creative writing uiuc

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Creative Writing

Creative Writing combines small workshops (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) and a variety of literature courses.  The result is a strong but flexible program of study that develops students’ analytical and creative skills and prepares them for work or graduate study in any number of fields.

• CW 100—Introduction to Creative Writing
• CW 104—Introductory Narrative Writing
• CW 106—Introductory Poetry Writing

Creative Writing majors can use their communication skills in a number of different roles.

• High proficiency in reading/writing/speaking
• Ability to be highly imaginative
• Ability to be individually expressive through a variety of creative forms
• Ability to give and receive effective criticism
• Good listening, clarifying, questioning, and responding skills
• Ability to conduct/explain research
• Ability to make critical observations/decisions
• Ability to read analytically
• Ability to read for style/ideas
• Comprehensive command of grammar and vocabulary
• Ability to relate to others with empathy and understanding
• Associate Media Director
• Book Reviewer
• Broadcast Supervisor
• Continuity Writer
• Copy Editor
• Creative Director
• Editorial Writer
• Electronic Publishing Specialist
• Fact Checker
• Medical Writer
• Orchestrator
• Patient Relations Specialist
• Program Proposals Coordinator
• Project Supervisor
• Proofreader
• Publicity Assistant
• Publicity Director
• Sales Service Promoter
• Science Writer
• Screen Printing Inspector
• Screenplay Writer
• Speech Writer
• Staff Writer
• Story Editor
• Technical Writer

Some careers may require education beyond an undergraduate degree.

• Participating in  undergraduate research
• Applying for a  study abroad  experience
• Utilizing resources of LAS Career Services
• Get involved with the Montage Arts Journal
• Visit the advising blog to learn more about events, activities and opportunities happening in the English department.
• Creative Writing Club: a group for creative writers from all majors who want to get together with peers for fun writing and performance activities.
• English Student Association (ESA): an organization for English, Creative Writing, and Teaching of English majors, and English and Creative Writing minors, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

There are several professional organizations dedicated to Creative Writing.  Their websites might be able to provide a glimpse in the world of Creative Writing.  These organizations include  American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ,  Association of American Publishers , and  Modern Language Association . Students are eligible for nomination (by department) for the AWP Intro Journals Contest . Additionally the department hosts a writing contest each spring, providing awards for fiction and poetry.

Course Catalog

Creative Writing, MFA

for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing  

The Department of English offers a program of study in Creative Writing leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree. We welcome qualified students who wish to pursue their interests in fiction or poetry writing.

Graduate Degree Programs in Creative Writing

Admission A candidate for the MFA must spend at least four semesters or the equivalent in residence and complete at least 48 graduate hours. A full-time student typically completes this program in three academic years. Because applications for admission usually far exceed capacity, in recent years undergraduate grade point averages of students admitted have been significantly higher than the 3.0 (A = 4.0) required by the Graduate College.

All applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores. Currently, a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based test (213 on the computer-based test) is required. Before a teaching assistantship involving classroom instruction or student consultation can be awarded to a non-native speaker of English, the applicant must take the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and achieve a score of 50 or higher (230 or higher before 1996).

The committee on admissions tends to select those applicants who have a solid array of undergraduate courses, strong recommendations, and above all a compelling writing sample: in short, a demonstration of an academic record that shows promise of a student capable of doing outstanding work in the field and earning a degree within a reasonable time. Preference is given to applicants who will be full-time students and active degree candidates. Applicants are considered only in spring for fall admission, and the deadline for submitting applications is December 1st.

Graduate Teaching Experience Experience in teaching is considered a vital part of the graduate program and all MFA candidates will have ample opportunity to teach undergraduate writing classes.

Financial Aid Financial aid is available to students in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, and waivers of tuition and service fees. For complete information about the program, prospective applicants should consult our website .

for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

For additional details and requirements refer to the department's program requirements and the Graduate College Handbook .  

Other Requirements

• Writing: Students will focus on creating works of high literary quality, honing their own distinctive personal writing styles. They will demonstrate the ability to revise drafts of their work in response to useful critical commentary. Upon completion of the program, students will understand how to create and polish individual shorter works; they will also understand how to compile and complete a book-length manuscript in the genre of their choice.
• Craft discussion: Students will demonstrate an advanced ability to read, analyze, and discuss published works of literature—especially contemporary literature—from a craft perspective, identifying authorial choices and evaluating the effect of those choices on the work.
• Literary Community and Profession: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the professional creative writing field with regards to literary journals, presses, and other iterations of the literary community, and will have participated in one or more professional activities, including editorial work on Ninth Letter, giving a public reading, attending a writers’ conference, etc.
• Teaching: Students will learn best practices for leading creative writing workshops and mentoring beginning writers.

Department of English Head of Department: Bob Markley Director of Graduate Studies: Andrew Gaedtke Director of Creative Writing: Ted Sanders Associate Director of Creative Writing: John Dudek Creative Writing Program website 210 English Building, 608 South Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (217) 333-3646 Program email

Overview of Graduate College Admissions & Requirements:  Graduate Admissions

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences website

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Department of English

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Why Creative Writing?

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If writing feels as necessary as breathing, this major is for you.  Or if you have ideas to express, want to change minds, or influence others. This major is also for you if you simply carry that unshakeable dream to write a story, a poem, an essay, or a novel. Bring your dreams, bring those ideas you want so much to express, and join our creative community.

In the creative writing workshop, students learn in small groups of passionate writers how to close read, analyze writing, practice dynamic revision, and listen with empathy.  Our students write and write well, and they are also skilled oral communicators.  They thrive when surrounded by diverse styles, aesthetics, and world views. 

With a Creative Writing major, our students have skills that businesses and non-profits, the startups of Silicon Valley, and a writing-centered online world demand.  Our students find jobs in all writing-related fields.  They also attract employers who need the skills they have honed in our dynamic workshop discussions and craft classes.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an unwritten story inside of you,” Maya Angelou wrote.  We agree.  

• Our MFA Program in Creative Writing
• Undergraduate Creative Writing Major
• Undergraduate Creative Writing Minor

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5 things I love about being a creative writing major at Illinois

1. Amazing faculty members and instructors

When I first began taking creative writing courses at Illinois, I was pleasantly surprised by all of the great faculty and instructors I have met (such as John Rubins, Julie Price, Michael Hurley, and Ted Sanders...just to name a few)! The faculty overall are friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and, obviously, great writers. They’re all great to talk to outside of class as well and have definitely shaped my experience as a student at Illinois in the best way possible.

Outside of class instructors, there are also wonderful academic and career advisors available. It’s pretty easy to contact them by in-person appointments or through email, and the Humanities Professional Resource Center has other advisors ready to talk to you about where you’d like to go in your journey past graduation.

2. The workshop-format classes

When starting out as a creative writing major, you’re likely to take either CW 104 (Introductory Narrative Writing) or CW 106 (Introductory Poetry Writing). You take one or both, but regardless, one of the requirements of the major is to go down the introductory → intermediate →  advanced track of either narrative or poetry writing.

The creative writing classes in both of these tracks operate with a workshop format. If you’re unfamiliar with workshops, they’re essentially a discussion space where peers read each other’s written pieces and then typically come the following period with comments and questions to discuss. The author of that piece will then receive plenty of feedback about their work! Your peers truly make the class, and this unique discussion format allows for all writers to improve their writing.

3. The English Building itself

The English Building has the privilege of being on the Quad, aka the epicenter of academic life at Illinois. Not only is it next to our wonderful Quad, where you’ll find plenty of people out and about on nice days, but the architecture of the building is great. This isn’t to mention the skylight and atrium that is located in the middle of the building! The English Building atrium is a nice place to take a break between your classes or to hunker down and get some work done, and it’s lit by the skylight during the daytime.

4. Flexibility of the major, supporting work, and other courses

I find the creative writing major to be quite flexible. There aren’t a lot of strict requirements to complete the major, which can allow you to make your academic career your own! You can choose to take more literature courses solely focused on American writers, take more history courses to build your knowledge on how to write about history, or pick up a major or minor (or both!) to further shape your academic career. For example, I picked up minors in both statistics and informatics, which has allowed me to study both STEM and technology alongside reading Shakespeare and revising my short stories.

5. Applying the creative writing major to any career

This is perhaps the most significant thing I have found about being a creative writing major at Illinois—being able to apply your skills to just about any career. No matter what you do after graduation, there is no doubt that you’ll need to write in some shape or capacity. Even in just the application process, you’ll probably be writing dozens of cover letters or personal statements to secure a job or a spot in a graduate program.

Writing and being able to communicate is a vital skill in anything you do, whether it’s news journalism, conducting scientific research, or preparing a lesson plan for a high school English class. If you can improve your writing and communication skills here and now, you’ll be more than prepared for your future post-graduation.

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Read more first-hand stories from our amazing students at the LAS Insider blog .

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