your life. They’re also far more immersive than an online-only program.

You’ll be hit with a combination of remote and in-person learning. A typical school year comprises two semesters, of which there is usually a 10-day intensive residency on campus per semester (so, two residencies per year, for two years). The time in between residencies is remote i.e. spent from your writing desk at home, where you will be paired with a mentor or smaller groups of writers. In fact, the 1:1 mentorship is a huge benefit of a low residency MFA program ; you’ll get closer attention than you would if you were in a traditional college class.

The best low residency MFA programs will offer a variety of genres , including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, popular fiction, scriptwriting, literary translation, graphic novels and comics, and writing for young people, while some allow for a dual-genre path.

While MFAs are not cheap, low residency programs are certainly on the more affordable side. Read on for 15 best low residency MFA programs, listed in alphabetical order.

1. Antioch University

Offered by AU Los Angeles, Antioch University’s low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program is dedicated to the education of literary and dramatic artists, community engagement, and the pursuit of social justice. It offers two, 10-day residencies in June and December.

2. Bard College

Bard College offers MFAs for artists in a variety of disciplines, not just writing. Each summer session runs for eight intensive weeks (there is no winter residency), and does not follow the traditional semester schedule. Most students receive some amount of financial aid, making it an attractive option for candidates.

3. Bennington College

Bennington College is widely regarded as one of the best low residency MFA programs in the United States. Residencies take place in picturesque Vermont, and their prestigious faculty includes many multi-published authors and literary prizewinners. You can elect to pursue a dual-genre path. Bennington’s residencies take place in January and June.

4. Cedar Crest College

This pan-European MFA offers a single 15-day residency at the beginning of July that rotates between Dublin, Ireland, Barcelona, Spain, and Vienna, Austria, with new locations coming soon. Unlike other programs, you’ll only attend three residencies in total, and you won’t go to the university campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania. But…you get to travel to Europe.

5. Goucher College

The only program dedicated solely to nonfiction writing, this low residency MFA attracts applicants and faculty interested in pursuing narrative, memoir, personal essay, and literary journalism. Literary agents and editors attend the two 10-day residencies in Baltimore, Maryland, and there are sponsored trips to New York to meet top publishing professionals.

6. Institute of American Indian Arts

Now in its tenth year, the emphasis with this particular Creative Writing MFA is on Native writers, voices, texts, and experience, although applications are open to all. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, it offer two 8-day residencies in January and July.

7. Lesley University

While the nine-day residencies take place in the “literary mecca” of Cambridge, Massachusetts, there’s also the opportunity for students to study abroad at a 12-day residency in rural Wales. Lesley has relationships with literary agencies and presses , so that you get a fast-track into publishing on submitting your thesis when you graduate.

8. Lindenwood University

Located in St. Charles, Missouri, Lindenwood University is unique in that there is no formal residency requirement: you can take classes fully on campus, online, or choose the low residency model. The program is more affordable than others due to its flexibility, and offers financial aid to teachers and candidates over the age of sixty.

9. New York University

Based on NYU’s campus in Paris, France, there are five, 10-day residencies held in January and July. This is one of the more expensive programs, with limited funding available. However, its faculty line-up is always incredible, and you’re paying for the prestige of Paris.

10. Pacific University

Based in Portland, Oregon, Pacific University’s MFA program places a strong emphasis on craft . It offers multiple full and partial merit-based scholarships to qualifying candidates. Residencies are in January and June.

11. Sewanee School of Letters

The model at Sewanee School of Letters in Tennessee is slightly different: you complete a single, six-week residency over the summer , which in turn is spread over the course of three to five summers, making it more affordable than other low residency programs.

12. University of New Orleans

Despite positioning itself as online MFA, the University of New Orleans is actually low residency, in that it offers a month-long residency every summer at various international locations, including Ireland and Italy.

13. University of Southern Maine (Stonecoast)

My alma mater . Stonecoast at USM offers two 10-day residencies in January and July, alongside a concurrent writers’ conference, in the picturesque town of Freeport, Maine. Its popular fiction program is especially popular with writers of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, and its WISE program (writing for inclusivity and social equity) is at the heart of its ethos. In my humble opinion, it will always be one of the best low residency MFA programs.

14. Vermont College of Fine Arts

Another Vermont entry: proof that this beautiful state inspires creativity. Residencies are nine days and take place in December and July, with past residencies going further afield: Slovenia, Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Mexico, Rome, and Asheville, North Carolina. Literary translation and dual-genre paths are available.

15. Warren Wilson College

Established in 1976, Warren Wilson is the original low residency MFA program, introducing the format to North America and the rest of the world. Consequently, it’s on the pricier end, but there are multiple grants and financial aid available. It offers two, 10-day residencies in January and July near the wonderful town of Asheville, North Carolina, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Recommended reading

Here at Aspiring Author , we love recommending bestsellers and fawning over hot new releases. On this real time recommended reading list, you will find a list of top rated books on the publishing industry, craft, and other books to help you elevate your writing career.

Weekly To-Do List: Undated 52 Week To-Do List Planner and Journal for Any Writer’s Toolbox, Managing Work Tasks, Writing Goals, or Planning Daily Routines

Yes, You Can Become an Author: Writing, Self-Publishing, and Marketing Your First Book

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

GOD IS A WITCH

Big Dream Academy - Composition Notebook Journal: College Ruled | Paperback | 7.5 x 9.25 in | 120 Pages | White Paper: Charming School Educational Notebook for Students and Teachers

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• Israel-Hamas War

My Writing Students Were Arrested at Columbia. Their Voices Have Never Been More Essential

O n April 30, 56 years after Columbia sent the police in to arrest student protesters who had taken over Hamilton Hall in protest of the Vietnam War—protests the school loves to promote—I was walking my 12-year-old daughter home after her choir performance. We had gone an extra stop on the subway because the stop at 116th, Columbia’s stop, was closed. Instead, we had to walk back to our apartment from the 125th stop. When we got within sight of Columbia, a line of dozens of police blocked our path. I asked them to let us through; I pointed to our apartment building and said we lived there. As a Columbia professor, I live in Columbia housing.

“I have my orders,” the cop in charge said.

“I live right there,” I said. “It’s my daughter’s bedtime.”

“I have my orders,” he said again.

“I’m just trying to get home,” I said.

We were forced to walk back the way we came from and circle around from another block. Luckily, our building has an entrance through the bodega in the basement. This is how I took my daughter up to her room and sent her to bed.

Read More: Columbia's Relationship With Student Protesters Has Long Been Fraught

A week earlier, I had brought some food for the students camping out on Columbia’s West Lawn and had met with similar resistance. Security guards asked whether I was really faculty; I had already swiped my faculty badge that should have confirmed my identity. They asked to take my badge, then they said I hadn’t swiped it, which I had, two seconds earlier, as they watched. They said their professors had never brought food to them before. I didn’t know what to say to this—“I’m sorry that your professors never brought you food?” They called someone and told them the number on my badge. Finally, they were forced to let me through. They said again that their professors had never brought them food. “OK,” I said, and walked into campus. I reported their behavior and never received a reply.

On April 30, after I had got my daughter to bed, my partner and I took the dog down to pee. We watched the protesters call, “Shame!” as the police went in and out of the blockade that stretched 10 blocks around campus. Earlier that day, we had seen police collecting barricades—it seemed like there would be a bit of peace. As soon as it got dark, they must have used those barricades and more to block off the 10 blocks. There were reports on campus that journalists were not allowed out of Pulitzer Hall, including Columbia’s own student journalists and the dean of the School of Journalism, under threat of arrest. Faculty and students who did not live on campus had been forbidden access to campus in the morning. There was no one around to witness. My partner and I had to use social media to see the hundreds of police in full riot gear, guns out, infiltrate Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, where protesters had holed up , mirroring the 1968 protests that had occupied the same building.

In the next few days, I was in meeting after meeting. Internally, we were told that the arrests had been peaceful and careful, with no student injuries. The same thing was repeated by Mayor Adams and CNN . Meanwhile, president Minouche Shafik had violated faculty governance and the university bylaws that she consult the executive committee before calling police onto campus. (The committee voted unanimously against police intervention .)

Read More: Columbia Cancels Main Commencement Following Weeks of Pro-Palestinian Protests

Then, Saturday morning, I got an email from a couple of writing students that they had been released from jail. I hadn’t heard that any of our students had been involved. They told me they hadn’t gotten food or water, or even their meds, for 24 hours. They had watched their friends bleed, kicked in the face by police. They said they had been careful not to damage university property. At least one cop busted into a locked office and fired a gun , threatened by what my students called “unarmed students in pajamas.”

In the mainstream media, the story was very different. The vandalism was blamed on students. Police showed off one of Oxford Press’s Terrorism: A Very Short Introduction . (This series of books offers scholarly introductions that help students prepare for classes, not how-to pamphlets teaching them to do terrorism.)

“I feel like I’m being gaslit,” one of my students said.

I teach creative writing, and I am the author of a book about teaching creative writing and the origins of creative-writing programs in the early 20th century. The oldest MFA program in the country, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, was funded by special-interest groups like the Rockefeller Foundation and, famously, the CIA, and was explicitly described by director Paul Engle as a tool to spread American values.

Read More: 'Why Are Police in Riot Gear?' Inside Columbia and City College's Darkest Night

The way we teach creative writing is essential because it shapes what kinds of narratives will be seen as valuable, pleasurable, and convincing. Today’s writing students will record how our current events become history. One of the strategies Columbia took with its police invasion was to block access of faculty, students, and press to the truth. It didn’t want any witnesses. It wanted to control the story.

For weeks, Columbia administration and the mainstream media has painted student protesters as violent and disruptive—and though there have been incidents of antisemitism, racism, and anti-Muslim hatred, including a chemical attack on pro-Palestine protesters , I visited the encampment multiple times and saw a place of joy, love, and community that included explicit teach-ins on antisemitism and explicit rules against any hateful language and action. Students of different faiths protected each other’s right to prayer. Meanwhile, wary of surveillance and the potential use of facial recognition to identify them, they covered their faces. Faculty have become afraid to use university email addresses to discuss ways to protect their students. At one point, the administration circulated documents they wanted students to sign, agreeing to self-identify their involvement and leave the encampment by a 2 p.m. deadline or face suspension or worse. In the end, student radio WKCR reported that even students who did leave the encampment were suspended.

In a recent statement in the Guardian and an oral history in New York Magazine , and through the remarkable coverage of WKCR, Columbia students have sought to take back the narrative. They have detailed the widespread support on campus for student protesters; the peaceful nature of the demonstrations; widespread student wishes to divest financially from Israel, cancel the Tel Aviv Global Center, and end Columbia’s dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University; and the administration’s lack of good faith in negotiations. As part of the Guardian statement, the student body says that multiple news outlets refused to print it. They emphasize their desire to tell their own story.

In a time of mass misinformation, writers who tell the truth and who are there to witness the truth firsthand are essential and must be protected. My students in Columbia’s writing program who have been arrested and face expulsion for wanting the university to disclose and divest, and the many other student protesters, represent the remarkable energy and skepticism of the younger generation who are committed not only to witnessing but participating in the making of a better world. Truth has power, but only if there are people around to tell the truth. We must protect their right to do so, whether or not the truth serves our beliefs. It is the next generation of writers who understand this best and are fighting for both their right and ours to be heard.

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Writers' Workshop

Jayne anne phillips wins 2024 pulitzer prize for fiction.

Written by Sara Epstein Moninger

University of Iowa alumna Jayne Anne Phillips has won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and three other Iowa Writers' Workshop graduates were named finalists for Pulitzer literary awards, which were announced May 6.

Phillips, who earned an MFA in 1978, was recognized for her novel Night Watch . The Pulitzer judges described the book as “a beautifully rendered novel set in West Virginia’s Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in the aftermath of the Civil War where a severely wounded Union veteran, a 12-year-old girl, and her mother, long abused by a Confederate soldier, struggle to heal.”

Yiyun Li, who graduated with a Master of Science in 2000 and two MFAs (fiction and nonfiction) in 2005, was a finalist in fiction for her book of short stories Wednesday’s Child . Li’s short stories and novels have won numerous awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for The Book of Goose . She currently serves as director of Princeton University’s creative writing program.

Additionally, two alumnae were recognized as finalists for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry:

Jorie Graham, who graduated with an MFA in 1978 and won a Pulitzer in 1996 for The Dream of the Unified Field , was named a finalist for To 2040 . Graham, one of the most celebrated poets of her generation, is a former longtime faculty member in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Among her poetry collections are The End of Beauty , Place , and Sea Change . She currently is the Boylston Professor of Oratory and Rhetoric at Harvard University.

Robyn Schiff, who graduated with an MFA in 1999, was named a finalist for Information Desk: An Epic , a book-length poem in three parts set in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Schiff, who has been a visiting faculty member in the UI Department of English, also is the author of Worth , Revolver , and A Woman of Property , which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She teaches at the University of Chicago and co-edits Canarium Books.

Pulitzer Prizes are awarded annually to honor achievements in journalism, literature, and music. See the full list of 2024 Pulitzer winners .

click here to read it now

Read this week's magazine

What You Won’t Learn in an MFA

An mfa can teach you skills, but will it prepare you for a writing career.

By 2018, I had written five books and decided to pursue an MFA in creative writing with a concentration in fiction. For me, earning an MFA gave me the time and space I needed to quit my day job and transition to writing full-time, but that was something I had been building toward for over a decade. Of course, I can’t speak to all MFA programs, but in many cases, they focus almost exclusively on writing skills and don’t give writers the concrete skills they need to make money writing and publishing. I often found myself answering questions for my classmates about what publishing was really like. It simply wasn’t being taught, sometimes because faculty themselves were struggling with how to navigate writing as a business.

An MFA program may be the right choice to help you become a better writer, or because you want the qualification to teach writing at a college; it may not give you insights into navigating the publishing landscape.

Here are some of the professional development skills you may need to gain outside of the classroom on your writing journey.

Getting published

Many MFA programs don’t talk to authors about the good, the bad, and the ugly in both traditional publishing and self-publishing. There is often an assumption that if you’re in an MFA program, you’ll be seeking a traditional publishing deal. But most programs also don’t teach writers the skills to query small presses or agents who can query large presses. Even as self-publishing has become an increasingly popular publishing choice, many MFA programs aren’t giving students a clear picture of what it involves.

Contracting

My MFA program was great, but never once during my studies did I hear anyone talk about how to read, negotiate, or understand a contract. As an indie author, you’ll have fewer contracts to interact with than authors who choose to traditionally publish their work, but contracts will still come up—contracts with designers who are working on your books, contracts with podcasts or magazines publishing excerpts of your work. In my MFA program, students who were publishing were left to talk with each other to try to understand how contracts work. Most writers aren’t legal experts, and we benefit from having either a private attorney or an attorney through an organization such as the Author’s Guild review our contracts. I would love to see MFA programs better prepare writers to navigate these business interactions, to negotiate writing rates, and to understand what rights we may be signing away with a particular contract.

Writing to market

The culture of MFA programs often shames or diminishes the idea of writing to market, and instead prioritizes creating literary art for the sake of art. This is a completely valid way to approach your writing life. However, if your goal is to publish your work and sell books, understanding the market and how to write books that appeal to readers is important. There’s nothing wrong with writing books with mass-market appeal, but, depending on the program you attend, you may not hear that in classes. Especially for writers considering the self-publishing route, learning how to understand current trends and how to write books that connect to them is invaluable.

Writing is your passion, and seeing your name in print might be your dream, but when it happens, your writing also becomes a business. Understanding how to manage a writing business is something that most new writers won’t have a lot of experience with. For example, when you get paid from book sales, speaking arrangements, or most anything to do with your books, taxes aren’t going to be withheld. Instead, you’ll need to put money aside to pay your taxes. MFA programs generally don’t cover these details or highlight the importance of hiring an accountant or tax professional to help you with setting up your writing business. You may need to form an LLC for your self-publishing business, open a business bank account, and file taxes appropriately for your writing work. As a self-published author, you also may need to keep records tracking orders and inventory.

Most authors are not able to make a living from books alone. Many writers are balancing a variety of different content creation and income streams. This may include teaching at a college or university (for which a terminal degree such as an MFA is required), freelance writing, and independent teaching, to name a few possibilities. The more writing programs can give MFA students the tools they need to understand the business side of their work, the more successful they will be.

Sassafras Lowrey writes fiction and nonfiction and was the recipient of the 2013 Lambda Literary Award for emerging LGBTQ writers.

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Welcome to the NYU Creative Writing Program. For more than four decades, the Creative Writing Program has distinguished itself as a leading national center for the study of literature and writing. At the heart of the program is our exceptional faculty: Catherine Barnett, Jeffrey Eugenides, Nathan Englander, Jonathan Safran Foer, Terrance Hayes, Katie Kitamura, Hari Kunzru, Deborah Landau, Sharon Olds, Claudia Rankine, Matthew Rohrer, Darin Strauss, and Ocean Vuong. Our stellar visiting faculty members in 2022-2023 will include Nuar Alsadir, Cris Beam, Marie-Helene Bertino, Alex Dimitrov, Kimiko Hahn, Uzodinma Iweala, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, David Lipsky, Sally Wen Mao, Leigh Newman, Joyce Carol Oates, Julie Orringer, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Parul Sehgal, Brandon Taylor, Hannah Tinti, Philip B. Williams, and Monica Youn.

The program is also distinguished by its talented students—many of our gifted  alums have published critically acclaimed and award-winning books.

The Creative Writing Program occupies a lovely townhouse on West 10th Street in the same Greenwich Village neighborhood where so many writers—James Baldwin, Willa Cather, Hart Crane, E.E. Cummings, Frank O’Hara, Mark Twain, Richard Wright, and Marianne Moore, to name just a few—have lived and worked.  The Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House  allows writers—established and emerging—to share their work in an inspiring setting. Students come to the house to attend events, workshops, and craft classes, and also to gather informally, seeking out quiet corners in which to read and write. The beautiful reception floor, which features skylights and stained glass, is an ideal setting for the intimate readings, literary salons, panel discussions, book parties, lectures, and seminars that are held in the house throughout the year. 

In addition to our renowned  MFA Program in Creative Writing  in New York City, the program also offers a low-residency  MFA Writers Workshop in Paris . Undergraduate students may choose to pursue our popular  Minor in Creative Writing . The program also includes innovative  literary outreach programs , teaching opportunities , a prominent  reading series  featuring over 100 writers each year, seminars with editors and publishers, two celebrated  literary journals , undergraduate writing contests,  summer writing programs  in New York, Florence, and Paris, and an exciting student reading series held at the famed KGB Bar. 

The NYU Creative Writing Program is a vital and dynamic center for writers and writing located in the heart of Greenwich Village. If you would like to learn more about our graduate programs, please email us at  [email protected] .

Celebrating the Spring 2024 MFA Graduates

Read more news.

• Post published: May 8, 2024

Three Graduating Seniors Honored as Louis B. Sudler Prize Winners

Three graduating seniors were awarded this year’s Louis B. Sudler Prize, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the performing and creative arts, including fine arts, music, creative writing, theatre, and electronic/photographic arts. 

Presented each year by the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University, recipients of the Louis B. Sudler Prize must be members of the senior graduating class and demonstrate outstanding achievement in the performing or creative arts and show promise for future achievement.

The 2024 Louis B. Sudler Prize recipients are:

Meleah Acuff

Jasmine brocks-matthews.

This year’s recipients were recognized during the Spring 2024 College of Arts & Letters commencement ceremony.

Meleah Acuff graduated in Spring 2024 from Michigan State University with a BFA in Acting for Stage, Screen, and New Media and a minor in Musical Theater. Throughout her academic journey, Acuff demonstrated exceptional talent and dedication to her craft, leaving a lasting impact on both her peers and the broader community.

As a versatile performer, Acuff excels in both dramatic and comedic roles, captivating audiences with her depth of emotion and range. Her recent portrayal of the lead role in What if Wilhelmina received high praise for its neurodiverse perspective and progressive cultural themes, further solidifying her reputation as a standout talent in the field.

In addition to her artistic achievements, Acuff is a dedicated student and supportive peer. Her commitment to community outreach and inclusion is evident in her involvement with organizations such as DIGGIN’, where she works to create a supportive space for African American women in the arts.

“Meleah’s passion for the arts is infectious, and she has a natural ability to inspire those around her,” wrote Brad Willcuts , Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre, in his nomination letter. “She approaches every project with a positive attitude and a willingness to collaborate with her fellow students and faculty. Her professionalism and work ethic are exemplary, and she is always willing to go above and beyond to ensure the success of a production.”

“Meleah’s passion for the arts is infectious, and she has a natural ability to inspire those around her…Her professionalism and work ethic are exemplary, and she is always willing to go above and beyond to ensure the success of a production.” Brad Willcuts, Associate Professor of Theatre

Looking ahead, Acuff plans to pursue a career in the performing arts, focusing on youth education through theater. Inspired by her experiences growing up, she aims to establish a non-profit organization that provides arts education opportunities for youth in marginalized communities. Through her passion for the arts and dedication to fostering community and inclusivity, Acuff is poised to make a meaningful impact in both the artistic and social spheres.

Jasmine Brocks-Matthews graduated in Spring 2024 with a BFA in Studio Art, specializing in Painting. Her passion for art ignited at the age of 5, and with unwavering encouragement from her family, she has chased her dreams.

During her sophomore year, Jasmine recognized that she had suppressed her voice in her artwork due to fear of vulnerability and judgment. Overcoming these challenges, she found solace and empowerment in art, using it to amplify her voice and shed light on the experiences of herself and others who share her identity as a Black female artist.

“In a competitive field with many worthy nominees, Jasmine stands out for the intelligence of her work, her commitment to the discipline of painting, and her potential to make a significant impact on visual culture in the United States,” wrote Tani Hartman , Chairperson of the Department of Art, Art History and Design, in her nomination letter. “Her trajectory as an artist seems clear and feasible in that we expect her to be admitted to and to attend a prestigious MFA Program and then to teach, exhibit nationally and internationally, and bring her insights regarding African American personhood within the conflicted culture and tortured history of the United States into prominent dialogue.”

“In a competitive field with many worthy nominees, Jasmine stands out for the intelligence of her work, her commitment to the discipline of painting, and her potential to make a significant impact on visual culture in the United States.” Tani Hartman, Chairperson of the Department of Art, Art History and Design

Recognized for her exceptional talent and dedication to painting, Brocks-Matthews already has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. Brocks-Matthews commitment to her craft and ambition to challenge herself also made her a standout candidate for the Ralph Henrickson Award, an honor bestowed upon the top senior painting student.

Following graduation, Brocks-Matthews is now taking a gap year to continue her artistic journey and is applying to MFA graduate programs. She aims to further explore and amplify the untold stories of Black individuals. She aspires for her art to bring about positive change and healing within her community, believing that vulnerability holds its own beauty.

Doug Mains, a nontraditional student in his mid-30s, plans to graduate from Michigan State University in December 2024 with a B.A. in English, focusing on Creative Writing, and a minor in Linguistics. Despite the challenges of balancing family responsibilities and financial obligations, Mains decided to return to school to pursue his passion for writing, a journey fueled by his lifelong dedication to the written word.

From a young age, Mains found solace and expression through songwriting. At age 18, he began performing, recording albums, and touring the country. In 2013, he entered and was selected for the finals of a songwriting contest in Decatur, Georgia, and won second place next to the now-famous Tyler Childers.

However, his true calling emerged when he rediscovered his love for writing. Mains honed his craft through self-study, participation in writer’s groups, and freelance writing before embarking on his academic journey at MSU.

“Doug is an exemplary nonfiction writer. He is an avid reader and deft literary critic who is able to analyze the structures and rhetorical turns in a piece of writing and then try them out in his work,” wrote Department of English faculty Professor Robin Silbergleid , Assistant Professor Tim Conrad , and Associate Professor and Director of Creative Writing Divya Victor in Mains’ nomination letter. “This is not to say that his writing is derivative; rather, that he’s the rare student among the creative writing concentration who understands the centrality of literary history to the production of original creative work.”

“Doug is an exemplary nonfiction writer. He is an avid reader and deft literary critic who is able to analyze the structures and rhetorical turns in a piece of writing and then try them out in his work.” Robin Silbergleid, Tim Conrad, and Divya Victor, Department of English faculty

Beyond his academic achievements, Mains is a central figure in the creative writing community at MSU. His participation in Live Lit, an undergraduate reading series, showcases his multifaceted artistic talents, including his musical prowess and lyrical depth.

As he prepares to graduate, Mains is poised to make a significant impact in the literary world. His dedication to his craft, intellectual curiosity, and artistic vision set him apart as a leader and innovator in creative writing. With aspirations to pursue an MFA and a career in teaching and publishing, Mains’ journey is a testament to his unwavering commitment to the art of storytelling.

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