Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Contact Us
Contact:
Cruz, Amber
Sr. Administrative Assistant
Literature
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016-8047
United States
Hone Your Craft in the Capital City
For more than 30 years, writers have come to American University to develop their work and exchange ideas in the District’s only creative writing MFA program. Our graduate workshops provide a rigorous yet supportive environment where students explore a range of approaches to the art and craft of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
As an MFA student at American, you are free to pursue a single genre or explore several. You will acquire a deeper understanding of your own work and hone your skills in a collaborative setting.
A Program of Study That Gets Results
This two-year, 36-credit-hour MFA program integrates writing, literary journalism, translation, and the study of literature to prepare students for a range of career possibilities. Write, give feedback, and receive guidance from a close-knit community of respectful peers and faculty. In the MFA program, you'll find lawyers, military veterans, musicians, teachers, and business executives who are passionate about the written word.
Connect with accomplished professors and the resources you need to reach your goal. Our faculty members have been featured in a variety of media and publications including the New Yorker, the New York Times, National Public Radio, Bill Moyers & Co., and the Washington Post.
Prominent Authors Dedicated To Your Success
Our faculty of award-winning poets, novelists, translators, and nonfiction writers will help you help you hone your craft and pursue your career as a writer. You will receive instruction and guidance from successful authors published by university presses and major publishers, including Houghton Mifflin, Scribner, Vintage Books, Viking Press, and WW Norton. Our active and engaged faculty members are regularly featured in top media outlets such as The New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and New Republic; in literary journals like Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and Shenandoah; and on television and radio.
A City For Writers
Living and learning in the nation's capital provides numerous benefits for MFA students. We partner with organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts, Library of Congress, 826DC, Writopia Labs, and Folger Shakespeare Library to facilitate opportunities for our students.
Our students have recently published books with WW Norton, Copper Canyon, University of Wisconsin Press, and MIT Press. They have been featured on This American Life, Poets & Writers, in Creative Nonfiction, Psychology Today, and more.
Accolades
Recent award-winning publications by our MFA alumni:
- "The Niece" by Yohanca Delgado, MFA ‘19
- Trouble Sleeping by Abdul Ali, MFA '13
- At Danceteria and Other Stories by Philip Dean Walker, MFA '13
- Daydreamers by Jonathan Harper, MFA '10
- "Your Brain on Screens" by Richard Cytowic, MFA '11
Publications
Folio is a nationally recognized literary journal sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences at American University in Washington, DC. Since 1984, we have published original creative work by both new and established authors. Past issues have included work by Michael Reid Busk, Billy Collins, William Stafford, and Bruce Weigl, and interviews with Michael Cunningham, Charles Baxter, Amy Bloom, Ann Beattie, and Walter Kirn. We look for well-crafted poetry and prose that is bold and memorable.
Café MFA is the the online journal of the Creative Writing Program at American University. Produced in conjunction with the Visiting Writers Series and other program events, the blog features student, faculty, and visiting author interviews and excerpts, plus reviews and local events.
Discover CAS: The Arts
Student Spotlight
Karan Madhok, CAS/MFA '18
At AU, it's so great to be around others who share my obsessions.
Karan Madhok is known for his sports journalism on basketball in India. His work appears on his own blog, Hoopistani, and in major sports publications in the US and overseas. As an undergrad in the UK, he majored in computer science, but his passion for writing persisted. He enjoys the creative atmosphere his colleagues and professors give AU's MFA program, where he is working on his first novel.
Look inside the Creative Writing MFA
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For more than 30 years, writers have come to American University to develop their work and exchange ideas in the District’s only creative writing MFA program.