syracuse mfa creative writing

Creative Writing Program Introduces New Undergraduate Degree

The Department of English’s signature creative writing program–home of the renowned M.F.A. in creative writing–will now offer a new bachelor of arts degree. Building on the nationally ranked master’s program, the new creative writing major and minor are open to students with an interest in developing their skills as writers and readers of creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry.

The new B.A. marks a milestone for the creative writing program, which previously only housed an M.A. (1962-1994) and M.F.A. (1994-present) since its founding in 1962. For the first time, talented undergraduate writers can enroll in the program, which concentrates on the craft and quality of literary writing. They will address the challenges of the literary process with their fellow writers under the guidance of highly accomplished faculty authors, including Mona Awad, Dana Spiotta, Jonathan Dee, Brooks Haxton, Bruce Smith, Matt Grzecki, Sarah Harwell and Christopher Kennedy.

The  creative writing major is 30 credits and combines a grounding in literary study with a workshop-style focus on writing. Students will learn to effectively use language to create complex and emotionally powerful experiences in the form of stories, poetry and creative nonfiction. Coursework will include literature, creative writing workshops and craft classes. Creative writing workshops focus on the students’ own creative work, while craft classes such as Reading and Writing Poetry and Fairytales in Fiction are classes where students “read like writers”–learning craft and literary techniques from the work of established writers. The creative writing minor  requires students to take 18 credits of craft classes and creative writing workshops.

Coran Klaver, associate professor and department chair of English, says students will benefit from a course of study designed specifically for undergraduate creative writers. “The new creative writing major continues to draw on the strengths of our literary and screen studies curriculum of the Department of English, while also providing undergraduate students with customized workshops and crafts courses,” Klaver says. “I am thrilled that our students will now have the ability to focus on their passion for creative writing through this new major, as well as to work more closely with our talented creative writing faculty members.”

Christopher Kennedy, professor of English and director of the M.F.A. program, says, “I’d like to thank College of Arts and Sciences Dean Karin Ruhlandt for the opportunity to create the undergraduate degree and Sarah Harwell for all her hard work to bring it to fruition.”

Students in the B.A. program can utilize myriad creative writing resources, including the well-established  Raymond Carver Reading Series , opportunities to meet with visiting writers and highly talented graduate students who will help guide undergraduates, and an undergraduate creative writing club called “Write Out.”

First-year students can also choose to live in the  Creative Writing Learning Living Community  (LLC), where they can meet fellow students and create friendships, network with faculty and established authors through public readings and LLC dinners, and explore their passion for reading and writing poetry, fiction, graphic novels, creative nonfiction or any other types of writing.

According to Sarah Harwell, associate director of the creative writing program, in addition to being authors, graduates with a creative writing degree can also go on to careers in the fields of publishing, public relations, marketing, advertising, web design, media design, branding, social media communications, teaching, publishing, editing, grant writing, journalism, technical writing, health care professions and computer science.

“Nearly every profession is in need of highly skilled writers to interpret technical fields to the general public, to create compelling stories, and to compress and synthesize information so that it is gripping and persuasive,” Harwell says.

The program is now accepting students. For more information about enrolling, email Sarah Harwell at  [email protected] .

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Creative Writing B.A.

About this Program

• Participate in creative writing workshops in which you will generate your own work and in craft classes in which you will learn from the work of established writers.
• Pair your creative writing major with another major and expand your horizons by exploring multiple areas of interest, including journalism, history, information science, biology and applied mathematics.
• Learn from faculty-writers, graduate students enrolled in Syracuse’s renowned M.F.A. in creative writing program, and the well-established Raymond Carver Reading Series.
• Meet with talented faculty and visiting writers for guidance as you hone your own writing skills.
• Partake in one of literature’s highest goals: to give voice to a plurality of experiences and worldviews.
• Learn from assigned readings that represent various cultures, classes, modes of experience and cultures.
• Live in the Creative Writing Living Learning Community, where first-year students create friendships, network with faculty and established authors through public readings and dinners, and explore their passion for reading and writing poetry, fiction, graphic novels, creative nonfiction and any other type of writing.

Program Information

Degree Type

College or School

College of Arts and Sciences

Related pages.

• Official Program Requirements

The creative writing curriculum combines a grounding in literary study with a workshop-style focus on writing. Required classes include historical and contemporary literature classes, and creative writing workshops and craft classes in at least two genres. Students have the opportunity to join the Creative Writing Living Learning Community.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Read closely and analyze texts across historical periods and in various genres.
• Recognize and express the aesthetic qualities of literature and a knowledge of literary forms.
• Recognize and produce good writing and explain what literary aspects make it good.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of critical approaches and methods of interpretation.
• Improve your own work through self-conscious and analytical processes.
• Discuss peer work and other written texts in a thoughtful and constructive manner.
• Exhibit an awareness of how these skills are necessary for employment and graduate study in a wide range of fields.

Sample Courses

• Introduction to Creative Writing
• Reading Race and Ethnicity before 1900
• Interpretation of Poetry
• The Art of the Fairy Tale
• Introduction to Shakespeare

Extracurricular Opportunities

Raymond Carver Reading Series

Through the Raymond Carver Reading Series, attend readings by 12 to 14 prominent writers, followed by a Q&A session with the author. Recent authors include Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, Jamaal May, Monica Youn, Brandon Taylor, Valeria Luiselli, Ilya Kaminsky and Percival Everett.

Salt Hill is a nationally distributed literary journal publishing outstanding new fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and art. For over a decade, the magazine has been edited and published by creative writing students. Students apply to intern at Salt Hill, and if chosen, gain valuable experience in running a literary magazine.

Student Publications

Through many student-run publications and campus organizations, hone your writing capabilities, meet peers with common interests and enjoy professional development and networking opportunities in writing and other related fields. Consider publications like the Perceptions magazine, The Daily Orange publication, Moody Magazine and The OutCrowd Magazine ; and student groups like Write Out and Nu Rho Poetic Society.

Related Programs

Digital humanities b.a..

Combine the traditional strengths of the humanities with attention to digital and information technology. Learn how digital technologies enable us to explore key questions in the humanities.

English and Textual Studies B.A.

Explore creative expression across a broad array of texts—novels, plays, film, digital media and more. Interpret motivations behind stories of yesterday and today and hone your skills as a writer.

Fine Arts B.A.

Customize your education with a unique concentration in the field of fine arts, drawing from both art history and music history courses, as well as studio art and music lessons or ensembles.

Linguistic Studies B.A.

Linguistics is the scientific study of the nature and use of language. Investigate its role in society, its structures and their cognitive representation, and language learning and teaching.

Music History and Cultures B.A.

The major in music history and cultures is designed for students who wish to study music in its historical, social and cultural contexts and in relation to other arts.

Writing and Rhetoric B.A.

As a writing and rhetoric major, you’ll explore the power of language across a range of genres.

Learn more about this program

Orange Alert

B.a. in creative writing.

Syracuse University has a long and storied history of nurturing great writers. From Stephen Crane and Shirley Jackson to Joyce Carol Oates and Nana Adjei-Brenyah, students have made good use of the Syracuse winters to hone their craft and explore their imaginations. The result has been books as varied in styles as they are in subjects----SU authors have critiqued the ills of society, explored human frailties and strengths, and probed the psychological depths of horror and mystery.

The Creative Writing Major in the English and Textual Studies Department is designed for students who want to be part of this tradition and have an intense interest in cultivating the skills, knowledge and inventiveness needed to write creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. This 30-credit major combines a grounding in literary study with a workshop-style focus on writing. Students will learn to use language to create complex and emotionally powerful work. Required classes include literature classes, and creative writing workshops and craft classes in at least two genres. It is our belief that all writers need to be readers. To that end, the classes, even the workshops, balance reading historical and contemporary literature with the practice of writing.

For those students already committed to a demanding major, but still interested in creative writing, the 18-credit minor is an excellent alternative to the major. Comprised of three workshops and three craft classes, the minor will provide students with a focused creative writing experience.

The renowned MFA in Creative Writing program provides a myriad of resources for undergraduate students to draw from, including a well-established reading series (The Raymond Carver Reading Series https://thecollege.syr.edu/english-department/creative-writing-mf-program/raymond-carver-reading-series/), opportunities for students to meet with visiting writers, highly talented graduate students who will help guide undergraduates, an undergraduate creative writing club “Write Out,” and, most importantly, the opportunity to work closely with highly accomplished writers, including Mona Awad, Dana Spiotta, Jonathan Dee, Brooks Haxton, Bruce Smith, Matt Grzecki, Sarah Harwell and Christopher Kennedy.

First-year students can choose to live in the Creative Writing Learning Living Community (LLC), where they can meet fellow students and create friendships, network with faculty and established authors through public readings and LLC dinners, and explore their passion for reading and writing poetry, fiction, graphic novels, creative nonfiction or any other types of writing.

The major has been designed to pair with a number of other majors—yes, majors you would expect, like journalism and history—but also Pre-med, information science, biology, physics, philosophy, political science, art history, African-American Studies, illustration, religion, photography, drama and even Applied Mathematics! Creative writers publish their creative work, but they are also in demand in the fields of publishing, public relations, marketing, advertising, web design, media design, branding, social media communications, teaching, publishing, editing, grant writing, journalism, technical writing, health care professions, and computer science. Nearly every profession is in need of highly skilled writers to interpret technical fields to the general public, to create compelling stories, and to compress and synthesize information so that it is gripping and persuasive. And all writers need subjects and a breadth of knowledge in order to write about issues that matter to an audience.

Finally, Creative Writing is committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse community of readers and writers. Required readings are deliberately chosen to represent various cultures, classes, modes of experience, and cultures. As a student you will be encouraged to partake in one of literature’s highest goals—to give voice to a plurality of experiences and world views.

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Sarah Harwell at [email protected] .

If you would like to declare the major or minor, please contact Katherine Kidd at [email protected] .

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students will show the ability to read closely and analyze texts across historical periods and in various genres.
• Student will be able to recognize and express the aesthetic qualities of literature and a knowledge of literary forms.
• Students will be able to recognize and produce good writing and explain what literary aspects make it good.
• Students will demonstrate a knowledge of critical approaches and methods of interpretation.
• Students will improve their own work through self-conscious and analytical processes.
• They will be able to discuss peer work and other written texts in a thoughtful and constructive manner.
• Students will exhibit an awareness of how these skills are necessary for employment and graduate study in a wide range of fields.

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MFA Program

Poetry: Brooks Haxton, Mary Karr, Christopher Kennedy, Bruce Smith Fiction: Mona Awad, Chanelle Benz, Jonathan Dee, George Saunders, Dana Spiotta

Teaching Faculty: Matthew Grzecki, Sarah Harwell

The program offers full funding, which includes a full tuition waiver and stipend or a teaching assistantship or fellowship. The current stipend for fellowships and scholarships is $20,000.

Salt Hill , BOA Editions  

This program features the Raymond Carver Reading Series and the Graduate Student Reading Series.

Monica Brashears, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Mildred Barya, Grady Chambers, Alexandra Chang, Rebecca Curtis, Christine Kitano, Adam Levin, Annie Liontas, Ellen Litman, Rahul Mehta, E.C. Osondu, Iain Haley Pollock, Alexander Sammartino, Anthony Veasna So, Cheryl Strayed, Daniel Torday.

Syracuse University

Syracuse , NY

http://english.syr.edu/cw/cw-program.html

Degrees Offered

Fiction, Poetry

Residency type

Program length.

48 semester hours (3 years)

Financial Aid

The program offers full funding, which includes a full tuition waiver and stipend or a teaching assistantship or fellowship. The current stipend for fellowships and scholarships is $18,564.

Teaching opportunities

First-year MFA students do not teach, but they all take a pedagogy course during the summer after their first year. In their second and third years, MFA students teach in The Writing Program (a separate academic unit, specializing in composition), the Living Writers course (a course featuring prominent guest writers from the Raymond Carver Reading Series), and/or the Creative Writing Program (as either teaching assistants for Introduction to Creative Writing or leaders of their own workshops).

Editorial opportunities

hough not an annual guarantee, there is sometimes an opportunity to intern with BOA Publishing. More information on BOA is available here: https://www.boaeditions.org/.

Cross-genre study

• Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah MFA (Fiction) 2016
• Julia Alvarez MA (Fiction) 1975
• Mikael Awake MFA (Fiction) 2011
• Chanelle Benz MFA (Fiction) 2012
• Joel Brouwer MA 1993
• Christopher Brunt MFA (Poetry) 2011
• Alexandra Chang MFA (Fiction) 2018
• Dan Chaon MA 1990
• Chen Chen MFA (Poetry) 2015
• Rebecca Curtis MFA (Fiction) 2001
• Adam Davies MFA
• Stephen Dunn MA (Poetry) 1970
• Ashley Farmer MFA 2010
• Steve Featherstone MFA 1996
• Jonathan Fink MFA
• Camille Goodison MFA (Fiction) 2001
• Mary Gordon MA 1973
• Mary Louise Hill MA (Fiction) 1987
• David Brendan Hopes MA (Poetry) 1976
• C. J. Hribal MA (Fiction) 1982
• Diana Joseph MFA 1996
• Christopher Kennedy MA 1988
• Lily King MA (Fiction) 1995
• Steven Koteff MFA (Fiction)
• Patrick Lawler MA 1981
• David Lazar MFA (Poetry) 1983
• Adam Levin MFA (Fiction) 2003
• Larry Levis MA (Poetry) 1970
• Bridget Lowe MFA (Poetry) 2009
• Paul Maliszewski MFA (Fiction) 1996
• Jane Mead MA (Poetry) 1986
• Erin Mullikan MFA (Poetry) 2014
• Jason Ockert MFA (Fiction) 2000
• E. C. Osondu MFA (Fiction) 2007
• Tom Perotta MA (Fiction) 1988
• Jay Rogoff , MA
• George Saunders MA (Fiction) 1988
• Cheryl Strayed MFA
• Michael Thomas MFA 1995
• Daniel Torday MFA (Fiction) 2007
• Lily Tuck MFA
• Deb Olin Unferth MFA (Fiction) 1998
• Debbie Urbanski MFA 2004
• Karen Volkman MA 1992
• David Wojciechowski MFA (Poetry) 2013
• Carolyne Wright MA (Poetry) 1975, (Poetry) 1979
• Karen Wunsch MA (Fiction) 1966
• Zeynep Özakat MFA (Fiction) 2020

Send questions, comments and corrections to [email protected] .

Disclaimer: No endorsement of these ratings should be implied by the writers and writing programs listed on this site, or by the editors and publishers of Best American Short Stories , Best American Essays , Best American Poetry , The O. Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize Anthology .

Peter Beasecker, Ann Clarke, Susan D’Amato, Dusty Herbig, Juan Juarez, Jude Lewis, Joanna Spitzner, Sam Van Aken, Errol Willett, Bob Wysocki

Facilities - ART

We have over 30,000 square feet of nationally recognized studio facilities in Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Printmaking, Fibers, Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Illustration, 2D Digital Printing, and 3D Modeling and Fabrication. Additionally, graduate students each receive a private or semi-private studio space.

Description

The Master of Fine Arts program in Studio Arts prepares students with diverse studio backgrounds to become confident arts practitioners that can make a difference in the world through applying their skills and knowledge. Students are encouraged to celebrate ideas and creative risk-taking through their chosen studio focus but also through the inter-disciplinary and collaborative activity taking the students beyond the obvious, as they meet the often unpredictable and certainly challenging possibilities that are offered as they test, and interrogate, make and confidently reflect on their practice. In an intensive program of seminars and critiques, students will engage in theoretical and contextual understanding supporting them to launch their careers in the creative industries. Students may complete the award of Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts on a 2-year or 3-year program. On the 2-year program, students may take advantage of the Maymester summer program to gain credits. Students also have the opportunity to engage in the graduate residency program after completion of a minimum of 51 credits. Graduate studies are enhanced by an extensive visiting artist, critics and curator program. M.F.A. candidates have the opportunity to have close contact with professional artists and research-active faculty through lectures and individual studio critiques.

Graduate study in Studio Arts may be directed toward an intensive in ceramics, drawing, jewelry and metalsmithing, painting, performance, printmaking, sculpture and/or time arts, or an interdisciplinary approach to contemporary practices.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate confidence as arts practitioners who can make a difference in the world through application of skills, synthesis of ideas and knowledge 2. Find and solve real problems through creative risk-taking 3. Engage in collaborative activity taking their art practice beyond the obvious 4. Embrace unpredictable and challenging possibilities through professional practices 5. Interrogate, make and confidently critique and reflect on their practice 6. Engage in theoretical and contextual understanding as it relates to individual practice, thereby positioning their individual practice in the wider context

Requirements

Fall semester 1.

• ARI 601 - Graduate Seminar 1: Theory and Ideas 6 credit(s)
• ARI 603 - Graduate Critique 1 3 credit(s)
• Academic or Studio Elective (3 credits)

Spring Semester 1

• ARI 602 - Graduate Seminar 2: Professional Studies 6 credit(s)
• Studio Elective (3 credits)

Summer Semester (for 2-year or 3-year program)

• ARI Intensive (3 credits)

Fall Semester 2

• ARI 604 - Graduate Critique 2 3 credit(s)
• Studio Intensives and/or Academic or Studio Electives (6-9 credits)

Spring Semester 2

• Studio and Electives (6-9 credits)

Fall Semester 3

• ARI 701 - Graduate Seminar 3: Graduate Thesis 6 credit(s)
• ARI 703 - Graduate Critique 3 3 credit(s)

Spring Semester 3

• ARI 702 - Graduate Seminar 4: Graduate Exhibition 6 credit(s)
• ARI Intensive, studio elective, academic elective if needed (3 credits)

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CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF CREATIVE EXCELLENCE 1873 — 2023

Film (M.F.A)

Department of Film and Media Arts

The master of fine arts (M.F.A.) program in film integrates film production with the conceptual and critical study of the medium while providing a strong focus on global cinema. Through international programs, visiting artists from around the world, and a regimen of film history, culture, and theory, our graduate students benefit from understanding film within its historical, artistic, and international contexts.

Admission + Portfolio Requirements

Visit Opportunities

We’re proud that Syracuse is ranked among the top 25 film schools in the United States by The Hollywood Reporter and the top 50 film schools by TheWrap. We are also listed as one of the 30 top film schools in North America by Variety. 

Through exposure to the areas of video, photography, computer art, sound, music composition, creative writing, drama, humanities, women’s studies, and African American studies, the program encourages an interdisciplinary approach to graduate studies. The objective is to develop a plan of study that puts together a course package designed to support each student’s unique talents and interests and to compliment the required courses that constitute the rest of the curriculum.

The program does not impose an aesthetic or critical agenda; rather, it encourages students to explore the medium of film in an intelligent yet personal way, fully aware of its history and potential. Students are encouraged to be creative, articulate, and above all, curious about cinema.

The program provides students with numerous opportunities to explore cinema on a global level. Select graduates in the program participate in Film Production and Italian Film Studies  in Bologna, Italy, where you will attend the world’s most famous classic film festival event, Cinema Ritrovato, while immersing in all aspects of film. Those interested in 35mm filmmaking can study in a  semester-long program with FAMU  (Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts) in Prague, Czech Republic, through Syracuse University Abroad.

In the Syracuse community, students have various opportunities for involvement with the  Syracuse International Film Festival , which has brought a number of guests to the classroom, including Daniel Baldwin, Tom Bower, Rob Nilsson, and Giancarlo Esposito. The film program has also collaborated with American High, Jeremy Garelick’s Syracuse-based film production company, which has used film students as interns and crew.

During the course of the program, students are required to produce a minimum of three films, including a final graduate project film, and to present these films to the faculty at portfolio review sessions. The program supports work in digital cinema and super 16mm, and film students have 24-hour access to postproduction facilities. Learn more about our facilities .

Prospective students should be aware of the costs involved in filmmaking. Although we provide all of the facilities needed to produce films, we do not provide any materials or lab costs.

Student Work

The film M.F.A. degree program requires 60 credits. Below are the general program requirements.

View full M.F.A. in film curriculum .

Major studio: 24 credits Studio electives: 12 credits Art history or related academics: 12 credits Free electives: 6 credits Graduate seminar: 3 credits Final presentation: 3 credits Total Credits: 60 Length of Residency: 3 years