u of iowa mfa creative writing

The Writing University

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More than 40 Pulitzer Prize winners. Seven U.S. Poets Laureate. Countless award-winning playwrights, screenwriters, journalists, translators, novelists and poets. The University of Iowa’s writing programs shape the landscape of American literature.

Departments & Programs

Iowa Writers' Workshop

Iowa Playwrights Workshop

Nonfiction Writing Program

Spanish Creative Writing MFA

International Writing Program

Translation Workshop

Center for the Book

Department of English

School of Journalism and Mass Communication

The Department of Rhetoric

Screenwriting Workshop

Carver College of Medicine Writing

Iowa Summer Writing Festival

Iowa Young Writers' Studio

Undergraduate Certificate in Writing

Magid Center for Writing

The Iowa Review

English and Creative Writing Major

The University of Iowa Press

The Writing Center

BA in Translation

Belin-Blank Summer Writing Residency

The Daily Iowan

Iowa Youth Writing Project

Writing centers & resources.

• UI Writing Center
• Iowa Writers Residence Hall
• Writing Center at Iowa Law
• The Teaching and Writing Center, History
• The Judith Frank Business Communications Center
• Journalism Writing Center
• The Writing Resource at the College of Education
• The Accountancy Writing Center
• Hanson Center for Technical Communication, College of Engineering

The History of Writing at Iowa

The University of Iowa’s tradition of great writing originates in its early and enduring commitment to the creative arts. Under the leadership of Carl Seashore in 1922, Iowa became the first university in the United States to accept creative projects as theses for advanced degrees. Traditionally, graduate study culminates in the writing of a scholarly thesis, but, under this new provision, works including a collection of poems, a musical composition, or a series of paintings could be presented to the Graduate College instead. Thus, Iowa established a standard for the Master of Fine Arts degree and secured a place for writers and artists in the academy.

The University of Iowa’s writing community flourished in the wake of this commitment to the arts. Though creative writing coursework was offered at Iowa as early as 1897, the curriculum expanded and diversified in the 1920s. Writers came from all over the country to enroll in courses in playwriting, fiction, and poetry writing.

A new method for the study of writing emerged in these classes: the writing workshop. In a writing workshop, a senior writer leads a discussion about a work written by a member of the class; workshop students share impressions, advice, and analysis. As Paul Engle , director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and founder of the International Writing Program , observed: “the students benefited greatly from hearing a variety of attitudes toward their work. It was like publishing then being reviewed.” Workshop students receive honest and immediate feedback about their writing and become better critics of their own work. Many also discover the sympathetic but critical readers who they will turn to throughout their careers.

The Program in Creative Writing, known worldwide as the Iowa Writers’ Workshop , was founded in 1936 with the gathering together of writers from the poetry and fiction workshops. It was the first creative writing program in the country, and it became the prototype for more than 300 writing programs, many of which were founded by Workshop alumni. The Workshop remains the most prestigious creative writing program in the country and one of the most selective graduate programs of any kind, typically admitting fewer than five percent of its applicants.

Since its establishment, the Workshop has been the cornerstone of the writing community at the University of Iowa. In its early years, the program enjoyed a series of distinguished visitors, such as Robert Frost , Robert Penn Warren , Dylan Thomas , John Berryman , and Robert Lowell . Workshop students met with early success in publishing their work; thus began what Workshop director Frank Conroy would describe as the Workshop’s “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Talented writers teach and study here; this compels more to come and do the same. Iowa's perennial society of writers has grown considerably since the early days of the Workshop; this community has been a dynamic and sustaining force for growth and change. The logic of the “self-fulfilling prophecy” applies at an institutional level, as well as the individual. The University of Iowa set an early precedent for innovation in the study and practice of writing. This precedent created an environment where further advances, including the following, are possible, and likely:

• Students and faculty in UI writing programs collaborate with International Writing Program writers to translate new works of poetry and fiction in English.
• Each summer, students and alumni of the Writers’ Workshop mentor a new generation of authors at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio , a summer camp for gifted high school-aged writers from around the country.
• A new Screenwriting MFA , where students are instructed on practical skills and knowledge needed to become successful members of the screenwriting industry
• Students from a variety of programs explore and create interpretations of print and print culture by studying book arts in the UI Center for the Book .
•   Nonfiction Writing Program organized “NonfictionNow,” a conference to explore the state of nonfiction writing.
• The Patient Voice Project, created by students at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and Arts Share, offers creative writing classes to chronically ill hospital patients.

Iowa’s tradition of writing has been guided by the principle that, though writing is a solitary practice, it’s one significantly enriched by the presence of other writers. As Paul Engle wrote, “Our plan gives the writer a place where he can be himself, confronting the hazards and hopes of his own talent, and at the same time he can measure his capacity against a variety of others.” Through the years, some of the best writers in the world have come here to deepen their understanding of the craft of writing. Since 1939, 40 individuals with ties to the University of Iowa have been awarded Pulitzer Prizes ; four recent U.S. Poet Laureates have been either students or faculty at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In 2006, Orhan Pamuk, a 1985 fellow of the International Writing Program, won the Nobel Prize in Literature. While the UI has been host to many award-winning authors, Iowa is known as The Writing University because countless numbers of writers at varying stages in their development have found a literary home here. High school students can study writing at the Young Writers’ Studio, and over 1,500 writers each year participate in over 130 workshops at the Summer Writing Festival. The departments of English, Journalism, Theater, and Cinema and Comparative Literature offer writing classes to undergraduates, and Iowa’s graduate programs in playwriting, nonfiction, translation, and journalism are some of the best in the country. The Writers’ Workshop is the country’s oldest and most celebrated graduate program in creative writing, and the International Writing Program hosts accomplished writers from around the world each fall. The following timeline provides an overview of important dates in the history of writing at Iowa. For more information about the writers who have taught and studied at Iowa, please visit the Writers page . or our LitCity project . A directory of all of the writing programs, as well as programs affiliated with writing at Iowa, is available from the Programs page.  

About the Writing University

The Virtual Writing University (VWU) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary initiative sponsored by the Graduate College and the Office of the Provost at the University of Iowa. The project launched in fall, 2006, with the mandate to create a virtual space for the University of Iowa's writing community. Its primary venue is the Writing University website ( www.writinguniversity.org ), a portal to the programs, news, and events associated with writing at Iowa, and a platform for special VWU Projects, such as LitCity, The Undergrad Writing Portal, First-Year Seminars and the Eleventh Hour Podcast .

People Support for the Virtual Writing University comes from many different areas of the University of Iowa community. We are grateful for the many staff and faculty members who have contributed their creative, technological, and administrative expertise to this initiative.  

Writing University Senior Editor

Lauren Haldeman, Senior Editor, The University of Iowa

Writing University Advisory Panel

Aron Aji, director of the Translation Workshop Micah Bateman, Assistant Professor, SLIS Lynne Nugent, Editor-in-Chief, The Iowa Review Lan Samantha Chang, director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Joan Kjaer, Strategic Communications Officer, International Programs Communications and Relations Amy Margolis, director of the Iowa Summer Writing Festival Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program

Writing University Director

Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program

Writing University Archive

Thomas Keegan, Director, Digital Library Services Mark Anderson, Digital Initiatives Librarian

LitCity Project

Thomas Keegan, Director, Digital Library Services Jim Cremer, Consultant, Computer Science Department Loren Glass, Faculty, English Department Nicole Dudley, Lead Database Developer

History of Writing at Iowa

Robin Hemley Michael Allen Potter, Graduate Assistant

Technological Support

Wendy Brown, Web Production, University Relations Web Unit Ken Clinkenbeard, Instructional Services, Academic Technologies Ann Freerks, Designer, University Relations Web Unit Andrew Rinner, Research Services, Academic Technologies Paul Soderdahl, director of Library Information Technology, UI Libraries

Biographies of Writing University Project Leaders

Lauren Haldeman is the senior editor of the Writing University website. She is the author of Team Photograph , Instead of Dying (winner of the 2017 Colorado Prize for Poetry), Calenday, and The Eccentricity is Zero . Her work has appeared in Poetry, Tin House, The Colorado Review, The Iowa Review, Fence and others. A graphic novelist and poet, she’s received an Iowa Arts Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award and visiting artist fellowships from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Carnegie Mellon University, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Christopher Merrill ’s books include four collections of poetry, Brilliant Water , Workbook , Fevers & Tides , and Watch Fire , for which he received the Peter I. B. Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets; translations of Aleš Debeljak’s Anxious Moments and The City and the Child ; several edited volumes, among them, The Forgotten Language: Contemporary Poets and Nature and From the Faraway Nearby: Georgia O’Keeffe as Icon ; and three books of nonfiction, The Grass of Another Country: A Journey Through the World of Soccer , The Old Bridge: The Third Balkan War and the Age of the Refugee , and Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars . His work has been translated into sixteen languages. He has held the William H. Jenks Chair in Contemporary Letters at the College of the Holy Cross, and now directs the International Writing Program at The University of Iowa.

NWP Students

Even though we’re situated in the middle of the country, the Nonfiction Writing Program has a distinctly international flavor. The program has been home to students from Poland, New Zealand, Cuba, South Korea, Turkey, The Philippines, Norway, Guam, Russia, Mexico, France, Columbia, India, Canada, and the U.K., as well as Kansas, New Mexico, Minnesota, New York, Kentucky, Los Angeles, Oregon, Alabama, and Washington, DC.

Sometimes our students come to the program right out of college, and sometimes they’ve had careers in other fields for a number of years, such as journalism, law, education, and science. We aim to bring in as diverse a group of students with as many different life experiences as possible. We think it helps enrich our discussions in and out of the classroom.

If you’d like to chat with some of our students about their experiences in the program, feel free to write to these folks who have volunteered to field your questions.

Hannah Bonner

Hannah Bonner is a current creative nonfiction MFA student at the University of Iowa. She has an MA in Film Studies from the University of Iowa and a BA in English & Creative Writing from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Her poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in Asheville Poetry Review , Bear Review , Pigeon Pages , Rattle , Schlag , So to Speak , The Carolina Quarterly , The Hopkins Review , The North Carolina Literary Review , The Pinch Journal , The Vassar Review , Tinderbox Poetry Journal , TriQuarterly , and Two Peach .

Her essays have been featured, or are forthcoming, in Bright Wall/Dark Room , Essay Daily , The Rumpus , and VIDA . Her academic publications include "Performing Archives in the Present: Exploring Feminist Performance Art, The Politics of (In)Visibility, and the Archive in #MeToo and #TimesUp" in South Central Review , "#Selfveillance: Horror's Slut Shaming through Social Media, Sur-, and Selfveillance" in Emerald Press , and "Social Media as Authorship and Selfveillance in Girls" in Routledge .

She currently serves as the Poetry Editor for Brink .

Spencer Jones

Spencer Jones is an MFA candidate in the Nonfiction Writing Program. She currently serves as an instructor in the Rhetoric department and as a graduate co-leader in that department's Professional Development Program. She is a member of the Iowa City Chamber Singers. From 2015-2022, Spencer taught History, English, and Theology at Cristo Rey Boston High School in Dorchester, MA and Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, SC. Her writing has appeared in  Porter House Review  and  Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith  and is forthcoming in  The Other Journal, Arts & Letters, Black Warrior Review,  and  The Los Angeles Review of Books.

Liv Kane is a nonfiction writer and filmmaker interested in exploring the intersections between community storytelling and ecology. She served as the inaugural Writer-in-Residence at the San Antonio Public Library and received the New York Life Award for her work in 2019. A graduate of Kenyon College in English and Film, she worked as a Kenyon Review intern under Nicole Terez-Dutton. Kane published her first essay collection, Gulfwater: some aftermaths , with Sunset Press in 2021.

She is currently pursuing her MFA in Nonfiction at the University of Iowa, where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow.

Grace Morse

Grace Morse is a bilingual essay writer and current student in the Nonfiction Writing Program. Originally from New Orleans, Grace has traveled the world as a student of the essay; she is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was awarded the Thomas Wolfe Scholarship for creative writing, and she has also studied literature and the essay form at the National University of Ireland, Galway and La Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Grace's writing explores her relationship to her Black identity, her experience as a southern, U.S. woman, educational equity, and romantic and platonic love. She is also passionate about translation and interpretation.

Spencer Wilkins

Spencer Wilkins is a writer and secret sound engineer (don't tell anyone) from New Jersey. His latest project, a video essay, was selected for TCBFF (Twin Cities Black Film Festival) and GCUFF (Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival). In print, his writing has appeared in Southeast Review , Essay Daily , and Puerto del Sol . He's currently working on a mixed media gallery "adaptations" at the University of Iowa and conspiring on how to land an interview with Nick Jonas.

NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity working to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.

Graduate Admissions

Spanish Creative Writing (MFA)

The UI Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers an MFA in Spanish Creative Writing. The degree is awarded by the Graduate College. Instruction is offered through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The MFA is offered with a thesis.

Applicants must meet the  Admission Requirements of the Graduate College  and the department offering the degree program (review the department's web site or the General Catalog for departmental requirements).

Tuition and fees vary by degree program and the type of student you are.

• Fall semester—Jan. 15 to be considered for financial aid; rolling admissions for consideration thereafter
• Spring semester—not offered
• Summer session—not offered

The graduate application process has two steps

• You must first submit the online application to the Graduate College and pay the $60 application fee by credit card ($100 for international applicants).
• Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an email instructing you on how to upload your supporting documents and submit letters of recommendation. A few programs require materials be sent directly to them. However, almost all supplemental material can and should be uploaded from your Admissions Profile in MyUI , our online service center for applicants and students. You can only access this AFTER you have submitted your application.

GRE scores are not required for this program.

Degree Program Supplemental Materials

• Application for Graduate Awards
• A one- or two-page statement of purpose
• A sample of creative work in Spanish, at least 30 (but no more than 50) pages of fiction or 20 pages of poetry that demonstrate excellent creative potential.

Recommendations

The application requirement section of your Profile includes an electronic letter of recommendation feature. If your program of study requires letters of recommendation, you will be asked to give the contact information of your recommenders including their email on your Admissions Profile. The recommender will then get an email giving them instructions on how to upload the recommendation letter and/or form.

• Three letters of recommendation

Materials to send to Admissions

• A set of your unofficial academic records/transcripts uploaded on your Admissions Profile. If you are admitted, official transcripts will be required before your enrollment. For international records, all records should bear the original stamp or seal of the institution and the signature of a school official.  Documents not in English must be accompanied by a complete, literal, English translation, certified by the issuing institution.
• International students may also be required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo scores to comply with the university's English Language Proficiency Requirements .
• Once recommended for admission, international students must send a  Financial Statement .

Apply Online , the $60 application fee ($100 for international students) is payable by Discover, MasterCard, or Visa.

Division of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department of Spanish and Portuguese The University of Iowa 111Phillips Hall Iowa City, IA 52242 [email protected] 1-319-335-0632

Enrollment Management The University of Iowa 2900 University Capitol Centre 201 S. Clinton St. Iowa City, IA 52242 [email protected] 1-319-335-1523

Theatre Arts

Mfa in theatre arts, playwriting, master of fine arts in playwriting.

The Iowa Playwrights Workshop—the University of Iowa's MFA Program in Playwriting—is an intensive three-year program dedicated to educating playwrights for the professional theatre. We train talented playwrights and collaborative theatre artists who will lead the American theatre in the creation of new works and the training of future generations of playwrights.

The Playwrights Workshop was founded in 1971, but a strong tradition in playwriting has existed at the University of Iowa since the early 1920s. Graduates have found success in every medium of dramatic writing, including stage, screen, television, and nontraditional performance. 

Iowa graduates include the playwrights Tennessee Williams, Lee Blessing, Sherry Kramer, Charles Smith, John O'Keeffe, David Hancock, Naomi Wallace, Rebecca Gilman, David Adjmi, Kirsten Greenidge, and Samuel Hunter, and Jen Silverman; and the film and television writer-producers Richard Maibaum, Norman Felton, Barry Kemp, Rick Cleveland, and Paul Rust. These and many others have exemplified the Iowa tradition of training professional dramatists who are both writers of scripts and texts and collaborative artists who actively engage in the development and production of new work.

The Playwrights Workshop seeks to create conditions in which you can develop your unique voice while freely experimenting with a variety of creative processes and theatrical forms. Your writing is nurtured through both coursework and opportunities to present new work at all stages of development. We believe that only by working with actors, directors, and other collaborators, and by seeing one’s work on stage, can a writer find his or her own theatrical voice. Therefore we offer you a wide variety of opportunities to have your work produced. In addition to weekly staged readings, Gallery productions and workshops take place throughout the academic year.  In the spring, the New Play Festival showcases four full productions and staged readings by all students in the Workshop.

All opportunities for reading and production are designed to develop and enhance your training and experiences in your coursework. The areas of coursework, writing, and staged reading/production are interdependent in the student's development. Through them, you are expected to demonstrate ongoing growth and maturity as a writer, collaborative theatre artist, and student of theatre.

Degree requirements

The MFA Program in Playwriting requires a minimum of 62 semester hours of coursework in these areas:

• Playwrights workshop
• Special topics in playwriting/guest seminar
• Core MFA curriculum, consisting of courses in theatre history and dramatic literature

In THTR:7300: Playwrights Workshop, a course taken in every semester of enrollment, you give first presentations of plays-in-process, usually through rehearsed readings, receive intensive feedback from your colleagues and faculty in playwriting and dramaturgy, and develop plays towards possible production in the department. The workshop provides a venue for the development of new work, as well as a community of playwrights and dramaturgs who support the development of that work.

Guest seminar and special topics courses expose you to diverse approaches to form and process, and provide tools for writing and revision. Often taught by visiting artists, these courses are designed to challenge your working process and sense of theatrical form.

The department curriculum in theatrical analysis is designed to sharpen your theatrical vision in relation to the diverse dramatic and performance traditions of the past and the present.

In the first semester of enrollment, you complete a plan of study in consultation with Head of the Playwrights Workshop. The plan of study lays out all required and elective courses you will take in completing the MFA. The plan of study also reflects any graduate transfer credit to be counted towards the degree, whether or not transfer courses may substitute for department or program requirements, and any coursework you must take in order to fill gaps in your previous academic preparation.

At least 30 of these credits must be completed in residence. Accelerated degree status may be granted on the basis of graduate transfer credit that satisfies course requirements and/or for professional experience that the faculty deem equivalent to specific program requirements.

Your graduate committee and the Director of Graduate Studies must approve the plan of study. For the MFA candidate in playwriting, the graduate committee consists of three members of the playwriting faculty (Professors Borreca and Clubb, and either Professor Schlesinger or Professor Gogerty). Once it has been established, the Director of Graduate Studies and the Head of the Playwrights Workshop must approve any changes in the make-up of your committee.

In addition to approving the plan of study, the committee's approves (in consultation with the DGS) any subsequent changes in the plan of study, oversees your academic and creative progress, provides feedback on your writing and production work, approves satisfactory completion of annual reviews, and advises and approves the thesis play in the third year.

Typical plan of study

All MFA candidates in playwriting must complete a minimum of 64 semester hours and all of the following:

*This course may be waived for students who TA for Theatre and Society: Ancients and Modern or History of Theatre and Drama I. If waived, a substitute course in history/literature/theory must be taken.

Collaboration and production requirements

In addition to fulfilling the course requirements outlined previously, you are expected to regularly generate new writing for the stage of a quality that merits its production in such department venues as the New Play Festival and the Gallery Series. In these contexts, you are expected to demonstrate ongoing growth as a collaborative theatre artist committed to the making of new work for the theatre.

Allowing for differences in creative process, you are expected to produce a substantial piece of dramatic writing for the Playwrights Workshop—a draft of a full-length play, a substantial revision of a previous draft, or a series of related shorter works—every semester. Over the course of a year, you are expected to show substantial progress on two-full length works or the equivalent; one of these works should take a finished form by the end of the spring semester.

The department produces some two-dozen plays annually, many of which are new works, and MFA candidates in playwriting are expected to make regular use of opportunities to have their work presented or staged. Over the course of your enrollment, you should have presented at least three substantial works in a departmental venue outside of Playwrights Workshop. One of these scripts should have received a festival production.

You are expected to develop your skills as collaborative theatre artists in the development and production of your own plays, as well as in your feedback and collaboration on the development and production of your colleagues' work. Unless granted an exception, all MFA students in playwriting are expected to submit a script for festival consideration in each year of enrollment.

In the third year, you must submit a full-length thesis play, along with a short (four to six pages) introduction placing the work in the context of your work in the Playwrights Workshop. The thesis play must represent substantial creative work undertaken in the third year of enrollment and may consist of a play newly written in the third year or a major revision of a play that has been read and/or produced in the first two years.

The thesis must be submitted in accordance with Graduate College policies for the formatting and submission of theses. You are responsible for meeting all Graduate College deadlines for the thesis.

Under normal circumstances, you will receive feedback on the thesis play from the graduate committee as the play is being developed in the workshop and other department venues. If the thesis play is not being given a reading or production in the third year, you is responsible for arranging timely thesis conferences with the members of your committee.

Following approval of the thesis, program faculty will meet with you for a final review of your work in the program and a look to the future.

Accelerated degree policy

Accelerated degree status may be granted for graduate transfer credit that satisfies particular course requirements and/or for professional experience, which the faculty accept as equivalent to courses or other program requirements. The following explains how this policy applies specifically to MFA students in playwriting seeking accelerated degree status on the basis of their professional work as playwrights.

Many students enter the MFA Program in Playwriting with professional experience as playwrights and theatre artists. In such cases, accelerated degree status will be granted only to students with a significant record of theatrical production, which reflects, in the view of the faculty, advanced achievement in writing for the stage. Waivers for the Playwrights Workshop or other courses in playwriting will not be granted for professional work in areas other than playwriting.

Usually nine to twelve semester hours of graduate coursework from another institution (one full-time semester) will be applied to the MFA in Playwriting at Iowa, including the waiver of one semester of Playwrights Workshop. Accelerated degree status based on professional experience may include the waiver of up to two semesters of course requirements.

If you believe you might qualify for accelerated degree status should apply for such status at the time of admission.

Create your academic path

You'll find degree overviews, requirements, course lists, academic plans, and more to help you plan your education and explore your possibilities.

Current course list

The MyUI Schedule displays registered courses for a particular session and is available to enrolled students. The list view includes course instructors, time and location, and features to drop courses or change sections.

Playwriting alumni

Samuel d. hunter.

Samuel's full-length plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Case for the Existence of God (New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, Hull ‐ Warriner Award), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), Greater Clements (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play, Outer Critics Circle Honoree), Lewiston/Clarkston (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few , A Great Wilderness , Rest , Pocatello , The Healing , and The Harvest , among others.  The film version of The Whale , directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, was nominated for the 2023 BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and received two Oscars, including Best Actor. He was also a writer and producer on all four seasons of FX’s Baskets .  Sam was the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His work has been produced Off Broadway in New York City by Lincoln Center Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, Signature Theatre, Page 73 Productions, Clubbed Thumb, and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. Elsewhere, his work has been produced by Theatre Royal Bath, Dallas Theatre Center, Seattle Rep, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, and Victory Gardens, among others.  Two published anthologies of Sam’s work are available from TCG Books, and a third is forthcoming. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and Juilliard.

Andrew Saito

The day after graduation, Andrew Saito flew to San Francisco to develop his play Krispy Kritters in the Scarlett Night at the Cutting Ball Theatre's Risk Is This... Festival. He is also a member of the Playwrights' Foundation's Resident Playwright Initiative, and a Core Apprentice at the Playwrights Center of Minneapolis, where his play The Patron Saint of Monsters was featured in 2012. He is currently a Fellow in the Arts & Culture grant making program at The San Francisco Foundation. While at the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, he authored seven full-length plays, two feature-length screenplays, and various short pieces. He also taught playwriting in rural Mayan radio stations in Guatemala with the NGO Cultural Survival, with the support of a Kenneth J. Cmiel Internship from the UI Center for Human Rights. Andrew's work has been developed by the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, the Asian American Theatre Company, and Mixed Phoenix Theatre in New York, and presented at the Magic Theatre, Intersection for the Arts, Montalvo Arts Center, and numerous other venues. He was a finalist for the New Dramatists’ Princess Grace Playwriting Award, a Jerome Fellowship, and twice an alternate for a Fulbright Fellowship in Creative Writing. Andrew holds a BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Learn more about playwriting at Iowa

Internships.

A professional internship is not required of MFA candidates in playwriting. However, in individual cases an internship may be desirable or advisable. If you are intending to take an internship, you should plan for the internship in your plan of study. If a decision to pursue an internship is reached after approval of the plan in the first year, the plan may be revised, with the approval of your committee, to include an internship. Usually internships are taken in the first semester of the third year.

You are responsible for securing your internships and negotiating all related details (with assistance from the faculty). You should obtain a letter from the sponsoring institution agreeing to employ you and in what capacity. If faculty approves the internship, a copy of the letter will be placed in your advising file with your plan of study.

During the internship semester, the Playwrights Workshop requirement will be waived if you complete a three semester hour independent study with a member of the playwriting faculty.

Academic and program reviews

Your work on writing projects and productions is intensively reviewed at the time of the project's presentation in workshop or other department venue; conferences with playwriting faculty are ongoing throughout your enrollment.

The first year is a probationary period for all MFA students in the Department of Theatre Arts. At the end of the first year, you meet with program faculty for an overall review of your progress in the program.

Near the end of the first and second years of enrollment, you submit an annotated checklist of all works completed and in progress during the current academic year, along with a two to three page self-assessment essay. In the second year, the essay includes reflection on progress over the first two years, and the expected focus and approach of the MFA Thesis play.

Program faculty use this self-assessment, checklist, and proposal, along with your work on courses, in the Playwrights Workshop, and in the Gallery Series and/or New Play Festival, to confer about your progress and determine if you will:

• Be invited to continue in the program
• Be placed on academic probation
• Be removed from continued enrollment in the program

You will receive a short letter documenting the primary reasons for the faculty’s decision. In the case of academic probation, the letter will outline the conditions of the probation and the date by which you must demonstrate that conditions have been met in order for probationary status to be removed. In the case of dismissal, you will receive a letter outlining the reasons for dismissal. Students may request a meeting with program faculty to discuss probation or dismissal. 

Early in the fall semester of the subsequent academic year, returning students meet with program faculty to review the previous year’s work and to establish academic and creative objectives for the new academic year.

The graduate committee reserves the right to request withdrawal on the basis of insufficient progress or marked regress in any major area of the program—coursework, writing, collaboration—over the course of the second year. In the case of students who have been removed from probation, the committee reserves the right to request withdrawal because of your failure to maintain satisfactorily the conditions of removal.

Art Borreca, DFA, MFA, BA

Lisa Schlesinger, MFA, BA

Get involved.

Want to learn more about productions on campus? Visit the Theatre Arts Callboard to find audition information, production guidelines, facilities information, and more.

Playwriting faculty

Scott Bradley, MFA

Megan Gogerty, MFA, BA

Writers' Workshop

Creative writing for undergraduate students.

Undergraduate Creative Writing

The University of Iowa ranks among the top universities in the U.S. for undergraduate writing across the curriculum.

The Undergraduate Creative Writing Major

The English Department houses the undergraduate major in English and Creative Writing, with a growing faculty that has counted multiple Writers' Workshop alumni among its ranks. The Magid Center for Writing, established in 2011 with the support of a generous donor, offers undergraduates the opportunity to integrate writing into other disciplines and bring a love for the written word to projects like student literary magazines and hosting workshops at local schools.

The Writers' Workshop offers a range of classes for both majors an non-majors taught by a diverse group of graduate students and recent graduates, all terrific up-and-coming writers in their own right. We host undergraduate events in the Frank Conroy Reading Room and organize a reading series that brings some of today's most distinguished writers to campus.

Writers' Workshop Undergraduate Courses

Introductory writing classes courses.

CW:1800 Creative Writing Studio Workshop

CW:2100 Creative Writing

CW:2870 Fiction Writing

CW:2875 Poetry Writing

Introductory classes are designed to give students the experience of thinking as writers. Students will engage with writing exercise and with published literary works, then try their hand at longer pieces of writing. These classes are open to writers of all levels and serve as an introduction to one or more genres and forms.

Special Topics in Creative Writing

CW:2600 Special Topic Workshops

CW:3002 Writing and Reading Young Adult Fiction

CW:3003 Writing and Reading Science Fiction

CW:3004 Writing and Reading Fantasy Fiction

CW:3107 Creative Writing for the Health Professions

CW:3400 Working Writers in Conversation

CW:4751 Creative Writing for the Musician

Topic-specific creative writing classes introduce and develop foundational writing skills in a more specific context or genre. Students can expect to do writing exercise and produce longer creative works, while getting a lens into a more specific branch of writing.

Writing Form and Formats

CW:3215 Creative Writing and Popular Culture

CW:3218 Creative Writing for New Media

CW:4745 The Sentence: Strategies for Writing

CW:4760 The Art of Revision: Writing for Clarity

These creative writing classes approach writing from the point of view of form, whether focusing on the meaty parts of sentences, zeroing in on areas for improvement, or thinking about media and audiences. Students can expect to produce and revise work through the additional lens of technical skill and media format.

Undergraduate Writers' Workshop in Fiction and Poetry

CW:4870 Undergraduate Writers' Workshop: Fiction

CW:4875 Undergraduate Writers' Workshop: Poetry

Undergraduate Writers' Workshops in Fiction and Poetry are smaller classes for writers with some experience. Students are admitted on the merit of their manuscripts and the class strives to create as much as possible the experience of a graduate-level workshop. Students can expect to receive feedback from the instructor and to read and engage deeply with both published work and the work of their peers.

Create your academic path

Learn more about the English and Creative Writing major academic requirements and possible course plans

Majors Course Catalog

The MyUI Schedule displays registered courses for a particular session and is available to enrolled students. The list view includes course instructors, time and location, and features to drop courses or change sections.

Upcoming Events

LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs Q&A

Mission creek festival | critical hits: writers playing video games with carmen maria machado, larissa pham, and j robert lennon, live from prairie lights | dan beachy-quick.

Iowa Young Writers' Studio

Amy Parker   received her MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Meta-Rosenburg Fellow and a Teaching Writing Fellow. She has been awarded grants from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, the Marble House Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Clarion Foundation for her work in fiction. Her debut collection  Beasts and Children  was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2016, and she is currently at work on a novel. She has taught fiction and creative writing at the University of Iowa and Wichita State University.

NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity working to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.

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April guide to the arts at the U

By Brittney Bomnin Garcia [email protected] 03-29-2024

Explore a roundup of events this month, including concerts, exhibitions, and undergraduate student presentations during the annual Research, Creativity, and Innovation Forum. Learn more about The U Creates —the University’s digital hub for the arts, culture, and creative expression—and view the full calendar of events .

VIEW ALL: Bill Cosford Cinema | Center for the Humanities | Jerry Herman Ring Theatre | Frost School of Music | Lowe Art Museum | School of Architecture | University Libraries | UM Art Galleries

Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. | in person and streaming, purchase tickets

Frost Music Live!: Schubertiade for Violin and Piano

Frost School of Music’s piano professors will join renowned violinist Charles Castleman to unveil the magic of Franz Schubert. A tradition that began in 1815 honoring the then 18-year-old Schubert, the Schubertiade originated as an unpublicized, informal concert of his music, but quickly spread throughout Europe, and eventually to the United States. Purchase tickets .

Newman Recital Hall, Knight Center for Music Innovation, 5513 San Amaro Dr, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Monday, April 8, 6:30 p.m. | in person, free event

Book Talk: ‘Roman Satire’

With particular attention to authorial and national identity, artistic self-definition, and literary reception, Jennifer Ferriss-Hill, professor of classics and senior associate dean for faculty affairs and college diversity at the College of Arts and Sciences, shows how four ancient Latin poets—Lucilius, Horace, Persius, and Juvenal—asked and answered these questions between the second century BCE and the second century CE as they invented and reinvented the genre of Roman verse Satire. Save your seat .

Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL 33134

Tuesday, April 9, noon | virtual, free event

Slow Looking with the Lowe: Highlights from the Campus Art Collection

During this virtual program, Tola Porter, Lowe Art Museum educator for academic and public programs, will lead participants through a 30-minute mindful and interactive session exploring selected artworks from the Lowe’s collection. Sign up now .

Lowe Art Museum, 1301 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Wednesday, Apr. 10, noon to 4 p.m. | in person, free event

Research, Creativity, and Innovation Forum (RCIF)

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Community Outreach offers students from all disciplines the opportunity to present their research to a wide audience consisting of their peers, faculty and staff members, and the larger University community. In collaboration with the Center for the Humanities, RCIF has added a panel presentation component this year for students and peers to develop their presentation skills and further engage with their research in the humanities. Learn more .

Donna E. Shalala Student Center, 1330 Miller Drive, Miami, FL 33146

Thursday, April 11, 4 p.m. | in person, free event

Edith Bleich Lecture Series: Jennifer V. Evans, professor of history at Carleton University in Canada

In her lecture, “Why We Need Queer Kinship Now More Than Ever,” Evans asks how the queer and trans past has often been drawn upon to make a series of claims about liberal democracy itself, including the place of identity in rights-based discourses of experience, policy, and governance. Register now .

Otto G. Richter Library, Third Floor Conference Room, 1300 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Thursday and Friday, April 11–12 | in person, purchase tickets

Smart Cities MIAMI 2024

The School of Architecture, in collaboration with the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing, will host the 8th Annual Smart Cities Conference . This event will explore the theme of artificial intelligence in design, offering a platform to delve into the cutting-edge advancements shaping the future of architecture. Registration is $50 per person.

Lakeside Village Expo Center, 1280 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Saturday, April 13, 6 p.m. | in person, free event

M.F.A. in Creative Writing thesis reading

Graduate students Guillermo Leon, Dorie Spangler, and Swetha Siva, who are pursuing Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, will share their thesis. This event is open to the public.

Thursday April 17, 6 p.m. | in person, free event

Lowe Connects: Exploring Art, Marine Biology, and Engineering to Address Climate Challenges

U-Link partners from the departments of art and art history, marine biology, and engineering will speak about the connection between scientific research, engineering, and art. Guests will learn about the ways that the University of Miami is catalyzing interdisciplinary collaboration to advance knowledge on the impacts of climate change and other stressors, and the development of practical solutions to meet society’s changing needs. Register now .

Mindfulness programs are offered virtually at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and in person at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays at the Otto G. Richter Library.

Friday and Saturday, April 19-20 and Friday and Saturday, April 26-27 | in person, purchase tickets

‘Urinetown, the Musical’

Join the revolt in a dystopian future where water is worth its weight in gold, and one of the most basic human needs is under the control of an evil bureaucracy. Wickedly witty, this Tony Award- winning musical satire pokes fun at politics, social irresponsibility, capitalism, and musical theater itself. University students and staff and faculty members can use code THSUTOWN before selecting their seats to receive a discount. University students can obtain free entry to an 8 p.m. show Thursday, April 25, by presenting a valid ’Cane ID. Purchase tickets .

Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, 1312 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Saturday, April 20, 6 p.m. | in person, free event

Catherine Kramer: ‘Known/Unknown’

On view from April 5 through April 26, the University community is invited to the opening reception of “Known/Unknown,” an exhibition by Master of Fine Arts candidate Catherine Kramer. Drawing inspiration from Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung and his process of active imagination, Kramer intentionally works with subconsciously produced imagery while creating her artwork. Learn more .

University of Miami Wynwood Gallery, 2750 NW Third Ave., Suite 4, Miami, FL 33127

On view now through Saturday, April 20 | in person

The Annual Juried Exhibition

Organized by the Department of Art and Art History and hosted by the Lowe Art Museum, the exhibition features works of art across various media created by undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Miami. Learn more .

Monday, April 22, 4 p.m. | in person and streaming, free event

Adobe Scholars Reception

Meet and engage with the 2023-2024 Adobe Scholars as they share the results of their projects. This event is free to attend and open to the public. The online component of this hybrid event will be hosted using Zoom software. Sign up to participate .

Monday, April 22, 7:30 p.m. | in person, free event

‘Sing Sing’

Attend a sneak preview of “Sing Sing,” the story of an inmate at the infamous Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY, who forms a theater troupe with his fellow prisoners. Admission is free. Registration is required .

Bill Cosford Cinema, Dooly Memorial 225, 5030 Brunson Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Thursday April 25, 6 p.m. | in person, free event

ArtLab | Miya Ando: Sky Writing lecture and reception

Join the Lowe for a talk and reception featuring artist Miya Ando to celebrate the ArtLab 2024 exhibition, Miya Ando: Sky Writing, on view through Saturday, June 1. This student-curated exhibition features multimedia works by Miya Ando, whose oeuvre explores nature’s ever-changing moods and the fragility of human existence. Register to attend .

Thursday, April 25, 7:30 p.m. | in person and streaming, purchase tickets

Frost Music Live!: Michel Camilo and the Frost Latin Jazz Orchestra

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York, Michel Camilo bridges the genres of jazz, classical, popular and world music with his artistry and virtuosity. The Grammy, Latin Grammy, and Emmy Award-winner joins forces for one night only with the Frost Latin Jazz Orchestra and Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto. Purchase tickets .

Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, Frost School of Music, 1314 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Saturday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. | in person and streaming, purchase tickets

Frost Music Live!: Beethoven’s 9th

The Frost Symphony Orchestra season finale presents a symphonic masterwork alongside four American orchestral miniatures by Augusta Reed Thomas, Bernard Rands, Daren Hagan, and Chen Yi. Purchase tickets .

Featured: RCIF Humanities Hub

As part of the Research, Creativity, and Innovation Forum, the Humanities Hub will feature representatives from the University's humanities departments to provide attendees with information about the humanities as well as answers to specific questions about fields of study, research pursuits, and career opportunities. The Humanities Hub aims to create a stronger connection between research and the humanities within the undergraduate student body and also promotes the different ways in which students can get involved in the humanities.

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Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing

Master of fine arts in creative writing and poetics (low-residency).

Our low-residency MFA provides the structure, support, and professional development you need to take your writing to the next level .

Program Overview

Naropa’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing is designed for writers ready to hone their craft and earn their Master of Fine Arts degree through rigorous, cross-genre study. Students who can’t relocate to our Colorado Campus can acquire a quality asynchronous education with in-person residencies.

Whether you have a novel in progress, are preparing for a PhD program, or looking to strengthen your prose, poetry, and hybrid writing, our low-residency creative writing MFA program provides you with resources, accountability, and inspiration that fit your schedules.

Naropa takes traditional low-residency MFA programs a step further with our history of experimental and innovative writing, critical study, and cross-genre publishing. Our unique cross-genre online writing courses, generative residencies, and one-on-one mentorship provide students with a writing community, no matter where they live.

Cross-Genre Curriculum

Unlike other Creative Writing MFA programs, our low-residency MFA is open-genre. This means that writers can work in fiction, poetry, prose, non-fiction, playwriting, and hybrid forms throughout their degree program. Students experiment with narrative structures and forms that fit their unique voices. Writers develop their unique style, critical ear, and vast knowledge of contemporary trends across literary genres.

One-on-One Mentorship

One-on-one mentorship and small online writing classes help writers develop their style, refine their editing skills, and publish their work. Each writer dedicates their final semester to a thesis manuscript. Working one-on-one with their thesis mentor and workshopping with classmates through written exchange, students finish their MFA with a completed manuscript in the genre of their choice.

Generative Residencies

Every semester, our Low-Residency MFA students gather in Boulder, Colorado, for enriching and energizing residencies. MFA students meet one-on-one with mentors, enjoy master classes with guest writers, attend readings, and bond with writers. Residencies also overlap with our spring and fall symposiums, providing students with a rich 4-days of community and inspiration. Each academic year culminates in a week-long writing intensive at Naropa’s Summer Writing Program. This annual festival brings over 60 artists, writers, and thinkers to Boulder, for workshops, readings, panels, and professional development.

Quick Facts

• Fifteen annual days of residency in Boulder, CO
• Open-genre curriculum
• One-on-one mentorship with accomplished faculty
• Unique Experimental Approach
• Participation in the Summer Writing Program
• Cohort model developing a strong sense of community among MFA students
• Several Scholarship and Financial Aid Opportunities
• Applications open for August 2024

Program Format

Naropa’s Creative Writing MFA is a rigorous, generative, low-residency two-year program with 4 writing residencies in beautiful Boulder Colorado. The program combines asynchronous craft courses with on-campus residencies. 

Annual fall and spring residencies allow writers to connect with other writers and faculty , deepen their craft, and participate in symposium readings and panels with other MFA students in Boulder, CO. Spring and Fall Residencies run from Saturday through Tuesday during the Spring and Fall JKS Symposiums.

The summer residency immerses writers in a full week of the Jack Kerouac School’s world-renowned Summer Writing Program . Here, students attend workshops, lectures, panels, and readings by numerous visiting writers to hone their craft, make connections, speak on student panels, and prepare for the next step in their writing career.

Course Spotlight

Craft of writing: rooting in the archive.

This course delves into the Naropa University Archive and its rich offerings to explore traditions, movements, and/or schools of writing that inform or extend the aesthetic vision of the Jack Kerouac School toward mindful writing. Possible recent historical examples include New American Poetry, the Beats, San Francisco Renaissance, the New York School, Black Mountain Poetics, the Black Arts Movement, and Language poetry, among others.

Degree Requirements

Unlike many online creative writing MFA programs, our asynchronous classes build community through writer-to-writer feedback and a structured curriculum.

Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Requirements

26 credits of online asynchronous craft courses.

Students work one-on-one with a mentor, exchanging packets —consisting of letters, bibliographies, contemplative reflections, creative manuscripts, and critical essays—throughout the semester.

• WRI-631E Craft of Writing: Rooting in the Archive(6)WRI-648E Craft of Writing: Contemplative Experiments(6)
• WRI-678E Craft of Writing: Cultures & Communities(4)
• WRI-735E Craft of Writing: Contemporary Trends(6)
• WRI-755E Craft of Writing: Professional Development(4)

6 credits of MFA Thesis

6 credits of MFA Thesis (faculty mentorship on a book-length creative manuscript)

4 credits of the Summer Writing Program

Two eight-day summer residencies are completed at Naropa’s Boulder campus. Choose two of the following:

• WRI-751 Summer Writing Program(2)
• WRI-752 Week Two Summer Writing Program(2)
• WRI-753 Summer Writing Program(2)

4 credits of fall and spring residencies in Boulder, CO.

• WRI-789WE Fall Residency(1)
• WRI-791WE Spring Residency(1)

Why Choose Naropa?

Strong writing tradition.

Founded in 1974 by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics encourages experimental forms across genres , pushing for innovation inside and outside the classroom.

Career Readiness

Whether a student plans to teach, write, edit, or work in publishing, our low-residency program provides the framework they need to develop their professional skills alongside a vibrant and supportive writing community.

In-house Publishing

The Kerouac School’s student-run Bombay Gin literary journal publishes work from promising students and distributes it nationally through Small Press Distribution. Students interested in fine-craft letterpress printing can learn at Naropa’s Harry Smith Print Shop and Kavyayantra Press.

How this Program Prepares You

Professional dossier.

Graduates from our low-residency Creative Writing MFA emerge from the program with a solid record of written work . The pieces that make up their dossier are workshopped with peers and perfectioned with guidance from their tutor.

Critical Analysis

You’ll emerge from the program with critical analysis skills that go beyond reading between the lines of a written work. The program will teach you to recognize the role of intersectionality in the literary arts, looking at the wider spectrum that surrounds a piece, and identifying bias, assumptions and stereotypes.

Unleashing creativity

Our workshops, classes and Summer Writing Program encourage students to harness their creativity by exploring experimental forms . Low-residency students receive on-on one mentoring to help them develop their creative writing skills to the fullest, as well as feedback from their writing community, be it online or during their residency.

What You'll Learn

Highly developed writing craft.

Hone your voice in every step of the writing process.

Skill in Critical Analysis

Learn to discuss literary works through a variety of critical lenses.

Contemplative Writing Practice:

Use your writing practice as a tool for self-inquiry and discovery.

Social and Cultural Awareness

Recognize the role of race, class, and gender in literary history and works.

Career Preparedness

Graduate with a publishable manuscript and/or professional dossier.

Career Opportunities with a Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing

• Lyricist: write words for songs, matching melody and rhyme.
• Poet: use language to creatively express emotion, ideas and experiences.
• Proofreader: check written work for errors and inconsistencies.
• English Teacher: teach at the postsecondary level.
• Author: craft and publish original material.
• Editor: review and improve written work for publication.

Hear from a Graduate

Jackie henrion, faqs about the low-residency mfa in creative writing, what is a low residency mfa in creative writing, why choose a low residency mfa creative writing program, how long does it take to complete a low residency mfa in creative writing, how is naropa’s low residency mfa in creative writing different from other programs, what types of funding are available.

Funding includes the Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Anselm Hollo Graduate Fellowships.

The fellowships are awarded annually to three incoming MFA Creative Writing and Poetics students (residency program). Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Anselm Hollo fellowship recipients will receive full funding (tuition and fees), plus an additional $5,000 scholarship as well as a $4,500 stipend. Fellowship recipients may not simultaneously hold a Graduate Assistantship.

Additionally, partial funding is provided for students who have applied for and been offered graduate assistantships with the Naropa Writing Center.

Visit our Graduate Scholarship page to read more about funding, fellowships and scholarships for the Low-Residency Creative Writing & Poetics MFA and other degrees.

Learn More About the Program

Connect with your counselor

Olivia phipps.

Graduate Admissions Counselor

• [email protected]
• Schedule an Appointment
• Attend An Info Session

Ready to Apply?

Admission requirements.

Naropa University values both academic excellence and critical self-reflection . Our application process not only evaluates academic performance but also candidates’ openness and willingness to engage in contemplation.

Learn more about admission requirements and the application process for our Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA.

Graduate Students

Prospective students who have completed an undergraduate degree are welcome to apply to Naropa. When applying, candidates must submit a transcript of their undergraduate coursework, a statement of interest, a resume, two letters of interest and a creative writing sample. They may also apply for financial aid at this stage. Discover all admission requirements.

International Students

If you obtained your undergraduate diploma from a non-US university, we require additional documentation to review your application. Learn how to apply to Naropa as an international student.

Costs and Financial Aid

Naropa University students have access to several financial aid opportunities and scholarships – over 75% of our graduate students receive some sort of financial support to pursue their studies. Use our calculator to estimate your tuition, housing, materials and other costs.

Undergraduate Scholarship Opportunities

Interested in our Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA?

Read our blog or listen to our podcast, heartfire festival returns to naropa university, episode 92. andrew schelling: writing as a spiritual practice, womxn of naropa celebrates national poetry month, summer writing program from the archives, together in spirit, student support and resources, academic support, online student support, career services, financial aid, accessibility, related programs, mfa in creative writing, ba in creative writing and literature, request information, plan a visit, about naropa, events & community, user information, support naropa.

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Naropa campuses closed on friday, march 15, 2024.

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.

• Back to Hood.edu

Steven Leyva | Guest Writer for MFA Program

Hood’s creative writing MFA program welcomes Steven Leyva as guest writer for June 2024 residency.

• Creative Writing (MFA)
• English & Communication Arts
• Graduate School

Steven Leyva is a Baltimore-based poet and professor. He is the author of Low Parish and The Understudy’s Handbook , which won the Jean Feldman Poetry Prize. His latest collection, The Opposite of Cruelty , is forthcoming from Blair Publishing in spring 2025. Leyva earned his MFA from the University of Baltimore, where he is currently an associate professor in the Klein Family School of Communications Design.

Leyva will serve as a guest writer for the inaugural summer residency of the creative writing MFA program at Hood College. In the conversation below, Leyva discusses his new collection, the relationship between anime and poetry, and how MFA programs build transferable skills for students.

When did you first become interested in writing and what sparked your passion for poetry?

During my junior year in undergrad, my closest friend switched majors from theater to English/creative writing. He asked me if I’d consider writing some poems, so he would have at least one person to talk with about poetry. I gave it a shot and never looked back. Which is to say, I was relatively late to the party. So, for me, poetry and my passion for it have always been connected to friendship and community.

What inspired your forthcoming collection, The Opposite of Cruelty ?

I wrote some of the foundational poems in The Opposite of Cruelty during the early months of COVID quarantine—a Crown of Sonnets called “Halo,” an invocation made of false starts, a few self-portraits. In those poems, there seemed to be a question arising, “What is the opposite of cruelty?” The book and the other poems try to answer that question in small and larger ways.   

How does your love of anime and comic books influence your writing and scholarship?

Well, for one, it means I don’t really compartmentalize my life. I write scholarship about my hobbies. I let comic book characters populate my poems, and I let comic theory shape my poetics and aesthetics about how poems are shaped on the page. The stanza and the comic book panel aren’t that different.

What are your plans and hopes for your time as a guest writer at the low-res MFA program at Hood College?

I hope that I can make it an inch easier for the poets and writers there to remain curious about their creative process and the artifacts they are writing.

What do you see as the benefits of the low-residency model?

This is a difficult question to answer, but I think the benefits of the low-res model are permutations of the more general benefits of an MFA. This model provides a way to organize a person’s time around some intensive learning and writing experiences—it sort of squeezes the accordion of apprenticeship to fit a certain sensibility and to sound a certain useful “note.” Low-res does allow for a community from across many different regions, which does an interesting thing to a group’s sense of place and placemaking.

How do you think students can leverage their creative talents into professional careers?

Creative writers are often skilled problem solvers, and because the art of writing involves how you engage an audience, they are often decent at communicating creative solutions to old problems. That’s a transferable skill and one that can apply to many different professions. There are others as well. Revising, giving feedback, receiving feedback, developing a sustainable process of making—all those skills are invaluable in various professions. So, I’d say that students should be just as creative in thinking about what and how an MFA builds transferable skills as they are about how to invent new poetic forms, or how to resolve a conflict with the protagonist, or which voice works best for which genre.

Learn more about Hood’s new low-residency MFA in creative writing here .

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