creative writing university of arizona

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Creative Writing

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• University of Arizona Poetry Center A nationally renowned special collections library and archive, academic and community resource and sponsor of numerous outreach programs, including its distinguished Visiting Poets and Writers Reading Series, the Poetry Center has become one of the foremost literary arts centers in America.
• Case Libre en la Solana The mission of Casa Libre en la Solana is to support and enhance the creativity of professional and novice writers by providing uninterrupted time for work through residency programs; and to provide a venue for classes, readings, and other professional development opportunities.
• Arizona State Poetry Society Encourages the writing and reading of poetry, and to further the goals of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies in securing further public recognition of the art of poetry.
• POG: Poetry in Action A collective of poets, literary critics, and practitioners of other art forms who have joined together in Tucson, Arizona. As a federally-recognized, non-profit organization, POG promotes active appreciation of and engagement with avant-garde artistic work in a variety of media.
• Kore Press Publishes literary and artistic work by by women, including those traditionally underrepresented in the cultural mainstream.
• Persona An annual magazine of art and literature designed, edited, produced, and marketed by University of Arizona undergraduates of all majors.
• Sonora Review One of the oldest student-run literary journals in the country, put together solely by graduate students in the Creative Writing Department at the University of Arizona.

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• Poets & Writers Guide to MFA Programs Search a comprehensive database of graduate creative writing programs.
• The Low Residency MFA Handbook Offers prospective graduate students an in-depth preview of low-residency creative writing MFA programs. The guide also clarifies the application process and offers application tips from program directors and alumni. It also considers funding, program structures, and unique opportunities such as editorships and assistantships.
• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2023 3:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.library.arizona.edu/creative-writing

Degree Requirements – Creative Writing

Foundations.

• 1st Year English or equivalent
• Math: PHIL 110, LING 123, MATH 107, 109C, 112, or higher
• 4th semester second language proficiency

General Education

• 6 units Tier 1 Individuals & Societies
• 6 units Tier 1 Traditions & Cultures
• 6 units Tier 1 Natural Sciences
• 3 units Tier 2 Individuals & Societies
• 3 units Tier 2 Natural Sciences
• 3 units Tier 2 Arts
• 3 units Diversity

Required, minimum of 18 units (or double-major)

Required Coursework

• Complete the following coursework (3 units)
• 120 total units to complete degree
• 36 units in the major
• 42 of upper-division courses
• Minor (or dual-major) required

Printable Checklist

Contact an Advisor

Introductory Workshops

• Complete two of the following courses (6 units)

Literature Courses

• Must complete 280, 373a OR 373b, 380 (9 units)

Intermediate & Advanced Workshops

Complete one 300-level creative writing workshop (3 units)

ENGL 301, 304, 309

And complete one 400-level creative writing workshop (3 units)

ENGL 401, 404, 409

• Workshops may be in the same or different genres

Upper Division English Electives

• Complete 4 courses (12 units)

Elective courses can be taken if needed to reach 120 total units or 42 upper-division units

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University of Arizona BA in Creative Writing

Creative Writing is a concentration offered under the writing studies major at University of Arizona. We’ve gathered data and other essential information about the bachelor’s degree program in creative writing, such as diversity of students, how many students graduated in recent times, and more.

If there’s something special you’re looking for, you can use one of the links below to find it:

• Undergraduate Cost
• Online Learning
• Student Diversity

Featured Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

BA in Creative Writing & English

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.

How Much Does a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from University of Arizona Cost?

University of arizona undergraduate tuition and fees.

During the 2019-2020 academic year, part-time undergraduate students at University of Arizona paid an average of $1,386 per credit hour if they came to the school from out-of-state. In-state students paid a discounted rate of $785 per credit hour. Information about average full-time undergraduate tuition and fees is shown in the table below.

Learn more about University of Arizona tuition and fees.

Does University of Arizona Offer an Online BA in Creative Writing?

Online degrees for the University of Arizona creative writing bachelor’s degree program are not available at this time. To see if the school offers distance learning options in other areas, visit the University of Arizona Online Learning page.

University of Arizona Bachelor’s Student Diversity for Creative Writing

Male-to-female ratio.

About 61.0% of the students who received their BA in creative writing in 2019-2020 were women. This is less than the nationwide number of 72.8%.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

Around 33.9% of creative writing bachelor’s degree recipients at University of Arizona in 2019-2020 were awarded to racial-ethnic minorities*. This is higher than the nationwide number of 26%.

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• National Center for Education Statistics
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University of Arizona

Arizona, united states.

* A fully funded three-year program in three genres (poetry, fiction, and nonfiction) with active encouragement to work across and between them.

* Funding via GAT positions in the Writing Program (typical teaching load: 1-2, 2-2, 2-1), with opportunities to teach CW workshops in the second year and beyond.

* An active prose and poetry series of visiting writers and editors.

* Excellent student-teacher ratio.

* A challenging, supportive and dynamic atmosphere in a super-literary, culturally vibrant, progressive border city.

* An extremely active and critically acclaimed faculty.

* Funding opportunities for research and travel via the departmental English Graduate Union, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, ConfluenCenter and the Institute of the Environment, among other organizations.

* MFA thesis defense that may include outside readers. Past outside readers have included such writers as Jenny Boully, Gary Paul Nabhan, Steven Church, Luís Alberto Urrea, and Kim Stanley Robinson.

* Opportunities to work on nationally- and internationally-known literary magazines, websites, and presses

* The lushest desert in the world with mountains all around.

Since 1972, the University of Arizona has offered one of the preeminent MFA programs in the country for the study of creative writing. With workshops and craft seminars in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, we offer intensive instruction in literary craft and the study of literature from a writer’s perspective, as well as opportunities to strengthen professional skills and flourish as a writer. The program requires three years in residence, the completion of 42 academic units, including four workshops in one genre and four craft courses. A student’s studies culminate in the production of an aesthetic statement and a thesis manuscript. The program is fully funded, with assistantships in teaching composition offered to all incoming MFA students. You have the opportunity to apply to teach creative writing in your second year. Assistantships include salary, health insurance and a complete tuition waiver.

A writer engages in the world. With this in mind, we invite students to develop a course of study parallel to the page, whether it is in the University, the city of Tucson, the Sonoran desert, or beyond. You have the chance to volunteer with and/or have a for-credit internship with such organizations as the UA Poetry Center, Sonora Review, Fairy Tale Review, Diagram, New Michigan Press, terrain.org, Spork Press, Kore Press, and the poetry collective POG.

The literary community here is strong. Please look into the offerings at the Poetry Center, our partner in many adventures. In addition to the Poetry Center Readings & Lectures Series, the creative writing faculty curates the UA Prose Series, which brings in four writers a year. MFA students run the Works-in-Progress (WIP) Reading Series, and Infuse, a cooperative reading and art series between creative-writing and visual-arts MFA students. The University of Arizona is the home to the Sonora Review, one of the oldest student-run literary magazines in the country.

And perhaps the best advertisement for the program is the work of our recent graduates: The MFA Look Book, published by the program every two years.

Contact Information

PO Box 210067 Dept. of English Tucson Arizona, United States 85721-0067 Email: [email protected] http://english.arizona.edu/lp/creative-writing

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing +

Graduate program director.

Highlights:

* A fully funded three-year program. (See our press release for the shift to the three-year MFA here.)

* Students have funding opportunities for research and travel via the departmental English Graduate Union, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, Confluence Center and the Institute of the Environment, among other organizations.

* Three genres: Poetry, fiction and nonfiction, with active encouragement to work across genres.

* The opportunity to apply to teach creative writing at the undergraduate level.

* Excellent student-teacher ratio (9 faculty for 36 students).

* An active series of visiting writers and editors.

* A challenging, supportive and dynamic atmosphere in a culturally vibrant, progressive border city.

Kate Bernheimer

Kate Bernheimer is the author of two story collections, most recently How a Mother Weaned Her Girl from Fairy Tales, and a novel trilogy. She is also editor of four anthologies including the bestselling, World Fantasy Award winning My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales and the World Fantasy Award nominee xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

katebernheimer.com/home

Susan Briante

Susan Briante is the author of three books of poetry: Pioneers in the Study of Motion (Ahsahta Press 2007), Utopia Minus (Ahsahta Press 2011), and The Market Wonders (Ahsahta Press 2016). Briante has received grants and awards from the Atlantic Monthly, the MacDowell Colony, the Academy of American Poets, the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund and the US-Mexico Fund for Culture. New work has been published in Gulf Coast, Black Warrior Review, Guernica, and The Progressive. Publisher’s Weekly writes that Briante's poems find “an urgent language for the world in which we live.” She is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Arizona. Her book of essays, Defacing the Monument, is forthcoming from Noemi Press in late 2019.

http://english.arizona.edu/lp/creative-writing

Bojan Louis

BOJAN LOUIS (Diné) is the author of the poetry collection Currents (BkMk Press 2017), which received a 2018 American Book Award, and the nonfiction chapbook Troubleshooting Silence in Arizona (The Guillotine Series 2012). His fiction has appeared in Ecotone, Numéro Cinq Magazine, Yellow Medicine Review, and Alaska Quarterly Review; nonfiction in Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers. Louis has been a resident at The MacDowell Colony and was the inaugural Virginia G. Piper Fellow-in-Residence at Arizona State University. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona.

https://bojanlouis.com/

Farid Matuk

Farid Matuk is the author of the poetry collections This Isa Nice Neighborhood and The Real Horse. He teaches in the MFA program at the University of Arizona and serves on the editorial team at Fence and on the editorial board for the book series Studies in Creative Writing for Bloomsbury. Matuk’s poems and essays have appeared in The Boston Review, Poetry, Lana Turner Journal, The Nation, and elsewhere. His work has been recognized most recently with a New Works Grant from the Headlands Center for the Arts and the Holloway Visiting Professorship in Poetry & Poetics at UC Berkeley. Matuk's collaboration with visual artist Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez is forthcoming from Singing Saw Press.

Ander Monson

Ander Monson is the author of eight books, most recently The Gnome Stories and I Will Take the Answer (Graywolf, 2020). He is the editor of the New Michigan Press, Essay Daily , and DIAGRAM .

www.andermonson.com

Manuel Muñoz

Manuel Muñoz is the author of two short-story collections: Zigzagger and The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue. His first novel, What You See in the Dark, was published in 2011. A recipient of a Whiting Writer’s Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and three O. Henry Awards, he was shortlisted for the 2007 Frank O’Connor

www.manuel-munoz.com

Sara Sams is the author of Atom City, a book of poetry that scrutinizes various legacies of her Manhattan Project hometown: the received history of the atomic bomb, local mythologies orbiting that narrative, and closer stories of family and inheritance. Reviewing the collection, poet Sarah Vap writes: “Sams shows us what violence and invisible interiority and tenderness is at the core of the American hometown. At the core of the American superpower myth. At the core of American exceptionalism, and uranium, and the atom, itself— which is at the core of everything.” Sams grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and is currently researching the influence particle physics has had on contemporary poetics. Creatively, she is working on new poems about medical science, childbirth, infant surgery, and frontline workers, as well as a novel about nuclear-reactor-powered ghosts and the opioid crisis in rural Tennessee.

Between 2013 and 2016, Sams received fellowships to teach at the National University of Singapore and for the Ministry of Education in Logroño, Spain. Her experiences teaching abroad solidified her interest in language acquisition and teaching writing in classrooms with second-language students. She has translated poetry from Spanish (David Leo García, Adriana Bañares) and collaborated on a multilingual and interdisciplinary piece of artwork about Jorge Luis Borges and Xul Solar for the Phoenix Art Museum. A graduate of Davidson College (B.A. in English and Spanish) and Arizona State University (M.F.A. in Poetry), Sams’s poems and translations have appeared in Blackbird, The Volta, Matter Monthly, The Drunken Boat, Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, and elsewhere. She has served on the editorial staff of Parnassus: Poetry in Review and Hayden’s Ferry Review; she has also supported student editors as a faculty mentor for The Superstition Review. You can find her work online at saraesams.com.

https://saraesams.com/

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Sonora Review

New Michigan Press

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English (Creative Writing), BA

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Additional Program Fee: No
• Second Language Requirement: No

• Initial Math Course: MAT 142 - College Mathematics

Required Courses (Major Map)

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Program Description

The BA in English with a concentration in creative writing focuses on the study and practice of the literary arts, with courses in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction.

Students gain practical experience through writing workshops and internship opportunities.

The undergraduate program features an outstanding faculty whose many books have received major national and international recognition.

In addition to the guidelines in the Concurrent Program Options section below, students interested in pursuing concurrent or second baccalaureate degrees in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are advised to visit The College's website for more information and requirements.

Admission to the Creative Writing Concentration (Fiction & Poetry)

Portfolio submission period opens: february 20, 2023, portfolios due: march 17, 2023 by 5:00pm, submit here: spring 2023 creative writing concentration  .

Note: You need to be logged into your ASU Gmail account to connect to the portfolio submission form.  

About the Creative Writing Concentration

The Creative Writing Program encourages all interested students, regardless of their field of study, to join our community of writers through beginning and intermediate workshops in fiction and poetry (ENG 287/ENG 288 , ENG 387/ENG 388), diverse special topics courses (ENG 394/ENG 494), and various, exciting writing events held on campus. 

Interested students*, who have already taken beginning and intermediate workshops, and are committed to continuing their study of Creative Writing, have an opportunity to develop their skills in supportive, highly focused workshops through the Creative Writing Concentration. Instruction in the tradition(s) to which concentration students can aspire and uphold, and from which they may draw inspiration, will be provided by the Creative Writing Program's nationally recognized faculty of writers.

Please note that acceptance into the Creative Writing Concentration is restricted.   Students must submit a portfolio for review and be offered a seat in the advanced workshops. (Please see the "Portfolio Review Guidelines" below.) 

*Students interested in pursuing both fiction and poetry at the 400-level, must check with their academic advisor to ensure that the necessary courses (ENG 487, ENG 488, ENG 498: Fiction, ENG 498: Poetry) will fit their degree plan. Students must submit two portfolios--one in fiction, one in poetry--to be considered for admittance into advanced coursework in both areas. 

Students pursuing the Creative Writing Concentration must either select as their major the bachelor's in English with a concentration in creative writing upon being admitted to ASU or, after entering the university, meet with an English advisor to change to this major and concentration.  Non English-majors will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

• To complete the concentration, English majors who have already declared themselves in the creative writing concentration must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher in their major.
• Concentration students must complete the two advanced courses in their genre (ENG 487 and ENG 498 in poetry, or ENG 488 and ENG 498 in fiction). Note that enrollment into these courses is restricted. Spaces are limited. Students must submit a portfolio and be selected to move forward.  (See the "Portfolio Review Guidelines" below.)
• Transfer students must seek advisement as to whether they will be able to successfully fulfill the creative writing concentration requirements.
• PLEASE NOTE :  Students admitted to begin 400-level coursework through the Fall 2020 Portfolio Review will start their coursework in Spring 2021. ENG 488 (fiction) will be taken in the Spring semester. The capstone course, ENG 498, will be taken in the Fall 2021 semester. ENG 487/488 and ENG 498 may not be taken simultaneously. 
• The next portfolio review for fiction will be offered in Fall 2022. The next portfolio review for fiction and poetry will be offered in Spring 2023.
• Students are only allowed to apply for the creative writing concentration twice during their time at ASU.

Portfolio Submission: How to Apply

Submit your completed portfolio online via the link below. Your portfolio should include:

1.     COVER SHEET (Available Online)

2.     CREATIVE WRITING SAMPLE

     a.      Poetry Sample: 5 poems

     b.      Fiction Sample: 1 piece of fiction of at least 5 double-spaced pages and not longer than 10 double-spaced pages

3.     PERSONAL STATEMENT (2 double spaced pages or 500 words)

     a.    Discuss your interest in the relevant genre (poetry or fiction)

     b.     What do you hope to gain from the creative writing concentration

4.     CRAFT ESSAY (2 double spaced pages or 500 words)

     a.     Submit an essay on a single poem or short story focusing an element(s) of craft you learned from the piece, how that craft element(s) works within the poem/story, and  why this aspect of craft is pertinent to your own writing

     b.     Please provide textual examples from the creative piece in your essay

5 .      SUBMIT: SPRING 2023 CREATIVE WRITING CONCENTRATION

        NOTE: You need to be logged into your ASU Gmail account to connect to the portfolio submission form. 

Further Information  

To receive further information about the bachelor's in English with a concentration in creative writing, make an appointment to speak with English undergraduate advisor at 480-965-3168. You may also contact Creative Writing Program Manager, Justin Petropoulos ( [email protected] ), RBH 152.

Portfolio Review Guidelines

Admission Requirements

All students are required to meet general university admission requirements.

Transfer Options

ASU is committed to helping students thrive by offering tools that allow personalization of the transfer path to ASU. Students may use the Transfer Map search to outline a list of recommended courses to take prior to transfer.

Change of Major Requirements

A current ASU student has no additional requirements for changing majors.

Students should refer to https://changingmajors.asu.edu for information about how to change a major to this program.

Flexible Degree Options

Accelerated program options.

This program allows students to obtain both a bachelor's and master's degree in as little as five years. It is offered as an accelerated bachelor's and master's degree with:

English -->

Website | Locations: TEMPE,ONLNE

Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. During their junior year, eligible students will be advised by their academic departments to apply.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, affording college, tuition calculator, scholarships, financial aid, career outlook.

Degree programs in English prepare students for graduate studies in a number of programs, including English, creative writing, education, law and business. They also lead to a variety of careers in diverse fields. Employers seek those with strong writing, communication and critical thinking skills. Some of the most common professions for English majors are in the fields of:

• nonprofit service

Graduates often find roles where they spend time:

• developing web content
• managing public relations
• writing professional and technical content

Example Careers

Students who complete this degree program may be prepared for the following careers. Advanced degrees or certifications may be required for academic or clinical positions. Career examples include but are not limited to:

Writers and Authors

• Growth: 3.7%
• Median Salary*: 73150
• Growth: -4%
• Median Salary*: 73080

English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

• Growth: 1.2%
• Median Salary*: 74280

Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education.

• Median Salary*: 62360

Public Relations Specialists

• Growth: 6.1%
• Median Salary*: 67440

Search Marketing Strategists

• Growth: 13.4%
• Median Salary*: 68230

Technical Writers

• Growth: 6.9%
• Median Salary*: 79960

* Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

Global Opportunities

Global experience.

Studying abroad expands students' perspectives by exposing them to new and distinct cultures, communities and people. Students can explore the English language at a deeper level through an extended lens of dialects, literature and terminology in one of more than 300 study abroad programs.

Students can enhance their resumes with the educational experience and heightened cultural competency, communication and critical thinking skills they acquire through study abroad programs.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recommends these study abroad programs for students majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing .

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-3168