columbia college chicago mfa creative writing

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Columbia College Chicago

Illinois, united states.

Columbia College Chicago's undergraduate program in Creative Writing and MFA in Creative Writing program provide an extraordinary, collaborative learning environment. Our programs are led by nationally and internationally known faculty members who teach, live, and write in one of the most celebrated literary and artistic cities in the world. Each studio/academic program emphasizes students' own writing and craft (in workshops and craft seminars) along with possibilities for cross-genre writing, and each program is balanced with the study of literature, form, and theory.

We emphasize a small, intimate experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels, ensuring close attention from the faculty and a cohesive and supportive environment in which to grow as a writer. Undergraduate and graduate students at Columbia College Chicago are supported by an unusual richness of faculty resources and perspectives, including the opportunity to meet visiting writers who read for the Efroymson Creative Writing Reading Series, one of the most dynamic, cross-genre series in Chicago. The writers and poets who teach in our programs are well-published and professionally active, and they highly value mentoring both inside and outside the classroom. This characteristic of our program sets us apart from other arts-centered schools at which faculty are often part-time or visiting rather than permanent faculty. Our graduates consistently praise the cohesion, faculty support, and vibrant sense of community in the English and Creative Writing Department.

We offer a variety of funding opportunities to our incoming graduate students, which range from tuition discounts to full tuition awards. We also offer Graduate Assistantships that include valuable experience working with our faculty members. Thanks to our Graduate Student Instructorship (GSI) program, students may elect to take Teaching Methods and Pedagogies, a semester-long course offered every fall and taught by exceptionally dedicated full-time, tenured faculty. This course provides invaluable grounding in the theoretical and practical elements of teaching Writing and Rhetoric at the undergraduate level; students are mentored closely throughout the course and, as well, when they begin (on an optional basis, of course) teaching one section of Writing and Rhetoric the following semester. Students are paid to teach and may continue to teach during their time as graduate students, provided the Teaching Methods and Pedagogies course has been successfully completed. Continuing graduate students may apply for the Albert P. Weisman Award, the Diversity Award, the Graduate Opportunity Award, and the Nathan Breitling Poetry Fellowship.

columbia college chicago mfa creative writing

Contact Information

Columbia College Chicago English and Creative Writing Department 600 S Michigan Ave Chicago Illinois, United States 60605-1996 Phone: 312-369-8119 Email: [email protected] www.colum.edu/ecw

Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing +

Undergraduate program director.

Creative Writing majors at Columbia College Chicago are encouraged to push boundaries and redefine borders. Understanding the important connection between aesthetic and professional concerns, the program is designed to prepare students for both a wide range of creative endeavors as well as careers where effective communication and creative problem-solving skills are crucial. All students are encouraged to bring their background to bear as they work with faculty to develop individual voice and vision. The program also fosters a strong sense of social awareness and commitment as it seeks to influence and contribute to the literary and cultural community locally, nationally, and internationally.

By choosing a concentration in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, students are immersed in their preferred mode of writing while also doing work within all genres, developing skills that transfer across and bolster all forms of effective writing. Through the Writer’s Portfolio class and a capstone thesis project, students create a substantial manuscript and begin to identify opportunities for further study as well as career paths. The program’s Publishing Lab supplements the Creative Writing coursework by providing students with information about and access to the contemporary literary marketplace.

Creative Writing concentrations:

• Fiction: Students develop a wide-ranging creative practice in writing while engaging with classic and contemporary novels, short stories and experimental texts. They also develop critical reading and writing skills from the study of a variety of literary forms and genres. Workshops in popular genres such as Science Fiction, Fantasy, Graphic Storytelling, Young Adult and others exist for interested students, as well.

• Nonfiction: Students build a foundation on the history, forms, genres and techniques vital to producing nonfiction work, and are exposed to the evolving role of nonfiction writing in the literary landscape as they create a body of work.

• Poetry: Students discover their own voice as a poet as they develop their craft. Students’ creativity is grounded in the history of poetry, poetics and a wide range of writing approaches.

The program starts with two workshops, Foundations in Creative Writing and Beginning Workshop, which lay the groundwork for successful writing through experimentation with a number of different writing styles and forms. Literature and Craft and Process seminars build connections between effective reading and effective writing of a diverse body of published work. Elective courses throughout Columbia, in the visual and performing arts, new media, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and other areas, enhance student understanding of how writing informs a variety of art forms as well as contemporary conversations on social and cultural change.

The Creative Writing program also offers professional development opportunities through publishing, editing and production classes; editorial work on Columbia’s nationally distributed student publications; and writing related internships that can count toward major requirements. During their capstone semester, Creative Writing majors complete a substantial manuscript in the Thesis Workshop class, while continuing to take part in opportunities for further creative and professional development in publishing, writing related activities, and live readings and performances around campus.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing +

Graduate program director, lisa fishman.

Lisa Fishman (Associate Professor—Poetry) is the author of six collections of poetry, most recently 24 Pages and other poems (Wave Books, 2015). Her earlier books are The Happiness Experiment; F L O W E R C A R T; Dear, Read (all on Ahsahta Press); Current (Parlor Press); and The Deep Heart's Core Is a Suitcase (New Issues Press). Her second book (Dear, Read) was chosen by Brenda Hillman in the Sawtooth Poetry Competition; Fishman has also published several chapbooks: At the same time as scattering (Albion Books), Lining (Boxwood Editions), KabbaLoom (Wyrd Press), and 'The Holy Spirit does not deal in synonimes': Elizabeth Barrett's Marginalia in Her Greek and Hebrew Bibles (Parcel Press). Fishman's recent work appears in The Chicago Review, Volt, 1913, Omniverse and elsewhere; she has been anthologized in Best American Experimental Writing (BAX) 2014 (Omnidawn), The Arcadia Project: North American Postmodern Pastoral (Ahsahta); The Ecopoetry Anthology (Trinity University Press); Poets on Teaching (University of Iowa Press); American Poetry: The Next Generation (Carnegie Mellon Poetry Series), and others. Lately Fishman has been presenting papers and leading discussions at such venues at "Poetics: (The Next) 25 Years" (SUNY Buffalo, 2016); "Form and Formation: Fall Convergence 2016" (University of Washington Bothell), and "Teaching Against Commodification" (Desert Poetry Gathering, Los Angeles, 2017). She is currently completing her seventh book and teaching a graduate craft seminar on Poetry and the Novel and an undergraduate class on Death & Dying. Fishman, who was Lorine Niedecker Poet in Residence on Blackhawk Island during her last sabbatical, will complete her yoga instruction certification by Fall, 2018; she is also active in a community theater devoted to performing uncut works by Shakespeare and Dickens in Madison, near her farm in Orfordville, Wisconsin.

colum.edu/ecw

Tony Trigilio

Tony Trigilio’s (Professor—Poetry) most recent collection of poetry is Inside the Walls of My Own House (BlazeVOX [books], 2016). He is the editor of Dispatches from the Body Politic: Interviews with Jan Beatty, Meg Day, and Douglas Kearney (Essay Press, 2016), a collection of interviews from his poetry podcast Radio Free Albion. His other books include, most recently, White Noise (Apostrophe Books, 2013), and, as editor, Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments (Ahsahta Press, 2014). He also is the author of two books of criticism, Allen Ginsberg's Buddhist Poetics (Southern Illinois University Press, 2012) and Strange Prophecies Anew: Rereading Apocalypse in Blake, H.D., and Ginsberg (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2000). With Tim Prchal, he co-edited the anthology, Visions and Divisions: American Immigration Literature, 1870-1930 (Rutgers University Press, 2008). He chaired the Columbia College Chicago Creative Writing Department from 2015-17.

David Trinidad

David Trinidad (Professor—Poetry) is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry. His most recent collection is Swinging on a Star, published in the fall of 2017 by Turtle Point Press. His other titles include Notes on a Past Life (BlazeVOX [books], 2016), Peyton Place: A Haiku Soap Opera (Turtle Point Press, 2013), and Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems (Turtle Point, 2011). His poems have been included in The Best American Poetry (2013, 2010, 1991), The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology, Readings in Contemporary Poetry: An Anthology of Poems Read at Dia 2010-2016, and many other anthologies. Trinidad has also published five collaborations with other poets. These include Descent of the Dolls: Part I with Jeffery Conway and Gillian McCain (BlazeVOX, 2017) and By Myself: An Autobiography with D.A. Powell (Turtle Point, 2009). He is the editor of A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos (Nightboat Books, 2011), which won a Lambda Literary Award. Trinidad’s most recent editorial project is Punk Rock Is Cool for the End of the World: The Poems and Notebooks of Ed Smith. His essays on Sylvia Plath and other topics have appeared in The American Poetry Review, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Harriet (the Poetry Foundation’s blog), Tin House, and elsewhere. A film by John Bresland based on Trinidad’s Peyton Place: A Haiku Soap Opera was recently screened at the first annual Marfa Poetry Festival.

Don DeGrazia

Don De Grazia (Associate Professor—Fiction) is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, American Skin (Scribner/Jonathan Cape). His work has appeared in TriQuarterly, The Chicago Quarterly Review, The Prague Review, The Rumpus, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Reader, Newcity, The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, The Italian American Reader, Fifth Wednesday, The Great Lakes Review, Make Magazine, and other publications. He is also a screenwriter in the Writers Guild of America (east) and co-founder/co-host of “Come Home Chicago,” a live event series dedicated to celebrating the Chicago storytelling tradition in all its forms. Creatives, a play written by De Grazia and Irvine Welsh, had its world premiere at The 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was shortlisted for the Music Theater Review Best Musical Award.

Eric Charles May (Associate Professor—Fiction) is the author of the novel Bedrock Faith, which was named a Notable African-American Title by Publishers Weekly, and a Top Ten Debut Novel for 2014 by Booklist Magazine. A 2015 recipient of the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, May is a former reporter for The Washington Post. His fiction has also appeared in Fish Stories, Solstice, Hypertext, Flyleaf Journal, F, and Criminal Class magazines, and in the anthology We Speak Chicagoese. In addition to his Post reporting, his nonfiction has appeared in Sport Literate, Chicago Tribune, and the personal essay anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious By A Low-Flying Duck. He has taught at the Stonecoast, Solstice, Northwestern University, and Chicago writers’ conferences, and in Chicago he’s read personal essays with 2nd Story, That’s All She Wrote, and done oral tellings at the Grown Folks’ Stories and Here’s the Story personal essay programs.

Joe Meno (Professor—Fiction) is a fiction writer and playwright who lives in Chicago. He is the winner of the Nelson Algren Literary Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Great Lakes Book Award, and a finalist for the Story Prize. He is the author of several novels and short story collections including Marvel and A Wonder, Office Girl, The Great Perhaps, The Boy Detective Fails, and Hairstyles of the Damned. His nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times and Chicago Magazine. His plays have been produced in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Paris, France. He is a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago.

www.joemeno.com/

Alexis Pride

Alexis Pride (Associate Professor—Fiction) is the author of the novel Where the River Ends, and received the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Award for her short story "Fried Buffalo." She has served as former Director of Curriculum Planning at the Saturday Academy and was a consultant for the Chicago Public Schools through the Chicago Teachers Center at Northeastern Illinois University. She earned her Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Shawn Shiflett

Shawn Shiflett (Associate Professor—Fiction) is the author of the novel Hidden Place (Akashic Books), which has received rave reviews from newspapers, literary magazines, and Connie Martinson Talks Books, (national cable television, UK and Ireland). Library Journal included Hidden Place in “Summer Highs, Fall Firsts,” a 2004 list of most successful debuts. He received an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship for his work and was a three-time Finalist for the James novel-in-progress contest, sponsored by the Heekin Group Foundation. New City Newspaper elected Shiflett to their Chicago Lit 50 list, an annual ranking of top figures in the Chicago Literary scene. His essay, “The Importance of Reading to Your Writing” (Creative Writing Studies, UK) was published in 2013. His recently published novel, Hey, Liberal!, a story about a white boy going to a predominately African American high school in Chicago during the late 1960’s, has received rave reviews and acclaim from Booklist, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Review, Newcity Lit, Windy City Review, Mary Mitchell (Chicago Sun-Times), Rick Kogan (WGN Radio), and others.

https://www.shawnshiflett.com/

CM Burroughs

CM Burroughs (Assistant Professor—Poetry) is the author of The Vital System, and has been awarded fellowships and grants from organizations including Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, Djerassi Foundation, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Cave Canem Foundation. She has received commissions from the Studio Museum of Harlem and the Warhol Museum to create poetry in response to art installations. Her poetry has appeared in journals and anthologies including Poetry, Callaloo, jubilat, Ploughshares, VOLT, Bat City Review, The Golden Shovel Anthology, Revising The Psalm Anthology, and Best American Experimental Writing Anthology. Burroughs is a graduate of Sweet Briar College, and she earned her MFA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Aviya Kushner

Aviya Kushner (Associate Professor—Nonfiction) is the author of the book The Grammar of God: A Journey Into the Words and Worlds of the Bible (Spiegel & Grau). Her essays and stories have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Gulf Coast, Partisan Review, Poets & Writers, A Public Space, The Wilson Quarterly, and Zoetrope: All-Story. Her poems have appeared in Harvard Review, Literary Imagination, The Jerusalem Post, Poetry International, and Salamander. She is a contributing editor at A Public Space and a mentor for The National Yiddish Book Center.

aviyakushner.com/

Terence Brunk

Terence Brunk earned a Ph.D. in Literatures in English from Rutgers University, where he concentrated on Gothic fiction, gender studies, and literary and cultural theory. He joined the faculty at Columbia College Chicago in 1998. He currently serves as coordinator of the Literature Program in the English Department, and he participates in the interdisciplinary Cultural Studies program.Dr. Brunk is co-editor of the composition text Literacies (W.W. Norton, 2000). He has published and presented research on a broad range of issues in literature and culture from the early modern period to the present. Ongoing interests include constructions of gender and gender ideology; the operations of narrative in a variety of forms and historical contexts; and the promise and challenges of digital technologies for literature, education, civil liberties, and democratic culture.His frequently-taught courses include Introduction to Poetry, Shakespeare, Literature and the Culture of Cyberspace, Topics in the Novel, Romantic Poets, and Literature and Gaming.

Madhurima Chakraborty

Dr. Madhurima Chakraborty is Assistant Professor in the English literature and Cultural Studies programs at Columbia College Chicago. Her research and teaching interests include Postcolonial, Indian Diaspora, and British literature. She guest edited (with Dr. Umme Al-wazedi) a Special Issue of South Asian Review on Nation and Its Discontents, and her scholarly work has been published in Literature/Film Quarterly, South Asian Review, and Journal of Contemporary Literature. Degrees:

B.A., English University of Southern Mississippi 2001

M.A., English University of Florida 2003

Ph.D., English University of Minnesota- Twin Cities 2010

Dr. Daley received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1993. A teacher of literature, poetry, literary theory, composition and rhetoric at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, he was the recipient of the 1999 Outstanding Teaching Award from Ohio University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Daley is a scholar of nineteenth century British literature and his recent publications include his 2001 book, The Rescue of Romanticism: Walter Pater and John Ruskin, as well as a number of scholarly articles, encyclopedia entries, and papers delivered at conferences in Canada, England, and the United States. Degrees:

B.A., Political Science University of Pennsylvania 1984

M.A., New York University 1987

Ph.D., English and American Literature New York University 1993

Jim DeRogatis

James DeRogatis is an American music critic and co- host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He joined Columbia College Chicago's English Department as a lecturer in the fall of 2010.

jimdero.com/

Ames Hawkins

Ames Hawkins is a transgenre writer, educator, and art activist. An Associate Professor and Interim Associate Chair in the Department of English at Columbia College Chicago, she teaches courses in the Writing and Rhetoric, and Cultural Studies, and Literature Programs. Ames earned a PhD in English Studies (Composition and Rhetoric) at Wayne State University, a Master’s in Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in American Culture at The University of Michigan.

https://www.ameshawkins.com/

Matt McCurrie

Matthew Kilian McCurrie received his Ph.D. in English Studies from Illinois State University. Matt currently coordinates the Graduate Student Instructor program and teaches courses in the writing and literature programs. Matt’s research interests include writing pedagogy, biblical and religious rhetoric, and English Education. He has published in College Composition and Communication, Pedagogy, Journal of Basic Writing, English Education, Composition Forum, The Journal of Writing Teacher Education, The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, and Journal of Expanded Perspectives on Learning. He has also published in edited collections on English teacher education and recently collaborated with other faculty to write a new first year writing textbook, Key Concepts in Writing and Rhetoric (2014). Among his recent and forthcoming publications are “When Shift Happens: Creating Adaptive, Reflective, and Confident Writers” in Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care (forthcoming August 2015) and “Determining the Limits of Apology: The Sexual Abuse Crisis in Ireland’s Catholic Church” in The International Journal of Religion andSpirituality in Society (August 2013). Matt also regularly presents his research at NCTE, CCCC, and RSA conferences.

Tom Nawrocki

Tom Nawrocki has an M.A. from Loyola University and has taught at Columbia for nearly 25 years. As Coordinator of the Professional Writing Program from the late 1990s until Fall, 2004, he has been instrumental in coordinating the English Department's participation in such activities as Creative Nonfiction Week, held every fall. He has published articles and reviews in The Associated Writing Program Chronicle, Another Chicago Magazine, Hyphen and Shadowboxing. Tom teaches such courses as Careers in Writing, Expository Writing: The Personal Essay, and Literature of the Vietnam War. He has also participated in innovative team-teaching courses on the Vietnam War and the Beat Generation. Tom has recently been awarded grants to visit Vietnam as part of an ongoing cultural exchange. He is currently working on a book of nonfiction.

Jeanne Petrolle

Jeanne Petrolle, Ph.D. received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her first book, Women and Experimental Filmmaking (University of Illinois 2005), is an edited collection of essays exploring women’s contributions to the tradition of experimental filmmaking. Her second book, Religion without Belief: Contemporary Allegory and the Search for Postmodern Faith (SUNY, 2007), examines how virtual reality movies, feminist experimental novels, avant-garde feminist film, and Amerindian novels use allegory to entertain religious questions for a postmodern world. She has published articles and essays about post-1960s literature, film, and painting in such scholarly and literary journals as Journal of Modern Greek Studies, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Image: A Journal of Art and Religion, and Calyx, and to a variety of anthologies covering contemporary literature, film, and the teaching of writing.

Petrolle’s current book manuscript, “Dancing with Ophelia: Reconnecting Madness, Creativity, and Love,” is presently under review. An excerpt from the manuscript appeared in Hektoen: A Journal of The Medical Humanities. Petrolle’s current research contributes to the emerging field of the medical humanities, a transdisciplinary intellectual project that applies insights drawn from literature, philosophy, art, religion, and history to the study and practice of medicine. Combining feminist theory, Jungian psychoanalytics, and cross-cultural psychiatry with close reading and participant-observer ethnographic methodology, “Dancing with Ophelia” problematizes the medicalization of madness as “mental illness.” The manuscript seeks to enhance contemporary understanding and treatment of mental illness by exploring portrayals of madness in literature and art, focusing on the life and work of two artists who experienced psychiatric crises.

Petrolle teaches Introduction to Cultural Studies, Literature/Culture/Power, Literature and Visual Culture, Literature and Film, and a range of courses in women’s literature, twentieth century literature, and the Bible as Literature.

Doug Reichert Powell

Doug Reichert Powell has received degrees in English from Northeastern University (Ph.D. ’99), East Tennessee State University (M.A. ’92) and Washington and Lee University (B.A. ’90). His interest in social constructions of place and region (especially the southern Appalachian mountains) underwrites his research and writing in landscape, literature, popular culture, critical pedagogy. His publications and presentations cover subjects ranging from the 1998 manhunt for Eric Rudolph to the 1916 hanging of a circus elephant. Doug's book, Critical Regionalism: Connecting Politics and Culture in the American Landscape (University of North Carolina Press, 2007) has been read and cited across a broad interdisciplinary spectrum, from American Studies to Public Health to Arts Education to Geography. Composing Other Spaces, a collection of essays about place and writing pedagogy Doug co-edited with John Paul Tassoni, appeared in Hampton Press’s “Research and Teaching in Composition and Rhetoric” series in 2008. In addition to publishing essays and reviews in a variety of scholarly journals, he has served as co-editor (with Anthony Harkins and Katherine Ledford) of the Media section of The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (University of Tennessee Press, 2006). Doug is currently at work on a documentary writing project about commercial caverns (or "show caves," as they are known in the trade) in the valley-and-ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains.

Doug teaches literature courses such as the graduate seminar in Place, Space, and Landscape; Literature & Environment; Literature and Film; and The American Novel, as well as writing courses including Writing and Rhetoric I and II and Reviewing the Arts. In the Cultural Studies Program, Doug teaches Introduction to Cultural Studies and the Capstone seminar.

Prior to joining the faculty of Columbia College Chicago English department, Doug was associate director of the University Writing Program at Duke University, and has also taught at Miami University of Ohio, Northeastern, East Tennessee State, and Northeast State Community College (Tenn.).

Brendan Riley

Brendan joined the English faculty in Fall, 2004. He teaches writing, new media, and cultural studies classes, as well as a j-session course called “Zombies in Popular Media.” He earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida, where he studied film and media studies as well as rhetoric and composition. Brendan's research interests include: writing, new media, popular culture studies, detective fiction, and zombies, among others.

Brendan has written a number of essays for print and online publications on a variety of subjects, from superhero comics to rhetoric in the digital age. His latest work, a monograph, is forthcoming from McFarland press. He serves on the executive board of the Midwest Popular Culture Association, and serves as the Executive Director of Operations for the Popular Culture Association. On the creative side, Brendan is part of a game design collective called Rattlebox games, which successfully kickstarted its first game in November of 2015. He also dabbles in web application programming and content-management systems. He maintains a website at http://www.curragh-labs.org/

Hilary Sarat-St Peter

B.A., Psychology Saint Mary's College 2002

Ph.D., English Wayne State University 2012

Jeff Schiff

Jeff Schiff holds a PhD in English from SUNY Binghamton (1983). He has taught creative and professional writing, literature, and oral communications at Columbia College, Northern Arizona University, Purdue University, McNeese State University, Binghamton University, and the University of Texas at El Paso.

Jeff is the author of That hum to go by (MAMMOTH books, 2012), Mixed Diction (MAMMOTH books, 2009), Burro Heart (MAMMOTH books, 2004), Rats of Patzcuaro (Poetry Link, 2003), The Homily of Infinitude (Pennsylvania English, 1999), Resources for Writing About Literature (HarperCollins, 1991), and Anywhere in this Country (MAMMOTH Press, 1981). His poetry and prose have also appeared in numerous periodicals—including Grand Street, The Ohio Review, Poet & Critic, The Louisville Review, Tendril, Pembroke Magazine, Carolina Review, Chicago Review, Hawaii Review, Southern Humanities Review, River City, Indiana Review, and The Southwest Review.

During his tenure at Columbia, Jeff has also served as the Director of the Composition program, Director of Graduate Studies in English, Coordinator of Technology in English, College-wide Graduate/Undergraduate Director of Outcomes Assessment, and Director of Technology for the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Jeff teaches such courses as Writing for New Media, Writing for the Workplace, Writing Digital Content, Introduction to Poetry, and Introduction to Short Story.

Although I was born in Alabama, I moved to Taiwan at the age of five and lived there for eighteen years. I am fluent in Mandarin and English and intermediate in Japanese and French. This rich mix of culture and language has driven me to pursue academic degrees, affiliate with English Education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) educational organizations, and engage in a scholarly career related to teaching and learning in TESOL. These academic and cultural experiences have driven me to become an educator of Writing and Rhetoric, Applied Linguistics, Oral Expression Learning, and a mentor of pre-service language teachers; conduct research and teach in the field of ESL/EFL curriculum; continue to be an activist-academic and link research, theory, and practice in the field of Writing and Rhetoric programs; have various experiences in teaching, advising, and collaborating with undergraduate and graduate students; and have knowledge and am also qualified to develop curriculum and instruction in multilingual writing and teacher training programs. I am confident to provide leadership within the department on issues related to the education of not only traditional students, but also ESL students in First-Year Writing courses and Writing Center programs.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Soochow University in Taiwan with a cumulative GPA of 3.8. I earned a Master’s degree in Learning and Instruction, specializing in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at the State University of New York at Buffalo with a cumulative GPA of 3.9. My strong academic enthusiasm encouraged me to pursue a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in the Department of Teacher Education, specializing in Second Language Education and TESOL at Ohio University. I graduated from the doctoral degree with a GPA of 3.9. I currently serve as a director of English as an Additional Language Program at English Department in Columbia College Chicago.

Publications & Presses +

Visiting writers program +.

Creative Writing Reading Series Readers have included Mary Gaitskill, T.J. Jarrett, Camille T. Dungy, Sharon Solwitz, Desiree Cooper, Ishion Hutchinson, Dan Chaon, Duriel Harris, Mickey Hess, Meg Day, Halimah Marcus and Jac Jemc (Publishing Colloquium), Kate Greenstreet, Richard Meier, Carmen Giménez Smith, Shanna Compton, Nick Twemlow, Charles D’Ambrosio, Chad Sweeney, Peter Davis, Mary Ruefle, Peggy Shinner, R. Erica Doyle, Molly Haskell, D.J. Waldie, Ronaldo Wilson, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Nina Revoyr, John Gallaher, Joshua Clover, Adam Johnson, Brigid Hughes, Jesmyn Ward, Kelly Link, Ladan Osman, Tarfia Faizullah, Tobias Wolff, Tracy K. Smith, Jennifer Moxley, Sarah Manguso, among others.

Reading Series +

The Efroymson Creative Writing Reading Series ( https://www.colum.edu/academics/initiatives/creative-writing-reading-series )

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English and Creative Writing Department

Chicago, IL

English and Creative Writing Department / English and Creative Writing Department is located in Chicago, IL.

Degrees & Awards

Degrees offered.

Degree	Concentration	Sub-concentration
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)	Poetry
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)	Nonfiction
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)	Fiction
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)	Creative writing

Earning Your Degree

Part-time study available?
Evening/weekend programs available?
Distance learning programs available?	No

Degree Requirements

Degree	Requirement
Master's Degrees	Thesis Required

Acceptance Rate

Application deadlines.

Type	Domestic	International	Priority date
Fall deadline	January 15th	January 15th	Yes

Entrance Requirements

Exam	Details
Master's Degree Requirements	Self-assessment essay, work samples, letters of recommendation, transcripts
Exam	Details
TOEFL: Required	TOEFL IBT score: 90	');
IELTS: Required	IELTS Paper score: 7

Tuition & Fees

Financial support.

Application deadlines for financial awards	January 15
Types of financial support available	Scholarship and/or loans Graduate Assistantships Career or field-related internships Federal Work-Study

Student Body

Race/ethnicity.

Hispanic/Latino	5.71%
Black or African American	24.29%
White or Caucasian	54%
American Indian or Alaska Native	0%
Asian	4.29%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	0%
Two or more races	4.29%
Unknown	2.86%

Location & Contact

Grad Schools
Search Results
Columbia College Chicago
School of Graduate Studies

Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago

Creative writing degrees available at columbia, columbia creative writing rankings.

Ranking Type	Rank
	15
	16
	42
	50
	50
	51
	69
	72
	75
	78
	80
	82
	84
	89
	91
	97
	98
	98
	114
	121
	126
	128
	129
	136
	136
	144
	157
	166
	175
	177
	178
	184
	190

Popularity of Creative Writing at Columbia

Columbia creative writing students, columbia creative writing bachelor’s program.

Of the 50 students who earned a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing from Columbia in 2020-2021, 22% were men and 78% were women.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a bachelor's in creative writing.

Ethnic Background	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	6
Hispanic or Latino	8
White	30
Non-Resident Aliens	0
Other Races	6

Columbia Creative Writing Master’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 19 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Columbia. About 32% were men and 68% were women.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a master's in creative writing.

Ethnic Background	Number of Students
Asian	2
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	10
Non-Resident Aliens	1
Other Races	0

Popular Reports

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Columbia College Chicago

Aug 07, 2024

2023-2024 Catalog

2023-2024 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Creative Writing, BA
English, BA
Creative Writing, MFA
Creative Writing Minor
Literature Minor
Professional Writing Minor
CRWR 101 Explorations in Creative Writing
CRWR 105 Story Across Culture and Media
CRWR 110 Foundations in Creative Writing
CRWR 112 Tutoring Fiction Writing Skills
CRWR 120A Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Topics
CRWR 120B Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Topics
CRWR 120C Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Topics
CRWR 121 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: First Novels
CRWR 122 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Gender and Difference
CRWR 123 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: The Novel in Stories
CRWR 127 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: American Voices
CRWR 129 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Autobiographical Fiction
CRWR 130 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Crime & Story
CRWR 132 Story in Fiction and Film: International
CRWR 133 Story in Graphic Forms
CRWR 134 Young Adult Fiction
CRWR 135 Dreams and Fiction Writing
CRWR 138 Science Fiction Writing
CRWR 140 Story and Journal
CRWR 141 Fantasy Writing Workshop
CRWR 143 Journal and Sketchbook: Ways of Seeing
CRWR 144A Topics in Fiction Writing
CRWR 144B Topics in Fiction Writing
CRWR 144C Topics in Fiction Writing
CRWR 150 Fiction Workshop: Beginning
CRWR 155 Poetry Workshop: Beginning
CRWR 160 Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Beginning
CRWR 199A Topics in Creative Writing
CRWR 199B Topics in Creative Writing
CRWR 199C Topics in Creative Writing
CRWR 215 Freelance Applications of Creative Writing Training
CRWR 216 Small Press Publishing
CRWR 220 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Novelists
CRWR 221 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Short Story
CRWR 222 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Women Writers
CRWR 223 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Fiction Writers and Censorship
CRWR 233 Researching and Writing Historical Fiction
CRWR 239 Dialects and Fiction Writing
CRWR 242A Topics in Nonfiction
CRWR 242B Topics in Nonfiction
CRWR 249 Nonfiction Film As Literature
CRWR 250 Fiction Workshop: Intermediate
CRWR 255 Poetry Workshop: Intermediate
CRWR 260 Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Intermediate
CRWR 288 Practice Teaching: Tutor Training
CRWR 315 Creative Writers and Publishing
CRWR 316 Writer’s Portfolio
CRWR 320 Craft and Process Seminar in Fiction: Kafka and European Masters
CRWR 326A Craft and Process Seminar in Nonfiction
CRWR 326B Craft and Process Seminar in Nonfiction
CRWR 350 Fiction Workshop: Advanced
CRWR 355 Poetry Workshop: Advanced
CRWR 357A Craft and Process Seminar in Poetry
CRWR 357B Craft and Process Seminar in Poetry
CRWR 360 Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Advanced
CRWR 370 Creative Writing: J-Term in Paris
CRWR 372 Topics in Writing Abroad: Rome
CRWR 415 Literary Magazine Editing
CRWR 416 Literary Magazine Production
CRWR 450 Fiction Workshop: Thesis
CRWR 455 Poetry Workshop: Thesis
CRWR 460 Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Thesis
CRWR 490 Internship: Creative Writing
CRWR 495 Directed Study: Creative Writing
CRWR 496 Independent Project: Creative Writing
CRWR 515 Literary Magazine Editing
CRWR 516 Literary Magazine Production
CRWR 610 Advanced Graduate Fiction Workshop
CRWR 612A Craft Seminar in Fiction
CRWR 612B Craft Seminar in Fiction
CRWR 620 Critical Reading and Writing: Kafka and European Masters
CRWR 625 MFA Poetry Workshop
CRWR 626 Graduate Poetics Seminar
CRWR 630A Craft Seminar in Poetry
CRWR 630B Craft Seminar in Poetry
CRWR 640 Workshop: Open Genre
CRWR 645 Thesis Development: Open Genre
CRWR 650 Thesis Development: Fiction
CRWR 655 Thesis Development: Poetry
CRWR 660 Thesis: Creative Writing
CRWR 661A Craft Seminar in Nonfiction
CRWR 661B Craft Seminar in Nonfiction
CRWR 662 Graduate Workshop: Nonfiction
CRWR 663 Topics in Nonfiction
CRWR 665 Thesis Development: Nonfiction
CRWR 670 Creative Writing: J-Term in Paris
CRWR 672 Topics in Writing Abroad: Rome
CRWR 690 Internship: Creative Writing
CRWR 692 Thesis Extension: Creative Writing
CRWR 695 Directed Study
CRWR 696 Independent Project: Creative Writing
CRWR 699A Craft Seminar in Creative Writing
CRWR 699B Craft Seminar in Creative Writing
ENGL 108 Writing and Rhetoric Stretch A
ENGL 109 Writing and Rhetoric I Stretch B
ENGL 110 EAL Tutoring in Writing
ENGL 111 Writing and Rhetoric I
ENGL 111H Writing and Rhetoric I: Honors
ENGL 112 Writing and Rhetoric II
ENGL 112H Writing and Rhetoric II: Honors
ENGL 120 U.S. Academic Language and Culture

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15 Best Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2024

May 15, 2024

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? If you’re considering an MFA, this article walks you through the best full-time, low residency, and online Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.

What are the best Creative Writing MFA programs?

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, let’s start with the basics. What is an MFA, anyway?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications typically require a sample portfolio, usually 10-20 pages (and sometimes up to 30-40) of your best writing. Moreover, you can receive an MFA in a particular genre, such as Fiction or Poetry, or more broadly in Creative Writing. However, if you take the latter approach, you often have the opportunity to specialize in a single genre.

Wondering 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. Thesis projects are typically a body of polished, publishable-quality creative work in your genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

Why should I 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.

Fourth: resources. MFA programs are often staffed by brilliant, award-winning writers; offer lecture series, volunteer opportunities, and teaching positions; and run their own (usually prestigious) literary magazines. Such resources provide you with the knowledge and insight you’ll need to navigate the literary and publishing world on your own post-graduation.

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 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.

This two-year program offers an incredibly generous funding package: $39,000 teaching fellowships each year. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and the option to apply for a lecture position after graduation. Many grads publish their first book within three years (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).

Location: Baltimore, MD
Incoming class size: 8 students (4 per genre)
Admissions rate: 4-8%
Alumni: Chimamanda Adichie, 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

The only MFA that offers full and equal funding for every writer. It’s three years long, offers a generous yearly stipend of $30k, and provides full tuition plus a health insurance stipend. Fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting concentrations are available. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $4,000 for the summer.

Location : Austin, TX
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

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. All students receive full funding, including tuition, a living stipend, and subsidized health insurance. The Translation MFA , co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years long 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: 2.7-3.7%
Fantastic Alumni: Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, Garth Greenwell, Kiley Reid, Brandon Taylor, Eula Biss, Yiyun Li, Jennifer Croft

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued)

4) university of michigan.

Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students in UMichigan’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 $25,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.

This is a 2-3-year program in either fiction or poetry, 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.

Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Incoming class size: 18 (9 in each genre)
Acceptance rate: 2%
Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward

5) Brown University

Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that only occasionally dips into arctic temperatures. All students are fully funded for 2 years, which includes tuition remission and a $32k yearly stipend. 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. Fiction and Poetry Tracks are offered as well.

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

6) University of Arizona

This 3-year program with fiction, poetry, and nonfiction tracks 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’s dry heat is good for arthritis.

This notoriously supportive program is fully funded. Moreover, teaching assistantships that provide a salary, health insurance, and tuition waiver are offered to all students. Tucson is home to a hopping literary scene, so it’s also possible to volunteer at multiple literary organizations and even do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.

Location: Tucson, AZ
Incoming class size: usually 6
Acceptance rate: 1.2% (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

With concentrations in fiction and poetry, Arizona State is 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. Moreover, it encourages cross-genre study.

Funding-wise, everyone has the option to take on a teaching assistantship position, which provides a tuition waiver, health insurance, and a yearly stipend of $25k. Other opportunities for financial support exist as well.

Location: Tempe, AZ
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.

This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU also 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. Concentrations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are available.

Location: New York, NY
Incoming class size: ~60; 20-30 students accepted for each genre
Acceptance rate: 6-9%
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

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. Finally, teaching positions and fellowships are available to help offset the high tuition.

Incoming class size: 110
Acceptance rate: not publicized (boo)
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

Sarah Lawrence offers a concentration in speculative fiction in addition to the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction choices. Moreover, they encourage cross-genre exploration. 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, and many teaching and funding opportunities are available.

Location: Bronxville, NY
Incoming class size: 30-40
Acceptance rate: not publicized
Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado

LOW RESIDENCY

11) bennington college.

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. The rest of the time, you’ll be spending approximately 25 hours per week on reading and writing assignments. Students have the option to concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Uniquely, they can also opt for a dual-genre focus.

The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available. Additionally, Bennington offers full-immersion teaching fellowships to MFA students, which are extremely rare in low-residency programs.

Location: Bennington, VT
Acceptance rate: 53%
Incoming class: 25-35
Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others

12) Institute for American Indian Arts

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, including screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. In addition, each student is matched with a faculty mentor who works with them one-on-one throughout the semester.

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

Location: Santa Fe, NM
Incoming class size : 21
Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder

13) Vermont College of Fine Arts

VCFA is the only graduate school on this list that focuses exclusively on the fine arts. Their MFA in Writing offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction; they also offer an MFA in Literary Translation and one of the few MFAs in Writing for Children and Young Adults . Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, either in-person or online. Here, they receive one-on-one mentorship that continues for the rest of the semester. 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 for the full two-year program is approximately $54k.

Location : Various; 2024/25 residencies are in Colorado and California
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.

UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Accordingly, this program is geared toward serious writers who want to pursue teaching and/or publishing. Intensive workshops allow submissions in Spanish and/or English, and genres include poetry and fiction.

No residencies are required, but an optional opportunity to connect in person is available every year. This three-year program costs about $25-30k total, depending on whether you are an in-state or out-of-state resident.

Location: El Paso, TX
Acceptance rate: “highly competitive”
Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here

15) Bay Path University

This 2-year online, no-residency program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. Featuring a supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and an optional yearly field trip to Ireland.

There are many tracks, including publishing, narrative medicine, and teaching creative writing. Moreover, core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, food/travel writing, and the personal essay. Tuition is approximately $31,000 for the entire program, with scholarships available.

Location: Longmeadow, MA
Incoming class size: 20
Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs — Final Thoughts

Whether you’re aiming for a fully funded, low residency, or completely online MFA program, there are plenty of incredible options available—all of which will sharpen your craft while immersing you in the vibrant literary arts community.

Hoping to prepare for your MFA in advance? You might consider checking out the following:

Best English Programs
Best Colleges for Creative Writing
Writing Summer Programs
Best Writing Competitions for High School Students

Inspired to start writing? Get your pencil ready:

100 Creative Writing Prompts
1 00 Tone Words to Express Mood in Your Writing
60 Senior Project Ideas
Common App Essay Prompts

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

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Undergraduate Creative Writing Program Office: 609 Kent; 212-854-3774 http://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Anelise Chen, Fiction, Nonfiction, 609 Kent; 212-854-3774; [email protected]

Undergraduate Executive Committee:

Prof. Anelise Chen, Fiction, Nonfiction, 609 Kent; 212-854-3774; [email protected]
Prof. Heidi Julavits, Fiction, 609 Kent; 212-854-3774; [email protected]
Prof. Dorothea Lasky, Poetry, 609 Kent; 212-854-3774; [email protected]
Prof. Timothy Donnelly, Poetry, 415 Dodge; 212-854-4391; [email protected]
Prof. Margo Jefferson, Nonfiction, 609 Kent; 212-854-3774; [email protected]
Prof. Sam Lipsyte, Fiction, 609 Kent; 212-854-3774; [email protected]
Prof. Deborah Paredez, Poetry, 609 Kent, [email protected]
Prof. Alan Ziegler, Fiction, 415 Dodge; 212-854-4391; [email protected]

The Creative Writing Program in The School of the Arts combines intensive writing workshops with seminars that study literature from a writer's perspective. Students develop and hone their literary technique in workshops. The seminars (which explore literary technique and history) broaden their sense of possibility by exposing them to various ways that language has been used to make art. Related courses are drawn from departments such as English, comparative literature and society, philosophy, history, and anthropology, among others.

Students consult with faculty advisers to determine the related courses that best inform their creative work. For details on the major, see the Creative Writing website: http://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate .

Margo L. Jefferson

Phillip Lopate

Benjamin Marcus
Alan Ziegler

Associate Professors

Susan Bernofsky
Timothy Donnelly
Rivka Galchen
Heidi Julavits
Dorothea Lasky
Victor LaValle
Sam Lipsyte
Deborah Paredez
Wendy Walters

Assistant Professors

Anelise Chen

Adjunct Professors

Hannah L Assadi
Eliza B Callahan
Bonnie Chau
Meehan J Crist
Matty Davis
Alex Dimitrov
Joseph Fasano
Omer M Friedlander
Emily R Gutierrez
Alexis J Hutchinson
Katrine Øgaard Jensen
Emily Christine C Johnson
Chloe Jones
Quincy S Jones
Sophie Kemp
Holly Melgard
Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Vanessa Martir
Kyle McCarthy
Patricia Marx
Molly L McGhee
Mallika Rao
Rebecca J Schiff
Mina Seckin
Joel Sedaño Jr
Luciana Siracusano
Wally Suphap
Adam Z Wilson
James C Yeh
Samantha Zighelboim

Lecturer in the Discipline of Writing

Peter M Rafel
Ronald L Robertson Jr

Major in Creative Writing

The major in creative writing requires a minimum of 36 points: five workshops, four seminars, and three related courses.

Workshop Curriculum (15 points)

Students in the workshops produce original works of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and submit them to their classmates and instructor for a close critical analysis. Workshop critiques (which include detailed written reports and thorough line-edits) assess the mechanics and merits of the writing pieces. Individual instructor conferences distill the critiques into a direct plan of action to improve the work. Student writers develop by practicing the craft under the diligent critical attention of their peers and instructor, which guides them toward new levels of creative endeavor.

Creative writing majors select 15 points within the division in the following courses. One workshop must be in a genre other than the primary focus. For instance, a fiction writer might take four fiction workshops and one poetry workshop.

Course List
Code	Title	Points
Beginning Workshop
Designed for students who have little or no previous experience writing literary texts in a particular genre.
	BEGINNING FICTION WORKSHOP
	BEGINNING NONFICTION WORKSHOP
	BEGINNING POETRY WORKSHOP
Intermediate Workshop
Permission required. Admission by writing sample. Enrollment limited to 15. Course may be repeated in fulfillment of the major.
	INTERMEDIATE FICTION WORKSHOP
	INTERMEDIATE NONFICTION WRKSHP
	INTERMEDIATE POETRY WORKSHOP
Advanced Workshop
Permission required. Admission by writing sample. Enrollment limited to 15. Course may be repeated in fulfillment of the major.
	ADVANCED FICTION WORKSHOP
	ADVANCED NONFICTION WORKSHOP
	ADVANCED POETRY WORKSHOP
Senior Creative Writing Workshop
Seniors who are creative writing majors are given priority. Enrollment limited to 12, by instructor's permission. The senior workshop offers students the opportunity to work exclusively with classmates who are at the same high level of accomplishment in the major. This course is only offered by graduate faculty professors.
	SENIOR FICTION WORKSHOP,Senior Fiction Workshop
	SENIOR NONFICTION WORKSHOP
	SENIOR POETRY WORKSHOP

Seminar Curriculum (12 points)

The creative writing seminars form the intellectual ballast of our program. Our seminars offer a close examination of literary techniques such as plot, point of view, tone, and voice. They seek to inform and inspire students by exposing them to a wide variety of approaches in their chosen genre. Our curriculum, via these seminars, actively responds not only to historical literary concerns, but to contemporary ones as well. Extensive readings are required, along with short critical papers and/or creative exercises. By closely analyzing diverse works of literature and participating in roundtable discussions, writers build the resources necessary to produce their own accomplished creative work.

Creative writing majors select 12 points within the division. Any 4 seminars will fulfill the requirement, no matter the student's chosen genre concentration. Below is a sampling of our seminars. The list of seminars currently being offered can be found in the "Courses" section.

Course List
Code	Title	Points
These seminars offer close examination of literary techniques such as plot, point of view, tone, suspense, and narrative voice. Extensive readings are required, along with creative exercises.
FICTION
	HOW TO BUILD A PERSON
	Fiction Seminar: The Here & Now
	FIRST NOVELS: HOW THEY WORK
	THE CRAFT OF WRITING DIALOGUE
NONFICTION
	Nonfiction Seminar: The Literary Reporter
	ART WRITING FOR WRITERS
	TRUTH ＆ FACTS
	SCIENCE AND SENSIBILITY
POETRY
	TRADITIONS IN POETRY
	Poetry Seminar: The Crisis of the I
	Poetry Seminar: 21st Century American Poetry and Its Concerns
	WITNESS,RECORD,DOCUMENT
CROSS GENRE
	Cross Genre Seminar: Imagining Berlin
	Cross Genre Seminar: Diva Voice, Diva Style, Diva Lyrics
	WALKING
	Cross-Genre Seminar: Process Writing & Writing Process

Related Courses (9 points)

Drawn from various departments, these courses provide concentrated intellectual and creative stimulation, as well as exposure to ideas that enrich students' artistic instincts. Courses may be different for each student writer. Students should consult with faculty advisers to determine the related courses that best inform their creative work.

Fiction Workshops

WRIT UN1100 BEGINNING FICTION WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The beginning workshop in fiction is designed for students with little or no experience writing literary texts in fiction. Students are introduced to a range of technical and imaginative concerns through exercises and discussions, and they eventually produce their own writing for the critical analysis of the class. The focus of the course is on the rudiments of voice, character, setting, point of view, plot, and lyrical use of language. Students will begin to develop the critical skills that will allow them to read like writers and understand, on a technical level, how accomplished creative writing is produced. Outside readings of a wide range of fiction supplement and inform the exercises and longer written projects

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 1100	001/15112	Th 6:10pm - 8:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Ronald Robertson	3.00	17/15
WRIT 1100	002/15113	M 10:10am - 12:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Emily Christine Johnson	3.00	14/15
WRIT 1100	003/15163	T 6:10pm - 8:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Emily Gutierrez	3.00	13/15
WRIT 1100	004/15164	M 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Alexis Hutchinson	3.00	13/15
WRIT 1100	005/15165	Th 10:10am - 12:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Luciana Siracusano	3.00	14/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 1100	001/18712	M 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall		3.00	0/15
WRIT 1100	002/18713	W 4:10pm - 6:00pm 212a Lewisohn Hall	Caroline Johnson	3.00	0/15
WRIT 1100	003/18714	W 2:10pm - 4:00pm Room TBA		3.00	0/15
WRIT 1100	004/18715	Th 4:10pm - 6:00pm 114 Knox Hall		3.00	0/15
WRIT 1100	005/18716	T 6:10pm - 8:00pm 212a Lewisohn Hall		3.00	0/15

WRIT UN2100 INTERMEDIATE FICTION WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Intermediate workshops are for students with some experience with creative writing, and whose prior work merits admission to the class (as judged by the professor). Intermediate workshops present a higher creative standard than beginning workshops, and increased expectations to produce finished work. By the end of the semester, each student will have produced at least seventy pages of original fiction. Students are additionally expected to write extensive critiques of the work of their peers. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 2100	001/15117	Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Joss Lake	3.00	11/15
WRIT 2100	002/15118	Th 4:10pm - 6:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Omer Friedlander	3.00	9/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 2100	001/13546	Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Heidi Julavits	3.00	0/15
WRIT 2100	002/13547	T 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Sophie Kemp	3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3100 ADVANCED FICTION WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: The department's permission required through writing sample. Please go to 609 Kent for submission schedule and registration guidelines or see http://www.arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate. Building on the work of the Intermediate Workshop, Advanced Workshops are reserved for the most accomplished creative writing students. A significant body of writing must be produced and revised. Particular attention will be paid to the components of fiction: voice, perspective, characterization, and form. Students will be expected to finish several short stories, executing a total artistic vision on a piece of writing. The critical focus of the class will include an examination of endings and formal wholeness, sustaining narrative arcs, compelling a reader's interest for the duration of the text, and generating a sense of urgency and drama in the work. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3100	001/15126	Th 4:10pm - 6:00pm 507 Philosophy Hall	Rebecca Schiff	3.00	13/15
WRIT 3100	002/15127	M 10:10am - 12:00pm 507 Philosophy Hall	Marie Lee	3.00	15/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 3100	001/13550	Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Hannah Assadi	3.00	0/15
WRIT 3100	002/13551	W 10:10am - 12:00pm 317 Hamilton Hall	Victor Lavalle	3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3101 SENIOR FICTION WORKSHOP,Senior Fiction Workshop. 4.00,4 points .

Prerequisites: The department's permission required through writing sample. Please go to 609 Kent for submission schedule and registration guidelines or see http://www.arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate. Prerequisites: The department's permission required through writing sample. Please go to 609 Kent for submission schedule and registration guidelines or see http://www.arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate. Seniors who are majors in creative writing are given priority for this course. Enrollment is limited, and is by permission of the professor. The senior workshop offers students the opportunity to work exclusively with classmates who are at the same high level of accomplishment in the major. Students in the senior workshops will produce and revise a new and substantial body of work. In-class critiques and conferences with the professor will be tailored to needs of each student.,

Seniors who are majors in creative writing are given priority for this course. Enrollment is limited, and is by permission of the professor. The senior workshop offers students the opportunity to work exclusively with classmates who are at the same high level of accomplishment in the major. Students in the senior workshops will produce and revise a new and substantial body of work. In-class critiques and conferences with the professor will be tailored to needs of each student.

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3101	001/15128	W 2:10pm - 4:00pm Sat Alfred Lerner Hall	Samuel Lipsyte	4	13/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 3101	001/13552	T 10:10am - 12:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Rivka Galchen	4	0/12

Fiction Seminars

WRIT UN2110 APPROACHES TO THE SHORT STORY. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The modern short story has gone through many transformations, and the innovations of its practitioners have often pointed the way for prose fiction as a whole. The short story has been seized upon and refreshed by diverse cultures and aesthetic affiliations, so that perhaps the only stable definition of the form remains the famous one advanced by Poe, one of its early masters, as a work of fiction that can be read in one sitting. Still, common elements of the form have emerged over the last century and this course will study them, including Point of View, Plot, Character, Setting and Theme. John Hawkes once famously called these last four elements the "enemies of the novel," and many short story writers have seen them as hindrances as well. Hawkes later recanted, though some writers would still agree with his earlier assessment, and this course will examine the successful strategies of great writers across the spectrum of short story practice, from traditional approaches to more radical solutions, keeping in mind how one period's revolution -Hemingway, for example - becomes a later era's mainstream or "commonsense" storytelling mode. By reading the work of major writers from a writer's perspective, we will examine the myriad techniques employed for what is finally a common goal: to make readers feel. Short writing exercises will help us explore the exhilarating subtleties of these elements and how the effects created by their manipulation or even outright absence power our most compelling fictions

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 2110	001/15119	Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Ronald Robertson	3.00	16/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 2110	001/18724	Th 10:10am - 12:00pm Room TBA		3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3128 How to Write Funny. 3.00 points .

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die." --Mel Brooks "Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the End." --Sid Caesar "Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." --E.B. White "What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke." --Steve Martin "Patty Marx is the best teacher at Columbia University." --Patty Marx One of the above quotations is false. Find out which one in this humor-writing workshop, where you will read, listen to, and watch comedic samples from well-known and lesser-known humorists. How could you not have fun in a class where we watch and critique the sketches of Monty Python, Nichols and May, Mr. Show, Mitchell ＆ Webb, Key and Peele, French and Saunders, Derrick Comedy, Beyond the Fringe, Dave Chappelle, Bob and Ray, Mel Brooks, Amy Schumer, and SNL, to name just a few? The crux of our time, though, will be devoted to writing. Students will be expected to complete weekly writing assignments; additionally, there will be in-class assignments geared to strategies for crafting surprise (the kind that results in a laugh as opposed to, say, a heart attack or divorce). Toward this end, we will study the use of irony, irreverence, hyperbole, misdirection, subtext, wordplay, formulas such as the rule of three and paraprosdokians (look it up), and repetition, and repetition

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3128	001/15131	T 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Patricia Marx	3.00	14/15

WRIT UN3125 APOCALYPSES NOW. 3.00 points .

From ancient myths of the world’s destruction to cinematic works that envision a post-apocalyptic reality, zealots of all kinds have sought an understanding of “the end of the world as we know it.” But while apocalyptic predictions have, so far, failed to deliver a real glimpse of that end, in fiction they abound. In this course, we will explore the narrative mechanisms by which post-apocalyptic works create projections of our own world that are believably imperiled, realistically degraded, and designed to move us to feel differently and act differently within the world we inhabit. We will consider ways in which which authors craft immersive storylines that maintain a vital allegorical relationship to the problems of the present, and discuss recent trends in contemporary post-apocalyptic fiction. How has the genre responded to our changing conception of peril? Is literary apocalyptic fiction effective as a vehicle for persuasion and for showing threats in a new light? Ultimately, we will inquire into the possibility of thinking beyond our present moment and, by doing so, altering our fate.

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3125	001/13553	W 4:10pm - 6:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Molly McGhee	3.00	15/15

WRIT W3830 Fiction Seminar: Voices & Visions of Childhood. 3 points .

This course focuses on literature written for adults, NOT children's books or young-adult literature.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required.

Flannery O'Connor famously said, "Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days." A child's or youth's journey-- whether through ordinary, universal rites of passage, or through extraordinary adventure or trauma-- compels an adult reader (and writer) to (re)inhabit the world as both naif and nature's savant. Through the knowing/unknowing eye of the child or adolescent, the writer can explore adult topics prismatically and poignantly -- "from the bottom up" -- via humor, terror, innocence, wonder, or all of the above. In this course, we will read both long and short form examples of childhood and youth stories, examining in particular the relationships between narrator and character, character and world (setting), character and language and narrator and reader (i.e. "reliability" of narrator). Students will write two papers. Short scene-based writing assignments will challenge student writers to both mine their own memories for material and imagine voices/experiences far from their own.

WRIT UN3121 HOW TO BUILD A PERSON. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Departmental approval NOT required. Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Departmental approval NOT required. Character is something that good fiction supposedly cannot do without. But what is a character, and what constitutes a supposedly good or believable one? Should characters be like people we know, and if so, how exactly do we create written versions of people? This class will examine characters in all sorts of writing, historical and contemporary, with an eye toward understanding just how characters are created in fiction, and how they come to seem real to us. Well read stories and novels; we may also look at essays and biographical writing to analyze where the traces of personhood reside. Well also explore the way in which these same techniques of writing allow us to personify entities that lack traditional personhood, such as animals, computers, and other nonhuman characters. Does personhood precede narrative, or is it something we bestow on others by allowing them to tell their story or by telling a story of our own creation on their behalf? Weekly critical and creative exercises will intersect with and expand on the readings and discussions

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3121	001/13554	W 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Mina Seckin	3.00	15/15

WRIT UN3132 THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE. 3.00 points .

What does it mean to be original? How do we differentiate plagiarism from pastiche, appropriation from homage? And how do we build on pre-existing traditions while simultaneously creating work that reflects our own unique experiences of the world? In a 2007 essay for Harper’s magazine, Jonathan Lethem countered critic Harold Bloom’s theory of “the anxiety of influence” by proposing, instead, an “ecstasy of influence”; Lethem suggested that writers embrace rather than reject the unavoidable imprints of their literary forbearers. Beginning with Lethem’s essay—which, itself, is composed entirely of borrowed (or “sampled”) text—this class will consider the nature of literary influence, and its role in the development of voice. Each week, students will read from pairings of older stories and novel excerpts with contemporary work that falls within the same artistic lineage. In doing so, we’ll track the movement of stylistic, structural, and thematic approaches to fiction across time, and think about the different ways that stories and novels can converse with one another. We will also consider the influence of other artistic mediums—music, visual art, film and television—on various texts. Students will then write their own original short pieces modeled after the readings. Just as musicians cover songs, we will “cover” texts, adding our own interpretive imprints

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3132	001/13555	T 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Adam Wilson	3.00	15/15

Nonfiction Workshops

WRIT UN1200 BEGINNING NONFICTION WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The beginning workshop in nonfiction is designed for students with little or no experience in writing literary nonfiction. Students are introduced to a range of technical and imaginative concerns through exercises and discussions, and they eventually submit their own writing for the critical analysis of the class. Outside readings supplement and inform the exercises and longer written projects

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 1200	001/15114	T 4:10pm - 6:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Peter Raffel	3.00	13/15
WRIT 1200	002/15115	M 2:10pm - 4:00pm 212a Lewisohn Hall	Wally Suphap	3.00	14/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 1200	001/18717	Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm 963 Ext Schermerhorn Hall		3.00	1/15
WRIT 1200	002/18718	Th 6:10pm - 8:00pm 423 Kent Hall		3.00	0/15
WRIT 1200	003/18719	W 6:10pm - 8:00pm 423 Kent Hall		3.00	0/15

WRIT UN2200 INTERMEDIATE NONFICTION WRKSHP. 3.00 points .

The intermediate workshop in nonfiction is designed for students with some experience in writing literary nonfiction. Intermediate workshops present a higher creative standard than beginning workshops and an expectation that students will produce finished work. Outside readings supplement and inform the exercises and longer written projects. By the end of the semester, students will have produced thirty to forty pages of original work in at least two traditions of literary nonfiction. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 2200	001/15120	T 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Zohra Saed	3.00	12/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 2200	001/13548	M 2:10pm - 4:00pm 608 Lewisohn Hall	Lars Horn	3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3200 ADVANCED NONFICTION WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Advanced Nonfiction Workshop is for students with significant narrative and/or critical experience. Students will produce original literary nonfiction for the workshop. This workshop is reserved for accomplished nonfiction writers and maintains the highest level of creative and critical expectations. Among the many forms that creative nonfiction might assume, students may work in the following nonfiction genres: memoir, personal essay, journalism, travel writing, science writing, and/or others. In addition, students may be asked to consider the following: ethical considerations in nonfiction writing, social and cultural awareness, narrative structure, detail and description, point of view, voice, and editing and revision among other aspects of praxis. A portfolio of nonficiton will be written and revised with the critical input of the instructor and the workshop. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

WRIT UN3201 SENIOR NONFICTION WORKSHOP. 4.00 points .

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3201	001/15129	M 12:10pm - 2:00pm 301m Fayerweather	Lars Horn	4.00	12/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 3201	001/13556	M 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall		4.00	0/15

Nonfiction Seminars

WRIT UN2211 TRADITIONS IN NONFICTION. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The seminar provides exposure to the varieties of nonfiction with readings in its principal genres: reportage, criticism and commentary, biography and history, and memoir and the personal essay. A highly plastic medium, nonfiction allows authors to portray real events and experiences through narrative, analysis, polemic or any combination thereof. Free to invent everything but the facts, great practitioners of nonfiction are faithful to reality while writing with a voice and a vision distinctively their own. To show how nonfiction is conceived and constructed, class discussions will emphasize the relationship of content to form and style, techniques for creating plot and character under the factual constraints imposed by nonfiction, the defining characteristics of each authors voice, the authors subjectivity and presence, the role of imagination and emotion, the uses of humor, and the importance of speculation and attitude. Written assignments will be opportunities to experiment in several nonfiction genres and styles

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 2211	001/15121	W 6:10pm - 8:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Peter Raffel	3.00	15/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 2211	001/18723	M 4:10pm - 6:00pm 608 Lewisohn Hall		3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3214 HYBRID NONFICTION FORMS. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. Creative nonfiction is a frustratingly vague term. How do we give it real literary meaning; examine its compositional aims and techniques, its achievements and especially its aspirations? This course will focus on works that we might call visionary - works that combine art forms, genres and styles in striking ways. Works in which image and text combine to create a third interactive language for the reader. Works still termed fiction history or journalism that join fact and fiction to interrogate their uses and implications. Certain memoirs that are deliberately anti-autobiographical, turning from personal narrative to the sounds, sight, impressions and ideas of the writers milieu. Certain essays that join personal reflection to arts and cultural criticism, drawing on research and imagination, the vernacular and the formal, even prose and poetry. The assemblage or collage that, created from notebook entries, lists, quotations, footnotes and indexes achieves its coherence through fragments and associations, found and original texts

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3214	001/13557	T 12:10pm - 2:00pm 104 Knox Hall	Margo Jefferson	3.00	15/15

WRIT UN3215 ART WRITING FOR WRITERS. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. In this course, we will look at some of the most dynamic examples of "visual writing." To begin, we will look at writers writing about art, from the Romantic period through the present. The modes of this art writing we will consider include: the practice of ekphrasis (poems which address or derive their inspiration from a work of art); writers such as Ralph Ellison, Amiri Baraka, John Ashbery, and Eileen Myles, who for periods of their lives worked as art critics; writers such as Etel Adnan and Alexander Kulge, who have produced literature and works of art in equal measure; as well as numerous collaborations between writers and visual artists. We will also look at artists who have written essays and poetry throughout their careers, like artists Robert Smithson, Glenn Ligon, David Wojnarowicz, Moyra Davey, Paul Chan, and Hannah Black, as well as professional critics whose work has been elevated to the status of literature, such as Hilton Als, Janet Malcolm, and Susan Sontag. Lastly, we will consider what it means to write through a “milieu” of sonic and visual artists, such as those associated with Dada, the Harlem Renaissance, the New York School, and Moscow Conceptualism. Throughout the course, students will also be prompted to write with and about current art exhibitions and events throughout the city. They will produce original works in various of the modes described above and complete a final writing project that incorporates what they have learned

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3215	001/13558	W 12:10pm - 2:00pm 317 Hamilton Hall	Eliza Callahan	3.00	15/15

WRIT UN3217 SCIENCE AND SENSIBILITY. 3.00 points .

Writing about the natural world is one of the world's oldest literary traditions and the site of some of today's most daring literary experiments. Known loosely as "science writing" this tradition can be traced through texts in myriad and overlapping genres, including poetry, explorer's notebooks, essays, memoirs, art books, and science journalism. Taken together, these divers texts reveal a rich literary tradition in which the writer's sensibility and worldview are paramount to an investigation of the known and unknown. In this course, we will consider a wide range of texts in order to map this tradition. We will question what it means to use science as metaphor, explore how to write about science with rigor and commitment to scientific truth, and interrogate the fiction of objectivity.

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3217	001/13559		Meehan Crist	3.00	7/15

WRIT UN3224 Writing the Sixties. 3.00 points .

In this seminar, we will target nonfiction from the 1960s—the decade that saw an avalanche of new forms, new awareness, new freedoms, and new conflicts, as well as the beginnings of social movements and cultural preoccupations that continue to frame our lives, as writers and as citizens, in the 21st century: civil rights, feminism, environmentalism, LGBTQ rights, pop culture, and the rise of mass media. We will look back more than a half century to examine the development of modern criticism, memoir, reporting, and profile-writing, and the ways they entwine. Along the way, we will ask questions about these classic nonfiction forms: How do reporters, essayists, and critics make sense of the new? How do they create work as rich as the best novels and short stories? Can criticism rise to the level of art? What roles do voice, point-of-view, character, dialogue, and plot—the traditional elements of fiction—play? As we go, we will witness the unfolding of arguably the most transitional decade in American history—with such events as the Kennedy assassination, the Watts Riots, the Human Be In, and the Vietnam War, along with the rise of Pop art, rock ‘n’ roll, and a new era of moviemaking—as it was documented in real time by writers at The New Yorker, New Journalists at Esquire, and critics at Partisan Review and Harper’s, among other publications. Some writers we will consider: James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Susan Sontag, Rachel Carson, Dwight Macdonald, Gay Talese, Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, Pauline Kael, Nik Cohn, Joseph Mitchell, Lillian Ross, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Thomas Pynchon, John Updike, Michael Herr, Martha Gellhorn, John McPhee, and Betty Friedan. We will be joined by guest speakers

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3224	001/18550	M 6:10pm - 8:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Mark Rozzo	3.00	14/15

WRIT UN3225 LIFE STORIES. 3.00 points .

In this seminar, we will target nonfiction that tells stories about lives: profiles, memoirs, and biographies. We will examine how the practice of this kind of nonfiction, and ideas about it, have evolved over the past 150 years. Along the way, we will ask questions about these nonfiction forms: How do reporters, memoirists, biographers, and critics make sense of their subjects? How do they create work as rich as the best novels and short stories? Can criticism explicate the inner life of a human subject? What roles do voice, point-of-view, character, dialogue, and plot—the traditional elements of fiction—play? Along the way, we’ll engage in issues of identity and race, memory and self, real persons and invented characters and we’ll get glimpses of such key publications as The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper’s, and The New York Review of Books. Some writers we will consider: Frederick Douglass, Louisa May Alcott, Walt Whitman, Henry Adams, Joseph Mitchell, Lillian Ross, James Agee, John Hersey, Edmund Wilson, Gore Vidal, Gay Talese, James Baldwin, Vladimir Nabokov, Janet Malcolm, Robert Caro, Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Henry Louis Gates Jr. The course regularly welcomes guest speakers

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3225	001/13560	M 6:10pm - 8:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Mark Rozzo	3.00	15/15

WRIT UN3226 NONFICTION-ISH. 3.00 points .

This cross-genre craft seminar aims to uncover daring and unusual approaches to literature informed by nonfiction (and nonfiction-adjacent) practices. In this course we will closely read and analyze a diverse set of works, including Svetlana Alexievich’s oral history of women and war, Lydia Davis’s “found” microfictions, Theresa Hak Cha’s genre-exploding “auto-enthnography,” Alejandro Zambra’s unabashedly literary narratives, Sigrid Nunez’s memoir “of” Susan Sontag, Emmanuel Carrére’s “nonfiction novel,” John Keene’s bold counternarratives, W. G. Sebald’s saturnine essay-portraits, Saidiya Hartman’s melding of history and literary imagination, Annie Ernaux’s collective autobiography, Sheila Heti’s alphabetized diary, Ben Mauk’s oral history about Xinjiang detention camps, and Edward St. Aubyn’s autobiographical novel about the British aristocracy and childhood trauma, among other texts. We will also examine Sharon Mashihi’s one-woman autofiction podcasts about Iranian Jewish American family. What we learn in this course we will apply to our own work, which will consist of two creative writing responses and a creative final project. Students will also learn to keep a daily writing journal

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3226	001/15130	Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm Sat Alfred Lerner Hall	James Yeh	3.00	19/20

Poetry Workshops

WRIT UN1300 BEGINNING POETRY WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The beginning poetry workshop is designed for students who have a serious interest in poetry writing but who lack a significant background in the rudiments of the craft and/or have had little or no previous poetry workshop experience. Students will be assigned weekly writing exercises emphasizing such aspects of verse composition as the poetic line, the image, rhyme and other sound devices, verse forms, repetition, tone, irony, and others. Students will also read an extensive variety of exemplary work in verse, submit brief critical analyses of poems, and critique each others original work

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 1300	001/15116	M 4:10pm - 6:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Latif Ba	3.00	15/15
WRIT 1300	002/15167	T 6:10pm - 8:00pm 308a Lewisohn Hall	Joel Sedano	3.00	13/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 1300	001/18720	Th 10:10am - 12:00pm Room TBA		3.00	0/15
WRIT 1300	002/18721	M 4:10pm - 6:00pm 606 Lewisohn Hall		3.00	0/15

WRIT UN2300 INTERMEDIATE POETRY WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

Intermediate poetry workshops are for students with some prior instruction in the rudiments of poetry writing and prior poetry workshop experience. Intermediate poetry workshops pose greater challenges to students and maintain higher critical standards than beginning workshops. Students will be instructed in more complex aspects of the craft, including the poetic persona, the prose poem, the collage, open-field composition, and others. They will also be assigned more challenging verse forms such as the villanelle and also non-European verse forms such as the pantoum. They will read extensively, submit brief critical analyses, and put their instruction into regular practice by composing original work that will be critiqued by their peers. By the end of the semester each student will have assembled a substantial portfolio of finished work. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 2300	001/15122	M 4:10pm - 6:00pm 602 Lewisohn Hall	Alexander Dimitrov	3.00	15/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 2300	001/13549	M 10:10am - 12:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Alexander Dimitrov	3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3300 ADVANCED POETRY WORKSHOP. 3.00 points .

This poetry workshop is reserved for accomplished poetry writers and maintains the highest level of creative and critical expectations. Students will be encouraged to develop their strengths and to cultivate a distinctive poetic vision and voice but must also demonstrate a willingness to broaden their range and experiment with new forms and notions of the poem. A portfolio of poetry will be written and revised with the critical input of the instructor and the workshop. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3300	001/13561	W 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Emily Luan	3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3301 SENIOR POETRY WORKSHOP. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: The department's permission required through writing sample. Please go to 609 Kent for submission schedule and registration guidelines or see http://www.arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate. Seniors who are majors in creative writing are given priority for this course. Enrollment is limited, and is by permission of the professor. The senior workshop offers students the opportunity to work exclusively with classmates who are at the same high level of accomplishment in the major. Students in the senior workshops will produce and revise a new and substantial body of work. In-class critiques and conferences with the professor will be tailored to needs of each student. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3301	001/15132	Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm 212a Lewisohn Hall	Emily Luan	4.00	11/15

Poetry Seminars

WRIT UN2311 TRADITIONS IN POETRY. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. “For those, in dark, who find their own way by the light of others’ eyes.” —Lucie Brock-Broido The avenues of poetic tradition open to today’s poets are more numerous, more invigorating, and perhaps even more baffling than ever before. The routes we chose for our writing lead to destinations of our own making, and we take them at our own risk—necessarily so, as the pursuit of poetry asks each of us to light a pilgrim’s candle and follow it into the moors and lowlands, through wastes and prairies, crossing waters as we go. Go after the marshlights, the will-o-wisps who call to you in a voice you’ve longed for your whole life. These routes have been forged by those who came before you, but for that reason, none of them can hope to keep you on it entirely. You must take your steps away, brick by brick, heading confidently into the hinterland of your own distinct achievement. For the purpose of this class, we will walk these roads together, examining the works of classic and contemporary exemplars of the craft. By companioning poets from a large spread of time, we will be able to more diversely immerse ourselves in what a poetic “tradition” truly means. We will read works by Edmund Spencer, Dante, and Goethe, the Romantics—especially Keats—Dickinson, who is mother to us all, Modernists, and the great sweep of contemporary poetry that is too vast to individuate. While it is the imperative of this class to equip you with the knowledge necessary to advance in the field of poetry, this task shall be done in a Columbian manner. Consider this class an initiation, of sorts, into the vocabulary which distinguishes the writers who work under our flag, each of us bound by this language that must be passed on, and therefore changed, to you who inherit it. As I have learned the words, I have changed them, and I give them now to you so that you may pave your own way into your own ways, inspired with the first breath that brought you here, which may excite and—hopefully—frighten you. You must be troubled. This is essential

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 2311	001/15123	T 4:10pm - 6:00pm 327 Uris Hall	Latif Ba	3.00	17/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 2311	001/18725	Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm 414 Pupin Laboratories		3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3319 POETICS OF PLACE:AMERICAN LANDSCAPES, VO. 3.00 points .

When the American Poet Larry Levis left his home in California’s San Joaquin Valley, “all [he] needed to do,” he wrote, “was to describe [home] exactly as it had been. That [he] could not do, for that [is] impossible. And that is where poetry might begin. This course will consider how place shapes a poet’s self and work. Together we will consider a diverse range of poets and the places they write out of and into: from Philip Levines Detroit to Whitmans Manhattan, from Robert Lowells New England to James Wrights Ohio, from the Kentucky of Joe Bolton and Crystal Wilkinson to the California of Robin Blaser and Allen Ginsberg, from the Ozarks of Frank Stanford to the New Jersey of Amiri Baraka, from the Pacific Northwest of Robinson Jeffers to the Alaska of Mary Tallmountain. We will consider the debate between T. S. Eliot and William Carlos Williams about global versus local approaches to the poem, and together we will ask complex questions: Why is it, for example, that Jack Gilbert finds his Pittsburgh when he leaves it, while Gerald Stern finds his Pittsburgh when he keeps it close? Does something sing because you leave it or because you hold it close? Do you come to a place to find where you belong in it? Do you leave a place to find where it belongs in you? As Carolyn Kizer writes in Running Away from Home, Its never over, old church of our claustrophobia! And of course home can give us the first freedom of wanting to leave, the first prison and freedom of want. In our reflections on each “place,” we will reflect on its varied histories, its native peoples, and its inheritance of violent conquest. Our syllabus will consist, in addition to poems, of manifestos and prose writings about place, from Richard Hugos Triggering Town to Sandra Beasleys Prioritizing Place. You will be encouraged to think about everything from dialect to economics, from collectivism to individualism in poems that root themselves in particular places, and you will be encouraged to consider how those poems “transcend” their origins. You will write response papers, analytical papers, and creative pieces, and you will complete a final project that reflects on your own relationship to place

WRIT UN3322 WASTE. 3.00 points .

What if we think of writing as waste management? “To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now,” said Samuel Beckett then, famously, but: What does this mean? In this course, we will explore the many ways in which artists and writers have tried to answer this question, not only with waste as a figure for thought but as the concrete and recalcitrant reality of our being. Students will be asked to keep a notebook, with the instruction to keep everything that is for them a signature of thought. In this way, a pinecone or a piece of garbage is as much “writing” as anything else. Together, we will create an archive for the semester, of everything that is produced and/or consumed under this aegis of making. This class is designed to pose questions about form and the activity of writing and, in turn, the modes and methods of production not only as writers, but as persons. In addition to our weekly readings, we will be taking field trips throughout the city, convening with Freegan.info for a trash tour and meeting with the artist in residence at the Department of Sanitation, as well as hosting visitors for additional conversations over Zoom

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3322	001/18542	Th 10:10am - 12:00pm 212a Lewisohn Hall	Lynn Xu	3.00	16/15

WRIT UN3324 SENSORY POETICS. 3.00 points .

“A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist” —Vladimir Nabokov “Every word was once an animal.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson How do writers use words to bring whole worlds to life in the senses? Sensory Poetics is a semester-long exploration of how this formal question has propelled the last 150 years of formally innovative poetry, manifestos and essays on craft. Here, we will read by critically and creatively responding to these texts with a single goal in mind: Borrow their methods to compose a dossier of writing that brings just one thing to life in the senses—any one thing—of your individual choosing. To that end, the semester is divided into 3 Labs that each isolate a different register of sensemaking: Sound, Image, and Line. For example, in the Sound Lab unit, you’ll respond to poems and essays by acoustic-centered poets like John Cage, Kamau Brathwaite and Gertrude Stein, transcribing the sound of your one thing, and writing a metered sonnet based on models from different periods and artistic contexts. To capture the look and logic of your one thing, further in you’ll read Surrealists like Aimé and Suzanne Césaire (for Image Lab), Kathy Acker’s cut-ups, and the psychedelic prose poems of Georges Perec and Yoko Ono (for Line Lab). Throughout, we’ll also read Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style, a book that is similarly a dossier of one thing written a hundred different ways. Class time focuses on close-reading and analyzing poems together. At the end of each of the three Labs, you’ll submit a portfolio which showcases and reflects on your favorite creative/critical writing generated during the unit. So, no matter how boring or inflexible your one thing may appear to you at any point, your only limits beyond this constraint—make a dossier on one thing—will merely be the finite plasticity of your own imagination, which luckily, readings in this course are curated to expand. This is a place to encounter, practice and experiment with new and exciting forms that broaden your repertoire for articulating your obsessions in ways that bring them to life in the ears, eyes and minds of your audience. Writers of all majors and levels welcome

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3324	001/18899	T 12:10pm - 2:00pm 411 Kent Hall	Holly Melgard	3.00	14/15

WRIT UN3365 21STC AM POETRY ＆ ITS CONCERNS. 3.00 points .

The lyric has often been conceived of as timeless in its content and inwardly-directed in its mode of address, yet so many poems with lasting claim on our attention point unmistakably outward, addressing the particulars of their times. This course will examine the ways in which an array of 21st poets have embraced, indicted, and anatomized their cultural and historical contexts, diagnosing society’s ailments, indulging in its obsessions, and sharing its concerns. Engaging with such topics as race, class, war, death, trauma, feminism, pop culture and sexuality, how do poets adapt poetic form to provide meaningful and relevant insights without losing them to beauty, ambiguity, and music? How is pop star Rihanna a vehicle for discussing feminism and isolation? What does it mean to write about Black masculinity after Ferguson? In a time when poetry’s cultural relevancy is continually debated in academia and in the media, how can today’s poets use their art to hold a mirror to modern living? This class will explore how writers address present-day topics in light of their own subjectivity, how their works reflect larger cultural trends and currents, and how critics as well as poets themselves have reflected on poetry’s, and the poet’s, changing social role. In studying how these writers complicate traditional notions of what poetry should and shouldn’t do, both in terms of content and of form, students will investigate their own writing practices, fortify their poetic voices, and create new works that engage directly and confidently with the world in which they are written

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3365	001/15125	M 6:10pm - 8:00pm 401 Hamilton Hall	Quincy Jones	3.00	19/20

WRIT UN3321 Ecopoetics. 3.00 points .

“There are things / We live among ‘and to see them / Is to know ourselves.’” George Oppen, “Of Being Numerous” In this class we will read poetry like writers that inhabit an imperiled planet, understanding our poems as being in direct conversation both with the environment as well as writers past and present with similar concerns and techniques. Given the imminent ecological crises we are facing, the poems we read will center themes of place, ecology, interspecies dependence, the role of humans in the destruction of the planet, and the “necropastoral” (to borrow a term from Joyelle McSweeney), among others. We will read works by poets and writers such as (but not limited to) John Ashbery, Harryette Mullen, Asiya Wadud, Wendy Xu, Ross Gay, Simone Kearney, Kim Hyesoon, Marcella Durand, Arthur Rimbaud, Geoffrey G. O’Brien, Muriel Rukeyser, George Oppen, Terrance Hayes, Juliana Spahr, and W.S. Merwin—reading several full collections as well as individual poems and essays by scholars in the field. Through close readings, in-class exercises, discussions, and creative/critical writings, we will invest in and investigate facets of the dynamic lyric that is aware of its environs (sound, image, line), while also exploring traditional poetic forms like the Haibun, ode, prose poem, and elegy. Additionally, we will seek inspiration in outside mediums such as film, visual art, and music, as well as, of course, the natural world. As a class, we will explore the highly individual nature of writing processes and talk about building writing practices that are generative as well as sustainable

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3321	001/13562	M 12:10pm - 2:00pm 317 Hamilton Hall	Samantha Zighelboim	3.00	15/15

Cross Genre Seminars

WRIT UN3010 SHORT PROSE FORMS. 3.00 points .

Note: This seminar has a workshop component.

Prerequisites: No Prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. Prerequisites: No Prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. Flash fiction, micro-naratives and the short-short have become exciting areas of exploration for contemporary writers. This course will examine how these literary fragments have captured the imagination of writers internationally and at home. The larger question the class seeks to answer, both on a collective and individual level, is: How can we craft a working definition of those elements endemic to short prose as a genre? Does the form exceed classification? What aspects of both crafts -- prose and poetry -- does this genre inhabit, expand upon, reinvent, reject, subvert? Short Prose Forms incorporates aspects of both literary seminar and the creative workshop. Class-time will be devoted alternatingly to examinations of published pieces and modified discussions of student work. Our reading chart the course from the genres emergence, examining the prose poem in 19th-century France through the works of Mallarme, Baudelaire, Max Jacob and Rimbaud. Well examine aspects of poetry -- the attention to the lyrical, the use of compression, musicality, sonic resonances and wit -- and attempt to understand how these writers took, as Russell Edson describes, experience [and] made it into an artifact with the logic of a dream. The class will conclude with a portfolio at the end of the term, in which students will submit a compendium of final drafts of three of four short prose pieces, samples of several exercises, selescted responses to readings, and a short personal manifesto on the short prose form

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3010	001/15124	W 4:10pm - 6:00pm 317 Hamilton Hall	Alan Ziegler	3.00	12/20

WRIT UN3011 TRANSLATION SEMINAR. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Students do not need to demonstrate bilingual ability to take this course. Department approval NOT needed. Corequisites: This course is open to undergraduate & graduate students. Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Students do not need to demonstrate bilingual ability to take this course. Department approval NOT needed. Corequisites: This course is open to undergraduate ＆ graduate students. This course will explore broad-ranging questions pertaining to the historical, cultural, and political significance of translation while analyzing the various challenges confronted by the arts foremost practitioners. We will read and discuss texts by writers and theorists such as Benjamin, Derrida, Borges, Steiner, Dryden, Nabokov, Schleiermacher, Goethe, Spivak, Jakobson, and Venuti. As readers and practitioners of translation, we will train our ears to detect the visibility of invisibility of the translators craft; through short writing experiments, we will discover how to identify and capture the nuances that traverse literary styles, historical periods and cultures. The course will culminate in a final project that may either be a critical analysis or an original translation accompanied by a translators note of introduction

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3011	001/15125	W 2:10pm - 4:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Bonnie Chau	3.00	10/15

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment
WRIT 3011	001/18722	T 4:10pm - 6:00pm 608 Lewisohn Hall	Bonnie Chau	3.00	0/15

WRIT UN3018 Inhabiting Form: Writing the Body. 3.00 points .

The body is our most immediate encounter with the world, the vessel through which we experience our entire lives: pleasure, pain, beauty, horror, limitation, freedom, fragility and empowerment. In this course, we will pursue critical and creative inquiries into invocations and manifestations of the body in multiple genres of literature and in several capacities. We will look at how writers make space for—or take up space with—bodies in their work. The etymology of the word “text” is from the Latin textus, meaning “tissue.” Along these lines, we will consider the text itself as a body. Discussions around body politics, race, gender, ability, illness, death, metamorphosis, monstrosity and pleasure will be parallel to the consideration of how a text might function itself as a body in space and time. We will consider such questions as: What is the connective tissue of a story or a poem? What is the nervous system of a lyric essay? How is formal constraint similar to societal ideals about beauty and acceptability of certain bodies? How do words and language function at the cellular level to build the body of a text? How can we make room to honor, in our writing, bodies that have otherwise been marginalized? We will also consider non-human bodies (animals ＆ organisms) and embodiments of the supernatural (ghosts, gods ＆ specters) in our inquiries. Students will process and explore these ideas in both creative and analytical writings throughout the semester, deepening their understanding of embodiment both on and off the page

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3018	001/15456	M 12:10pm - 2:00pm 511 Kent Hall	Samantha Zighelboim	3.00	14/15

WRIT UN3031 INTRO TO AUDIO STORYTELLING. 3.00 points .

It’s one thing to tell a story with the pen. It’s another to transfix your audience with your voice. In this class, we will explore principles of audio narrative. Oral storytellers arguably understand suspense, humor and showmanship in ways only a live performer can. Even if you are a diehard writer of visually-consumed text, you may find, once the class is over, that you have learned techniques that can translate across borders: your written work may benefit. Alternatively, you may discover that audio is the medium for you. We will consider sound from the ground up – from folkloric oral traditions, to raw, naturally captured sound stories, to seemingly straightforward radio news segments, to highly polished narrative podcasts. While this class involves a fair amount of reading, much of what we will be studying and discussing is audio material. Some is as lo-fi as can be, and some is operatic in scope, benefitting from large production budgets and teams of artists. At the same time that we study these works, each student will also complete small audio production exercises of their own; as a final project, students will be expected to produce a trailer, or “sizzle” for a hypothetical multi-episode show. This class is meant for beginners to the audio tradition. There are some tech requirements: a recording device (most phones will suffice), workable set of headphones, and computer. You’ll also need to download the free audio editing software Audacity

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3031	001/15460	W 12:10pm - 2:00pm 311 Fayerweather	Mallika Rao	3.00	15/20

WRIT UN3036 THE AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE. 3.00 points .

What is an aesthetic experience and what does it tell us about art or about ourselves? An aesthetic experience might be best initially defined as a subjective and often profound encounter with an object, artwork, or phenomenon that elicits a heightened sense of beauty, appreciation, or emotional response. It involves a deep engagement with the sensory, emotional, and intellectual aspects of the object of appreciation. Aesthetic experiences typically involve a sense of pleasure, contemplation, or emotional resonance, and they often transcend practical or utilitarian considerations. These experiences can encompass a wide range of phenomena, literature, natural landscapes, and even everyday objects when perceived with a heightened sense of awareness and appreciation. Aesthetic experiences are highly personal and can vary from person to person based on individual preferences, cultural backgrounds, and emotional responses. For me, an aesthetic experience is both mysterious and confounding—I’m impacted physically as much as it might mentally or emotionally. In the throes of an aesthetic experience, I might feel the small hairs on my arms or on the back of my neck stand up. I might feel nearly ill from a racing heart or my stomach turning. I might feel energized by new thoughts prompted by the experience or feel my heart swell in appreciation and awe. I might also feel a deep sense of recognition—one that connects me to the art object and its maker in a way that transcends time and place. But why do I feel this? Where does this feeling come from? What is really happening?? In this class, we’ll study this question on two levels: 1. A ‘theoretical’ level. Theorists, critics, and philosophers have long tried to understand what it means to have an aesthetic experience. Plato likened this experience to madness, Kant to the sublime; Tolstoy argued the aesthetic experience was a form of communication only accessible through engagement in art. Historians place aesthetic experience within the context of time and culture. We’ll study and discuss theories that have tried to define this mysterious phenomenon. 2. A ‘practical’ level. We’ll also read the work of writers who have puzzled through this question of the aesthetic experience by writing about their connection to a work or body of work by another artist. Often this involves a search to understand the self via the work of another artist. Books: Required books available at Book Culture on 112th Street and Broadway or in course reserves at Butler Library. Several readings will be available for free via our courseworks page. They are indicated on the syllabus as (CW)

Course Number	Section/Call Number	Times/Location	Instructor	Points	Enrollment

WRIT 3036	001/18897	W 10:10am - 12:00pm Mpr River Side Church	Chloe Jones	3.00	13/15

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Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

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MFA Program

CM Burroughs, Don DeGrazia, Ames Hawkins, Aviya Kushner, Eric May, Joseph Meno, Alexis Pride, Shawn Shiflett, Tony Trigilio

The program offers partial funding. Awarded on a competitive, merit basis, Graduate Award scholarships reduce tuition costs and Assistantships offer students the opportunity to work in the English and Creative Writing department. All program applicants, who apply on or before the priority deadline, are automatically considered for these awards.

The Graduate Student Instructorship (GSI) program offers teaching experience for a select number of students. Students are paid a stipend for teaching one section of Writing and Rhetoric per semester upon completion of the Teaching Methods and Pedagogies course in fall semester and approval to teach.

In addition, continuing students in graduate programs college-wide may apply for a number of awards, including the Albert P. Weisman Award, the Diversity Award, the Graduate Opportunity Award, and the Graduate Fellowship. The Nathan Breitling Poetry Fellowship and the Andrew Ruzkowski Memorial Scholarship are also available on a competitive basis for poets.

In the tradition of the Columbia Poetry Review and Hair Trigger , the department has launched Allium , a new, multi- and cross-genre journal, featuring work by writers nationally as well as by Columbia students.

The program encourages hybrid writing and allows the option of focusing on a single genre. It also offers a flexible curriculum with many interdisciplinary courses available as electives in a wide range of departments across Columbia College Chicago. Annual overseas study opportunities are available for students in Rome, Paris, and Prague (winter and summer terms). The department hosts an annual reading series in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Students can work as editors on the new journal as well as learn editing and production in such courses as Literary Magazine Editing and Literary Magazine Production. Students also have the opportunity to help organize and participate in the Fridays at Five MFA Student Reading Series and are encouraged to create other reading series, journals, and presses of their own.

The program duration is two years including thesis completion.

The program starts in the fall semester and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The priority deadline for scholarship consideration is in mid-January.

Holly Amos, S. Marie Clay, Tyler Flynn Dorholt, Erik Fassnacht, Julia Fine, Jessie Ann Foley, Kelly Forsythe, Hafizah Geter, Jan-Henry Gray, Leif Haven, Jeff Hoffman, Brandi Homan, Becca Klaver, Amy Lipman, Sahar Mustafah, Toni Nealie, Kenyatta Rogers, Andrew Ruzkowski, Ryan Spooner, Megan Stielstra, Steven Teref, Brittany Tomaselli, Naomi Washer, yarrow yes woods, Geling Yan, Joshua Young, Abigail Zimmer

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Meet our Consultants

Aaron carico.

Aaron Carico edits, writes, and is training in psychoanalysis. He has a PhD in American Studies and wrote a book on the history of slavery in US national culture titled Black Market. Specialties: African-American studies, American literature, American studies, Art Humanities, critical theory, dissertation writing, fellowship applications, film & media studies, history, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, philosophy. Languages: English.

Abby Melick

Abby Melick is a writer, translator, and educator, originally from Washington DC. She holds a BA in Literature and Theater from Princeton University and is an MFA candidate in Creative Fiction and Translation at Columbia. She currently teaches University Writing in the Film & Performing Arts theme, and has taught writing workshops with Columbia Artists/Teachers and the Mariposa DR Foundation. Abby also keeps one foot in the world of theater as a script reader for Roundabout Theater Company. Specialties: American literature, creative writing, fiction, film & media studies, literary analysis, Literature Humanities, theatre/playwriting, screenwriting, translation studies, University Writing. Languages: English, Spanish.

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro

Ale is a member of the Columbia College Class of 2025, pursuing a double major in Economics and History. At Columbia, she is a Staff Editor for 4x4 Magazine, a literary publication of experimental fiction and poetry. She also serves as Station Manager of WKCR-FM, Columbia's radio station, where she hosts shows on opera and folk music and where she writes for and edits OnAir, a monthly music publication that goes out to subscribers. Ale is also a literary intern at IATI Theater, where she has translated several plays for staged productions. She loves writing of every kind—essays, short stories, plays, journal entries, or even just really good emails—but she is currently working on a research project on authority in writing instruction. Specialties: creative writing, economics, ESL, fiction, grammar, history, international relations, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, MLA style, music, Music Humanities, research, theatre/playwriting, screenwriting, translation studies. Languages: English, Spanish.

Alyssa Pelish

Alyssa Pelish is a writer, editor, and longtime writing consultant, both here at Columbia and freelance. Her work has been recognized by The Best American Short Stories 2018 and The Best American Essays 2020 and 2022; her first story collection was a finalist for the 2022 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. Her fiction and essays have also appeared in The Paris Review, Harper’s, Slate, Conjunctions, Cabinet, New England Review, The Smart Set, The Baffler, FENCE, and North American Review, as well as having been featured on LitHub and the Granta blog. B.A. neuroscience, Carleton College. MFA Sarah Lawrence, creative writing. PhD coursework in literature, CUNY-Graduate Center. Specialties: American literature, application essays, art history, Art Humanities, British literature, comparative literature, creative writing, fiction, film & media studies, grammar, linguistics, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, personal statements, poetry, research, master’s thesis writing, translation studies, University Writing. Languages: English, French.

Amira Silver-Swartz

Amira Silver-Swartz holds a BA in linguistics from Swarthmore College and an MA in Communication from UC San Diego. She has done research in comparative sign language linguistics; her overall focus is on language in connection to culture and identity. Her graduate studies include work in the fields of critical theory, political philosophy, sociology and anthropology, communication and media studies, gender and sexuality, education, and disability studies. At the Writing Center, Amira especially enjoys brainstorming, working on writing practices, and discussing conventions of standardized academic English. She spends her free time exploring the city, going to art museums, embroidering, baking, and over-analyzing jokes. Specialties: anthropology, application essays, art history, Art Humanities, business & professional writing, critical theory, ESL, fellowship applications, film & media studies, gender studies, grammar, history, job search materials, journalism, linguistics, literary analysis, MLA style, personal statements, philosophy, psychology, research, sociology, master’s thesis writing, University Writing, Religious Studies, Close Reading, Social Science Research. Languages: English.

Barbara Paulus

Barbara Paulus is a visual artist and writer of fiction, personal essay, and creative nonfiction. She has a BA in Literature and a BA in Arts Management from Purchase College. In 2019 she completed her MA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Film Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her areas of focus included documentary film, experimental film, art writing, and urban narratives. Previously, she worked as the supervisor of the Borough of Manhattan Community College writing center and has experience as a museum educator. Outside of work you can find her photographing coastal landscapes. Specialties: American literature, application essays, art history, Art Humanities, creative writing, fiction, film & media studies, grammar, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, mixed media/genre projects, MLA style, personal statements, research, museum studies. Languages: English.

Bridget Potter

Bridget Potter, a writer, has a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia and an MFA in Literary Nonfiction from Columbia’s School of the Arts. She taught University Writing at Columbia for three years, and conducted memoir-writing workshops for the Columbia Summer High School program. Her essays have been published in Guernica, Quarto, Best American Essays and Windmill. She has reviewed books for Publishers Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. Before entering GS at Columbia, she had a long career in television, as an executive and also as a producer, most prominently as the head of Original Programming at HBO. Specialties: anthropology, application essays, arts criticism, Art Humanities, comparative literature, Contemporary Civilization, creative writing, dissertation writing, fellowship applications, film & media studies, journalism, literary nonfiction, Literature Humanities, personal statements, sociology, theatre/playwriting, screenwriting, master’s thesis writing, University Writing. Languages: English

Cathy "CK" Kirch is a professional writer and writing consultant, with a particular interest in serving neurodivergent writers. She holds a BA in English Literature and Cognitive Science from Boston University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia University, where she also taught University Writing: Readings in Data Science and Engineering. Her mixed science/humanities background fosters a passion for interdisciplinary work. CK's current research examines the ADHD writing process. Specialties: business & professional writing, creative writing, dissertation writing, fiction, film & media studies, literary analysis, Lit Hum, Art Hum, Music Hum, nonfiction, mixed media/genre projects, music, personal statements, poetry, psychology, research, science & technical writing, theatre/playwriting, screenwriting, master’s thesis writing, translation studies, University Writing, neuroscience, comic book/graphic novel writing, neurodivergent writing processes, disability studies. Languages: English, ASL.

Celine Aenlle-Rocha

Celine Aenlle-Rocha is a Lecturer-in-Discipline at Columbia, where she co-directs University Writing’s Readings in Law & Justice course. While completing her MFA in Fiction Writing at Columbia, she served as a Lead Teaching Fellow for the Center for Teaching & Learning and a Teaching Fellow in the UW program, teaching Race & Ethnicity and Contemporary Essays. She has also worked in an editorial capacity at The Kenyon Review, Columbia Journal, and The Morningside Review. Celine has received fellowships from the Kimbilio Writers’ Retreat, Key West Literary Seminar, Macondo Workshop, and Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing, as well as residencies from the Hambidge Center, Collar Works, the Fairhope Center for the Arts, and Art Farm. Her creative writing has recently appeared in swamp pink, The Brooklyn Rail, Tahoma Literary Review, Joyland, and Obsidian. Languages: English, Spanish.

Conor Macvarish

Bio forthcoming

Dasharah Green

Dasharah Green is an English PhD student at The CUNY Graduate Center. She received a BA in English honors with a double minor in Africana Studies honors and Political Science from John Jay College and an MA in English from St. John’s University. Her current research explores Black feminist archives and the art of Black women storytelling. She uses language as a tool to reimagine and uncover/track histories and genealogies of Black life through writing and storytelling. Dasharah has creative writing pieces and scholarly essays published in various interdisciplinary journals. She currently teaches English at Lehman College and in the Black and Latino Studies Department at Baruch College. Specialties: African-American studies, American literature, application essays, creative writing, fellowship applications, fiction, gender studies, job search materials, literary analysis, nonfiction, MLA style, personal statements, University Writing. Languages: English

Elaje Lopez

Elaje is a senior in Columbia College studying English on the premed track. They serve as the Writing Center's CU Libraries Peer Fellow, and they are passionate about linguistic justice and the practices of antiracist pedagogy. Besides working at the Writing Center, Elaje is also a revision editor on the undergraduate women's health journal GYNECA and a choreographer for the dance group Orchesis. Specialties: application essays, Art Humanities, chemistry, fellowship applications, grammar, literary analysis, Literature Humanities, medicine & nursing, Music Humanities, personal statements, research, science & technical writing, University Writing. Languages: English

Elizabeth Furlong

Elizabeth Furlong is a writer and educator. She holds a BA in English Literature and a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Chicago and is a Creative Writing MFA candidate in Fiction at Columbia. She has held editorial positions at Penguin Random House and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Currently, she teaches University Writing at Columbia. Specialties: American literature, British literature, comparative literature, creative writing, fiction, literary analysis, University Writing. Languages: English

Finn Anderson

Finn is a third-year MFA Candidate in the SOA Creative Writing Program and the recipient of a Teaching Fellowship in the Undergraduate Writing Program, where he teaches in the Urban Studies concentration. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poetry, but secretly wants to be a novelist. Specialties: American literature, application essays, Art Humanities, British literature, creative writing, fellowship applications, fiction, grammar, linguistics, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, MLA style, music, personal statements, poetry, University Writing. Languages: English

Gabriella Etoniru

Gabriella Etoniru is a third year MFA candidate in creative nonfiction writing in Columbia's School of the Arts, and they hold a B.A. in English from Brown University. They are an instructor for the University Writing: Gender & Sexuality theme, having taught University Writing: Race & Ethnicity prior. In their own writing projects, they utilize archival research to explore the intersections between African-diasporic migration and bodies of water. Gabriella's academic interests include African Diaspora studies, gender and sexuality studies, literary nonfiction, personal essays, history, and poetry. Specialties: African -American studies, creative writing, gender studies, history, nonfiction, University Writing. Languages: English

Jason Takayuki Ueda

Jason Takayuki Ueda is coordinator of the writing center. Previously, he has taught composition and worked as a writing consultant at various universities in the city. His interests include modern and contemporary poetry, Japanese medieval history, labor studies, media and culture, cooking, and bike riding. Jason received a BA from Hunter College and an MFA in poetry from The New School. Specialties: American literature, Art Hum, British literature, close reading strategies, comparative literature, East Asian studies, grammar, Lit Hum, MLA style, personal statements and application essays, poetry, University Writing, long projects, American studies. Languages: English

Joanne Park

Joanne Park is a senior in Columbia College studying history and philosophy. On campus, Joanne serves as the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, and has also held leadership roles in the Columbia Debate Society and the Gadfly (a philosophy magazine). Joanne’s research interests include the history of sexuality, the family regulations system, and urban policing. Specialties: application essays, Chicago Style, history, personal statements, philosophy. Languages: English, Korean.

Joey De Jesus

Joey De Jesus is the author of HOAX (The Operating System, 2021) and two chapbooks: We Animate the Dream: A Poet’s Run for Public Office (Mount Analog Political Pamphlet Series, 2021) and NOCT- The Threshold of Madness (The Atlas Review, 2019). Joey received the 2019-20 BRIC ArtFP Project Room Commission and 2017 NYFA/NYSCA Fellowship in Poetry. Poems have appeared widely in print and online and have been installed in Artists Space, The New Museum, and elsewhere. Joey is a co-editor at Apogee Journal and sits on the advisory board of No, Dear Magazine. Joey lives in Ridgewood, Queens, where they ran a competitive abolitionist campaign for New York State Assembly District 38 in 2020. Joey holds a M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University, a M.F.A. in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and a B.A. from Oberlin College. Specialties: African American studies, American literature, American studies, application essays, Art Humanities, British literature, comparative literature, creative writing, critical theory, dissertation writing, fellowship applications, fiction, and gender. Languages: English

Kirkwood Adams

Kirkwood is a lecturer in the Undergraduate Writing Program. He has taught composition at Fordham, College of Staten Island, FIT, Yeshiva and elsewhere. Before living in New York, Kirkwood taught at an elementary school in Boston. Back then, he was also a docent in the Gallery Instructors Program at the Museum of Fine Arts. He has an MFA in poetry. And he makes collages. Specialties: application essays, Art Humanities, Literature Humanities, personal statements, poetry, University Writing. Languages: English

Leina is an MA student of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She holds a BA in English Literature from Georgetown University with minors in Women's & Gender Studies and Art. Her research explores monstrous embodiment and gothic conventions in contemporary Asian American and African American literature, with special attention to feminist and queer lenses. She is from Shanghai, China and enjoys acrylic painting and watching horror films in her spare time. Specialties: African-American studies, American literature, application essays, Asian American studies, gender studies, MLA style, personal statements. Languages: English, Mandarin.

Lilith Todd

Lilith is a PhD candidate in English & Comparative Literature at Columbia, where she studies 17thc and 18thc British and Early American Literature. She holds a BA in English and in History from Brown University. Broadly, her research interests include representations of maternity, households, and bodily sensations, the histories of nursing, sex work, and surrogacy, and the various flows of water, bodily fluids, and poetry. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing at the Met, going to off-Broadway theater with friends, and long walks in the city. She is always excited to talk writing routines and writing tables. Specialties: American literature, British literature, comparative literature, critical theory, dissertation writing, fiction, gender studies, history, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, medicine & nursing, mixed media/genre projects, poetry, research, science & technical writing, master’s thesis writing, University Writing. Languages: English

Maria Baker

Maria Baker is a writer of drama, fiction, and cultural criticism, as well as a translator. At the University of Vienna, she focused on German Philology, Theatre & Media Studies and eventually completed her B.A. in the US in English Literature and Creative Writing. She holds an MFA in Writing from Pratt Institute where she co-developed and teaches two Undergraduate Integrative Courses. She’s the facilitator of an on-going writing workshop for senior citizens in Brooklyn and a founder of the writers' collective Verbal Supply Company. Specialties: arts criticism, Art Humanities, creative writing, fiction, film & media studies, German, literary nonfiction, Literature Humanities, poetry, theatre/playwriting/, screenwriting, translation studies, multilingual approaches. Languages: English, German.

Maria Isabel Martinez

Maria Martinez is an undergraduate student at Columbia University, pursuing a bachelors degree in mathematics and philosophy. When she's not immersed in her studies, Maria enjoys delving into the world of literature with a special fondness for Mitch Albom and Colleen Hoover's books. She finds solace in watching the sunrise at the beach and is an avid explorer of new cafes throughout the city. This year, Maria took on the role of a writing consultant, drawing from her own experiences as a first-generation, low-income student. She takes pride in helping others develop effective strategies and processes to succeed in their academic and professional pursuits. Shaped by her strong Cuban heritage, Maria has a passion for education. Specialties: American studies, application essays, economics, personal statements, philosophy, University Writing. Languages: English, Spanish.

Mason Cannon

Mason is a senior in Columbia College, studying computer science. In the last few years, he's worked as a baker, bicycle framebuilder, journalist, technical writer, and writing center consultant. He's a member of the Columbia climbing club and the Columbia Daily Spectator, and in his free time enjoys bikes, music, and the outdoors. Specialties: creative writing, journalism, nonfiction, music. Languages: English

Meg Charlton

Meg Charlton is an essayist, fiction writer, screenwriter and a recent graduate of the Brooklyn College MFA program. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets such as Vice, Slate and The Yale Review. She holds a BS from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and an MSc in media and communications from the London School of Economics. Meg spent most of her career in news and documentary and is currently working with two production companies on developing her short stories for film and television. She was born and raised in New York City. Specialties: application essays, creative writing, fellowship applications, fiction, film & media studies, journalism, literary analysis, Literature Humanities, personal statements, screenwriting. Languages: English

Mike Schoch

Mike Schoch received his MFA in fiction writing from UMass Amherst. In addition to consulting in writing centers, he has taught writing composition, contemporary literature and professional writing at a several colleges. He also writes fiction, too much of which centers on anthropomorphic vegetables and fruits. When not writing fiction, he tries to make useful household items from junk he finds on the sidewalk. Specialties: American literature, American studies, anthropology, APA style, application essays, business & professional writing, creative writing, critical theory, ESL, fellowship applications, fiction, film & media studies, grammar, job search materials, legal writing, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, MLA style, personal statements, philosophy, proposal & grant writing, LOIs, science & technical writing, master’s thesis writing, University Writing. Languages: English.

Mingxi Xu works in the junctures of philosophy and literature. She holds a MA degree in philosophy (Columbia, 23’) and did her BA in philosophy and economics (UVA, 21’). She has solo-authored and published one prose collection and another book of short stories. Her academic interests lie in metaphysical causation, modern aesthetics, possible worlds, and creative processes. Aside from consulting at the Writing Center, she is also an active researcher in aesthetics of fiction, causal explanation, and Buddhist philosophy. She enjoys discussions on multilingual writing, argumentative structures, critical analysis, philosophical topics, cakes, and cats. Specialties: Art Humanities, creative writing, critical theory, ESL, philosophy, research. Languages: English, Mandarin.

Misa Lucyshyn

Misa is a dancer, nonfiction writer and GS student studying psychology. She researches emotion regulation and how people individually and interpersonally shape their emotional experiences through language and reflection. She is interested in endurance and physicality and explored this previously as a dancer, and now in her writing. Specialties: anthropology, APA style, creative writing, fiction, literary analysis, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, Music Humanities, psychology, research, science & technical writing, University Writing. Languages: English

Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa

Mrinalini is a Columbia College senior studying History and Mathematics, interested in intersections of gender, religion, and law. She has worked on projects ranging from twentieth-century Indian feminist activism to eighteenth-century French missionary writings, working in British, French, and Indian archives and as a Laidlaw Scholar and research assistant at Oxford, Cambridge, and Columbia’s Law School and History department. On-campus, she serves as co-founder and 2022 editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of Asia, co-editor-in-chief of the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, and chair of the Columbia History Association. She can often be found drinking hot chocolate, knitting, and walking in Riverside. Specialties: Chicago Style, gender studies, history, MLA style, research, translation studies, South Asian history, European intellectual history. Languages: English, Hindi-Urdu, and some Spanish, French, and Classical Sanskrit.

Niki Cunningham

Niki Cunningham began her academic journey in two departments: Women’s Studies and Modern Culture and Media. She then did graduate work in modern studies where she focused on historiography and popular culture. She completed an MPH in the history and ethics of public health and medicine at Columbia. Along the way, she taught college writing and courses in the Holocaust and representation. Recently, she directed several master's theses at the School of Public Health. For almost 20 years, she has been a preprofessional advisor at Columbia, focusing on helping students with the writing required for professional school applications. Specialties: application essays, business & professional writing, fellowship applications, film & media studies, gender studies, history, job search materials, medicine & nursing, personal statements, science & technical writing, master’s thesis writing. Languages: English

Sarah Yukiko Ng

Sarah Yukiko Ng is a fiction writer and educator. She studied political science and creative writing in the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po. She completed an MFA at Columbia's School of the Arts, where she was an Undergraduate Writing Fellow, teaching a beginning fiction workshop. She has also taught creative writing at a nonprofit on the Upper West Side and worked in writing centers at various other universities in New York City. Specialties: American literature, Asian American studies, creative writing, fiction, international relations, University Writing. Languages: English

Su Ertekin-Taner

Su (CC '26) is pursuing a BA in creative writing with a concentration in sociology. She is currently a freelance journalist writing features, profiles, straight news, and arts and media, but she also has a background in editorial work for publishing companies. She loves to write and submit short stories and poetry in her free time. Su is passionate about writing process research, sci fi novels, and singing (and can't wait to talk your ear off about it). Specialties: application essays, art history, creative writing, fiction, grammar, history, journalism, nonfiction, Literature Humanities, mixed media/genre projects, MLA style, music, Music Humanities, personal statements, philosophy, poetry, psychology, research, sociology, theatre/playwriting, University Writing. Languages: English, Turkish, Spanish

Sue Mendelsohn, director

Dr. Sue Mendelsohn is the director of the Writing Center and the Associate Director of Columbia's Undergraduate Writing Program. She's taught writing and rhetorical theory for two decades and is co-author with Aaron Ritzenberg of the writing handbook How Scholars Write (Oxford 2021). Her research uncovers the history of writing instruction for African-American college students during the Jim Crow era. Specialties: University Writing, dissertation writing, research, the writing process strategies, personal statements, and application materials. Languages: English.

Tate Ryan-Mosley

Tate Ryan-Mosley is a Senior Reporter of Tech Policy at MIT Technology Review, where she writes about topics like artificial intelligence, privacy, censorship, and internet culture. She has a Master's degree in Global Policy from Johns Hopkins University, and once wrote a novel about Northern Minnesota, which she loves. Specialties: American studies, international relations, journalism, science & technical writing, master’s thesis writing. Languages: English

Valeria Tsygankova

Valeria Tsygankova holds a PhD in English from Columbia University. Her research interests include the literature and culture of the nineteenth-century US, as well as modern writing pedagogy. Valeria also pursues creative nonfiction projects--with a focus on the environment and its representations in contemporary culture--and is currently an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at NYU. At Columbia, Valeria has taught American literature, Literature Humanities, University Writing: Law & Justice, UW: Contemporary Essays, and UW: American Studies, in addition to serving for three years as Director of the UW concentration in Law & Justice. Specialties: American literature, arts criticism, British literature, close reading, creative nonfiction, literary history and criticism, LitHum, pedagogy, philosophy, Russian, University Writing. Languages: English, Russian.

Valerie Seiling Jacobs

Valerie Seiling Jacobs holds an MFA in nonfiction from Columbia University and a JD from Cornell University. Before returning to academia, she practiced law for more than twenty years. She has experience teaching academic, creative, and legal writing. She is a former UWP instructor and previously served on the editorial board of The Morningside Review. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications. Specialties: University Writing, dissertation and thesis writing, business & professional writing, literary nonfiction, law, research-based writing, and journalism. Languages: English

Wally Suphap

Wally Suphap holds a BA in Economics-Political Science from Columbia College, a JD from Columbia Law School, and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia’s School of the Arts. At his alma mater, Wally has taught University Writing (including Contemporary Essays and Law & Justice themed sections), Workshops in Creative Nonfiction and Journalism, and Legal Practice Workshops. As a nonfiction writer and avid reader across multiple genres, Wally is drawn to hybrid modes of expression—memoir, personal narrative, reportage, polemic, literary criticism, archival research, legal analysis, and cultural commentary. His writing explores intersectional identities through an interdisciplinary lens. Specialties: application essays, Asian American studies, business & professional writing, creative writing, international relations, job search materials, journalism, legal writing, nonfiction, personal statements, research, translation studies, University Writing, queer studies. Languages: English, Thai.

Specialties

African american studies.

Aaron Carico, Dasharah Green, Gabriella Etoniru, Joey De Jesus, Leina Hsu

American Literature

Aaron Carico, Abby Melick, Alyssa Pelish, Barbara Paulus, Dasharah Green, Elizabeth Furlong, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Leina Hsu, Lilith Todd, Mike Schoch, Sarah Yukiko Ng, Valeria Tsygankova

American Studies

Aaron Carico, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Mike Schoch, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Wally Suphap

Anthropology

Amira Silver-Swartz, Bridget Potter, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Natalie Swan Reinhart

Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn

Application Essays

Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elaje Lopez, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joanne Park, Joey De Jesus, Leina Hsu, Maria Isabel Martinez, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Niki Cunningham, Su Ertekin-Taner, Wally Suphap

Art Criticism

Bridget Potter, Maria Baker

Art History

Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Su Ertekin-Taner

Art Humanities

Aaron Carico, Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, C.K. Kirch, Elaje Lopez, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Kirkwood Adams, Maria Baker, Mingxi Xu

Asian American Studies

Jason Ueda, Leina Hsu, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa, Sarah Yukiko Ng, Wally Suphap

British Literature

Alyssa Pelish, Elizabeth Furlong, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Valeria Tsygankova

Business & Professional Writing

Amira Silver-Swartz, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Mike Schoch, Niki Cunningham, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

Chicago Style

Joanne Park, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa

Close Reading

Amira Silver-Swartz, Jason Ueda, Valeria Tsygankova

Comics & Graphic Novels

Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch

Comparative Literature

Alyssa Pelish, Bridget Potter, Elizabeth Furlong, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd,

Contemporary Civilization

Creative Writing

Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elizabeth Furlong, Finn Anderson, Gabriella Etoniru, Joey De Jesus, Maria Baker, Mason Cannon, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Mingxi Xu, Misa Lucyshyn, Natalie Swan Reinhart, Sarah Yukiko Ng, Su Ertekin-Taner, Valeria Tsygankova, Wally Suphap

Critical Theory

Aaron Carico, Amira Silver-Swartz, Carin Jean White, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Mike Schoch, Mingxi Xu

Disability/Neurodivergent Studies

Dissertation writing.

Aaron Carico, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Sue Mendelsohn, Valeria Tsygankova, Valerie Seiling Jacobs

East Asian studies

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Maria Isabel Martinez

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Amira Silver-Swartz, Mike Schoch, Mingxi Xu

European Intellectual History

Fellowship applications.

Aaron Carico, Amira Silver-Swartz, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elaje Lopez, Finn Anderson, Joey De Jesus, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Natalie Swan Reinhart, Niki Cunningham

Aaron Carico, Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elizabeth Furlong, Finn Anderson, Gabriella Etoniru, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Maria Baker, Mason Cannon, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Natalie Swan Reinhart, Sarah Yukiko Ng, Su Ertekin-Taner, Valeria Tsygankova, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

Film &Media Studies

Aaron Carico, Abby Melick, Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Maria Baker, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Niki Cunningham

Gender Studies

Amira Silver-Swartz, Dasharah Green, Gabriella Etoniru, Joey De Jesus, Leina Hsu, Lilith Todd, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa, Natalie Swan Reinhart, Niki Cunningham

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Elaje Lopez, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Mike Schoch, Su Ertekin-Taner

Aaron Carico, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Amira Silver-Swartz, Gabriella Etoniru, Joanne Park, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa, Niki Cunningham, Su Ertekin-Taner

International Relations

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Joey De Jesus, Sarah Yukiko Ng, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Wally Suphap

Job Search Materials

Amira Silver-Swartz, Carin Jean White, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Joey De Jesus, Mike Schoch, Niki Cunningham, Wally Suphap

Amira Silver-Swartz, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, Joey De Jesus, Mason Cannon, Meg Charlton, Su Ertekin-Taner, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

Linguistics

Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Finn Anderson

Legal Writing

oey De Jesus, Mike Schoch, Natalie Swan Reinhart, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

Literary Analysis

Aaron Carico, Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, C.K. Kirch, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elaje Lopez, Elizabeth Furlong, Finn Anderson, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Valeria Tsygankova

Literature Humanities

Aaron Carico, Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, C.K. Kirch, Elaje Lopez, Finn Anderson, Joey De Jesus, Kirkwood Adams, Lilith Todd, Maria Baker, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Su Ertekin-Taner, Valeria Tsygankova

Leina Hsu, Mingxi Xu

Master’s Thesis Writing

Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Mike Schoch, Niki Cunningham, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Valerie Seiling Jacobs

Medicine & Nursing

Elaje Lopez, Lilith Todd, Niki Cunningham

Mixed Media/GenreProjects

Barbara Paulus, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Su Ertekin-Taner

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Dasharah Green, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Leina Hsu, Mike Schoch, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa, Su Ertekin-Taner

Multilingual Writing

Multimedia composing.

Carin Jean White

Museum Studies

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, C.K. Kirch, Finn Anderson, Su Ertekin-Taner

Music Humanities

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, C.K. Kirch, Elaje Lopez, Misa Lucyshyn, Su Ertekin-Taner

Neuroscience

Aaron Carico, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Dasharah Green, Finn Anderson, Gabriella Etoniru, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Maria Baker, Mason Cannon, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Natalie Swan Reinhart, Su Ertekin-Taner, Valeria Tsygankova, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

Personal Statements

Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elaje Lopez, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joanne Park, Joey De Jesus, Leina Hsu, Maria Isabel Martinez, Meg Charlton, Mike Schoch, Niki Cunningham, Su Ertekin-Taner, Sue Mendelsohn, Wally Suphap

Aaron Carico, Amira Silver-Swartz, Joanne Park, Joey De Jesus, Maria Isabel Martinez, Mike Schoch, Mingxi Xu, Su Ertekin-Taner, Valeria Tsygankova

Alyssa Pelish, C.K. Kirch, Finn Anderson, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Maria Baker, Su Ertekin-Taner

Proposal & Grant Writing

Carin Jean White, Joey De Jesus, Mike Schoch

Amira Silver-Swartz, C.K. Kirch, Misa Lucyshyn, Su Ertekin-Taner

Queer Studies

Religious studies.

Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Barbara Paulus, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Elaje Lopez, Joey De Jesus, Lilith Todd, Mingxi Xu, Misa Lucyshyn, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa, Su Ertekin-Taner, Sue Mendelsohn, Valeria Tsygankova, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

Science & Technical Writing

C.K. Kirch, Elaje Lopez, Lilith Todd, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Niki Cunningham, Tate Ryan-Mosley

Screenwriting

Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Maria Baker, Meg Charlton

Social Science

Amira Silver-Swartz, Bridget Potter, Joey De Jesus, Su Ertekin-Taner

South Asian History

Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Maria Isabel Martinez, Su Ertekin-Taner

Theatre/Playwriting

Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Bridget Potter, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Maria Baker, Su Ertekin-Taner

Translation Studies

Abby Melick, Alejandra "Ale" Díaz-Pizarro, Alyssa Pelish, Carin Jean White, C.K. Kirch, Joey De Jesus, Maria Baker, Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa, Wally Suphap

University Writing

Abby Melick, Alyssa Pelish, Amira Silver-Swartz, Bridget Potter, C.K. Kirch, Celine Aenlle-Rocha, Dasharah Green, Elaje Lopez, Elizabeth Furlong, Finn Anderson, Gabriella Etoniru, Jason Ueda, Joey De Jesus, Kirkwood Adams, Lilith Todd, Maria Isabel Martinez, Mike Schoch, Misa Lucyshyn, Sarah Yukiko Ng, Su Ertekin-Taner, Sue Mendelsohn, Valeria Tsygankova, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Wally Suphap

The Core Curriculum

Frontiers of Science
Core as Praxis
Writing Resoures
Workshops and Events
Faculty Resources
Working at the Writing Center
Frequently Asked Questions
Antiracism Statement
Applying to Teach
The Morningside Review

This is an attempt at creating an objective ranking of graduate creative writing programs.

For further and more detailed information on how the scores are generated see the methodology page.

Overall score	Fiction score	Poetry score	CNF score	Genres	Degrees	State
11475	10600	9350	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MD
9225	10350	8100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IN
8484	7900	7100	12100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
8400	9100	7700	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	VA
8300	10580	4350	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IA
7183	8350	2600	10350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	AZ
7016	5850	1933	183	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	TX
6988	9850	4350	6100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	PhD	OH
6850	2600	3350	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA, PhD	FL
5600	100	100	5600	CNF	MFA, PhD	IA
5475	3100	1850	1412	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	TX
5350	3850	1475	225	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IN
5266	5600	3350	6850	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MN
5183	6766	2100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NY
5100	6100	4100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NC
4600	3475	1225	475	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	AZ
4544	5100	3350	0	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MFA	MA
4500	3100	2100	9100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	PA
4366	3877	5100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NC
4266	6100	2433	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	PhD	CA
4266	3600	766	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	WI
4145	2781	1372	190	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MI
4100	1766	4433	6100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	ID
3975	1433	5100	5766	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	OH
3933	2683	1433	183	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	CA
3645	6300	1433	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	FL
3266	4433	2100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	TN
3100	1946	946	407	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Multimedia	MFA	RI
2933	1711	988	433	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	NY
2918	3814	1350	0	Fiction, Poetry	MA, PhD	MS
2900	4100	1700	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	OH
2850	850	850	1350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NM
2833	2242	2300	5100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MT
2725	475	2100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MD
2655	3350	1766	2600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	FL
2600	1400	1300	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	OR
2500	2544	2200	4100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MA
2475	1600	600	725		MA, PhD	NE
2475	100	4600	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MS
2447	3946	300	0	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MFA	NY
2350	2100	2350	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IN
2300	1300	1100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MO
2266	5100	3100	4600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MI
2225	1350	3100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IL
2225	2500	100	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CO
2166	616	333	1500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MFA	VT
2100	766	4766	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
2080	1000	320	960	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VT
2016	1600	350	350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
2016	1016	916	316	Fiction, Poetry	MA, MFA	NY
2000	1200	600	1400	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	IA
1975	558	1058	975	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	UT
1850	800	650	750	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	AL
1766	1600	266	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	FL
1766	100	1300	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	VA
1766	2600	850	2433	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	LA
1683	1100	183	600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	CO
1600	700	900	400	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
1600	1475	225	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	LA
1600	3100	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	SC
1544	1544	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WY
1529	744	529	462	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
1463	1766	1350	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	NV
1433	2766	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	ID
1385	385	528	671	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	AK
1385	1242	242	171	Fiction, Poetry, Translation	MFA	AR
1372	100	100	3600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
1360	885	850	3100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting	MA, MFA	KY
1350	766	516	266	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	MI
1340	1016	725	2500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
1330	510	612	356	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	MO
1300	544	100	855	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	MA
1300	1200	200	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	TX
1266	1266	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IL
1262	748	370	289	Fiction, Poetry	MA, MFA	CA
1260	1683	600	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	LA
1242	671	671	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	TX
1242	600	100	742	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OR
1233	1385	766	1300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NH
1211	1475	957	1100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	WA
1100	433	683	266	Fiction, Poetry, Screenwriting	MFA	DC
1100	513	341	651	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	TX
1100	516	683	100	Fiction, Poetry	MA	CA
1100	1100	100	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Screenwriting	MFA	KY
1100	100	1100	2100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WV
1100	350	1600	1766	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
1044	988	100	155	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
1016	100	1766	3100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IN
1000	1900	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MO
1000	1000	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MA, MFA	NM
1000	100	600	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	UT
988	433	488	266	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	CA
975	2433	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
957	1300	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	FL
933	100	100	272	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MA	ON
933	933	100	1766	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NJ
900	546	376	176	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
900	500	100	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	IL
877	2433	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Graphic Novel	MFA	FL
839	100	1100	3433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Popular Fiction	MFA	ME
833	633	100	300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	NC
827	100	100	827	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NC
822	488	100	433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MN
787	725	162	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NJ
725	725	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	CA
700	100	100	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
700	1350	100	433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	GA
671	1100	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	PA
671	457	314	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	FL
671	528	814	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NC
651	444	272	134	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	PhD	CO
633	633	100	366	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	GA
625	175	200	450	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
600	600	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MFA, PhD	KS
600	100	600	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	TX
566	366	300	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	TN
548	548	100	203	Fiction, CNF	MFA, PhD	GA
544	1100	100	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Translation	MFA	NY
533	333	100	300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Screenwriting	MFA	NM
520	300	180	240	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OR
520	273	372	975	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MFA	CA
500	100	100	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NV
500	100	100	500	CNF	MFA	MD
479	203	410	134	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MA, PhD	NY
477	233	166	366	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	TX
475	100	100	475	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	SC
461	127	100	350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IL
433	100	100	433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
433	700	1600	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
433	133	166	266	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting, Graphic Novel	MFA	VT
400	100	100	400	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IL
400	400	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NY
400	220	220	160	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	WI
400	150	250	200	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Multimedia	MFA	CA
400	233	200	166	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	IL
390	172	100	318	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting, Translation, Lyric and libretto, Radio drama, Graphic Novel	MFA	BC
375	100	375	100			CA
341	237	168	134	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	PA
340	100	220	220	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MFA	MN
340	180	180	340	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Translation	MFA	NJ
340	340	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OR
330	100	100	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	AZ
306	100	100	306		MA, PhD	LA
306	100	306	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	CO
300	300	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	KS
300	100	100	300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
300	100	300	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NH
276	100	100	276	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
273	100	100	600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	CT
272	272	100	100
272	272	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MA	Québec
272	272	100	272		MA	MO
272	100	272	100	Fiction, Poetry, Multimedia	MFA	NY
272	100	100	272
260	260	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
242	100	100	242	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	SK
242	242	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
240	450	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	OK
237	237	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	Ontario
237	100	134	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	CA
237	100	237	100
237	100	237	100	Fiction, Poetry	MA	MS
227	188	139	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NY
203	203	100	100			MN
203	203	100	203	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	RI
203	203	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MA, PhD	New Brunswick
200	150	150	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	CA
180	140	100	140	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IL
168	168	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	TX
168	168	100	168
166	100	100	166	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	OK
166	166	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
134	134	100	100		MA	Ontario
134	100	100	134			CT
112	100	100	112	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	PA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	CA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	TN
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	SC
100	100	100	100		MA, PhD	HI
100	100	100	100		MA	CA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	MI
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	KY
100	100	100	100		MA, PhD	NY
100	100	100	100
100	100	100	100
100	100	100	100
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	MA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	NY
100	100	100	100		MFA	MO
100	100	100	100
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Screenwriting	MFA	MO
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	LA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MA, PhD	CT
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Graphic Novel	MFA	MA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	NE
100	100	100	100	CNF	MFA	GA
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Translation	MFA	CO
100	100	100	100	Poetry	MFA	NJ
100	100	100	100			TX
100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MA

Lists of authors without graduate creative writing degrees or whose degree status is unknown are available. Send questions, comments and corrections to [email protected] .

Disclaimer: No endorsement of these ratings should be implied by the writers and writing programs listed on this site, or by the editors and publishers of Best American Short Stories , Best American Essays , Best American Poetry , The O. Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize Anthology .

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COMMENTS

Creative Writing Master Degree Program
As a student in Columbia College Chicago's Creative Writing MFA program, you'll have close working relationships with our award-winning faculty members in an intimate community of writers. ... With a Creative Writing MFA, Columbia alumni go on to find employment in teaching, editing, arts administration, public relations, nonprofit agencies ...
Program: Creative Writing, MFA
The MFA in Creative Writing is a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary, multi-genre immersion into the literary arts. Writers may choose to focus on a primary genre, explore a secondary genre, or design their own multi-genre curriculum. The program embodies a creative-critical approach to the literary arts, incorporating literature seminars ...
Creative Writing Degree Program, Major
In the Creative Writing bachelor's degree program at Columbia College Chicago, you'll write from day one, immediately discovering your creative process as you craft stories, poems, essays, and hybrid texts. Diversity: it's the name of the game in creative writing at Columbia, where we push boundaries and redefine borders.
Program: Fiction, MFA
This Master of Fine Arts program is a studio/academic program in which students' own writing and craft (in workshops and craft seminars) is enriched by the study of literature and the form and theory of fiction. The Fiction MFA emphasizes a small, intimate graduate experience that encompasses a wide breadth of literary traditions.
School of Communication, Culture, and Society
Expand and share your understanding of the world with a creative career. The School of Communication, Culture and Society offers programs to provide you with the knowledge, skills and experiences that are essential to a wide range of careers. Whether you want to become a journalist, creative writer, cultural analyst, literary critic, ASL ...
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago's undergraduate program in Creative Writing and MFA in Creative Writing program provide an extraordinary, collaborative learning environment. Our programs are led by nationally and internationally known faculty members who teach, live, and write in one of the most celebrated literary and artistic cities in the world.
Creative Writing, Master
Columbia College Chicago's Creative Writing MFA is a single, seamless program that allows you to take classes in as many genres as you like (poetry, fiction, or nonfiction). This MFA supports hybrid writing that combines elements of more than one genre. Columbia College Chicago. Chicago , Illinois , United States. Not ranked.
Columbia College Chicago's English and Creative Writing Department
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction. Event types: Reading, Panel, Talk, Performance. Address: 600 South Michigan Avenue. Chicago, IL 60605. Columbia College's MFA Creative Writing program hosts reading series, lectures, talks, and panel discussions throughout the school year. They host the Efroymson Creative.
English and Creative Writing Department
English and Creative Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago provides on-going educational opportunities to those students seeking advanced degrees. English and Creative Writing Department - Columbia College Chicago - Graduate Programs and Degrees
The Creative Writing Major at Columbia College Chicago
During the 2020-2021 academic year, 19 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Columbia. About 32% were men and 68% were women. The majority of the students with this major are white. About 53% of 2021 graduates were in this category. The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently ...
Program: Creative Writing, MFA
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this Columbia College Chicago Catalog; however, the Catalog is not a contract but rather a guide for the convenience of students. ... The MFA in Creative Writing is a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary, multi-genre immersion into the literary arts. Writers may choose to ...
English and Creative Writing
CRWR 140 Story and Journal. CRWR 141 Fantasy Writing Workshop. CRWR 143 Journal and Sketchbook: Ways of Seeing. CRWR 144A Topics in Fiction Writing. CRWR 144B Topics in Fiction Writing. CRWR 144C Topics in Fiction Writing. CRWR 150 Fiction Workshop: Beginning. CRWR 155 Poetry Workshop: Beginning. CRWR 160 Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Beginning.
Writing
The Columbia MFA is a two-year program requiring 60 credits of coursework to complete the degree and can take up to three years to complete the thesis. Students concentrate in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction, and also have the option of pursuing a joint course of study in writing and literary translation.
15 Best Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2024
1) Johns Hopkins University, MFA in Fiction/Poetry. This two-year program offers an incredibly generous funding package: $39,000 teaching fellowships each year. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and the option to apply for a lecture position after graduation.
Creative Writing < Columbia College
Major in Creative Writing. The major in creative writing requires a minimum of 36 points: five workshops, four seminars, and three related courses. Workshop Curriculum (15 points) Students in the workshops produce original works of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and submit them to their classmates and instructor for a close critical analysis.
Columbia College Chicago
Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we've published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests ...
Consultant Biographies
Elizabeth Furlong is a writer and educator. She holds a BA in English Literature and a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Chicago and is a Creative Writing MFA candidate in Fiction at Columbia. She has held editorial positions at Penguin Random House and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Currently, she teaches University Writing at ...
Acting and Contemporary Performance Making
Columbia's MFA in Acting and Contemporary Performance making is a rigorous one-of-a-kind international experience. This two-year program prepares performers and creators to create the theatre of tomorrow. Deepen your craft - not only as an actor, but as a theatre and performance maker. Develop your creative vision in collaboration with ...
creativewritingmfa.info
Lists of authors without graduate creative writing degrees or whose degree status is unknown are available. Send questions, comments and corrections to [email protected].. Disclaimer: No endorsement of these ratings should be implied by the writers and writing programs listed on this site, or by the editors and publishers of Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, Best ...
Graduate Admissions |Requirements
Regardless of program, all applications to the School of Graduate Studies require: Application fee: $60. Resume. Transcript (s) from all colleges/universities attended. Interview. Your admissions director or graduate program director will contact you directly about a potential interview after initial review of application materials.
Undergraduate Writing Program at Columbia University
The MFA program in creative writing at Columbia University's School of the Arts offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction, and features a curriculum driven by a rigorous approach to literary instruction, and a faculty that is deeply committed to the work of its students. We seek students looking to deepen their artistic ...
The Creative Writing Program at Columbia University
To study creative writing at Columbia University's School of the Arts, in New York City, is to join a distinguished group of writers who arrived at a prestigious university in the nation's literary capital to explore the deep artistic power of language. J.D. Salinger enrolled in a short story course here in 1939. Federico Garcia Lorca wrote Poet in New York while he was a student at Columbia.
PDF Creative Writing (MFA) Estimated Program Costs
To earn a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, you must complete 35 credit hours. The below chart reflects the typical costs of a full-time student in this program: YEAR 1 . FALL AND SPRING . YEAR 2 . FALL AND SPRING . TOTAL COSTS ESTIMATED DIRECT EXPENSES . $22,722 $21,525 $44,247 . ESTIMATED INDIRECT EXPENSES . $22,910 $22,910 $45,820