u of oregon mfa creative writing

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Creative Writing Program

The Creative Writing Program at the University of Oregon is a two-year, fully-funded residency in which Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students concentrate in either poetry or fiction. The program emphasizes the workshop, integrating concentrated time for writing with craft seminars and individualized reading tutorials.  Each year we invite six writers for our Reading Series: recently we’ve hosted Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Elizabeth McCracken, and Justin Torres on the fiction side; in poetry, Ocean Vuong, Solmaz Sharif, and Robin Coste Lewis.     We offer two tracks for undergraduate study: a minor in Creative Writing , with workshops, seminars, and literature courses, as well as the Walter and Nancy Kidd Creative Writing Workshops , a unique yearlong studio experience in which students pursue their passion for creative writing in small classes with the support of peers and a graduate mentor. Follow us on Instagram to learn more about our program.

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Creative Writing News and Events

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What You Can Do with a Creative Writing Degree

Our alumni have a long history of success with publishing, translation, fellowships, and prizes. Recent graduates have received Wallace Stegner Fellowships, the Dylan Thomas Award (University of Wales), the Amy Lowell Scholarship, the Philip Levine Prize in Poetry, the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, and other honors. Many of our graduates have launched successful careers working for:

• Newspapers, magazines, and book publishers
• Media companies
• Colleges and universities
• Marketing and advertising agencies
• Research institutes

Careers for Undergraduates

Careers for Graduate Students

How a Creative Writing MFA Enhances Your Life

“My time in the MFA was incredibly enriching for both my work and my life. The program's dual commitments to the tradition and our own individual sensibilities proved invaluable for me. The lessons learned therein continue to inform and instruct my poetry as well as my living.”

—Loїc-Aime-Mulatris, MFA in poetry, '21

Our Degree Programs

Students in the Creative Writing Program can pursue a minor or an MFA. We also offer Kidd Workshops, a unique studio experience in which students workshop their creative work in small classes with the support of peers and a graduate mentor.

Declare or Change Minor

Develop as a Literary Artist

Deepen your intellectual life and expand your writing skills within a community of like-minded peers in our Kidd Workshops, and hear from award-winning writers in our annual Reading Series.

Kidd Workshops Reading Series

Learn from Experts in the Field

Our faculty comprises award-winning authors and poets, including Pushcart Prize winners, National Endowment for the Arts recipients, and honorees of the Walt Whitman and O. Henry awards. In addition to a broad range of novels, nonfiction books, and poetry collections, their work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Best American Short Stories , and many other venues.

Publications Faculty Directory

Scholarships and Funding

The Creative Writing Program offers awards for both undergraduate and graduate students. Our MFA program fully funds students during their two-year residency program.

Undergraduate Scholarships    Graduate Funding

Academic Support

Our academic advisors can help students understand their major or minor requirements, plan their course of study, explore study abroad opportunities, and more.

Undergraduate Advising    Support for Graduate Students

Give to the Creative Writing Program

Learn More About Giving to CAS

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http://crwr.uoregon.edu

Jason Brown, Program Director 541-346-0510 208 Alder Building 5243 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 97403-5243

Daniel Anderson, professor (poetry). BA, 1987, Cincinnati; MA, 1989, Johns Hopkins. (2010)

Jason Brown, associate professor (fiction). BA, 1991, Bowdoin; MFA, 1995, Cornell. (2011)

Marjorie Celona, associate professor (fiction). BA, 2006, Victoria; MFA, 2009, Iowa. (2015)

Geri Doran, professor (poetry). BA, 1986, Vassar; MFA, 1995, Florida. (2007)

Garrett K. Hongo, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor (poetry). BA, 1973, Pomona; MFA, 1980, California, Irvine. (1989)

Mat Johnson, Philip H. Knight Chair of the Humanities, professor (fiction), BA, 1993, Earlham College; MFA, 1999, Columbia. (2018)

Brian Trapp, Kidd Program Director, career instructor (fiction), BA, 2005, Ohio University; PhD, 2015, Cincinnati. (2015) 

Karen Thompson Walker, assistant professor (fiction). BA, 2002, California, Los Angeles; MFA, 2006, Columbia. (2017)

Richard M. Lyons, professor emeritus. BA, 1957, Brooklyn; MFA, 1962, Iowa. (1969)

The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.

Undergraduate Program

Graduate program, major - master's degree.

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The University of Oregon's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Art is an interdisciplinary program that prepares you for serious and engaged art practice.

Challenged by new methods of experimentation and a critical understanding of historical and contemporary context, you will pursue an informed, independent practice, specific to your intentions and sensibilities.

We expect you, as a graduate student, to arrive at an accomplished body of work but also to acquire strategies and critical thinking skills necessary to sustain and develop your professional practice and inquiry.

You can work with our faculty within and across these areas :

Art & Technology

Jewelry and Metalsmithing

Painting and Drawing

Photography

Printmaking

You will have contact with faculty members from other media areas and disciplines through graduate reviews, independent mentorship, and interdisciplinary course work.

Our faculty members are:

• practicing, professional artists
• nationally and internationally recognized artists
• frequently featured in exhibits and publications
• committed to both practice and teaching, and offer challenging and diverse perspectives
• active participants in seminars, critique colloquia, studios, and independent mentorship
• connected to a network of innovative artists and critics, who they bring to campus through the visiting artists program

What We Expect

Visual literacy, willingness to engage in critical discourse, fervent art practice.

Our MFA program is a three-year period of rigorous studio investigation, critical discourse, and conceptual development. Emphasis is given to developing a course of study tailored to your needs, while encouraging exploration and risk-taking. Our program supports a thorough engagement with the processes and principles that are fundamental to the discipline, as well as an informed awareness of issues and practices within the larger art community. Developing fluency in critical discourse, analysis, and writing are important parts of graduate life. The MFA program culminates in a year-long terminal project and group exhibition.

With a cohort of typically 20 MFA graduate students, you will develop a tight-knit community and relationships with:

• Faculty members
• Regional, national, and internationally influential artists
• Gallery directors

Working intensively in independent studios on the Eugene campus, you are part of a world-class research university in the inspiring Pacific Northwest.

Awarded annually, Graduate Fellowships provide opportunities for significant financial support, as well as teaching and professional experience.

We encourage applicants to visit our facilities and meet our faculty members. We offer tours during most of the year. Go to our Visit Us page for available tour dates.

Explore Student Work: MFA Terminal Project Exhibitions

Disciplinary Depth, Interdisciplinary Thinking

Our Master of Fine Arts curriculum is designed to provide both interdisciplinary discourse and disciplinary depth. Across the program, graduate students have course work in common through classes such as graduate critique, issues and practices, theory and history seminars, and special topics courses. Our diverse faculty has a broad range of research interests. Through thematic seminars, and independent mentorship, you have the opportunity to work closely with faculty towards particular areas of specialization.

We also encourage our students to take advantage of our world-class research university and take courses that align with their research and practice outside of the Department of Art.

Grad Review and Open Studios

Twice each academic year, MFA candidates open their studios to faculty, invited guests, and the University community at-large. Known as "Grad Review," this event brings MFA candidates outside perspectives and the opportunity to have a cross-disciplinary review of their work. The process focuses on a critique of finished work, works-in-progress, and new ideas. Each student review panel includes Department of Art faculty members and outside reviewers.

Studios, Fabrication, and Technology

Each MFA Candidate receives a studio space and access to a broad scope of facilities and fabrication and technology resources. MFA candidates have access to many specialized tools and equipment across the department, school, and university including all media area labs and shops, large-format inkjet printers, a CNC milling machine, laser cutters, video and photographic equipment, 3D printers, RISO digital duplicators, and more.

Specialized workspaces and tools are available in all eight media areas in the department.

Degree Requirements

Minimum of 90 credits (54 must be graduate level) over three years. The minimum residence requirement is nine consecutive terms of full-time enrollment, not including summer session.

A minimum of 24 credits must be graded with a grade of B or better including:

• Participation in at least two graduate reviews
• Public exhibition of the MFA terminal projects and final review with the terminal project committee
• Terminal creative project report

Apply: MFA in Art

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University of Oregon Fully Funded MFA in Creative Writing

University of oregon.

The University of Oregon based in Eugene, OR offers a two-year residency fully funded MFA in creative writing. The students of this MFA program concentrate on either poetry or fiction. The Program emphasizes the workshop, integrating concentrated time for writing with craft seminars and individualized reading tutorials. All incoming MFA students are funded with a teaching appointment. Student instructors receive tuition remission, monthly stipends of approximately $18,000.

• Deadline: Dec 15, 2024 (Confirmed)*
• Work Experience: Any
• Location: North America
• Citizenship: United States
• Residency: United States

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Funding and Research Support

The Creative Writing Program funds all incoming MFA students with a teaching appointment. These positions are not teaching assistantships (TAs) in which students teach discussion sections of a course taught by regular faculty; students are the “instructors of record” for all of these courses. Previous teaching experience is not required for these appointments; training is provided by the program. However, applicants will need to demonstrate their probable success as a first-time teacher through their application materials and letters of recommendation.

Student instructors (aka graduate employees, or GEs) receive tuition remission, monthly stipends (approximately $24,000 for the 2024-25 academic year), some fees, and health coverage .

• First-year funding : GEs in the Creative Writing Program teach either Introduction to Fiction, Introduction to Poetry, or a section of the Kidd Workshops.
• Second-year funding : During the second year, MFA candidates typically receive an appointment teaching English composition. To qualify, students must successfully complete a training program offered by the Department of English during their first year.

Other Financial Aid

Information about additional financial aid, such as student loans, grants, and work study, is available through the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships . Inquire early, as many national deadlines are in February.

Richard and Juliette Logsdon Fiction Scholarship

The Richard and Juliette Logsdon Fiction Scholarship is awarded to a first-year MFA fiction student for work of exceptional merit.

Richard Logsdon had himself won a writing award in 1971, the Sarah Harkness Kirby Award from the UO English Department for the best graduate student essay, and that validation boosted his self-esteem and confidence. The Logsdons want to do something similar for other students.

Richard Logsdon was Senior Editor for Red Rock Review, a literary journal published by the College of Southern Nevada that features works by poets and short story writers—both new and established. In that position, he met then UO professors Ehud Havazelet (fiction), Dorianne Laux (poetry), and visiting poet Joe Millar. Inspired by them, he decided to sponsor a scholarship for the Creative Writing Program. Since there was already a poetry prize (the Miriam McFall Starlin Poetry Prize) but no existing prizes in fiction, he chose to designate the Logsdon Scholarship as a fiction prize

Eligibility

Only current first-year students in the MFA program are eligible. Specific guidelines and submission portal are located on the program’s intranet .

Apply for Logsdon Scholarship

The Miriam McFall Starlin Poetry Prize

The Miriam McFall Starlin Poetry Prize offers a promising poet the freedom to pursue writing in the summer between their first and second years in the MFA program.

The Miriam McFall Starlin Poetry Prize was established in 1997 by the late Glenn Starlin. It was created as a gift to his wife, Miriam, who has been reading and writing poetry her entire life, beginning as a girl after her bedtime, using a flashlight under the covers. Wait a Minute was her first volume of poems and was published in 2006.

This prize offers a promising poet the freedom to pursue writing in the summer between their first and second years in the MFA program.

Only current MFA program students are eligible. Specific guidelines and submission portal are located on the program’s intranet .

Apply for Poetry Prize

Funding FAQs

What type of financial support or fellowships do you offer?

The Creative Writing program admits 10 MFA students each year. Each incoming student is offered a teaching appointment with a .49 full-time equivalency (FTE) and is considered a graduate employee (GE). Each GE receives a full tuition waiver (covering resident or non-resident tuition, whichever is applicable), a monthly stipend, and health coverage. (See also: Division of Graduate Studies: Salary and Benefits .)

What does the teaching appointment involve?

Students are considered the “instructors of record” for the courses and training is provided by the program. Previous teaching experience is not required for these appointments, but application materials and letters of recommendation should indicate why you would probably be successful as a full-time teacher.

During the first year, each GE will teach one course per 11-week term (including finals) for a total of three courses. The assigned course will be either Introduction to Fiction, Introduction to Poetry, or one of the Kidd Workshops. No previous teaching experience is required; training is provided by the MFA program.

During the second year, MFA candidates typically receive an appointment to teach English Composition in the English department and will teach one course per 11-week term (including finals) for a total of three courses. Teaching English Composition in the English department is also possible and is dependent on the MFA student successfully completing the English department’s pedagogical courses during the first year.

What does the stipend cover?

The stipend is generally enough for the average single person to reasonably live in the Eugene/Springfield area. The annual stipend for the GE is approximately $24,000. For more information, refer to How Much Will It Cost? and Graduate Student Cost of Attendance

Is there any additional support to cover costs to enter contests, residencies/retreats, or travel?

While the Creative Writing program does not cover submission fees, we offer internal awards for MFA students that may be used to cover such expenses.

What other sorts of financial aid are available?

A limited number of fellowships, scholarships, and awards are available through the Division of Graduate Studies . Information about additional financial aid, such as student loans, grants, and work study, is available through the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships . Inquire early, as many national deadlines are in February.

Does the program have any community outreach programs for MFA students?

Although community outreach opportunities are sometimes available within the Eugene/Springfield community, the CRWR department is not offering any outreach programs or volunteer opportunities at this time.

Are there any local literary festivals, a local art community, etc.?

Yes, there are a variety of local festivals (some of which are literary) in the Eugene/Springfield area, and you can volunteer to get involved in the local art community.

Are there study or teach abroad opportunities for MFA students?

We do not offer opportunities to teach abroad, but other UO departments may have some.