creative writing mfa chicago

Creative Writing

Making its home south of Midway Plaisance in Taft House, The Program in Creative Writing is an intersection of imagination and critical inquiry. Creative Writing offers an array of writing-workshop-based classes in a variety of genres, from fiction and poetry to creative nonfiction and translation. In addition, MAPH students focusing in creative writing have the unique opportunity to inform their creative projects with rigorous analytic research in a variety of subjects, such as Art History , Cinema and Media Studies , Comparative Literature , English Language and Literature , Gender and Sexuality , Philosophy , and Visual Arts .

Selected Faculty

Rachel DeWoskin

Srikanth Reddy

Sample Courses

There are two open spots in every Creative Writing course with a grad section; MAPH students in the Creative Writing Option get priority in these courses, and require instructor permission to register for open slots. There is no prerequisite on any grad section and all MAPH students are exempt from prerequisites. You can find the numbers for grad sections on Class Search or CIM.

If the two grad spots are already taken there is still a chance that the instructor would be interested in adding additional graduate students. In that case, students should write to the instructor, ask to be added to the waitlist and once they get the OK, plan to enroll during add/drop.

Please visit the Creative Writing page  for more details on classes and registration.

CRWR 40229 - Technical Seminar in Fiction: 3D Character Builder ( Rachel DeWoskin ) This reading and writing course will acquaint students with one of the essential tools of fiction writers, characterization. We will read works by authors including Baldwin, Guo, Nabokov, Munro, Sharma and Wharton, toward exploring how some of literatures most famous characters are rendered. How do writers of fiction create contexts in which characters must struggle, and how does each character's conflicts, choices, and use of language reveal his or her nature? How do we make characters whose behaviors are complicated enough to feel real, and why are some of the worst characters the most compelling? Students in this technical seminar will complete both creative and analytical writing exercises, reading responses, and a critical paper that focuses on characterization in a work of fiction.

CRWR 40411 - Technical Seminar in Poetry: Urban Image and Poetic Play  ( Garin Cycholl ) This technical seminar focuses on poems’ development of image through the work of urban writers. We will explore the lineage of urban lyric within the nineteenth century, then reflect on its development in the contemporary city. What impulse defines an “urban poetics?” What is urban lyric’s relationship with painting and photography? Do all city poems reflect one “city” in the end or is a more local impulse at work in cities as foci for writing? This course seeks to establish a solid, working basis in examining “image” and its lyric development through critical reflection and field work. To this end, we will work with a range of urban writers, including Paul Blackburn, Andrew Colarusso, Wanda Coleman, Kevin Killian, Frank O’Hara, Salima Rivera, Ed Roberson, and David Ulin.

CRWR 44021 - Advanced Nonfiction Workshop: The Trouble With Trauma ( Dina Peone ) In “The Body Keeps the Score” Bessel van der Kolk writes, “The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves.” Many trauma survivors begin writing reluctantly, even repulsed by the impulse to query their woundedness. The process is inhibited by stigma surrounding the notion of victimhood, entities that would prefer a survivor's silence, plus our tendency to dismiss and devalue ones suffering in relation to others. Students in this class will shed some of these constricting patterns of thinking about trauma so they may freely explore their stories with confidence, compassion, curiosity, and intention. We'll read authors who have found surprise, nuance, and yes, healing through art, honoring the heart-work that happens behind the scenes. Half of class-time will include student-led workshops of original works in progress. Paramount to our success will be an atmosphere of safety, supportiveness, respect, and confidentiality. By the quarter's end each student will leave with a piece of writing that feels both true to their experience and imbued with possibility.

CRWR 49300 - Thesis/Major Projects in Poetry ( Margaret Ross ) This thesis workshop is for students writing a creative BA or MA thesis in poetry, as well as creative writing minors completing the portfolio. Because it is a thesis workshop, the course will focus on various ways of organizing larger poetic “projects.” We will consider the poetic sequence, the chapbook, and the poetry collection as ways of extending the practice of poetry beyond the individual lyric text. We will also problematize the notion of broad poetic “projects,” considering the consequences of imposing a predetermined conceptual framework on the elusive, spontaneous, and subversive act of lyric writing. Because this class is designed as a poetry workshop, your fellow students’ work will be the primary text over the course of the quarter.

A more comprehensive list of courses and descriptions is available at the Creative Writing course page . 

• Creative Writing Courses

Creative Writing Option

Students who plan to do a creative writing thesis project in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction can choose to pursue the MAPH Creative Writing Option. Students who complete the following requirements will receive a Creative Writing notation on their MAPH transcript:

• The MAPH Core course (Foundations of Interpretive Theory)
• One creative writing course in the student's chosen genre in Fall Quarter
• Creative Writing Thesis/Major Projects workshop in Winter Quarter
• Three academic courses relevant to the student’s proposed thesis area
• Two elective courses to be taken in any area of student interest

Two-Year Language Option for Creative Writing

MAPH's Two-Year Language Option is a great way for students to pursue advanced work in literary translation in their second year. Some possibilities might include advanced workshops on literary translation in various genres, upper-level undergraduate seminars and graduate courses in non-Anglophone literatures across a range of geographical regions and historical periods, and courses on translation theory.

Two-Year Language Option

Lawrence Grauman Jr. Fellowship Fund

The Grauman Fellowship , made possible by a generous legacy gift from Lawrence Grauman Jr. (AM '63), supports MAPH students studying English and/or Creative Writing, with a strong preference whenever possible for students who focus their studies on nonfiction writing or literary journalism. 

MAPH applicants who plan to work on creative nonfiction or literary journalism can indicate an interest in the Grauman Fellowship on their application.

Grauman Fellowship

Recent Creative Writing Thesis Projects

"Wonders of Unsung Black Life: A Poetic Interpretation on Living in Blackness" Tia White, MAPH '21 Advisor: Margaret Ross

" Once and Future Gardens " Sarah Hobin, MAPH '21 Advisor: Lina Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas

" Love Me, Love Me Not, Love Me Again: Stories for Bibliotherapy " Casey Glynn, MAPH '20 Advisor: Rachel DeWoskin

" From the Well That Washes Itself: A Novel (Excerpt)" Hajrije Kolimja, MAPH '20 Advisor:  Rachel DeWoskin

" The Confrontation Exercises: Essays " Jiaying Liang, MAPH '19 Advisor: Daniel Raeburn

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Creative Writing

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Get In Touch

A graduate admissions representative is ready to answer your questions about this program. Email   David Marts today.

Creative Writing (MFA)

Applications are currently being accepted for this program on a rolling basis. , time to degree:  2 years across genres, part-time options are available.

Our 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.

We're interested in the rich literary history by which the genres are traditionally constituted, and in the ways in which such definitions may fall away.

Writing of all kinds happens here in a supportive, exceptionally creative community.

As a full- or part-time student in the Creative Writing MFA program at Columbia, you'll be a member of a vibrant community of writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid work across genres. Innovative and exploratory approaches are encouraged, as are more traditional approaches to prose and/or poetic forms. With an unusually large, well-published, aesthetically diverse faculty, you'll be stimulated and nurtured as a writer in one of the most exciting cities in the country for emerging literary artists.

Quick Links

See application requirements  | View Required Courses  |  View program costs (PDF)

In the Classroom

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. You'll find a home at Columbia if you're looking for a program that emphasizes discipline and process, craft and critical thinking, and cross-genre possibilities. Our faculty members will support you in your growth as a writer. As role models and authors, they'll encourage and inspire you to experiment, take risks, and engage with other writers and artists

Core Graduate Faculty in Creative Writing:

• CM Burroughs is the author of  The Vital System  (Tupelo Press, 2012) and  Master Suffering  (Tupelo Press, 2021,) which was longlisted for the National Book Award and a finalist for the Lambda Literary and L.A. Times Book Awards. Burroughs has been awarded fellowships and grants from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, Djerassi Foundation, and Cave Canem Foundation. Burroughs' poetry has appeared in  Poetry, Callaloo, jubilat, Ploughshares, Best American Experimental Writing , and  The Golden Shovel Anthology: Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks .
• Don De Grazia wrote the novel American Skin  (Scribner) and other works which have appeared in TriQuarterly, The Chicago Tribune, The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, Rumpus , and elsewhere. He is a screenwriter in the WGA (East) and his rock opera, co-written with Irvine Welsh, debuted at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was short-listed for Best New Musical.
• Lisa Fishman's seventh poetry collection is Mad World, Mad Kings, Mad Composition (Wave Books 2020). Earlier books include 24 Pages and other poems, F L O W E R C A R T , and The Happiness Experiment , on Wave and Ahsahta Press. Her poetry, essays, and hybrid works appear regularly in journals, and she is anthologized in Best American Experimental Writing, American Poetry: The Next Generation , and elsewhere.
• Garnett Kilberg Cohen has published three books of short stories. Her prose has appeared in many places, including The Gettysburg Review, Witness, American Fiction, TriQuarterly , and The New Yorker (2019) online. Her nonfiction has twice been awarded Notable Essay citations from Best American Essays , and several of her stories have won awards, such as the Crazyhorse Fiction Prize and the Lawrence Foundation Prize. Find more information here .
• Aviya Kushner is the author of The Grammar of God (Spiegel & Grau); a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, Sami Rohr Prize Finalist, and one of Publishers' Weekly's Top 10 Religion Stories of the Year; the chapbook Eve and All the Wrong Men (Dancing Girl Press); and the poetry collection  Wolf Lamb Bomb (Orison Books). She is The Forward's language columnist and a Howard Foundation Fellow in nonfiction.
• Alexis Pride's novels include All I Want For Christmas , (co-authored, Level 4 Press, 2021), Where the River Ends (Tanksley-Simpson Publishing), and Sex Kills with short fiction published in TriQuarterly, F Magazine, and elsewhere. Scholarly publications include "Teaching Beyond the Text: What To Do If Johnny Can't Read So Good?" (The ICERI Proceedings, Seville, Spain). See a sample of Pride's work here .  
• Joe Meno  is the author of seven novels and two short story collections, including Marvel and a Wonder , Hairstyles of the Damned , and The Boy Detective Fails . He is a winner of the Nelson Algren Award, the Great Lakes Book Award, and was a finalist for the Story Prize. His recent nonfiction book, Between Everything and Nothing , follows two asylum seekers in the Trump era.

Opportunities for Graduate Students

New MFA students may be admitted on a competitive basis to the Graduate Student Instructor program, which provides training in the teaching of undergraduate composition and is followed by the opportunity to teach Writing and Rhetoric upon approval. Assistantships are also available to new graduate students on a competitive basis. Students holding assistantships may work as teaching assistants, as editors on department publications, as events coordinators, or as faculty research assistants, among other possibilities.

See More Information

With a Creative Writing MFA, Columbia alumni go on to find employment in teaching, editing, arts administration, public relations, nonprofit agencies, literary foundations, advertising, and copywriting. Many have started successful journals and independent presses while others work for national publications or continue their studies in doctoral programs. A stunning number of our alumni have had their books and chapbooks published by both major publishing houses and on highly regarded independent presses. They have won contests and awards judged by renown writers nationally and internationally. Their voices are part of the contemporary literary landscape.

Here are just a few of our alumni who have gone on to have their work published, often by winning prestigious contests:

• Hafizah Geter (MFA '10)   poetry collection  Un-American , was published on Wesleyan University Press.
• Jan-Henry Gray (MFA '16)  is the author of  Documents , selected by D. A. Powell as the winner of the 2018 A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize and published by BOA Editions.  
• Julia Fine (MFA ’16)   is the author of  The Upstairs House  and  What Should Be Wild , which was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Superior First Novel Award and the Chicago Review of Books Award.
• Megan Stielstra (MFA ’00)   is the author of three collections:  Everyone Remain Calm ,  Once I Was Cool , and  The Wrong Way to Save Your Life , the 2017 Nonfiction Book of the Year from the Chicago Review of Books. Her work appears in the Best American Essays, New York Times, The Believer, Poets & Writers, Tin House, Longreads, Guernica, The Rumpus, and elsewhere.  
• Naomi Washer (MFA ’15)  is the author of a novel, Subjects We Left Out (Veliz Books) and several chapbooks including  Trainsongs  (Greying Ghost Press), Phantoms (dancing girl press), and American Girl Doll (Ursus Americanus Press). She is also the translator of Sebastián Jiménez Galindo’s Experimental Gardening Manual ( Toad Press).  
• Abigail Zimmer (MFA ’14) is the editor of Lettered Streets Press and the author of two chapbooks as well as the full-length poetry collection, G irls Their Tongues , published by Orange Monkey Press.
• Amy Lipman (MFA ’14) poetry collection, Getting Dressed , was published by Spuyten Duyvil Press, and her chapbook, Cardinal Directions , was a runner-up for the Ghost Proposal Chapbook prize and published on Ghost Proposal .
• Andrew Ruzkowski's (MFA '13) poetry collections are A Shape & Sound , Do You Know This Type of Tree , and Things That Keep Us From Drifting . After his MFA, he completed a Ph.D. at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A generous scholarship in his memory has been established for students with a primary interest in poetry at Columbia College Chicago; for information about the Andrew Ruzkowski Memorial Scholarship, see here .
• Brandi Homan (MFA '07) is the author of Bobcat Country and Hard Reds , published by Shearsman Books, and is co-founder of the feminist press, Switchback Books.
• Brittany Tomaselli (MFA '15) won the 2019 Omnidawn Chapbook Contest (poetry) judged by Carl Philips, resulting in the publication of Since Sunday on Omnidawn .
• Jeff Hoffmann (MFA '19) first novel, Other People's Children , published by Simon & Schuster.
• Leif Haven (MFA '12) won the 1913 Prize judged by Claudia Rankine, resulting in the publication of his poetry collection, Arcane Rituals From the Future , on 1913 Press.
• Kate Wisel (MFA ’17) is the author of   Driving in Cars  With  Homeless Men , winner of the 2019 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, selected by Min   Jin   Lee. She is also a part-time faculty   at Columbia.  
• Nathan Breitling's (MFA '11) poems have appeared in journals such as Court Green and The Columbia Poetry Review. A generous award in his memory has been established for MFA students with a primary interest in poetry at Columbia College Chicago; for more information about the Nathan Breitling Poetry Fellowship, see here .
• Sahar Mustafah (MFA '14) first novel was published by W. W. Norton; The Beauty of Your Face has been reviewed in the New York Times and elsewhere.
• Tyler Flynn Dorholt (MFA '09) co-edits and publishes Tammy and his chapbook, Modern Camping , was selected by John Yau for the Poetry Society of America chapbook prize. His first book, American Flowers , was published by Dock Street Press.
• Toya Wolfe's (MFA '15)  first novel  Last Summer On State Street was published by William Morrow and recently won the $25,000 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award . The novel has received global acclaim.  
• Books, chapbooks, zines, journals, and presses have also been published and established by many other prolific MFA alumni, including: Becca Klaver, Chris Terry, Erik Fassnacht, Geling Yan, Geoff Hyatt, Holly Amos, Jessie Ann Foley, Joshua Young, Kelly Forsythe, Ryan Spooner, S. Marie Clay, Steven Teref, Toni Nealie, and more.

Chicago: A City of Writers

Living and studying in Chicago means you’ll have access to one of the richest literary scenes in the country. Readings that are free and open to the public are hosted across the city almost every night of the week; many include open mic opportunities for newcomers. Whether you incline toward story-telling venues, poetry readings, slams, avant-garde literary theater, lectures, spoken word performances or fiction readings, Chicago provides a welcoming environment for both new and established writers. Our downtown location in the South Loop sets the stage for surprising, challenging, and inspiring conversations among artists, educators, activists, scholars, and performers––whether in museums, galleries, bars, on the subway or in the stree t.   You’ll be provided with a free CTA pass while you’re in the MFA program, as well as free membership at the Chicago Institute of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art,  so you can explore Chic ago’s wealth of creativity   to your heart’s content

The Efroymson Creative Writing Reading Series

The Efroymson Creative Writing Reading Series at Columbia College Chicago has a long tradition of featuring nationally and internationally renowned writers. Hosted by the Department of English and Creative Writing, the series is committed to presenting critically engaged contemporary authors and embracing diverse voices. Every author who reads in our series also meets in an intimate, informal setting with our MFA students and a faculty host either after or before the reading. And our own MFA students “open” for the featured writers by giving a short reading of their own.

Fridays at Five Graduate Students Reading Series

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College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > English > Graduate Programs > Creative Writing and Publishing (MFA)

Creative Writing and Publishing (MFA)

Tell your story in long-form.

DePaul’s MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing will prepare and empower you to write a novel or memoir, or a collection of poetry or stories while at DePaul. You’ll work across genres under the mentorship of distinguished authors and poets. With courses in Copyediting, Book Publicity, Book Design, Teaching Creative Writing, and Teaching English you’ll have the choice of a career in publishing or teaching. The Creative Writing and Publishing MFA culminates with a required master’s thesis of publishable quality. You may also earn a graduate certificate in

• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Teaching English in Two-Year Colleges
• Digital Humanities

Courses are offered weekday evenings on the Lincoln Park Campus or online.  You can earn the degree in as little as two years.

Tap into a creative community

You’ll have the chance to get editorial and publishing experience with publications like Big Shoulders Books, Poetry East , Crook & Folly and Slag Glass City . Internship opportunities exist at Chicago-area community colleges as well.

Application Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, though we encourage you to submit your application materials 10 to 12 weeks prior to the quarter in which you wish to enroll.

Submit an online application, official transcripts, current résumé, a 500–750-word reflective essay, letters of recommendation and writing portfolio.

Required Courses

You’ll take six workshop courses, one topic course, four electives, and complete a thesis.

of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences graduates were employed, continuing their education or pursuing other goals within six months of graduation

The median salary for Creative Writing and Publishing graduates was $52,000.

Alumni Network

With a network of 8,900 fellow College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences master’s-level graduates in Chicago and beyond, you have a variety of opportunities to grow your professional and academic connections.

Scholarships & Aid

Graduate school is an investment in your future. Learn more about the financial aid and scholarship opportunities available to you.

Contact Information

For more information about applying, contact The Office of Graduate Admission at (773) 325-7315 or [email protected] .

Take the next step

We’ll send you information about the degree, admission requirements and upcoming info sessions. Let’s get started.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

• Litowitz MFA+MA Program

The Litowitz MFA+MA Program in Creative Writing and English

Program faculty, the department of english is grateful to northwestern university alumna jennifer leischner litowitz ’91 and her husband, alec litowitz for helping launch and support this program..

The Litowitz MFA+MA Program in Creative Writing offers intimate classes, the opportunity to pursue both creative and critical writing, close mentorship by renowned faculty in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and three fully supported years in which to grow as writers and complete a book-length creative project.  The Litowitz MFA+MA curriculum gives students time to deepen both their creative writing and their study of literature.  Students will receive full financial support for three academic years and two summers, a total of 33 months.  Both degrees—the MFA in Creative Writing and the MA in English—are awarded simultaneously at graduation.

Drawing on innovative scholarship, deep immersion in process, and cross-pollination between critical and creative texts, Litowitz students will complete a Capstone essay—a 20-25 page expanded version of a paper written for an English department graduate or MFA+MA seminar—by the end of their second year, and will spend their third year working on a book-length creative thesis of their own design, either within one genre or across genres.  The MFA+MA program's small size and attentive faculty will develop students' sense of literary context, the possibilities of genre, and their creative practice, while encouraging them to pursue the individual distinctiveness of their projects.

The Litowitz MFA+MA program provides significant exposure to a second genre in addition to the genre in which a student has been admitted. Students must take at least one out-of-genre workshop and have the option of taking more.

Over two years of coursework students will take:

In spring quarter of the second year, with advising and mentoring by the faculty, each student will complete the MA Capstone Essay.

In year three, students will be almost wholly dedicated to their creative thesis manuscripts.  Third-year students will take three quarters of the MFA Thesis Workshop/Tutorial.

Some students will complete their MFA thesis manuscript by the end of this year; others will wish to take more time.  The Graduate School permits students to submit the culminating project for the MFA at the end of full-time enrollment, or afterward.   

In all three years, students will be mentored by the faculty in the practice of their writing, the design of their projects, and regarding artistic and intellectual resources for their work.  In the teaching of creative writing and, through summer editorial work at TriQuarterly.org , students will get first-hand experience in editing a literary journal.

Visiting writers (including some anglophone international writers) will bring new perspectives to artistic practice, the three genres, and cross-genre or multi-genre work.

Students will pursue their work on our beautiful Evanston campus, amid artists, filmmakers, scholars and public intellectuals, with easy access to the vibrant literary arts scene of Chicago.

Admissions Cycle

Each year, the MFA+MA program admits new students in two of our three genres.  The genres in question rotate annually.  Information on the application process and the genres in which applications will be considered can be found here .

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Master’s in Creative Writing, MFA

Roosevelt's MFA program provides access to a close-knit community of writers as well as the opportunity to participate in Chicago's world-class literary scene. Working closely with faculty and classmates, students develop their craft and expand their artistic horizons, with the ultimate goal of completing a book-length thesis. The program's focus on prose allows writers to explore the possibilities of various genres, including the novel, the memoir, the short story and the lyric essay.

Admission Requirements

Sample courses, career opportunities, admission info.

Location:  Chicago Start Term:  Fall, Spring

• Online Application
• Application Fee
• Official transcripts from all previously attended colleges/universities within the United States. Coursework completed outside the U.S. requires a Foreign Credential Evaluation to be submitted.
• Resume/curriculum vitae
• Letter of intent outlining your personal and professional goals, why you are interested in this program, and how it will help you achieve your goals
• Writing sample (20 pages) demonstrating your abilities within a chosen specialty. For fiction , submit at least three different pieces of fiction (short stories, novella or a novel excerpt). For creative nonfiction , submit at least three pieces of creative nonfiction (personal essays, memoir excerpts, a chapter from a biography or other work in progress).
• Two letters of recommendation
• English Language Proficiency : All international students and individuals who completed a degree program outside the United States are required to meet this requirement.

Sample MFA Creative Writing Courses

• Fiction Forms Workshop
• Creative Nonfiction Forms Workshop
• Literary Magazine Internship

View the course catalog for the MFA in Creative Writing .

Career Opportunities for Creative Writing

While this is a fine arts program with the goal of developing literary skill, MFA graduates have opportunities wherever compelling writing and strong critical thinking are needed. Our graduates have gone on to become authors, both full-time and part-time, and they also work in education, publishing, journalism, marketing, advertising and arts administration.

Why Roosevelt for your MFA

Paths for Every Genre

Students and faculty at Roosevelt embrace a broad range of styles and forms, from literary to experimental, mystery to science fiction and fantasy.

Gain Literary Journal Experience

MFA candidates have the opportunity to work on our nationally distributed literary journal, Oyez Review , and participate in our public reading series.

Local Publishing Connections

Partnerships with various local festivals, publishers and schools provide opportunities for networking and professional development.

“Our intimate class size gives us space to nurture each MFA candidate's unique voice, and our Chicago-based writing faculty of award-winning, internationally-recognized writers is committed to getting each thesis ready for publication.”

Jessica Chiang Proud Alum & Program Director, Creative Writing

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From biology to bassoon, psychology to pharmacy, reading to real estate, Roosevelt has a program for you. Explore our comprehensive academic choices, outstanding faculty and nearly limitless degree program options.

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, workshops, courses in theory and craft, as well as interdisciplinary electives that can be taken accross graduate programs at the college, including travel abroad options. Students will be able to take courses in literary editing and production. A majority of our students also teach as Graduate Student Instructors. 

As a result of successfully completing the program requirements, students should be able to:

• engage critically across literary texts written in various genres;
• continue to generate creative work in their chosen genre(s) of study;
• articulate critical and theorectical approaches to their own creative work as well as the work of others, across genre and literary traditions;
• demonstrate knowledge of the current literary publishing landscape; and
• craft texts across media and genre or in a specific form that are informed by tradition, innovation, as well as the contemporary literary discourse

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS - 35 credits required

Choose three of the following courses:

• CRWR 610 Advanced Graduate Fiction Workshop
• CRWR 625 MFA Poetry Workshop
• CRWR 640 Workshop: Open Genre
• CRWR 662 Graduate Workshop: Nonfiction

Thesis Workshop

Choose one of the following courses:

• CRWR 645 Thesis Development: Open Genre
• CRWR 650 Thesis Development: Fiction
• CRWR 655 Thesis Development: Poetry
• CRWR 665 Thesis Development: Nonfiction

Craft Seminars

Choose two of the following courses:

• CRWR 612A Graduate Critical Reading and Writing
• CRWR 612B Graduate Critical Reading and Writing
• CRWR 626 Graduate Poetics Seminar
• CRWR 630A Craft Seminar
• CRWR 630B Craft Seminar
• CRWR 661A Form and Theory of Nonfiction
• CRWR 661B Form and Theory of Nonfiction
• CRWR 663 Topics in Nonfiction
• CRWR 699A Topics in Creative Writing
• CRWR 699B Topics in Creative Writing

Literature Seminars

• LITR 675 History of the Essay
• LITR 679A Graduate Seminar in Literature
• LITR 679B Graduate Seminar in Literature

Thesis Advising

• CRWR 651 Thesis: Fiction - take twice for two credits 
• CRWR 656 Thesis: Poetry - take twice for two credits
• CRWR 660 Thesis: Nonfiction - take twice for two credits
• CRWR 515 Literary Magazine Editing
• CRWR 516 Literary Magazine Production
• CRWR 620 Critical Reading and Writing: Kafka and European Masters
• CRWR 670 Creative Writing: J-Term in Paris
• CRWR 672 Topics in Writing Abroad: Rome
• GRAD 610 Teaching Methods and Pedagogies

Librianima by Kate Wall (MFAW 2015) 

Graduate Overview

Writing overview.

The Master of Fine Arts in Writing (MFAW) welcomes writers of all genres—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting—and visual artists who work with language as an integral component of their practice. The two-year program provides a rigorous yet flexible curriculum to challenge and accommodate individual explorations of process and form.

Graduate Projects: These are the heart of the Writing MFA program. Modeled on the tradition of artists’ studio visits, MFAW students meet one-on-one with faculty advisors who offer intensive, focused insight and feedback on independently driven projects. Graduate students may work closely with advisors from both within the Writing Program and across the School to expand the critical vocabularies that are pertinent to their practice. Explore our  faculty profiles to learn more about SAIC's award-winning faculty members.

Workshops: This might focus on process, or on a specific topic or literary theme, for example, Process/Project, Narrative Design, Text in Space and Literary Animals. Writing workshops may include interdisciplinary participants who help to foster creative workshop methodology and innovative in-class exercises.

Seminars: These stretch across genres to present models and histories of literary practice and frequently include a generative, creative component. Current seminars include  Code Switch & Reclaim, Systems of Writing, and  Literature of the Senses , among others.

Electives: These offers students an opportunity to engage with interdisciplinary study in the context of an acclaimed school of art and design. Students in the graduate writing program are encouraged to work with their advisors to develop a plan that takes advantage of adjacent fields of study, such as performance, film, sculpture, arts journalism and art history, as well as many other possibilities, to best support their continued growth.

Thesis: This   is the major creative project that all MFAW students submit during their final semester. There are no restrictions on genre or content—for some, it reflects an overall plan and design of a finished book; for others, it’s a means of documenting their graduate work and/or process; yet others use it as an opportunity to put together a collection that adopts variant strategies in relationship to their engagement with interdisciplinary work. Please visit the  SAIC Thesis Repository at the Flaxman Library to view recent MFAW thesis abstracts.

Student Benefits

Scholarships and Grants : Merit scholarships are awarded to applicants of exceptional promise by the Admissions Committee as part of the admissions process. Our MFAWs may apply for teaching assistantships both in the Writing Program and across the School to gain experience in the teaching environment. We also offer incentive awards and small project grants. Three MFAW fellowships are awarded to graduating MFAW students each year.

Professional Preparation : Our students often work as editors and journalists on SAIC’s F Newsmagazine, as well as on independently edited and produced publications. They create podcasts for Free Radio SAIC, a student-run radio station, which broadcasts daily to a global audience. MFAWs present their work in a student-organized lecture series and graduating students participate in a culminating Thesis Reading. MFAWs who demonstrate a studio practice in addition to their creative writing practice may take part in the annual school-wide MFA Thesis Exhibition or time-arts events.

Our Faculty

SAIC's Writing program is distinct from more conventional programs in that it brings together a community of writers and artists at one of the nation's most influential colleges of art and design and draws on a distinguished faculty with diverse artistic and intellectual concerns. Core faculty—writers of poetry and prose and artists in performance; film, video, and new media; visual communication design; printmedia; and painting—are augmented by visiting writers, artists, and scholars. In this unique community of writers and artists, hybrid works, new forms, and collaborative projects are encouraged. 

Visit the Writing department's Faculty page to learn more.

Alumni Accomplishments

SAIC Writing program students and alumni are published widely in publications that range from innovative online journals to international imprints. Our students and alumni also cultivate the literary landscape with the creation of small presses, storefront galleries, and theater and performance groups. They serve as directors, editors, and educators at literary organizations, publishing houses, and schools.

Visit the Writing department's Students & Alumni page to learn more about alumni work and accomplishments.

Take the Next Step

Accepting applications.

Apply to SAIC's graduate Writing program for fall 2024 admission. APPLY

MFA in Writing Admissions Information

Curriculum & courses.

Visit the  graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242 or [email protected] .

MFA in Writing Program Brochure

Request info on our graduate degree programs.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

The department offers a graduate program in a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Students participate in writing workshops in fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry. Additionally, students undertake coursework in African American literature and non-African American literature. MFA candidates also present an MFA thesis (minimum 30 poems or 5 short stories [at least 100 pages] or 150 pages of a novel or creative non-fiction), successfully complete a comprehensive examination in African American literature, and a public literary reading/performance of their original work (manuscript). Essentially, the thesis constitutes a volume of poetry, a short story collection or a novel which students may publish after graduation. Students will show competency in the genre of their choice, choosing from the following categories: fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Students may take course work in playwriting and scriptwriting for film and television as electives.

The Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a terminal degree and the appropriate credential for the teaching of creative writing. According to the Associated Writing Programs, the MFA in creative writing is considered the equivalent of the Ph.D. in literature, linguistics, or composition. Holders of the degree from Chicago State University will not only be able to teach courses in creative writing, but courses in African American literature, African literature, Third World literature, as well as non-Black literature. The MFA degree focuses on the study of writing through the practice, performance, and publication of original work.

Visiting Writers

Throughout the academic year, writers of prestige and established literary reputation serve as visiting writers at CSU. MFA students have an opportunity to participate in writing workshops or seminars conducted by established poets, novelists, short story writers, playwrights, and scriptwriters. Visiting Writers include Martin Espada, Honree Fannon Jeffers, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Roger Bonair-Agard, Crystal Wilkinson, Kevin Coval, Frank Walker, Achy Obejas, and Sterling Plumpp. 

Admission Requirements

For admission to the program, prospective MFA students must meet the general requirements of the graduate school, hold a baccalaureate degree in the arts and sciences from an accredited college or university, and have a GPA of 3.0 or better (on a 4.00 scale). Applicants are expected to have completed a general education program that includes courses in the natural and biological sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities. Applicants who do not have an undergraduate major in English may be admitted on the condition that they make up deficiencies in course work.

Prospective students are required to submit the following two-part application: Part One: Application forms from the Graduate Studies Office, official transcripts, three letters of recommendation, GRE general test scores, and a personal essay describing the nature of their writing and their writing process. Part Two: a portfolio of creative work: for poets, 20 pages of poetry; for fiction and creative non-fiction writers, 40 pages of prose. The portfolio is the most essential part of the application. Every manuscript is read by the MFA faculty committee.

Submit all application materials to:

Division of Graduate Studies Chicago State University 9501 South King Drive, LIB338 Chicago, IL 60628

General Requirements

Fulfillment of the general requirements for admission to the graduate program.

Completion of a minimum of eighteen semester hours of undergraduate work in English and the baccalaureate degree, with an acceptable grade point average.

Completion of at least thirty-six credit hours of graduate level course work, exclusive of teaching methods courses, with grades averaging B (3.0) or above.

Successful completion of the:

1)    Thesis 2)    Comprehensive exam in African American or non-African American literature 3)    Oral presentation

Specific Requirements

Completion of thirty-six semester hours of graduate work in English selected with the approval of the MFA advisor. Teaching methods courses are excluded.

Completion of at least three courses at the  5000-level, including at least two seminars. 

Core Course Requirements

Writing/Workshop (15 hrs) Choose 6 hrs of ENG 5367 or ENG 5368 and 9 additional hours Publishing (6 hrs) Choose ENG 5456 and 3 additional hours Literature (9 hrs) Choose at least one seminar Thesis (6 hrs)

Workshop/Writing Courses

• Eng 5367 - Special Topics in English
• Eng 5368 - Workshop in English
• Eng 5380 - Seminar in Creative Nonfiction
• Eng 5381 - Seminar in Fiction
• Eng 5383 - Seminar in Poetry
• Eng 5395 - Internship in Writing
• Eng 5451 - Independent Study in English
• Eng 5461 - Adv Poetry Writing Workshop
• Eng 5463 - Adv Prose Fiction Writing Wkshp
• Eng 5465 - Adv Nonfiction Writing Workshop
• CMAT 5323 - Writing for Television
• CMAT 5324 - Writing for Screenplay
• CMAT 5373 - Advanced Script writing

Publishing Courses

• Eng 5379 - Workshop in Publishing
• Eng 5395 - Internship in Publishing
• Eng 5456 - Seminar in Publishing-Writing

Literature Courses

• Eng 5321 - Black Women Writers
• Eng 5322 - Black American Poetry
• Eng 5323 - Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
• Eng 5324 - Gwendolyn Brooks Seminar
• Eng 5331 - Literary Criticism
• Eng 5332 - Black American Fiction
• Eng 5370 - The Amer Ethnic Experience in Lit
• Eng 5382 - The Harlem Renaissance
• Eng 5384 - African American Autobiography
• Eng 5390 - Women's Voices
• Eng 5428 - History of Literary Criticism
• Eng 5441 - Advanced Studies in English Lit
• Eng 5442 - Advanced Studies in American Lit
• Eng 5443 - Advanced Studies in Black Lit
• Eng 5447 - Seminar in Black Literature
• Eng 5452 - Seminar in English Literature
• Eng 5453 - Seminar in American Literature

TOTAL HOURS: 36

Program Objectives

• Upon completion of the program students will be able to demonstrate:
• A thorough understanding of literary standards and schools of criterion, as applied in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, play writing, and script writing.
• The ability to analyze creative literary works using the appropriate dictionary terms and standards.
• A knowledge of literary periods as well as an understanding of how historical contexts impact a literary work.
• Technical and artistic skill in crafting their own writing.
• A knowledge and an appreciation of literature produced by writers of diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to use technology in producing or critiquing literary works.
• Skills and knowledge base needed to publish work of literary worth.
• Ability to teach creative writing at the community college and four-year university levels.
• Independent work as an active creative writer, i.e., publication and performance as a novelist, poet, short story writer, playwright or screenwriter.

The Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing

The MFA program is housed in the The Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing.  Founded in 1990, The Gwendolyn Brooks Center is a literary and cultural center invested in researching, teaching, and disseminating information about acclaimed Black writers, especially the life and works of Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), former Poet Laureate of Illinois and Distinguished Professor of English at CSU.  The goal of the Brooks Center is to strengthen the humanities in general and promote the study of Black writers to a local, national, and international community of students, faculty, and the general public.  The Center's broad selection of culturally insightful and academically stimulating programs include the annual Gwendolyn Brooks Writer's Conference, Black History Month Video and Film Festival, and Women's HIstory Month Lecture and Workshop Series, and The Conjure Woman Writing Writing Workshops.  The Center publishes a bi-annual literary journal, Warpland:  A Journal of Black Literature and Ideas, featuring the works of renowned, emerging, and new writers.

MFA graduates have books in print with Simon and Schuster, Main Street Rag, Third World Press, Urban Books and Willow Press, and have received the following awards, fellowships and prizes:  Fulbright and Cave Canem fellowships, Transitions Abroad Narrative Writing Contest, Elixir Poetry Prize finalist, The Guild Complex Nonfiction Award finalist, and The Essence Magazine bestseller list.  Their work has appeared in national juried literary journals such as Crab Orchard Review, Reverie, Caylx and Sage Publications.  Since the first graduating class in 2003, six students have gone to Ph.D. programs.  Half have received their doctorate degrees in English/Creative Writing and three are ABD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Milwaukee, The University of Illinois, Chicago, and the State University of New York, Albany and Binghamton.  Finally, our graduates hold tenure-track teaching positions/administrative appointments at Wiley College, University of New Haven, The New School in New York, the City Colleges of Chicago, Purdue University, Lane College, DePaul University, and Columbia College, Chicago.

MFA Faculty (and Recent Publications)

Kelly Norman Ellis, Director

Tougaloo Blues, Spaces Between Us:  Poetry Prose and Art on HIV/AID co-editor, M.L. Hunter.

Brenda E. Aghahowa

Grace Under Fire: Barbara Jordan's Rhetoric, Praising in Black and White.

Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Hot Johnny (and the women who loved him) (2001); Sea Island Summer (2001); The River Where Blood is Born (1998).

Quraysh Ali Lansana

They Shall Run:  Harriet Tubman Poems , Role Call:  A Generational Anthology - Editor.

Nnedi Okorafor

Zahrah the Windseeker, The Shadow Speaker, Long Juju Man, and Who Fears Death.

Discover the Works of Faculty, Alum and Current Students

http://www.nnedi.com

http://conjurewoman.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/conjure-the-arts-and-culture-blog-2/

http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=43813

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81690

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-02/entertainment/ct-live-0531-kelly-norman-ellis-pr-20100602_1_writing-black-literature-haki-madhubuti

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/RM-Johnson/1701456

http://www.randallhorton.com/

http://www.mainstreetrag.com/RHorton_2.html

http://tobeleft.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-body-raymond-berry-on-writing-and.html

http://www.amazon.com/Diagnosis-Raymond-Berry/dp/1600474365

http://www.amazon.com/Fingernails-Across-Chalkboard-Poetry-Diaspora/dp/088378274X

https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product-tag/randall-horton/

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The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing is a three-year, terminal degree program that provides students with graduate study and professional training in the writing of fiction and poetry with our distinguished graduate faculty.

The primary goal of the MFA in Creative Writing is to give literary artists time and space to work on perfecting their art. Students in this program specialize in fiction or poetry, teach creative writing, and produce a book-length, publishable manuscript. Students will also gain extensive experience in literary editing and publishing while enrolled in the program.

For more information about MFA in Creative Writing, please visit the program page . 

Application Deadline: December 1, 12:00 noon CST (Fiction); December 15, 12:00 noon CST (Poetry)

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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.

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.

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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.

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

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Memoir Foundations with Suzanne Scanlon

This class is open to writers of all levels. Whether you have a story you want to tell but don’t know where to start, or a book in progress, this class will get you writing, rewriting, and finding (new) ways in.

Book-Length Revision 2024 with Julia Fine

We’ll look at strategies for making revision less daunting, discuss structural logistics, and try different revision techniques with the goal of finding the right path for each project.

Magic as Emotional Translation with Hajrije Kolimja

What can magic offer in narratives that strict realism cannot? In this class, we’ll be looking at the utility of magic in fiction writing—particularly investigating how it helps us translate experiences of extreme emotion and the multiplicitous identities of which they are a part.

SINGLE SESSION

All the Feels: Writing for Emotional Impact with Kat Falls

In this workshop, we'll explore the vital role evoking emotion plays in storytelling and how to craft stories that resonate long after the reader closes the book.

Prompt-a-Palooza with Denise Santomauro

Start a new story or deepen your current project with a fun morning of prompts!

Thanks for the Memories: How to Write Flashbacks with Frances de Pontes Peebles

In this class, we will get curious about flashbacks. When should flashbacks be inserted and why? How much memory is necessary? How can we write flashbacks that propel a story rather than paralyze it?

MASTER CLASSES

Master Class: Follow the Desire: Writing Gripping Fiction with R.O. Kwon

In this class, we'll look at others' desire-filled writing and dream up some of our own. How do we follow what our characters want, and, pulled along, find a world?

PJ Seminar: Too Hot to Cut: How to Write Sex Scenes with Purpose with Isle McElroy

In this class, we will deepen our understanding of how sex scenes work to develop character, heighten tension, and advance plot in fiction. Students will also complete short craft exercises.

Master Class: Even More True: Writing Dialogue with Emma Copley Eisenberg

In this class, we will look at both the truth-telling possibilities of dialogue and how, on the level of mechanics and craft, these possibilities can be achieved.

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Writing Humor with Suzanne Roberts

We will discuss elements of humor, the benefits and the pitfalls of using humor in different situations, and the case for taking humor more seriously in our writing.

Writers Room: 10-Pack

StoryStudio’s Writers Room service offers members use of our studio space for writing on Tuesdays and Fridays, by reservation. Our hope is that our space can provide concentration and inspiration away…

Writers Room: 1 Visit

StoryStudio’s Writers Room service offers members use of our studio space for writing on Tuesdays and Fridays, by reservation. Our hope is that our space can provide concentration and inspiration…

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StoryBall Fundraiser 2024: Literary Noir The Stories Matter Foundation Board of Directors invites you to our annual fundraiser, StoryBall. The theme for 2024 will be Literary Noir, hosted at Revolution…

“I finished my MFA in 2022 and, though it was a phenomenal program, I had two major holes in my education: novel writing and the publishing process. I attended Pub Crawl last year and a novel course this year and have learned so much from you all. I truly can’t believe the quality of teaching StoryStudio is sharing with the world (and so affordably) and wanted to say THANK YOU!” – Adrienne G.

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StoryStudio is part of this 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit and community of storytellers. We aim to change worlds using the power of story.

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One of our main goals is building a community where writers and literary folks can come together to learn, share, and grow in the creative arts.

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20 stories: (#1) ericka carmona-vega.

Ultimately, StoryStudio Chicago’s teachings and empowering methods of inquiry led me to finish my first novel of the Rise series.

20 Stories: (#10) Rowan Beaird

The first time I went to StoryStudio was for a write-in. I loved that the space felt like an apartment—the creak of the wood floors, the ambient bubbling of a kettle, deep couches, warm lights. Though it attracts talented, accomplished writers, there’s nothing intimidating about the space, and that sense of warmth and community is…

20 Stories: (#11) Jasmine Sawers

While writing itself is a deeply solitary endeavor, I came to realize that the support of other writers during the writing process was invaluable and, indeed, exactly what I had been missing since finishing my MFA.

Creative Writing

A haven for writers of all genres and ambitions

December 3, 2024

*Flexible payment available

Enroll this week to receive a 10% tuition reduction

Imbue your writing with imagination and range.

Craft writing that is distinct and well-developed..

Stories are timeless and eternal. They are touchstones, formed by time and place, which reflect upon the human experience. Creative writing is an asset in all professional fields throughout diverse positions. The ability to craft intriguing, memorable prose remains one of the most enduring forms of human expression. Learn to conceive and develop integral elements of a story, including plotline, characters, symbolism, setting, and atmosphere.

Our Approach to Online Learning

Optimize your time with a mode of study that allows you to explore content and complete tasks at your own pace.

Interactive

Our interactive content includes videos from instructors at the University of Chicago as well as materials that enable you to learn through real-world examples.

Personalized

Throughout the program, the teaching assistant will serve as a valuable resource to clarify any questions and provide feedback on your work.

Meet Your Instructor

Sarah Terez Rosenblum, MFA

Sarah Terez Rosenblum’s work has appeared in literary magazines such as The Normal School, Prairie Schooner (shortlisted for the publication’s Summer 2020 Creative Nonfiction Prize), Diagram , Brevity, Third Coast , and Carve. In 2022, Rosenblum was shortlisted for StoryQuarterly ’s annual fiction contest. She has written for sites that include Salon, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Satirist, and Pop Matters .

Pushcart Prize-nominated, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Rosenblum is a creative coach and developmental editor. She also teaches creative writing at Story Studio, where she was voted 2022 Teacher of the Year, and at the University of Chicago Writer’s Studio. Rosenblum’s novel, Herself When She’s Missing , was called “poetic and heartrending” by Booklist . 

Unique Program Features

Live sessions and workshops.

Engage in live sessions and workshops that provide the opportunity to pose questions and exchange ideas.

Practical application

Practice specific craft points and explore the drafting process through weekly writing exercises.

Personalized guidance

Receive feedback from your instructors about the development of your writing.

Learning Outcomes

• Reveal character through action.
• Establish setting through characters’ physicality.
• Write dynamic scenes.
• Create dialogue that reveals character and furthers plot.
• Recognize and use imagery and symbolic language.

After completing the course, you will be able to:

Create a strategy for your organization that makes use of AI to accomplish business goals

Build a team for success in an AI world

Choose the best areas for early-stage development and understand how to scale AI solutions

Earn a certificate of completion from the University of Chicago and become part of the UChicago network

Course Modules

Introduction to Writing and Crafting Character

• Things to Consider Before Writing
• Introduction to Character
• Description
• Internal Response

Point of View

• Introduction to Point of View
• First Person
• Third Person
• Less Common Points of View: Second Person
• Less Common Points of View: First Person Plural
• Focalization
• Writing Practice

Setting and Mood

• Starting with Setting
• Creating Setting
• Analysis of Setting in The Road
• Introduction to Workshop
• Introduction to Plot
• Basic Plot Arcs
• Denouement and Resolution
• Conflict and Tension
• Change and Imagery
• The Hero’s Journey
• Introduction to Dialogue
• Dialogue and Action
• Creating Tension with Dialogue
• Dialogue and Subtext
• Issues in Dialogue

Voice and Tone

• Introduction to Tone and Voice
• Authorial Voice and Character Voice
• Finding Your Voice
• Strong Story Starts
• Writing Practice: Drafting

Imagery, Symbolism, and Theme

• Introduction to Imagery and Theme
• Figurative Language
• Systems of Imagery: “In the White Night”
• Building Your Own Systems of Imagery
• Writing Practicen

Time Movement and Literary Magazines

• Simple Scene Movement
• Introduction to Flashbacks
• The Mechanics of Flashbacks
• Writing Practice: Submitting Your Work
• Writing Practice: Beyond this Course

This course is designed for:

Individuals with diverse aspirations, backgrounds, and skills interested in exploring writing in an easily accessible way

Learners from all walks of life with curiosity and enthusiasm toward writing, communication, literature, and the art of crafting a story

Experienced writers looking to hone their skills and elevate their expression.

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2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Academic catalog, creative writing, mfa.

Offered in: Chicago

The Roosevelt MFA in creative writing is designed to provide writers with the tools and guidance to express their knowledge of human experience and their personal and community aspirations in well-crafted fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and dramatic scripts. Staffed by professional writers distinguished for their abilities as teachers, creative writing at Roosevelt is an innovative program dedicated to developing students' literary knowledge and sense of writer's craft while offering real-world guidance for negotiating a future career in writing. To achieve this, the program offers three kinds of experience:

• Practice of various literary forms through workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and/or screen writing
• Course work in literary traditions, literary and critical theory, contemporary aesthetic developments, practical analysis of the principles of critique, and prevailing forces and protocols in the literary marketplace
• Training and experience in one or more practical applications of writing, such as editing, publishing, and marketing; public service writing internships placing students in nonprofit or corporate organizations; teaching writing -- whether composition, literature, or creative writing -- in the University, and creative writing in community youth and senior centers in the Chicago area

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree and submit the university graduate application, the creative writing application, three letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and a portfolio of written work consistent with the requirements listed in the specialty fields below. Applicants who show promise, despite being short of the required quantity of samples, may be referred to other courses in order to build portfolios that will qualify them for admission.

Requirements

To earn an MFA in creative writing, students must complete 45 credit hours of graduate work including 21 credit hours of writing workshops; 12 credit hours in literature or theory; three credit hours in a practical writing internship; an additional elective or internship; and six credit hours of thesis work. Internships are in public service writing, publishing, arts administration, or teaching.

A student who has not completed a thesis or other final project must maintain continued registration during fall and spring semesters until completion of the project by registering for the appropriate zero-credit course (course number followed by “Y“). Students who have not maintained continuous registration for thesis or other final project will be required to register for all intervening fall and spring semesters prior to graduation.

Specialization in Fiction

In this sequence of classes, students will work on the process of creating, rewriting, editing, and publishing fiction. Emphasis will be placed on composition, analysis, and critique of narrative and non-narrative forms in a workshop environment. Candidates in the fiction specialty will complete all of the core fiction workshops. These studies will culminate in a thesis project consisting of a novel or book-length fiction collection of publishable quality.

Admission to fiction requires consent of the faculty upon review of a portfolio containing three pieces of fiction totaling at least 5,000 words, a resume of publications and readings, if applicable, and a statement of purpose.

Specialization in Creative Nonfiction

Writers interested in developing their skills as essayists, critics, biographers, or other relevant nonfiction specialists will find ample opportunities and direction to meet their goals. Although this genre often uses many of the narrative essentials of fiction, like point of view, voice, and plot, it relies on life experience coordinated with research, both documentary and interview. Declared nonfiction specialists will complete all of the core nonfiction workshops. These studies will culminate in a thesis project consisting of a book-length nonfiction work of publishable quality.

Admission to creative nonfiction requires consent of the faculty upon review of a portfolio of at least three essays of approximately 5,000 words. The portfolio should also include a resume of publications and readings, if applicable, and a statement of purpose.

Practical Writing Internships

Publishing : Students may enroll in CRWR 383: Literary Magazine Production, the class that produces  Oyez Review , the professionally edited literary journal affiliated with the program, or may be placed with a publisher in the Chicago community.

Public-service writing : Students will be placed with a compatible nonprofit concern where they can exercise skills in technical and promotional grant writing and other forms of professional and written expression.

Teaching : Students may opt for an internship in the Roosevelt English composition program or in literature or creative writing, or they may develop and conduct creative writing workshops in community senior or youth centers.

Literary marketing : Students will be placed with an organization that develops and produces literary events throughout the city.

Your degree map is a general guide suggesting courses to complete each term on the academic pathway to your degree. It is based on the most current scheduling information from your academic program. Your program’s degree map is reviewed annually and updated as schedules change (although you retain the same course requirements as long as you are continuously enrolled in your degree program).

Always work closely with your academic advisor to understand curriculum requirements and scheduling, as each student’s academic plan can look slightly different. No more than two grades of C (not C-) may be applied toward the 45 hours used for the degree. A graduate course can only be repeated once; no more than two courses can be repeated.

 For specialization in Fiction, students will take CRWR 431B. For specialization in Nonfiction, students will take CRWR 434B.

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"So You Want an MFA?: Everything You Need to Know."

For the Program in Creative Writing's annual MFA Panel, "So You Want an MFA?: Everything You Need to Know", current faculty and recent alumni will be here to chat about and take questions on their MFA experiences as poets, prose writers, and academics. Please come with questions on the MFA application process, the MFA experience, programs, the academy, PhDs, etc. This is open to all students interested in potentially pursuing an MFA in creative writing. Registration available at crwr.eventbrite.com. 

Panelist Bios

Jennifer Chukwu received her BA from the University of Chicago and is currently a Writing and Research Advisor in U of C's Creative Writing Program. Her writing is weird, sad, and sometimes funny. She received her MFA in Fiction from Brown University. Her debut novel, The Unfortunates, will be published in Summer 2022 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (US) and The Borough Press (UK). She was a 2019 LAMBDA Fellow, and her work has appeared in Black Warrior Review , DIAGRAM, TAYO , and elsewhere. She’s been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of Net, and was short-listed for Tarpaulin Sky Press’ 2020 Book Award. 

Dan Cronin graduated from the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program (NWP) in 2019. While at Iowa he was elected Student Ambassador of the NWP, and he hosted both the Speakeasy and Anthology reading series. He was the Inaugural 2019 Englert Arts Fellow and he has taught courses and master classes at the University of Iowa, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is currently back in Iowa City to finish his book. Rachel Girty is a writing and research advisor at the University of Chicago. A classical singer and cross-genre writer, she holds an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in Sinister Wisdom, Pretty Owl Poetry, Body Parts Magazine , and elsewhere. She is currently working on her first novel.

Julie Iromuanya is the author of Mr. and Mrs. Doctor (Coffee House Press, 2015), a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, the Etisalat Prize for Literature (now 9 Mobile Prize for Literature), and the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for Debut Fiction. She was the inaugural Herbert W. Martin Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Dayton, and earned her B.A. at the University of Central Florida, and her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is an assistant professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Program in Creative Writing at the University of Chicago.

Dan Raeburn is the author of Vessels , a memoir, as well as Chris Ware , a book of comics criticism. He studied creative writing as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa and got his MFA in Writing & Literature from the low-residency program at Bennington College.

Margaret Ross is the author of A Timeshare , winner of the Omnidawn 1st/2nd Book Prize in 2015. Her recent poems and translations have appeared in Best American Poetry 2021, Chicago Review , the New Republic , the Paris Review , and Yale Review . Her work has been supported by a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, a Fulbright fellowship, and residencies from Yaddo. She received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and currently teaches at the University of Chicago where she is a Harper-Schmidt Fellow and collegiate assistant professor of creative writing.

Rebecca Sacks is a graduate of the Programs in Writing at the University of California, Irvine. She worked for several years at Vanity Fair before moving to Tel Aviv, where she wrote dispatches for publications such as The Paris Review’s The Daily, The Millions, and Tablet. Her first novel, City of a Thousand Gates , was published in February by HarperCollins.

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Graduate College Awards honor excellence in the Creative Writing MFA Program

The Graduate College Awards, held this year on April 25, 2024, honored three individuals within the Creative Writing MFA Program for exceptional work and mentorship. Professor Mitch Wieland, Director of the Creative Writing MFA Program, received the Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award. Ayotola Tehingbola, who graduated this year with an MFA in fiction, received the Presidential Scholar Award in Performance and Visual Arts. Caleb Merritt, a current MFA student in poetry, received the Audience Choice Award for the Three-Minute Thesis Competition. In a lovely turn of coincidence, Tehingbola nominated Professor Wieland for the mentorship award. “ I have felt supported by Mitch in these past three years,” Tehingbola said. “Mitch is a patient teacher and he front-loads the foundations. He also makes the business of writing a priority. From applying to grad school to preparing me for my job interview, Mitch was a solid.” For Professor Wieland, who helped found the MFA program at Boise State, mentorship undergirds his teaching philosophy. “ As a graduate student, I had the good fortune to study with George Garrett, a legendary writer and teacher famous for his mentorship,” Professor Wieland said. “My approach to mentorship is to be like George and pass it on. I’m very thankful Boise State recognizes all the mentorship our tireless graduate faculty does week in and week out.”

Graduate College Awards

Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award: Professor Mitch Wieland, Director of the Creative Writing MFA Program. 

Presidential Scholar Award in Performance and Visual Arts: Ayotola Tehingbola, MFA alum

Three-Minute Thesis Competition Audience Choice Award: Caleb Merritt, MFA student 

Visit the Creative Writing MFA Program website to learn more.

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Ringling college, fla., launches ai certificate for creative majors, whether they major in creative writing, fine arts, film or virtual reality development, students at the ringling college of art and design can add an ai certificate and develop a project portfolio for job searches..

The AI undergraduate certificate program is a proactive response to the rapid technological changes reshaping the creative landscape. We want our students to be equipped to shape the future of art with AI, not simply be shaped by it.