uc berkeley m.f.a. creative writing

Creative Writing

Vikram chandra, cecil s. giscombe, cathy park hong, fiona mcfarlane, geoffrey g. o'brien, solmaz sharif.

Voices Blog

Writing, Editing and Technical Communication

Is an M.F.A. in Writing for You?

Post-bacc certificate grads share their insights on going to the graduate level.

You'd think writers would excel at filling out graduate school applications and submitting personal essays, right? Even if your writing chops are top-notch, you'll want to make sure you are fully prepared before you submit your materials: Is your work the best it can be? Are you ready to make sacrifices for your passion? Do you know what genre you want to pursue?

We asked a few of our Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program in Writing graduates—Rose Heredia, Steve Lane, Lisa Riddiough and Kristina Tate—for their advice on the M.F.A. application process and what helped them succeed in applying to graduate school.

"What's going to get me to where I want to be in the long run?"

Rose Heredia: "The decision to be in an M.F.A. program is distinct to each person and where they are in their lives. It's about making writing a priority in one's life. It's about making choices with how you spend your time and the value of your time. What's going to get me to where I want to be in the long run?"

Steve Lane: "Whether it's to improve your writing by getting new feedback; improve your writing practice by getting the motivation an M.F.A. program generates; get experience in career-related activities like teaching, editing or publishing; or make connections with others who can generate publishing and career opportunities, knowing why you're going to graduate school is a very important first step."

Heredia: "Most programs don't allow cross-applications. You either apply to poetry, prose or whatever other genre the school offers. Some programs allow you to take different classes in different genres upon acceptance, but you have to have a set genre upon applying. Some programs allow it, and some don't."

Heredia: "Figure out if location, faculty, cost, length of the program or some other aspect will be the deciding factor in where to apply. I decided that USF was a good fit for me because its M.F.A. is specifically designed for working students. What was important to me was convenience. Others might care about faculty or might want to only apply to programs that provide scholarships or cover tuition. Whatever is important to you as a student and as a writer is what counts."

In a low-residency program, writers pursue their creative writing goals when they can't commit to a program that requires living on or near campus.

–Learn more at Writer's Digest .

Lisa Riddiough: "You'll need to decide what are your top choices and whether a traditional or a low-residency program is best for you. Low-residency is becoming more and more popular and can offer greater flexibility than the traditional structure."

Heredia: "If I hadn't been accepted to a full-residency M.F.A. program, I had planned to apply to low-residency programs."

Riddiough: "They should be familiar with your writing and your work ethic and have an understanding of how you will add to the classroom culture."

Kristina Tate: "I could not have done any of this if it weren't for the mentor I found in instructor Steve Albert while I was studying at UC Berkeley Extension. He and I are still in contact. He was a crucial part of my M.F.A. application process and continues to be a great inspiration to my writing."

Lane: "Before taking writing courses at UC Berkeley Extension, it had been more than two decades since I had spent time in school, in a completely unrelated field. Because of Extension's writing courses, not only did my writing improve but I also developed relationships with teachers who knew me and my writing, and who very generously wrote letters for my applications."

Riddiough: "As you prepare your writing résumé, include published works, classes taken, conferences attended, critique groups and any other activities that showcase your efforts. The writing samples you submit weigh heavily in M.F.A. admissions decisions. You will most likely submit the same writing samples to each school unless you are applying to different genres. However, your personal essays will vary based on the topics and questions asked in each application."

"Aiming higher is a practice that I constantly strive for in my writing now. There's no reason not to shoot for the stars."

Tate: "Having that one 'dream' school, one I thought was way out of my league, helped me to accept myself as an artist. I was astonished when I got in, but the act of applying and considering such a lofty goal helped me become a stronger candidate. I think as artists (and for myself, as a woman) we spend too much time downplaying ourselves and our art. Aiming higher is a practice that I constantly strive for in my writing now. There's no reason not to shoot for the stars."

Riddiough: "They want you to apply, and will encourage you and answer your questions throughout the application process."

Lane: "The primary job of the M.F.A. admissions staff is to get new students into the program. During my decision process, I communicated substantially with three programs and I found the admissions staff at each to be friendly, proactive and very informed and forthcoming. All of that said, they are very busy and you should absolutely reach out to them with questions or concerns."

And if it doesn't work out the first time you apply, remember...

Riddiough: "Understand that admissions committees are like editors and agents; some of them will like and relate to your work and some of them won't—and you will most likely never know why."

Heredia: "If you can honestly acknowledge the issues with your manuscript, you are already improving yourself. I got rejected by the seven schools I applied to the first time because my submission might have been written well but it had no heart. I learned that quickly. Don't fret. It just means you have to try harder, read more and write more."

Rose Heredia attends University of San Francisco's full-residency M.F.A. in Writing program.

Steve Lane will be attending the M.F.A. in Writing program at the California College of the Arts this fall.

Lisa Riddiough will be attending Hamline University's low-residency M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults beginning this summer.

Kristina Tate attends Columbia University School of the Arts M.F.A. Program . She just completed all of the program's coursework and is writing her thesis.

Stay up to date with courses and trends in Writing

Deepen your skills, related posts.

Ensuring Product Quality Through Good Grammar

Refined Editing Skills to Boost a Writing Career

A New Career in Communication

View the discussion thread.

• Student Login
• Instructor Login
• Areas of Study
• Art and Design
• Behavioral Health Sciences
• Business Administration
• Leadership and Management
• Project Management
• See the full list
• Construction and Sustainability
• Humanities and Languages
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Sciences and Biotechnology
• Chemistry and Physics
• Clinical Laboratory Science
• Health Advising
• Life Science Business and Biotechnology
• Online Sciences Courses
• Technology and Information Management
• Writing, Editing and Technical Communication
• Transfer Credit
• Transfer Credit Courses
• Online Learning
• Online Courses and Certificates
• Information Sessions
• Career Services
• Career-Development Courses
• Professional Internship Program
• Custom Programs
• For Universities and Organizations
• Academic Services
• Transcripts
• General Information
• Community Guidelines
• Course and Program Information
• Latest COVID-19 Information
• Online Course Policies
• Certificates, Programs and CEUs
• Concurrent Enrollment
• International Student Services
• Student Aid
• Disability Support Services
• Financial Assistance
• Voices Home
• Educator Insights
• Student Stories
• Professional Pathways
• Industry Trends
• Free and Low Cost Events
• Berkeley Global

Exploring Creative Writing

ENGLISH X438

Get an overview of common forms and genres of written self-expression, including personal essay/memoir, poetry, short fiction and novel. You experiment and discover in a safe environment. The course curriculum helps you learn and practice a variety of genres, forms and styles toward further developing your skills as a creative writer.

In class assignments, you focus on the shorter forms to maximize the number of genres in which you can experiment.

Course Outline

Course Objectives

• Share a structural overview of several different forms of written self-expression, and write in each of those forms
• Develop the discipline of regular writing in order to understand the importance of revision and develop your ability to revise
• Apply feedback on your work and assess your own strengths and areas of interest
• Offer constructive advice on the work of others

What You Learn

• Personal essay 
• Voice and humor
• Poetry craft
• Short story craft
• Novel synopsis
• Beginning a Long Form (novel, memoir, poetry collection) 
• On being a writer

How You Learn

• Discussion assignments
• Written assignments, including essays, poems, short stories, novel synopsis and long form opening
• Reading assignments

Fall 2024 enrollment opens on June 17!

Thank you for your interest in this course!

The course you have selected is currently not open for enrollment.

Enter your email below to be notified when it becomes available.

Required Field

Get Notified

We're excited that you have chosen us as your education provider.

Once a section for this class is available, we will email you with enrollment information.

Your privacy is important to us .

Email Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us!

We do not share your information with other organizations for commercial purposes.

We only collect your information if you have subscribed online to receive emails from us.

We do not partner with or have special relationships with any ad server companies.

If you want to unsubscribe, there is a link to do so at the bottom of every email.

Read the full Privacy Policy

← Back to your information .

Session Time-Out

Privacy policy, cookie policy.

This statement explains how we use cookies on our website. For information about what types of personal information will be gathered when you visit the website, and how this information will be used, please see our Privacy Policy .

How we use cookies

All of our web pages use "cookies". A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we place on your computer or mobile device if you agree. These cookies allow us to distinguish you from other users of our website, which helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and enables us to improve our website.

We use cookies and other technologies to optimize your website experience and to deliver communications and marketing activities that are targeted to your specific needs. Some information we collect may be shared with selected partners such as Google, Meta/Facebook or others. By browsing this site you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy . You can revoke your voluntary consent to participate in monitored browsing and targeted marketing by selecting “Disable All Cookies” below.

Types of cookies we use

We use the following types of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies - these are essential in to enable you to move around the websites and use their features. Without these cookies the services you have asked for, such as signing in to your account, cannot be provided.
• Performance cookies - these cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often. We use this information to improve our websites and to aid us in investigating problems raised by visitors. These cookies do not collect information that identifies a visitor.
• Functionality cookies - these cookies allow the website to remember choices you make and provide more personal features. For instance, a functional cookie can be used to remember the items that you have placed in your shopping cart. The information these cookies collect may be anonymized and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them please visit https://www.allaboutcookies.org/.

Specific cookies we use

The list below identify the cookies we use and explain the purposes for which they are used. We may update the information contained in this section from time to time.

• JSESSIONID: This cookie is used by the application server to identify a unique user's session.
• registrarToken: This cookie is used to remember items that you have added to your shopping cart
• locale: This cookie is used to remember your locale and language settings.
• cookieconsent_status: This cookie is used to remember if you've already dismissed the cookie consent notice.
• _ga_UA-########: These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. This anonymized visitor and browsing information is stored in Google Analytics.

Changes to our Cookie Statement

Any changes we may make to our Cookie Policy in the future will be posted on this page.

Art Practice MFA

The two-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program supports 12 graduate students per year and strives to graduate working artists who will continue to demonstrate significant artistic, critical and cultural impacts across a wide array of disciplines. Incoming MFA students are expected to already be deeply engaged in their creative practice and possess technical proficiency in their chosen media. Graduate coursework and independent study are designed to help students develop a critical understanding of their creative work in the multiple contexts of specific localities and global contemporary art. Our graduate students are encouraged to take university-wide and cross-disciplinary courses linked to their research interests, studying and collaborating with faculty and graduate students in areas as diverse as Geography, Environmental Sciences, Classics, Art History, Disability Studies, Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Interactive Design, Rhetoric, Film Studies, and Comparative Literature.

The Program helps students develop a working relationship to audiences by facilitating the exposure of graduate student work through museums and galleries, public art, online, publications, and through other forms of engagement and dissemination. Peer-to-peer discussion and critique form the heart of Berkeleys MFA Program. Students respond to their peers work and learn to think, speak, and write critically about arts functions and possibilities. A Visiting Artist Lecture Series , along with studio visits, offers graduate students the chance to connect with internationally-known artists. Students also have opportunities to teach, and they are mentored and closely supported by a faculty member. Exhibitions in the first and second years of study require students to maintain a rigorous pace of creative research and establish a professional art practice. The final thesis exhibition, completed after the second year of study, is held at the Berkeley Art Museum.

Contact Info

[email protected]

345 Anthropology & Art Practice Building

Berkeley, CA 94720

At a Glance

Department(s)

Art Practice

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 15, 2024

Degree Type(s)

Masters / Professional

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

College Writing Programs

College writing programs is celebrating its 30th anniversary, our history.

College Writing Programs was created in 1992 to provide first-year writing instruction to Berkeley students, helping them meet the entry level and first year writing requirements while developing writing and critical thinking skills required for academic work at the university. In over 30 years of teaching, CWP has helped thousands of Berkeley students develop their academic reading and writing through numerous sections of CWR1A and CWR4B every semester. And our program continues to grow: In spring of 2023, we are running over 40 sections of CWR1A and over 20 sections of CWR4B.

However, these foundational classes only tell part of our story. Since the department’s founding, CWP faculty and directors have worked to build a program that offers a robust array of writing classes, including Writing in the Biological Sciences, Public Speaking, Academic Writing for Multilingual Students, Creative Nonfiction, Short fiction, Poetry, and Dramatic Writing. In addition, CWP regularly hosts colloquia, workshops, and other events, such as the Chiang Research Festival and Berkeley Writers at Work .

This year, we celebrate 30 years of writing instruction at UC Berkeley with a look at our history and exciting plans for future classes and events.

CWP Student Achievements

Award winning writing and more.

We're proud of the writing achievements of our students, for work done in our classes and for what they do after they move on from CWP. For example, students submitting outstanding research projects for CWR4B (Reading, Composition, and Research) are encouraged to apply for the Charlene Conrad Liebau Library Prize for Undergraduate Research.

Read more about CWP student writers and their achievement s.

Our Amazing Faculty

Teachers, writers, and scholars.

College Writing Programs faculty bring experience from varied disciplines to the teaching of composition at UC Berkeley. In both teaching and course design, our faculty draw from backgrounds in Creative Writing, Rhetoric, Second Language Acquisition, Literature, Linguistics, Theater, and more.

Meet our faculty

Read about faculty publications and scholarship

Current and Former CWP Directors

2016-present:  Maggie Sokolik , CWP 2009-2016:  Jane Stanley , CWP (retired) 2006-2009:  Katherine Snyder , English 2003-2006:  Daniel F. Melia , Rhetoric (retired) 2000-2003:  Kevin Padian , Integrative Biology (retired) 1999-2000:  Robert Brentano , History (deceased) 1995-1999:  Glynda A. Hull , Graduate School of Education 1992-1995:  Arthur J. Quinn , Rhetoric (deceased)

Hearst Gymnasium, CWP's home during the renovation of Wheeler Hall in 2017-2018

CWP at a glance

• Student achievements
• Our faculty
• The Chiang Research Festival
• Berkeley Writers at Work

Dwinelle Annex, CWP's first home on campus

Art Quinn, first director of CWP

• UC Berkeley
• Letters & Science

Creative Writing Minor

Fiona McFarlane

Director and Faculty Advisor

• 413 Wheeler (Currently Remote)
• [email protected]
• Fiona's Website

Laura Demir

Student Academic Advisor

• 235 Evans Hall and Remote
• [email protected]

Participating Faculty

Melanie Abrams (Novelist, Writer) – English Vikram Chandra (Novelist, Writer) – English Eric Falci (Critic) – English Thomas Farber (Novelist, Writer, Publisher) – English Robert Hass (Poet, Critic) – English Lyn Hejinian (Poet, Writer, Translator) – English Georgina Kleege (Essayist, Novelist) – English J. Mira Kopell (Screenwriter) – Film & Media Raymond Lifchez (Architect, Writer) – Architecture and City & Regional Planning Geoffrey G. O’Brien (Poet, Critic) – English Namwali Serpell (Novelist, Writer, Critic) – English John Shoptaw (Poet, Librettist, Critic) – English

Contact the faculty’s home department for office hours.

Announcements

• Fall 2024 Course List
• Summer 2024 Course List
• Spring 2024 Course List
• Berkeley Holloway Poetry Series – Spring 2024
• UC Berkeley Lunch Poems 2023-24
• Minor Declaration Form – Must declare no later than term before EGT.

MFA in Creative Writing

About the Program

Our innovative MFA program includes both studio instruction and literature courses. Writers can take workshop courses in any genre, and they can write a thesis in fiction, nonfiction, poetry or “hybrid” (multi-genre) form. In the second year, they teach popular Creative Writing courses to Davis undergraduates under faculty supervision, gaining valuable experience and sharing their insight  and enthusiasm with beginning practitioners.

Questions? Contact:

Sarah Yunus Graduate Program Coordinator, MFA Program in Creative Writing [email protected]   Pronouns: she/her  

Admissions and Online Application

Events, Prizes, and Resources

• Funding Your MFA

At UC Davis, we offer you the ability to fund your MFA. In fact, all students admitted to the program are guaranteed full funding in the second year of study, when students serve as teachers of Introduction to Creative Writing (English 5) and receive, in exchange, tuition and health insurance remission as well as a monthly stipend (second year students who come to Davis from out of state are expected to establish residency during their first year). We have a more limited amount of resources – teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and out of state tuition wavers – allocated to us for first year students, but in recent years, we’ve had excellent luck funding our accepted first years. We help students who do not receive English department funding help themselves by posting job announcements from other departments during the spring and summer leading up to their arrival. We are proud to say that over the course of the last twenty years, nearly every incoming student has wound up with at least partial funding (including a tuition waiver and health insurance coverage) by the time classes begin in the fall.  

We have other resources for students, too – like the Miller Fund, which supports attendance for our writers at any single writer’s workshop or conference. Students have used these funds to attend well-known conferences like AWP, Writing By Writers, and the Tin House Conference. The Davis Humanities Institute offers a fellowship that first year students can apply for to fund their writing projects. Admitted students are also considered for University-wide fellowships.

Cost of Attendance

• Course of Study

The M.F.A. at Davis is a two-year program on the quarter system (our academic year consists of three sessions of ten-week courses that run from the end of September until mid-June). The program includes classes and a thesis project. It requires diverse, multidisciplinary study and offers excellent mentorship.  

Writers concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or “hybrid” (multi-genre) forms. They take at least four graduate workshops, and they’re required to take one workshop outside their primary genre (many of our students choose to take even more). Writers at Davis also take graduate courses in literature from abundant options, including the program’s Seminars for Writers. Writers can also take graduate courses in literary study taught by scholars in the English Department. And many of our writers enroll in courses relevant to their work in other departments like art history, comparative literature, linguistics, and performance studies.  

At the end of the first year, writers form a thesis committee with a Director and two additional readers from the faculty. In the second year, writers at Davis concentrate on Individual Study units with these mentors, working closely with their committee to create a book-length creative work. Writers present their projects at intimate, intense, celebratory defense in May with all members of their committee in attendance.

• History of the Program

We’re a new MFA, but we’ve been a successful and respected Creative Writing Program since 1975—a “sleeper” program, as one guide to MFA programs called us. The people who founded the CW program at UC Davis were all lovers and teachers of literature, and chose to call the program an MA, rather than an MFA because they wanted to ensure that the degree would not be seen as a “studio” degree but one in which the study of literature was integral.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s, most often under the leadership of Jack Hicks and Alan Williamson, the program emphasized writing on the American West and the wilderness. Our high profile faculty included Sandra McPherson, Gary Snyder, Sandra Gilbert, Clarence Major, Katherine Vaz, Elizabeth Tallent, Max Byrd, and Louis Owens.  

We also created an introductory sequence of workshops taught by graduate students, which has become one of the highlights of the program for the second years who teach the courses and the undergraduates who take them. There’s more to teaching these courses than learning to teach; teaching helps our writers understand their own writing in ways that no other aspect of a writing program can do. Pam Houston joined the program in the early 2000’s and she led a faculty that included Lynn Freed and Yiyun Li. As an MFA, we remain a place that values sustained literary study as core to the making of art, but we’re also allowing our vision of genre to expand and embrace the other arts and media.

The town of Davis began as "Davisville," a small stop on the Southern Pacific railway between Sacramento and the Bay Area.  Some of our graduate students choose to live in Sacramento or the Bay Area, making use of the commute-by-train option, which is still very much in place.  For those commuting by car, Davis is a 15-25 minute drive from Sacramento and a 60-90 minute drive from the Bay Area.

Students also choose to live in Davis itself, which CNN once ranked the second most educated city in the US.  Davis is a college town of about 75,000 people. Orchards, farms and ranches border it on all sides. The town boasts a legendary twice-weekly farmers market (complete with delicious food trucks and live music). Bike and walking paths lead everywhere (many students prefer not to own a car while they are here) and there are copious amounts of planned green space in every subdivision. The flatness of the land makes Davis ideal for biking, and the city over the past 5 decades has installed bike lanes and bike racks all over town. In fact, in 2006,  Bicycling Magazine , in its compilation of "America's Best Biking Cities," named Davis the best small town for cycling. Packed with coffee houses, bookstores, and restaurants that serve cuisine from every continent, Downtown Davis has a casual vibe. It’s a great place to hole up and write. Davis is filled with hard wood trees, and flower and vegetable gardens, and wild ducks and turkeys walk the campus as if they own the place. It’s a gentle place to live. Although summers get quite hot, the other three seasons are mild, and each, in their own way, quite beautiful. For more about the town, check out  the Davis Wikipedia page .

Woodland and Winters, two small towns close by to Davis, are also options for housing—and they’re good options for those who are not so desirous of the college town scene.  Yet another option is to live in the scenic rural areas Davis is surrounded by.

To the west of Davis, Lake Berryessa and the Napa valley are close by.  To the east, the Sierra mountains are close by; Reno and Tahoe are just a couple hours drive in that direction.