Writing Classes, MFAs, and Instruction:

Education Resources - MFA Writing Programs - Online Programs - Other Writing Programs

 

Education Resources

• Algonkian Novel Workshops: The most unique and craft-focused writer conferences and workshops in the U.S.
  
  
• Creative Writing Search: USNews search for the best creative writing programs.
  
  
• Web Del Sol: Provides a list of select Universities that offer writing programs. Highlights writing from students in the various programs.
  
  
• The Association of Writers and Writing Programs: Provides a list of member academic insitutions who offer accredited writing programs.
  
  
• Creative Writing Graduate Schools: List of programs and access to descriptions and contact information.
  
  

MFA in Creative Writing and University Writing Programs

Universities and colleges offer a variety of MFA and creative writing programs. Many univerities now offer a low-residency MFA. In these programs, much of the coursework is done remotely, usually online. Students in the program then gather several times per year on campus to meet the faculty, their fellow students, and to hold workshops and seminars.

Other MFA programs meet in the evenings so that students can maintain a full-time job. Other programs are more traditional, and require students to meet in-person to workshop their writing and meet with professors and peers.

Below is a list of MFA programs. We'll be adding more detail in the future:

• Bread Loaf School of English: Part of Middlebury College, Bread Loaf is associated with the famour Bread Loaf Writer's Conference.
  
  
• Fairleigh Dickinson - Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing: Offers 10 days of on-campus instruction per year with the rest of the coursework done via online modules.
  
  
• Hollins University: Each year accepts 12 people into this program who have a strong interest in and aptitude for writing and literary study. Over the past 10 years, graduates have published some 200 books. Among the many publishing writers who have graduated from the program are Pulitzer Prize winners Annie Dillard and Henry Taylor.
  
  
• Northern Arizona University: This is a Master of English with an emphasis on creative writing.
  
  
• Northwestern University: Northwestern's School of Continuing Studies offers two graduate degrees for students of creative writing: the Master of Arts in Creative Writing (MA) and the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA). Students in both programs work closely with faculty through workshops and individual mentoring. As part-time degree programs with committed, established faculty, the MA and MFA curricula offer the best features of residential and low-residency programs.
  
  
• University of Iowa Writer's Workshop: Highly ranked program.
  
  
• Rutgers-Newark, MFA in Creative Writing: 48 credit hour, studio/research program, which means writers study literature as they endeavor to write it.



• University of Nebraska MFA in Creative Writing: Four semester program with four 16-week semesters and five 10 day conference style residencies.



• University of Wisconsin - Madison: Creative Writing Program: Well regarded writing program that provides students with a BA with concentration in Creative Writing or Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) of Creative Writing.
  
  
• Western Michigan University: Western Michigan University’s small, selective, and unusually collegial graduate programs in creative writing offer a three-year (48-hour) Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing in four genres: fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and poetry.
  
  
• Naropa Unversity MFA in Creative Writing: Low-residency program offered at program founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman.
  
  
• Queen's University of Charlotte MFA Program: Low-residency program designed with remote work and occasional on campus seminars.
  
  

Online Writing Programs

• Barnes and Noble University: Online University sponsored by bookseller.
  
  
• Absolute Write University: Online university dedicated to creating an extraordinary resource for writers.
  
  
• Alicia Rasley's Writing Corner: Instruction from a former winner of the RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America.
  
  
• WritingClasses.com Writing classes online from the Gotham Writer's Workshop.
  
  
• Erma Bombeck's Writers Workshop: The workshop for humor writing, human interest writing, networking and getting published.
  
  
• University of Wisconsin Online Writing Workshop: Offered by Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies. Enroll anytime, study at your own pace. Take up to a year to finish the course.
  
  
• Writer OnLine Learning Center: Writing classes ranging from "Business Communication in the Digital Environment" to "Use Novel Elements Successfully" and "Get Published".
  
  
• Writers.com: Offering classes since 1995. Says it is the first private writing school on the Internet.
  
  
• Writer's Online Workshops: Get professional writing instruction from Writer's Digest with Writers Online Workshops.
  
  
• The Writer's Studio: Fiction and Poetry writing workshops.
  
  

Other Writing Programs

• Vermont Studio Center Writing Residencies: Founded by artists in 1984, the Vermont Studio Center is the largest international artists' and writers' Residency Program in the United States, hosting 50 visual artists and writers each month from across the country and around the world.