Creative Writing

Creative writing graduate programs may be allied with or part of English departments, or function as independent entities. The University of Iowa offered the first such program (M.A.) following World War Two, when large numbers of returning soldiers entered colleges and universities on the GI Bill. Creative writing as a separate discipline is a peculiarly American institution; most overseas creative writing programs are low-residency MFAs based in the United States.

The Associated Writing Programs (AWP) was established when creative writers, unhappy with they considered the Modern Language Association's (MLA) overemphasis on theory, split off as their own group. Over the past three decades, numerous colleges and universities have established new creative writing programs.

Most creative writers with university training hold either a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) or a doctorate (Ph.D.), although some accomplished writers hold undergraduate degrees in other subjects or no college degree at all. Some programs do award the Master of Arts (M.A.) in creative writing. Degree programs vary; all focus on generating and critiquing original creative work in various genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, or some combination of genres. MFA programs focus primarily on individual artistic development and emphasize publishing at professional levels; low-residency programs generally deemphasize teaching, while campus-based programs offer graduate teaching assistantships, writing studio tutorships, literary magazine editing, grantwriting, reading series coordination, and community outreach as part of their programs. Teaching assistantships often give creative writers experience and pedagogical training in composition and rhetoric, as well as in literature and/or creative writing. The MFA is a terminal degree and recognized as such by AWP.

However, a tight academic job market and the particular demands of university teaching in recent years have led to Ph.D. programs in creative writing. The Ph.D. is a more rigorous program than the MFA; while it is possible to skip the MFA altogether or to earn an M.A. (often in a related specialty such as literature or rhetoric), most Ph.D. students hold MFAs and may have considerable professional writing experience. Ph.D. programs require MFA-style workshop, but allow for more in-depth literary reading and craft study. A Ph.D. program allows an MFA to widen his or her repertoire; to enhance knowledge of particular writers, periods, or genres; and to hone the teaching and professional skills generally expected of university faculty.