creative writing majors in georgia

10 Best colleges for Creative Writing in Georgia, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in Georgia ranked based on their research performance in Creative Writing. A graph of 42.9K citations received by 3.27K academic papers made by 10 universities in Georgia was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

1. Emory University

For Creative Writing

2. University of Georgia

3. Georgia Institute of Technology

4. Georgia State University

5. Albany State University

6. Georgia Southern University

7. Thomas University

8. Kennesaw State University

9. University of West Georgia

10. Valdosta State University

Closest to Georgia states to learn Creative Writing

Art & Design subfields in Georgia

English and Creative Writing

Join a powerful community of creative writers and thinkers.   In Emory's English and Creative Writing program, you will study both art and craft  of writing , alongside some of the nation’s most talented students and acclaimed faculty in one of the nation's leading creative writing programs.

Build your skills from idea to draft to revision—as you explore areas including fiction, nonfiction, dramatic writing, and poetry.   

Graduates from the English and Creative Writing program g o on to highly competitive writing and PhD programs as well as to many other fields of study, including medicine, business, and law.   

Recent graduates are working at  Forbes Travel Guide, CNN Digital, Penguin Random House, Modern Luxury, Challenge Foundation , and  William Morris Endeavor .   

Notable alumni include:

• Lauren M. Gunderson, named the country’s most produced playwright in 2017
• Brian Tolleson, the founding partner of communications and brand strategy firms Lexicon and Bark  Bark
• Lauren Giles, corporate lawyer and Alston & Bird partner
• Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Kristian Bush of Sugarland  

Examples of Classes

Introduction to poetry writing.

Experience the profound connection between reading poetry and writing it. Generate new work while helping one another through discussions examining the writer’s intentions, ideas, phrases, and images.  

Intermediate Playwriting

Experience the creative process first-hand from inspiration through character development to dramatic action and dialogue in this collaborative course co-taught by a playwright and a theater artist .  

Georgia Civil Rights Cold Case

A   historical and journalistic exploration of the Jim Crow South through the prism of unsolved or unpunished civil rights-era murders in Georgia.   This course was the foundation for WABE’s Peabody Award-winning podcast, “Buried Truths.”  Taught by Pulitzer and Peabody-award winner professor Dr. Hank Klibanoff.

Research in Creative Writing

Bringing characters to life through research  

Creative writing and theater studies students’ research supports Playwriting Fellow Jiréh Breon Holder’s professional stage production.   

“I know I was meant to be at Emory. Coming here, I felt I had access to words I hadn't been able to find before. It has been integral for me to see who I am as a writer by developing as a student and researcher first.”

Best Writing and Scriptwriting colleges in Georgia

Best writing and scriptwriting colleges in georgia for 2024.

Savannah College of Art and Design offers 6 Writing and Scriptwriting degree programs. It's a large, private not-for-profit, four-year university in a midsize city. In 2022, 93 Writing and Scriptwriting students graduated with students earning 66 Bachelor's degrees, and 27 Master's degrees.

Georgia Southern University offers 1 Writing and Scriptwriting degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a faraway town. In 2022, 27 Writing and Scriptwriting students graduated with students earning 27 Bachelor's degrees.

Emory University offers 1 Writing and Scriptwriting degree programs. It's a large, private not-for-profit, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 9 Writing and Scriptwriting students graduated with students earning 9 Bachelor's degrees.

University of Georgia offers 1 Writing and Scriptwriting degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a midsize city. In 2022, 16 Writing and Scriptwriting students graduated with students earning 16 Certificates.

Top schools offering Writing and Scriptwriting degrees in Georgia

Writing and scriptwriting.

• Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing Schools
• Writing Schools
• Playwriting and Screenwriting Schools

List of all Writing and Scriptwriting colleges in Georgia

Creative Writing Pathway

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Explore West

Take advantage of what the University of West Georgia has to offer. UWG boasts 87 programs of study.

UWG offers an exciting, diverse curriculum that allows its students to flourish and become community and world leaders.

Everything in Writing.

The Creative Writing Pathway allows students to develop narrative tools and strong writing ability in concert with study in selected disciplines, including Art, Sociology, or Mass Communication

Request Information Program Map

Pathway Information

A strong foundation in writing and narrative strategies in specific academic and pre-professional contexts enables students to become resourceful, creative, and effective leaders, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and professional writers.

Graduates can pursue careers in graphic novels and memoirs, narrative video games, policy analysis, social advocacy, communication strategists, social media managers, literary agents, and influencers, among many others.

WHAT YOU WILL STUDY

All IDS majors complete an XIDS course sequence through which they learn interdisciplinary concepts and method, culminating with a capstone project that reflects their intellectual and career interests:

• XIDS 2000 - Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies
• XIDS 3000 - Interdisciplinary Methods
• XIDS 4000 - Interdisciplinary Capstone

Creative Writing Track

You will need to take Introduction to Creative Writing as well as Intermediate and Advanced Creative Writing courses. The focus options are: 

• Creative Nonfiction
• Screenwriting

ART, COMMUNICATIONS, OR SOCIOLOGY

Visual storytelling track.

• Focus on Printmaking, Graphic Design, or Painting

Communication Studies Track

• Focus on theories and modes of communication

Writing the Social Experience Track

• Focus on social relationships & processes

Dr. Neema Noori Director, Center of Interdisciplinary Studies (678) 839-6329 [email protected]

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Department of English

Creative Writing M.F.A.

A Good MFA Program is Hard to Find

A good MFA program is hard to find, but we believe the MFA Program at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia offers unique opportunities for MFA students dedicated to the craft and purpose of creative writing. GCSU’s famous alumna, Flannery O’Connor, lived in Milledgeville on her farm, Andalusia, and of our beautiful, Southern town, she wrote "When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville." Our MFA students certainly get a lot done in their three years in Milledgeville.

What makes us unique? We take pride in the fact that the MFA Program at Georgia College is a fully-funded, full-residency 3-year MFA program. All students admitted to our MFA program receive a Graduate Assistantship for all 3 years that includes a stipend and tuition remission. Self-funded students are accepted in special circumstances. We offer everything you could find at flagship state universities, but because we are part of a small, public Liberal Arts university, our students are immediately welcomed into a close-knit, creative community. We sponsor a Visiting Writers series, bringing nationally-renowned writers to campus each semester, as well as a graduate student reading series. Our award-winning faculty work closely with students not only as workshop teachers, but as professional mentors.

The MFA Program offers workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and because we believe in expanding creative possibility and passions for our students, we require students to take cross-genre workshops. Students may write their thesis in fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction. In addition to workshops, students take creative writing seminars in Poetry & Poetics or Prose Forms, pedagogy classes on the teaching of writing, and courses on literature and special topics.

Additionally, we offer courses in journal design and editing, so students get hand-on publishing and graphic design experience. Students are able to put their practical skills to creative and purposeful good use while serving as members of the editorial staff of  Arts & Letters , our national literary journal, and one of the premier journals of the Southeast.

We are fully-funded: all students receive full tuition remission as well as a Graduate Assistantship. As part of this assistantship, students gain real-world teaching experience, and work at our Writing Center as tutors, teach undergraduate Composition, and teach in our Early College Program which is modeled on the Writers in the Schools Program. This real world teaching experience is essential for those students who hope to continue with teaching careers and/or community service careers.  We also participate in the Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program which offers assistantships to Peace Corps volunteers.

Finally, the Arts & Letters Journal Editing Fellowship is open to applicants with at least one year of experience in journal publishing and/or editing, desktop publishing and design (preferably with InDesign), and/or marketing and promotion (including social media). The Fellowship offers recipients the opportunity to further develop both editorial and managerial skills over their three years in the MFA program, working closely with Arts & Letters’ Editor and Art Director (for more information about this specific fellowship, refer information under Assistantships ). 

Faculty and graduate students alike all practice what we preach and teach at GCSU!

Our 42-hour program is designed to be a three-year program (although other options may be possible for those students that already have an MA Degree) and most students follow a plan that emphasizes course work in the first year and thesis work in the second and third years.

We welcome you to learn more about our admission application process and opportunities for graduate assistantships and other financial aid.

Check out the new design of the  Arts & Letters   website !

We now have a dynamic platform that is more efficient and responsive, and we’ve packaged it in a prettier and more user-friendly design. We are also now connected across a number of social networks, including  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Tumblr , and  Google+ , so that our readers can keep up on  Arts & Letters  news, reading periods, information on upcoming issues, and prizes.

Visiting Writer Series          

African writers festival.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Prospective students for our Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program usually apply late fall/early winter for the following fall semester. Applications must be complete by Feb.1 for students who wish to be considered for an MFA assistantship (learn more about assistantships and other financial aid available to graduate students). 

Application Process, Part One:

Domestic Applicants: Submit the completed  on-line graduate application  ($35 fee) and required materials to  Graduate Admissions . Application and required materials must be submitted by February 1 :

• The completed on-line graduate application plus $35 fee to Graduate Admissions. 
• Georgia College & State University The Graduate School Graduate Admissions Office Campus Box 107 Milledgeville, GA 31061       
• OFFICIAL undergraduate or graduate transcripts (even if still in progress). If you are in your final year of undergraduate studies, you can still be admitted to the program, though final admission will be contingent upon receiving final transcripts upon your graduation from your undergraduate institution.

Questions? Contact  Graduate Admissions .

International Applicants: If you are an International Student please submit the completed  International Graduate Application For Admission  and required materials to the International Education Center . To ensure timely delivery of materials and for application to receive full consideration, application and required materials should be submitted by January 1 :

• The completed International Graduate Application For Admission .
• Georgia College & State University International Education Center Campus Box 49 Milledgeville, GA 31061     

Questions? Contact the International Education Center .

Application Process, Part Two:

Domestic and International applicants, attach the following materials to the application or email to the Graduate School, [email protected] .

• Last Name_Genre_Portfolio
• Last Name_Genre_SOP
• Last Name_Genre_Resume CV
• A writing sample in your thesis genre (please label as fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction). Submission should indicate the genre to which you are applying: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Submit up to 10 pages of poems (typed, single-spaced, no more than 1 poem per page); or submit up to 20 pages of prose, one or two short stories or creative nonfiction essays/memoir excerpt (typed and double- spaced). 
• A statement of purpose  (about 500 words, typed, double-spaced). Please address your goals as a writer. Tell us why you wish to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing with us, rather than follow another path. Surprise us.  Address as well how the program's offering of tutoring opportunities in the Writing Center and teaching duties in the classroom will help you reach your goals.
• Résumé or CV . 

 Questions? Contact the MFA program . NOTE:  You will also need to provide verification of lawful presence (PDF ) to Graduate Admissions . Graduate admissions needs this information before we can accept students into the program. Additionally, before you can register for classes, the required  immunization certificate (PDF)  must be submitted to the Registrar's office . We do NOT require GRE scores.

The MFA program web pages provide program-specific information; however, you will find other important information at  graduate admissions , the university registrar , financial aid  and other GC web sites/offices. International students should contact the  International Student Center  for admission guidance.

Evaluation of Your Application 

Your writing portfolio is the primary credential we review in evaluating your application for admission (writing samples are reviewed by a faculty committee who teach in the student’s thesis genre). Your letters of recommendation and statement of purpose are also important, since they will address your skill and accomplishment as a writer. Because our students also take required classes in Poetry & Poetics or Prose Forms, Teaching Creative Writing and non-creative writing courses in literature, criticism, linguistics or other subjects, your transcripts will also help us make our final, holistic evaluation of your application.  We begin to review applications after Feb.1. In order to maintain small classes and individual, intensive mentorship of thesis work, our admission process is competitive. Our first step is to inform students (usually early to mid-March) whether or not they’ve been admitted to our program. Our second step is to determine MFA assistantship offers and wait lists (see  The Graduate School  for details about graduate assistantships).

Any Questions?

Call us at 478-445-3509, or send an email . For Graduate Admissions questions, call 478-445-6289.

All application materials must be completed and received by Feb.1 if you wish to be considered for an MFA program-sponsored graduate assistantship (or “G.A.”). Please include a résumé with the application materials you send to the MFA program. Provide any information that best describes your skills and experience, including (but not limited to, and not necessarily in this order):

• Education (any specific or special studies, experiences, or projects?)
• Tutoring, teaching, or mentoring skills, experience
• Editing/publishing experience (print journal, newspaper, web, etc.)
• Communication skills (including social media/networking)
• Tech skills (InDesign, web editing programs, Photoshop, other Adobe software; experience with Microsoft office or Apple iBooks Author?
• Any other skills/experiences you’d like to emphasize
• List 3 references (those submitting your letters of recommendation)

Applications received by Feb.1, and selected for acceptance to the MFA program, will then be reviewed to determine applicants that will be offered MFA-sponsored assistantships. Faculty committees (in each genre) review these applications holistically, based on the quality of the writing sample, potential for graduate study in an academic setting, and depth of experience (as reflected by the applicant’s statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, transcripts and résumé). The committee then ranks the accepted applications. When rankings are complete, the MFA Coordinator contacts applicants to make assistantship offers or to discuss and clarify a candidate’s placement on an assistantship waiting list. Once offered an MFA G.A., the applicant is encouraged to make a decision as soon as possible, but a final decision will be due no later than April 15.

Assistantships

Kinds of assistantships available to our graduate students:

Most MFA-sponsored first year graduate assistants  (or “G.A.s”) are assigned hours as “writing consultants” in the university  Writing Center. Other MFA G.A.s divide their hours between the Writing Center and the MFA/ Arts & Letters  office, the Flannery O’Connor Review  office, or our teaching writing in the schools  Early College  project. MFA-sponsored graduate assistantships include a stipend (current stipend is $8,600 per year) and full-tuition remission (but does not include mandatory student fees and, unless eligible to be waived, mandatory student insurance). The  GCSU Budget Office  posts current tuition and fees; information about student insurance is available at  United Healthcare .

Teaching Fellowships  require a secondary application process, due to additional credentials required for teaching college-level classes. Students who have been awarded MFA-sponsored G.A.s are eligible to apply for a Teaching Fellowship if a) they already hold an M.A. in English, or b) they have completed 18 hours of graduate credit in English, in addition to meeting other criteria. MFA students who are eligible will apply to the Department of English and Rhetoric (submitting materials through Georgia College & State University careers or some other means, as determined by the Chair). Note: Students are expected to teach during their second and third years of the program; failure to earn enough course credit to teach classes or failure to meet other expected criteria for teaching may result in the forfeiture of the student’s assistantship.

The  Arts & Letters Journal Editing Fellowship at Georgia College encourages graduate studies for students with at least one year of experience in journal publishing and/or editing, desktop publishing and design (preferably with InDesign), and/or marketing and promotion (including social media). Students interested in applying for this Fellowship should also have excellent organizational and proofreading skills.  The Fellowship offers recipients the opportunity to further develop both editorial and managerial skills over their three years in the MFA program, working closely with Arts & Letters ’ Editor and Art Director. In the first year, the A&L Fellow works in the capacity of Assistant Managing Editor, helping the current Managing Editor in the completion of office duties—everything from social media postings to honing InDesign skills to updating the Web Site. In the second and third year, the Fellow takes over as Managing Editor. Managing Editor duties include distributing and monitoring reading (submission) loads, In Desgning the journal and readying it to send to the printer, managing Sendinblue campaigns, and running proofreading sessions. The Managing Editor also is encouraged to represent the journal at the annual AWP Conference, as funding allows. Qualified applicants who wish to pursue the Journal Editing Fellowship should initially contact Dr. Kerry Neville, who coordinates the MFA Program.

The Journal Editing Fellowship is awarded to an incoming student every other year, and includes a stipend for summer work, much of which can be done remotely. The Fellowship is typically awarded in the spring semester prior to the student’s first (fall) semester. The fellowship will be awarded to a qualified recipient in 2025.

Arts & Letters , a nationally known literary journal in continuous biannual print publication since 1999, publishes innovative fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by emerging and established writers, and offers annual prizes in four genres, as well a prize for ‘unclassifiable’ work. Recent representative authors include Wes Civilz, Marianne Boruch, Keith Wilson, Rodney Jones, James Allen Hall, Lina Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, and George Singleton.

In addition, other university assistantships outside the MFA program may be an option for students accepted to our program (typically, these G.A.s offer a lower stipend but still include a full in-state or out-of-state tuition waiver). The MFA coordinator will discuss this option with applicants accepted to the program but who do not receive an MFA-sponsored G.A.

Scholarships and other Financial Aid

Some MFA scholarships (subject to funding availability) are awarded, in addition to the stipend and tuition waiver, to students on MFA-sponsored assistantships. The program coordinator will discuss these awards (if available) with students offered MFA G.A.s. ALL enrolled and returning university students (in good academic standing) can apply for other scholarships (some related to the MFA in Creative Writing program, some not), such as the Flannery O’Connor Alumni Scholarship and the Dorrie Neligan Creative Writing Scholarships.

Student loans are also available to MFA students through the university Financial Aid Office. Whether or not you’re interested in applying for a student loan, accepted applicants may wish to complete the student loan  FAFSA application . Discuss your options with GCSU’s Financial Aid Office .

Quick Info For Assistantships:

• In 2023-2024, all incoming MFA students had assistantships, and 6 had other university assistantships/appointments.
• MFA GAs include a stipend and full tuition waiver (in-state OR out-of-state tuition).
• Applicants offered MFA GAs are encouraged to make a decision early but final decisions are due by April 15.
• MFA GAs are assigned hours in the  Writing Center  (some GAs split hours with another assignment in our program).
• Students awarded MFA GAs apply to be Teaching Fellows their second year (if eligible) through a separate process via the Department of English.  
• MFA GAs usually earn 18 hours in ENGL graduate credit their first year (required for Teaching Fellow eligibility).
• Teaching Fellows are typically assigned CORE classes (ENGL 1101, 1102) and ENGL 2208: Intro to Creative Writing.
• Stipends for assistantships are paid in five equal installments each semester (fall/spring).
• Assistantships do not cover required student fees or student insurance (may be eligible to waive).

MFA students are eligible for a variety of scholarships, some related, some not related, to Creative Writing, as well as student loans.   

Graduate Assistantships in the Writing Cente r   

Graduate Consultant

Interdisciplinary Writing Coordinator

Resources Coordinator    

The Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program at Georgia College encourages graduate studies for Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RCPV’s). Fellows who are accepted to participating graduate programs in their field are awarded assistantships that relate to their experience and training in the Peace Corps.

Upon successful completion of their Peace Corps Volunteer assignment, RCPV’s can apply to the Georgia College MFA Program (the application process is the same as for all applicants, but see the Peace Corps website for more information about RCPV eligibility requirements).

Peace Corps Volunteers who wish to pursue these Coverdell Fellowships should initially contact Kerry Neville , who coordinates the Coverdell Fellows Program on behalf of the university. 

Assistantships are typically awarded in the spring for positions beginning fall semester. For that reason, potential Coverdell Fellows should make formal application by Feb.1 prior to the fall semester they plan to matriculate. The formal application must include the Peace Corps Description of Service (DOS) Certification of Service document:  https://www.peacecorps.gov/returned-volunteers/support-services/certifi…  " 

Early College

Typically,  Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows in the MFA program at Georgia College help to organize and mentor our Early College writing-in-the-schools project. Early College is a public school housed at the Georgia College campus, serving students from Baldwin and Putnam counties. Georgia College undergraduate majors, under the supervision of MFA students and faculty, mentor seventh graders in the Early College program and help them to publish a literary journal called  The Peacock’s Feather .

Georgia College Early College was initially supported by funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for which the program remains grateful.

Most students complete the MFA program in three years. To meet MFA requirements, students take a minimum of 18 credit hours in the first year and 12 credit hours in the second and third years. Note: for students on MFA assistantships who are eligible to teach, there are additional teaching/pedagogy courses and other requirements designed to support and prepare Teaching Fellows.

A Typical Sample Plan for MFA Coursework : 

All students take 34 hours of coursework: ENGL-MFA 4-semester credit hour courses (28 hours); ENGL 3-semester credit hour courses (6 hours):

12 hours: 5000-level and 6000-level courses in the student's major writing genre (3 courses): ENGL 5021, ENGL 6021 and ENGL 6025 (poetry genre); ENGL 5012, ENGL 6012 and ENGL 6026 (creative nonfiction genre); ENGL 5022, ENGL 6022 and ENGL 6026 (fiction genre).

4 hours: Course in non-thesis genre workshop (1 course); ENGL 5011, 5012, 5021, or 5022. Note that 5000-level workshops in a genre are the prerequisite for 6000-level seminars in a genre (see electives section below).

12 hours: Electives chosen from ENGL 5011, 5012, 5021, 5022, 6012, 6021, 6022, 6024, 6025, 6026 (these courses are repeatable; some have prerequisites; approved ENGL 5950 MFA Special Topics may also be chosen (no more than 8 hours of MFA Special Topics courses may count towards elective requirements).

6 hours: Non-MFA ENGL 5000-6000 level courses (at least one course at the 6000 level).

All students also complete the MFA Thesis (8 hours). All students must complete a thesis, with the accompanying critical essay, as well as complete a successful thesis defense in order to graduate. The thesis is intended to be a book-length project. A prose thesis must be a minimum of 100 pages, and a poetry thesis must be a minimum of 35 pages. Students have to complete a thesis in the genre of their specialization; we do permit hybrid thesis projects that are written to be a singular combination, but we do not permit hybrid thesis projects that are a compilation of stories, essays, and poems thrown together to create page length. The thesis defense is an oral defense of your thesis, attended by the thesis director, the thesis committee members, and the student, and is scheduled at least 2 weeks before the end of your final term.

English Course Descriptions from graduate Course cAtalog

Total Credits required: 42

If I write in multiple genres, do I have to choose just one to submit in my application?

Yes, choose one for your application. Still our program does encourage study in a second genre -- in fact, we require each student to take at least one workshop out-of-genre. 

How do you choose which genre to apply in? Submit your best work. We accept candidates primarily on the merits of the writing sample. You will be expected to write your thesis in the genre you submitted.

For my writing sample, can I submit a chapter of a novel-in-progress? What if I don’t have a full 15 pages I’m proud of for my sample?

A chapter is fine, or a completed short story/essay. However, the more complete, the better. Quality over quantity.

Do I need a BA in Writing or English to apply?

No. We've had students in the past with various undergraduate degrees. If you have a strong sample, apply. However, we do review transcripts to see if students have completed some humanities courses (in English or other fields); and although there is no minimum G.P.A., almost all of our applicants have been successful students, earning 3.0 or higher in their academic studies.

How many courses do Teaching Fellows teach each semester?

Here’s the standard procedure (per semester) for G.A. Teaching Fellows:

1st year: Graduate Assistants work in the Writing Center as Consultants OR Writing Center + Journal office or Early College; and serve as readers for Arts & Letters Journal. 2nd year: Graduate Assistant Teaching Fellows teach 2 classes; OR Journal or Early College  + Teach 1 class; and serve as readers for Arts & Letters Journal. 3rd year: Teach 2 classes; and serve as readers for Arts & Letters Journal.

The exception is for candidates who already have an MA. They are eligible to begin teaching two classes the first year and continue that for all three years. However, all students on MFA assistantship must undergo a further application/review process before they will be assigned teaching duties.

What is the stipend and tuition remission that your students receive if offered an MFA graduate assistantship?

The current stipend given to those with an MFA assistantship is $8,600 per year. In addition, many MFA assistantships include scholarship funds (amounts vary). MFA assistantships also include full tuition remission for in-state or out-of-state tuition (student fees, however, are not covered).

There are also other university assistantships available to which MFA students may apply. These assistantships offer smaller stipends, but usually include full tuition remission (again, student fees are not covered).

There is a student health insurance plan that meets the requirements of the new Affordable Health Care Act that students purchase or they may waived the student insurance if they have another qualified insurance plan.

What is the difference between an MFA assistantship and Peace Corp Coverdell Fellows?

How many applications do you typically receive and how many do you accept.

We typically review over 100 applications each year for the program.  We enroll about 7 new students each year, with a balanced number in each of the three thesis genres (fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction). Typically, seven MFA assistantships are assigned to new students accepted in the program; other students might be offered other university assistantships or seek out other funding support. The three-year program enrolls about 25 students total.

What constitutes a good recommender?

It's important to have professional recommenders (i.e., employer supervisors, established writers, college professors). Ideally, these people can speak to your ability to work and handle graduate classes and speak to the quality of your writing. You may choose different sorts of people to speak to your different qualities. These should not be friends or family members.

If I’m reapplying, what do I need to do?

You will not need to re-submit everything, and there is no fee for second-time applicants. You will need to contact Graduate Admissions and the MFA program to announce that you are re-applying. We suggest submitting to the MFA program an updated manuscript and your statement of purpose and resume. You do NOT need to re-submit transcripts, unless you've taken a class at another college since you last applied.

* NOTE You will need to submit again a new application to the Graduate Admissions office.  You may use your old letters of recommendation, or submit new letters. . 

Our Current Students

Ash Earnhardt, Noah Lorey, Elissa Williams, Serena Kerkstra, Sarah Neilson, Katelyn Moorman,  Tulasi Acharya, Jordan Crider, Christian Gurrola, Emily McKinney, Ben Andrews, Michaela Reed, and Nathanael Williams.

 Kay Hammond, Emma Garcia, Christina Faber, Isabelle Anderson, Michael Sevcik, Cas McKinney, and Kai Beck. 

CREATIVE NONFICTON

Richard Lassiter and Dan Johnston

Writers Who Publish

Although we don’t expect incoming students to have published their work, since our program began in 2001, our students have been publishing their poems, stories, and essays in many national journals. GC students have published in such journals as  Backwards City Review, Big Muddy, Bloom, Cimarron Review, Colorado Review, Crazyhorse, Cream City Review, Descant, Dos Passos Review, Eclipse, International Poetry Review, McSweeney’s, Meridian, Nimrod, Pebble Lake, Poet Lore, Quick Fiction, Rattle, Redivider, River Teeth, Salt Hill, Santa Clara Review, Spinning Jenny, Thema, Touchstone  and many others.

Alumni Donors Thank You

• Danny Bauer
• Ashlee Crews
• Steve Lavender
• Shawn Parkinson
• Daniel Plunkett
• William Torgerson
• Gwendolyn Turnbull
• Christopher Varn

Our alumni have been up to many great things, and we are excited to share just a few with you here.  In addition to being published in many journals, our alumni have been winning awards and publishing collections, including: 

• Ashlee Adams Crews's  (fiction, 2006) story “Bird Feed” (in "McSweeney’s) won a Pushcart Prize in 2010. Her story “Church Time” won NC State’s 2011 James Hurst Prize. In 2012, her collection, Called Out , was a finalist for the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and in 2013 she received the "Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award." Read her story “Restoration”  online at "Shenandoah. "
• Kristie Robin Johnson’s (creative nonfiction, 2018) essay collection, High Cotton, will be published in summer of 2020 by. One of her essays will appear in the forthcoming anthology, We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, and Humor, from She Writes press. She is the recipient of an artist grant from the Greater Augusta Arts Council, and her writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and received honorable mention in the AWP Intro to Journals Project. She teaches English at Oconee Fall Line Technical College and Georgia Military College.
• Mike McClelland’s  (fiction, 2017) collection of short fiction, Gay Zoo Day : Tales of Seeking and Discovery" (2017) published by Beautiful Dreamer Press, won the Independent Book Publishers Association's Silver Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBT Literature. His creative work has appeared in publications such as the Boston Review, Entropy, Queen Mob's Tea House , and others, and has been widely anthologized, most recently in Gents: Steamy Stories from the Age of Steam , which was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. His work has been recognized as a semifinalist for the Conium Prize and the Saints and Sinners Short Story Contest. In 2018, he was invited to read his work and present at the annual TEDMED conference in Palm Springs alongside speakers like NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and writer Nayomi Munaweera.
• Miller Oberman’s  (poetry, 2006) poetry collection, The Unstill Ones , a collection of poems and Old English translations, was published in the fall, 2017 by the Princeton Series of Contemporary Poets. Oberman is a past recipient of the Poetry Foundation's Ruth Lilly Fellowship. His collection Useful was a finalist for the 2012 National Poetry Series. Read “Old English Rune Poem,” a new translation  published in "Poetry" (July/August 2013).
• T.J. Sandella  (poetry, 2013) has been chosen as one of the Best New Poets 2014. He has also won awards including the William Matthews Poetry Prize (2014, Asheville Poetry Review), the Academy of American Poets Prizes and the Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize. 
• Will Torrey  (fiction, 2010) won "Zone 3's" 2011 Editors' Prize for his story "Trajabar." Read his August 2013 "Working Writers Series"interview online at "The Missouri Review."
• Bill Torgerson ’s (fiction, 2007) most recent novel is  Horseshoe (Cherokee McGhee, 2012). He teaches at St. John’s University. Check out his blog “The Torg”.

Keep in touch with all our outstanding alumni as well as current MFA students and happenings at the program’s  Facebook page !

Milledgeville: A Literary Community

Georgia College offers a unique setting for students interested in pursuing their MFA in Creative Writing. Our university is small (about 6,500 students), located in historic downtown Milledgeville, former capital of Georgia from 1803-1868 and location of Andalusia, historic home of writer Flannery O’Connor.

Milledgeville  is in the heart of Georgia, only 90 miles from Atlanta and an easy drive to the beaches of Savannah and Tybee Island or to the foothills of North Georgia. Milledgeville was the state capital from 1803 to 1868 and is the site of the newly restored Old State Capitol and Old Governor’s Mansion.

The historic downtown features shops, restaurants and taverns just two blocks from campus. The climate is warm, with mild winters and "zero" annual average snowfall. Our community offers places where writers can have a cup of coffee, meet friends and relax. Downtown restaurants, coffee shops, and stores blend small town and college town living into an ideal setting for serious writers.

You might recognize a place or character from the short stories of Flannery O’Connor or Alice Walker (who grew up in nearby Eatonton). Andalusia is the farm where author Flannery O’Connor lived from 1951 to 1964. O’Connor was living at her farm when she completed all of her published books of fiction. Andalusia is open to the public (see their website for more information). 

Learn More About Milledgeville

Dr. Kerry James Evans

• PhD Florida State University; MFA Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
• At GCSU since 2020

Dr. Kerry James Evans is the author of Nine Persimmons (forthcoming Spring '26 with The Backwaters Press/University of Nebraska Press) and  Bangalore , (Copper Canyon).  His poems have been published in Agni, New England Review, Ploughshares , and has work forthcoming in American Poetry Review . He serves as the Interim Editor and Poetry Editor for Arts & Letters , and he teaches in the English department and creative writing program at Georgia College & State University.  

Dr. Martin Lammon (Professor Emeritus) 

• Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
• Ph.D., M.A. Ohio University
• At GCSU 1997-2020

Martin Lammon has won awards for both his poetry and creative nonfiction. His collection of poems,  News from Where I Live , won the Arkansas Poetry Award, and his poems and essays have appeared in such journals as  The Gettysburg Review, Hotel America, The Iowa Review, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Poets and Writers and The Southern Review . Poems published in  Nimrod  were awarded a Pablo Neruda Prize. His essays about living in Costa Rica have been published in  The Iowa Review , Zone 3 , and  The Chattahoochee Review  (winner of the Lamar York Prize for Creative Nonfiction).From 1997-2018, he was the Fuller E. Callaway endowed Flannery O'Connor Chair in Creative Writing. In 2007, he was selected for GC’s Distinguished Professor Award.

Dr. Kerry Neville

• Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
• Ph.D., University of Houston
• At GCSU since 2016
• Coordinator of the MFA and Undergraduate Creative Writing Program

Dr. Kerry B. Neville is Associate Professor of Fiction and Nonfiction Writing.  She is the author of two collections of stories, Necessary Lies ,  which received the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize in Fiction and was named a ForeWord Magazine Short Story Book of the Year, and Remember to Forget Me . Her memoir, Momma May Be Mad , is forthcoming in 2025.  Her work has appeared in publications such as The Gettysburg Review, Epoch, Triquarterly, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post , and elsewhere.  Her fiction and nonfiction have been named Notables in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays .  She is a nonfiction editor for Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature.  In 2018, she was a Fulbright Fellow at University of Limerick in Ireland, where she was Visiting Faculty in the MA in Creative Writing Program.

Laura Newbern

• MFA Warren Wilson College; M.A. English-Creative Writing, New York University
•  At GCSU since 2005

Laura Newbern's new collection of poems,  A Night in the Country, was selected by Nobel Laureate Louise Glück as a winner of the Changes Book Prize.  She's also the author of Love and the Eye , selected by Claudia Rankine for the Kore Press First Book Award, and the recipient of a Writer's Award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Poetry,   The Southern Review , The New England Review , and The Atlantic, among other journals and anthologies. 

Peter Selgin

• Creative Nonfiction, Fiction
• MFA, The New School
• At GCSU since 2012

Peter Selgin is the author of Drowning Lessons , winner of the 2007 Flannery O'Connor Award for Fiction.  He is the author of two children's books, three books on the craft of writing, two essay collections, and three novels, including a forthcoming A Boy's Guide to Outer Space (from Regal House Publishing, November 12, 2024).   Confessions of a Left-Handed Man, his memoir-in-essays, was a finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize.  His memoir, The Inventors, won the 2017 Housatonic Book Award.  His recent novel, Duplicity, won the 2021 Best Indie Book Award and the 2021 Indie Excellence Book Award.  His full-length drama, A God in the House, based on Dr. Jack Kevorkian and his "suicide machine," won the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Award and was most recently produced by the Town & Gown Players in Athens, Ga.  A visual artist as well as a writer, Selgin's paintings and illustrations have been featured in The New Yorker, Forbes, Gourmet, and other publications, and his cover designs appear on many award-winning books.  He is Professor of Creative Writing at Georgia college and State University, where he is art director and nonfiction editor of Arts & Letters, an international journal of poetry and prose. 

Dr. Chika Unigwe

• PhD University of Leiden, Holland; degrees from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the KU Leuven Belgium

Dr. Chika Unigwe is the author of five novels, two children's readers, and two picture books. Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies and magazines, including Watchlist, New Daughters of Africa, Lagos Noir, Wasafiri, The Georgia Review , and AGNI.   Her essays have been published in The New York Times, Guernica, the UK Guardian, Dua Lipa's Service 95, Babbel, and a Christie's catalog for an art auction.  She has been writing a weekly op-ed for the Nigerian newspaper, the Daily Trust, for the past three years. 

Her fellowships include, but are not limited to, a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship at the Bellagio Center in Italy, a UNESCO-Aschberg fellowship at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbertide, Italy, a SYLT fellowship in Germany, and a writing fellowship at Cove Park, Scotland.  She has been a special guest lecturer at Tübingen University, Germany, a Bonderman Assistant Professor of Practice at Brown University, and a 2023 Mary E. Rolling Reading Series guest at Penn State University.  In 2025, she will be a visiting writer at Alabama State University.

Translated into a dozen languages, her works have won awards and have been shortlisted for literary prizes on three continents, including a London Magazine Award (2022), the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle (2022, France), and the Dzanc Diverse Voices Prize (2021, USA).  She received a Pushcart Prize Special Mention in 2016 and won the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2012, Africa's most prestigious literary award.

She has judged several literary prizes including the 2017 Man Booker International Prize and the 2024 Caine Prize, for which she served as chair.  In 2023, Belgium recognized her contributions to literature by knighting her into the Order of the Crown.  Her new novel Grace , as well as a new picture book commissioned by McGraw Hill's New Literacy Program for use in the USA, will be published in 2025.

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List of All U.S. Colleges with a Creative Writing Major

Writing has been my passion practically since I learned to read in kindergarten. I would write stories about princesses and my family dog, Gansett. When it came time to look at colleges, I was set on attending one with a strong creative writing program. Ultimately, I graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Writing Seminars.

Today, colleges across the country offer creative writing as a major. Because writing skills are essential for a wide range of careers, and because most curricula emphasize broad liberal arts competencies, a degree in creative writing can set you up for success in numerous fields, whether you want to be an editor or a lawyer.

Interested in majoring in creative writing? Learn which schools offer the major and what to look for in a program.

Overview of the Creative Writing Major

Creative writing is about more than spinning tales. For your major, you’ll generally need to pursue a curriculum grounded in literature, history, foreign language, and other humanities courses, along with distribution courses, if the college requires them.

Most creative writing majors must participate in workshops, in which students present their work and listen to peer critiques, usually with a certain number of advanced courses in the mix. In some cases, colleges will ask you to specialize in a particular genre, such as fiction, poetry, or playwriting. 

To succeed in creative writing, you’ll need to have a tough spine, in order to open yourself up to feedback from your classmates and instructors. You may need to give readings in public — if not as an undergraduate, certainly during your career. Of course, a passion for creating is essential, too, as is a willingness to revise your work and learn from the greats and your peers.

A creative writing major opens up doors to many careers, including journalism, content marketing, copywriting, teaching, and others. Even careers that don’t center around writing often have a strong writing component: you’ll need to write reports, deliver presentations, and so on.

Some writers go on to earn an MFA, which will help you hone your craft. It’s also often a prerequisite for teaching creative writing at the college level.

What to Look for in a College as a Creative Writing Major

Published authors on faculty.

Many world-renowned authors have another claim to fame: professorships. Writers who have taught their craft include (among many others):

• Maya Angelou (Wake Forest University)
• Colson Whitehead (many colleges, including Vassar College and Columbia University)
• Stephen Dixon (Johns Hopkins University)
• Viet Thanh Nguyen (University of Southern California)
• Eula Biss (Northwestern University)
• Toni Morrison (Princeton University)

Be aware that as an undergraduate, you may not be able to learn from the greats. That’s why it’s important to look into which courses these faculty teach before you have dreams of being mentored by Salman Rushdie — who is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU.

Genres Offered

While many schools that have creative writing majors offer fiction and poetry courses and tracks, there are some niche genres that could be more difficult to find. If you’re interested in playwriting, for example, you won’t find that at every school. Before you decide on a program, be sure it includes the genres you’d like to explore further, whether that’s flash fiction, creative nonfiction, or something else.

Workshopping Opportunities

The core of most quality creative writing curriculum is workshopping. This means sharing your work in your classes and listening to your peers discuss and critique it. While this may sound intimidating, it can do a lot to help you hone your work and become a better writer. Look for colleges that make this the bedrock of their curriculum.

Showcasing Opportunities

Are there opportunities to present your work, such as college-sponsored readings where undergraduates can participate? Or, perhaps the school has a great literary journal. At my school, students could submit their plays and have them performed by fellow students. 

List of All U.S. Colleges With a Creative Writing Major

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?

No matter what major you’re considering, the first step is ensuring you’re academically comparable to students who were previously accepted to the college or university. Most selective schools use the Academic Index to filter out applicants who aren’t up to their standards.

You’ll also want to demonstrate your fit with the school and specific major with the qualitative components of your application, like your extracurriculars and essays. For a prospective creative writing major, the essay is particularly important because this is a way to demonstrate your writing prowess. Activities might include editing your school’s newspaper or literary journal, publishing your work, and participating in pre-college writing workshops.

Want to know your chances of being accepted to top creative writing schools? Try our Chancing Engine (it’s free). Unlike other calculators, it takes your individual profile into account, including academic stats and qualitative components like your activities. Give it a try and get a jumpstart on your journey as a creative writing major!

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2024 Best Writing Studies Schools in Georgia

Choosing a great writing studies school, pick your writing studies degree level, best schools for writing studies in georgia, top georgia schools in writing.

There were approximately 51 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the writing program state that they receive average early career income of $26,163.

There were about 62 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at GaSou in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, writing degree recipients typically make around $22,863 at the beginning of their careers.

Develop your creativity and gain practical skills with a creative writing degree program –featuring 100% online classes – through a bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.

There were roughly 40 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at KSU Georgia in the most recent data year.

There were about 31 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at SCAD in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, writing degree recipients generally earn about $23,970 in their early careers.

There were roughly 18 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at Georgia College in the most recent data year.

Best Writing Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

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Bachelor's degrees in writing, best value in writing studies, best for non-traditional students in writing studies, best online in writing studies, most popular online in writing studies, master's degrees in writing, highest paid grads in writing studies, best for veterans in writing studies, most popular in writing studies, most focused in writing studies, rankings in majors related to writing, writing concentrations.

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Reach your full creative potential and inspire the world through a career grounded in communication, the fine and performing arts or the humanities. 

At Georgia Southern University’s College of Arts and Humanities, learn to harness your imagination through our transformative programs emphasizing adaptable 21st century skills. Pursue creative, digital and interdisciplinary research alongside our accomplished faculty, and then apply your knowledge outside the classroom through internships, performance opportunities and community engagement. We empower our graduates to bring their creativity to life through innovative thought, collaborative research and artistic endeavors that spark our region’s creative imagination.

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Prepare to serve your community, enrich the liberal arts through research or academic instruction or express yourself artistically through one of our dynamic programs. Explore our college’s expansive undergraduate and graduate offerings available on our Armstrong and Statesboro campuses, as well as online.

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Expand global consciousness when you conduct research and outreach with our award-winning faculty. Connect with our world-class museum and performing arts centers. Explore cross-cultural collaborations, visit the annals of history and shape future media alongside our expert instructors.

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For 15 years and counting, CURIO has sparked innovation among College of Arts and Humanities undergraduates. Faculty mentor students throughout the year as they engage in research and take on other creative projects. Then, students present their new ideas and concepts to the wider community at our annual spring symposium.

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Learn to captivate audiences, express ideas or promote a message through a humanities-based study of communications, multimedia, film, journalism, public relations or theatre.

Put your passion for words to work in your community. Foster your creativity while developing important critical thinking and communication skills.

Guide the world forward by building your career on the foundations of the past.

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Inspire, engage and deeply affect the world around you with a degree in music performance, education, composition, conducting or studio technology.

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Passionate about investigating ideas and curious about those around you? Master how to question and analyze concepts and advocate for your community.

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Get ready to engage others across the globe by studying world languages and cultures.

In response to participating in the 2023 Black Theatre network conference:

“They really boosted the students morale and made us feel that our talent is seen and appreciated. Everyone there wanted us to win and feel like winners. The conference set the students up to have acting opportunities after we graduate college. They were not afraid to open doors for us and get us through those doors. The whole process and conference itself didn’t lack in any area and just made me feel welcomed and like family right away.” — Benjamin Roberts, '24

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Creative success depends on strong background support, and the College of Arts and Humanities is here to help as you begin your journey and look toward your future. For whichever program you choose, nurture your progress and grow your network through scholarships, student clubs and our myriad of performance, study abroad and career development opportunities.

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• Dr. Stambaugh hits the right note with new book September 2, 2022
• The NAMM Foundation Welcomes Dinah Gretsch to The Board of Directors August 4, 2022
• History students document Savannah’s African American maritime history June 29, 2022
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Creative Writing doctoral student Abhijit Sarmah named for the second consecutive year as finalist for major poetry fellowship

For the second year in a row, UGA doctoral student Abhijit Sarmah is among 12 finalists for the  2024 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships . The five Fellowship recipients, who were announced today , will each receive $27,000 and an invitation to publish in  Poetry magazine . All 12 finalists will receive a stipend to attend a professional development opportunity of their choice.

The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the prize is intended to support exceptional US poets between 21 and 31 years of age. The fellowships were established in 1989 by the Indianapolis philanthropist Ruth Lilly and expanded in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund.

“Being named a finalist for the prestigious Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship is really an honor. I am deeply grateful to Professor LeAnne Howe, Professor Barbara McCaskill, Professor Andrew Zawacki and Professor Aruni Kashyap for their support and guidance throughout the application process for this fellowship and beyond. Their faith in my work inspires me to keep achieving bigger milestones. Also heartfelt thanks to the wonderful folks at Willson Center— especially Professor Nicholas Allen, Winnie Smith and Dave Marr— who provide opportunities to interact with prominent poets like A.E. Stallings and Stephen Sexton. Those interactions have taught me a lot, including how to navigate the literary world and edit my own work.” -Abhijit Sarmah

A UGA Arts Lab Graduate Fellow and Ruth Pack Scholar, Sarmah is working on a hybrid memoir and a poetry collection, tentatively titled  Potential Insurgent . Apart from his scholarly and creative work, he volunteers for various events and organizations at UGA, and was a selection committee member for Backlight Student Film Festival, a planning committee member for the International Street Festival and social chair for the English Graduate Organisation. He was awarded a 2024 Michael G. Moran Graduate Student Award by the Department of English at UGA. Currently, he is serving as the guest editor of poetry for  The Headlight Review (Kennesaw State University). 

"I have worked with Abhijit Sarmah for two years at the University of Georgia. A son of Assam, India, Sarmah's poetry is a kaleidoscope of emotions and images provoked by the Indian army’s indiscriminate violence in Assam. Sarmah writes from the experiences of a young man whose friends must flee to survive, violence against his loved ones at the hands of Indian soldiers and numerous events that made many around him take arms against their own country. Yet, Abhijit's poetry is not just an exploration of Indian army's cruelty against the Assamese, it's also a vehicle for memories of a brother's laughter, his sister's experiments in cooking, adventures with boyhood friends, and the community of townspeople he grew up with. His work blisters the heart." -LeAnne Howe  Eidson Distinguished Professor of American Literature &  Director of the Institute of Native American Studies

“This honor speaks to the strength of Abhijit’s work. We are very proud to have him as a student in our PhD program!” -Magdalena Zurawski  Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing &  Director of Creative Writing

Abhijit Sarmah

Abhijit Sarmah is a poet and researcher specializing in Indigenous literatures. He holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) degree from Dibrugarh University, India and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Georgia in Athens GA, USA. He is also a UGA Arts Lab Graduate Fellow (2022-25) and has received such honors as the Ruth Pack Scholarship from the Institute of Native American Studies and Michael G. Moran Graduate Student Award from the Department of English at UGA. His work has been published in a range of print and online journals, including Poetry , The Margins , Lunch Ticket , Glassworks Magazine , Porter House Review , and The Lincoln Review . Sarmah was a finalist for the prestigious Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships for two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) and has received nominations for the Best of the Net and The Pushcart Prize.

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PennWest Global Online's English and Communication programs prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities. With a degree from PennWest, you'll be equipped to excel in roles that require strong communication skills and creative thinking. Here are some potential career paths you can pursue:

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USDA Offers Disaster Assistance to Agricultural Producers in South Carolina Impacted by Tropical Storm Debby

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VALDOSTA, Ga.,  Aug. 19, 2024 – Agricultural operations in South Carolina have been significantly impacted by Tropical Storm Debby and related weather events. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has technical and financial assistance available to help farmers and livestock producers recover from these adverse weather events. Impacted producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.  

USDA Disaster Assistance    

Producers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality or sell injured livestock at a reduced price may be eligible for the  Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To participate in LIP, producers will have to provide acceptable documentation of death losses or evidence of reduced sales resulting from an eligible adverse weather event and must submit a notice of loss to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) no later than the annual program payment application date, which is 60 calendar days following the calendar year in which the loss occurred. The LIP payment application and notice of loss deadline is March 3, 2025, for 2024 calendar year losses. Livestock producers who experience losses related to hurricanes should check with their local FSA office for LIP eligibility criteria.  

Meanwhile, the  Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides eligible producers with compensation for feed and grazing losses. For ELAP, producers are required to complete a notice of loss and a payment application to their local FSA office no later than the annual program application deadline, Jan. 30, 2025, for 2024 calendar year losses.    

Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers may be eligible for cost-share assistance through the  Tree Assistance Program  (TAP) to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes or vines. TAP complements the  Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program  (NAP) or crop insurance coverage, which covers the crop but not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application must be filed within 90 days of the disaster event or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines is apparent.  

“Once you are able to evaluate the impact on your operation, be sure to contact your  local FSA county office to timely report all crop, livestock and farm infrastructure damages and losses,” said Laurie Funderburk, State Executive Director for FSA in South Carolina. “To expedite FSA disaster assistance, you will likely need to provide documents, such as farm records, herd inventory, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.”  

FSA also offers a variety of direct and guaranteed  farm loans , including operating and emergency farm loans, to eligible producers unable to secure commercial financing. Producers in counties with a primary or contiguous disaster designation may be eligible for low interest  emergency loans  to help them recover from production and physical losses. Loans can help producers replace essential property, purchase inputs like livestock, equipment, feed and seed, cover family living expenses or refinance farm-related debts and other needs. 

Additionally, FSA offers several loan servicing options available for borrowers who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs debt to the agency because of reasons beyond their control.    

The  Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) provides low-interest financing so producers can build, repair, replace or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Loan terms vary from three to 12 years. Producers who incurred damage to or loss of their equipment or infrastructure funded by the FSFL program should contact their insurance agent and their local USDA Service Center. Producers in need of on-farm storage should also contact USDA.  

Risk Management   

Producers who have risk protection through  Federal Crop Insurance  or FSA’s  NAP  should report crop damage to their crop insurance agent or FSA office. If they have crop insurance, producers should provide a notice of loss to their agent within 72 hours of initial discovery of damage and follow up in writing within 15 days.  Additionally, producers who had hurricane and tropical storm coverage through RMA’s  Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index will receive payments within a few weeks if their county qualified. Please check with your crop insurance agent for more information and updates.

For NAP covered crops, a  Notice of Loss (CCC-576)  must be filed within 15 days of the loss becoming apparent, except for hand-harvested crops, which should be reported within 72 hours.  

“Crop insurance and other USDA risk management options are offered to help producers manage risk because we never know what nature has in store for the future,” said Davina Lee, Director of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) Regional Office that covers South Carolina. “The Approved Insurance Providers, loss adjusters and agents are experienced and well-trained in handling these types of events.”  

Conservation   

FSA’s  Emergency Conservation Program  (ECP) and  Emergency Forest Restoration Program  (EFRP) can assist landowners and forest stewards with financial and technical assistance to restore fencing, damaged farmland or forests, and remove debris from farmland. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is always available to provide technical assistance during the recovery process by assisting producers to plan and implement conservation practices on farms and working forests impacted by natural disasters. The  Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can help producers plan and implement conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters.     

“The Natural Resources Conservation Service can be a very valuable partner to help landowners with their recovery and resiliency efforts,” said Odessa Armstrong, NRCS Acting State Conservationist in South Carolina. “Our staff will work with our landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop approaches that focus on effective recovery of the land.”    

Assistance for Communities    

Additional NRCS programs include the  Emergency Watershed Protection  (EWP) program, which assists local government sponsors with the cost of addressing watershed impairments or hazards such as debris removal and streambank stabilization. 

The EWP Program is a recovery effort aimed at relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and other natural disasters. All projects must have an eligible project sponsor. NRCS may bear up to 75% of the eligible construction cost of emergency measures (90% within county-wide limited-resource areas as identified by the U.S. Census data). The remaining costs must come from local sources and can be in the form of cash or in-kind service.

EWP is designed for installation of recovery measures to safeguard life and property as a result of a natural disaster. Threats that the EWP Program addresses are termed watershed impairments. These include, but are not limited to:

• Debris-clogged waterways.

• Unstable streambanks.

• Severe erosion jeopardizing public infrastructure.

• Wind-borne debris removal.    

Eligible sponsors include cities, counties, towns or any federally recognized Native American tribe or tribal organization. Sponsors must submit a formal request (by mail or email) to the NRCS state conservationist for assistance within 60 days of the natural disaster occurrence or 60 days from the date when access to the sites become available. For more information, please contact your  local NRCS  field office.     

More Information  

Additional USDA disaster assistance information can be found on  farmers.gov , including USDA resources specifically for producers impacted by tornadoes and flooding. Those resources include the  Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool ,  Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet,  Loan Assistance Tool,  and  Natural Disasters and Crop Insurance fact sheet . Additionally, FarmRaise offers an  FSA educational hub with LIP and ELAP decision tools as well as farm loan resource videos. For FSA and NRCS programs, producers should contact their local  USDA Service Center . For assistance with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners should contact their  crop insurance agent . 

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit  usda.gov .

                                                                                            #

                                                USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Risk Management Agency:

106 S. Patterson Street, Suite 250 Valdosta, GA 31601-5673 Davina Lee, Director

FPAC Press Desk [email protected]

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Earn an English Minor at Azusa Pacific University

You’ll add a minor that equips you with communication skills highly valued by employers in any field. You’ll gain a solid foundation in English as a discipline and customize your upper-division electives to fit your interests in literature, creative writing, or professional writing. 

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From Competitor to Leader: Corrie Loeffler ’04 Named Executive Director of Scripps National Spelling Bee

English major Corrie Loeffler ’04 learned valuable communication and leadership skills at APU that she carries with her as executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. 

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The English minor allows students to experience three foundational courses in the discipline, and the opportunity to customize a package of upper-division electives in literature, creative writing, or professional writing to suit their needs and interests. 

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Related programs, communication management minor, creative writing minor, digital marketing and design major, explore apu.

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