MFA Programs Database

Our MFA database includes essential information about low- and full-residency graduate creative writing programs in the United States and other English-speaking countries to help you decide where to apply.

  • Providence, RI
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Sawako Nakayasu, Matthew Shenoda, Eleni Sikelianos
    Fiction: Colin Channer, Laird Hunt, Karan Mahajan, Jacinda Townsend
    Cross Disciplinary & Digital Language Arts: John Cayley, Thalia Field, Sawako Nakayasu

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 12
    Deadline: 12/15/24
  • Indianapolis, IN
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Chris Forhan, Alessandra Lynch
    Fiction: Dan Barden, Michael Dahlie
    Nonfiction: Andrew Levy, Natalie Lima

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: Average 12
    Deadline: 5/30/24
  • San Francisco, CA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Faith Adiele, Tom Barbash, Dodie Bellamy, Rita Bullwinkel, Jasmin Darznik, Joseph Lease, Trisha Ya-Wen Low, Denise Newman, Aimee Phan, Leslie Carol Roberts

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 12
    Deadline: 1/15/25
  • San Francisco, CA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Cindy Shearer (Dept. Chair), Carolyn Cooke
    Associated Faculty: Alex Burger, George Reyes, as well as guest artists each year.

    Genre: Cross-Genre
    Residency: Online
    Incoming Class Size: 8-10
    Deadline: 2/15/25
  • Santa Clarita, CA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Gabrielle Civil, Brian Evenson, Carribean Fragoza, Muriel Leung, Anthony McCann, Chris Santiago, Janet Sarbanes, Matias Viegener

    Genre: Not Genre-Specific
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 14–20
    Deadline: 1/4/25
  • Long Beach, CA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: David Hernandez, Bill Mohr, Patty Seyburn, Charles Webb
    Prose: Lisa Glatt, Suzanne Greenberg

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 6
    Deadline: 2/15/25
  • Pittsburgh, PA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Richard Blanco, Gerry LaFemina, Lee Ann Roripaugh, Judith Vollmer (U.S. faculty); Jean O'Brien, Enda Wyley (Ireland faculty)
    Fiction: Joseph Bathanti, Karin Lin-Greenberg, Geeta Kothari (U.S. faculty); Evelyn Conlon, Carlo Gébler, Niall Williams (Ireland faculty)
    Nonfiction: Diane Glancy, Geeta Kothari, Gerry LaFemina, Sarah Shotland (U.S. faculty); Carlo Gébler, Brian Leyden (Ireland faculty)
    Visiting Writers in the U.S. and Ireland: Dilruba Ahmed, Kevin Barry, Jo Ann Beard, Claire-Louise Bennett, Kevin Breathnach, Colette Bryce, Sandra Cisneros, Kit de Waal, Toi Derricotte, Anne Enright, Danielle Evans,  Melissa Febos, Aracelis Girmay, Sinéad Gleeson, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Seán Hewitt, Elizabeth Kadetsky, Claire Keegan, Yusef Komunyakaa, Nick Laird, Ada Limón, Paul Lynch, Lisa McInerney, Paula Meehan, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Annemarie Ni Churreain, Kerri Ni Dochartaigh, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Mark O’Connell, Joseph, O’Connor, Glenn Patterson, Deesha Philyaw, Francine Prose, Sam Quinones, Donal Ryan, Sapphire, Sejal Shah, Clint Smith, Patricia Smith, Tracy K. Smith, Nick White, Kate Wisel, Jenny Xie, Kao Kalia Yang, Nidhi Zak

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 20-25 per year
    Deadline: Rolling Admissions
  • Dublin, Barcelona, and Vienna
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Heather Green, Gwyneth Lewis, Alice Miller, Ruben Quesada, David St. John, Peter Streckfus
    Fiction: Robert Antoni, David Bezmozgis, Aleksandar Hemon, Dinaw Mengestu, Kate Racculia, Diana Spechler, David Heska Wambli Weiden
    Nonfiction: Anna Ciezadlo, Jeffrey Greene, Aleksandar Hemon, Gwyneth Lewis, Diana Spechler

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 10-12 per year
    Deadline: 8/1/24
  • Orange, CA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Anna Leahy, Brian Glaser, Martin Nakell
    Fiction: Mark Axelrod, Richard Bausch, Jean Ho, Alicia Kozameh, Martin Nakell
    Nonfiction: Anna Leahy, Tom Zoellner
    Screenwriting: Mark Axelrod, Mildred Lewis

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 15–25
    Deadline: 2/1/25
  • Pittsburgh, PA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Heather McNaugher, Sheila Squillante
    Fiction: Marc Nieson, Anjali Sachdeva
    Nonfiction: Marc Nieson, Sheila Squillante

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 15
    Deadline: 2/1/25
  • Chicago, IL
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Kelly Norman Ellis
    Fiction: Cole Lavalais
    Film/Television: Christine List
    Publishing: Brenda E. Aghahowa

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 5–10
    Deadline: 7/15/24
  • New York, NY
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: David Groff, Rosanna Young Oh, Michelle Yasmine Valladares
    Fiction: Salar Abdoh, Lyn Di Iorio, Keith Gandal, Mark Mirsky, Soraya Palmer, Dalia Sofer, Emily Raboteau, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
    Nonfiction: Mikhal Dekel, David Groff, Emily Raboteau, Irvin Weathersby Jr., Yahdon Israel
    YA Fiction: Mayra Cuevas
    Screenwriting / Drama: Robert Barron, Marc Palmieri

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 18
    Deadline: 2/15/25
  • Charleston, SC
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Emily Rosko
    Fiction: Bret Lott, Malinda McCollum, Anthony Varallo

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 12
    Deadline: 1/15/25
  • Fort Collins, CO
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Dan Beachy-Quick, Matthew Cooperman, Camille Dungy, Sasha Steensen
    Fiction: Andrew Altschul, Ramona Ausubel, Nina McConigley
    Nonfiction: Harrison Candelaria Fletcher (and a soon-to-be announced writer)

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 12-15
    Deadline: 1/1/25
  • Chicago, IL
    Core Faculty Includes:

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

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 8-12
    Deadline: 2/5/25
  • New York, NY
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Timothy Donnelly, Dorothea Lasky, Shane McCrae, Deborah Paredez, Lynn Xu
    Fiction: Paul Beatty, Anelise Chen, Nicholas Christopher, Rivka Galchen, Heidi Julavits, Binnie Kirshenbaum, Victor LaValle, Sam Lipsyte, Ben Marcus, Gary Shteyngart, Alan Ziegler
    Nonfiction: Chloé Cooper Jones, Jaquira Díaz, Lis Harris, Leslie Jamison, Margo Jefferson, Wendy S. Walters
    Translation: Susan Bernofsky
    Recent Adjunct Faculty: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Hannah Assadi, Chris Beam, Keri Bertino, Mark Bibbins, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Matthew Burgess, Halle Butler, Eliza Callahan, James Cañon, Maisy Card, Frances Cha, Bonnie Chau, Josh Cohen, Lilly Dancyger, Matty Davis, Emma Golden, David Gordon, Benjamin Hale, Susan Hartman, Nathan Heller, Joanna Hershon, Lars Horn, Brigid Hughes, Evan James, Katrine Jensen, Nalini Jones, Madhu Kaza, John Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Tan Lin, Amy Grace Loyd, Jack Lowry, Susan Luo, Erroll McDonald, Lynn Melnick, Lincoln Michel, Michael F. Moore, Michelle Orange, Nadia Owusu, Ed Park, Heather Radke, Chase Rhys, Sarah Rothenberg, Leonard Schwartz, Yasmine Seale, Vijay Seshadri, Jesse Sheidlower, Ira Silverberg, Emily Skillings, Dinitia Smith, Jessi Jezewska Stevens, Lynn Steger Strong, Benjamin Taylor, Jeremy Tiang, Edwin Torres, Lara Vapnyar, Asiya Wadud, Alyson Waters, Adam Wilson, James Wood, Matvei Yankelevich, James Yeh, Kate Zambreno

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 110
    Deadline: 1/3/25
  • Saint Paul, MN
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Sarah Ahiers, Sheldon Lee Compton, Brittany Fonte, John Jodzio, Christopher Klim, and Matt Ryan

    Genre: Fiction
    Residency: Online
    Incoming Class Size: 10-20
    Deadline: Rolling Admissions
  • Spartanburg, SC
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Suzanne Cleary, Tyree Daye, Denise Duhamel, Rick Mulkey, Ashley M. Jones, Richard Tillinghast
    Fiction: Marlin Barton, Geoff Herbach (YA fiction), Sheila O’Connor (YA Fiction), Robert Olmstead, Leslie Pietrzyk, Susan Tekulve
    Nonfiction: Denise Duhamel, Robert Olmstead, Leslie Pietrzyk, Susan Tekulve, Richard Tillinghast

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 22
    Deadline: 10/1/24
  • Ithaca, NY
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Ishion Hutchinson, Valzhyna Mort, Joanie Mackowski, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon
    Fiction: Emily Fridlund, J. Robert Lennon, Ernesto Quiñonez, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Helena Maria Viramontes

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 8
    Deadline: 12/15/24
  • Chicago, IL
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Richard Jones
    Fiction: Dan Stolar, Rebecca Johns Trissler
    Nonfiction: Barrie Jean Borich, Miles Harvey, Michele Morano

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
    Residency: Full, Online
    Incoming Class Size: 15-20
    Deadline: Rolling Admissions
  • Center Valley, PA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Stephen Myers
    Fiction: Patrick Crerand, Juilene Osborne-McKnight
    Nonfiction: Stephen Myers

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 8-10
    Deadline: Rolling Admissions
  • San Rafael, CA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Joan Baranow, Judy Halebsky, Brian Tierney
    Fiction: Kim Culbertson, Lee Kravetz, Hannah Michell, Claudia Morales
    Nonfiction and Memoir: Thomas Burke, Marianne Rogoff

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 5-10
    Deadline: 12/1/24
  • Philadelphia, PA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Tim Bascom, Eric Bell, Isaac Blum, Denny S. Bryce, Julie Cantrell, Paula Marantz Cohen, Kelly Creagh, J. R. Dawson, Sonali Dev, Richard Fellinger, Ted Flanagan, Tina Ann Forkner, Brandi Megan Granett, Nomi Eve, Amy Impellizzeri, Sadeqa Johnson, Karen Karbo, Mary Beth Keane, Tif Marcelo, Courtney Maum, Teresa Messeneo, Jon McGoran, Adele Myers, Rachel Pastan, Maegan Poland, Katie Rose Guest Pryal, Jason Rekulak, Alyson Richman, Aimie K. Runyan, Hank Philippi Ryan, Kelly Simmons, Eric Smith, Scott Stein, Patrick Sylvain, Belinda Huijuan Tang, John Vercher, Heather Webb, Allison Whittenberg

    Genre: Fiction
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 24
    Deadline: 6/1/24
  • La Grande, OR
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: David Axelrod, Christopher Howell, Christopher Kondrich
    Fiction: Claire Boyles, Megan Kruse, Molly Reid, Eliot Treichel, Joe Wilkins
    Nonfiction: Melissa Matthewson, Kathryn Miles, Nick Neely, Jodi Varon
    Environmental Writing: David Axelrod, Claire Boyles, Christopher Kondrich, Melissa Matthewson, Kathryn Miles, Nick Neely, Molly Reid, Eliot Treichel, Joe Wilkins

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
    Residency: Low
    Incoming Class Size: 12
    Deadline: 2/1/25
  • Spokane, WA
    Core Faculty Includes:

    Poetry: Allison Cobb, Laura Da’, Christopher Kondrich
    Fiction: Claire Boyles, Megan Kruse, Molly Reid, Eliot Treichel, Joe Wilkins
    Nonfiction: Allison Cobb, Melissa Matthewson, Nick Neely
    Environmental Writing: Claire Boyles, Allison Cobb, Laura Da’, Christopher Kondrich, Melissa Matthewson, Nick Neely, Molly Reid, Eliot Treichel, Joe Wilkins

    Genre: Poetry, Fiction
    Residency: Full
    Incoming Class Size: 18-20
    Deadline: 2/17/25

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