michigan university creative writing

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The Creative Writing and Literature Major is open to ALL LSA students.

Creative Writing and Literature Majors write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction under the close guidance of faculty mentors, and may workshop their writing with other student writers in small writing seminars. Majors also study the art of writing through the study of literature. Majors specialize in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction early in their studies.

Creative Writing graduates pursue successful careers as writers, editors, educators, advertising professionals, and many other writing related-fields.  Every year our graduates are admitted to competitive graduate school programs in the fine arts, education, law, business, public policy, social work, and other courses of professional study that demand proficient writing skills and creative approaches to problem solving.

RC Creative Writing students have demonstrated unparalled success in the esteemed U of M Hopwood Awards , winning over 100 awards since the 1994-95 school year.

Students meet with the creative writing major advisor when declaring, making course substitutions, discussing transfer/study abroad credit evaluations, internships, preparing major release forms, and information on graduate school study and career paths. 

Although students may pursue study in multiple genres, most specialize in a single genre:

Fiction / Creative Nonfiction

Digital Storytelling

Advising appointments can be made here or by calling RC Academic Services at 763-0032.

Minimum Credits: 28

The major is structured into four genre tracks. In addition to the Fiction / Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, and Digital Storytelling tracks, students may elect a multi-genre track in consultation with their principal writing instructors and the major advisor.

Each track consists of:

Four elective creative writing courses

Five elective upper level literature courses

Fiction / Creative Nonfiction Track

Students complete a minimum of four creative writing courses, at least three of which must be at the 300 level or above and at least three of which must be taken in the RC. A usual track is an introductory course (Narration) and three upper-level courses. Students may count one non-RC creative writing course towards the writing requirement.

Creative Writing Courses: Students may elect any combination of seminars and tutorials from the following:

RCHUMS 220 Narration: Intro to Fiction Writing

RCHUMS 325, 326, 425, 426 Tutorials: Permission of instructor required

RCHUMS 320 Narration: Advanced Fiction Writing

RCHUMS 334 (Section 005) Memoir: Writing from Within

Other departmental offerings listed under RCHUMS 334 or RCCORE 334. Details here.

Literature Electives: Students complete five literature courses, at the 300-level or above. One literature course must focus on either ancient literature or medieval literature (pre-1600). The ancient / medieval requirement may focus on non-Western or Western literature, but must pre-date Shakespeare if a Western literature course is elected. English 367 – Shakespeare’s Plays does not fulfill this requirement, although the course can count towards the literature requirement.

Students are encouraged to take literature courses in the RC Arts and Ideas Major, the  Department of English  or the  Comparative Literature Program . Students majoring in a second language may count one upper-level literature course in that language, or one upper-level literature course completed during a full semester studying abroad in a non-English speaking country. Upper-level literature courses taken abroad also may be counted. All literature courses counted toward the Creative Writing and Literature Major must be at least three (3) credits.

Courses that have been used to meet the requirement in the past include:

RCHUMS 354 Race and Identity in Music

RCHUMS 344 Reason and Passion in the 18th Century

RCHUMS 342 Representing the Holocaust in Literature, Film and the Visual Arts

Other RCHUMS courses listed in the Arts and Ideas in the Humanities major

English 350 Literature in English to 1660 (for ancient/medieval requirement)

English 328 Writing and the Environment

English 379 Literature in Afro-American Culture

Other English Department courses with a literature focus

CLCIV 385 Greek Mythology (for ancient/medieval requirement)  

Asian 314 Strange Ways: Literature of the Supernatural in Pre-modern Japan and China

MEMS 386 Medieval Literature, History and Culture 

Poetry Track

Students complete a minimum of four creative writing courses, at least three of which must be at the 300 level or above and at least three of which must be taken in the RC. A usual track is an introductory course (Writing Poetry) and three upper-level courses. Students may count one non-RC creative writing course towards the writing requirement.

RCHUMS 221 Writing Poetry

RCHUMS 321 Advanced Poetry Writing

RCHUMS 334 Workshop with Incarcerated Poets and Artists

Literature courses listed above under Fiction / Creative Nonfiction

English 340 Studies in Poetry

English 440 Modern Poetry

English 442 Studies in Poetry

Digital Storytelling Track

The digital storytelling track studies the ways story interacts with technology and the effect of digital media on writing and the creative process. Students electing this track pair writing practice with the study of the theory, ethics, and history of digital media.

Creative Writing Courses: At least 4 courses required over two categories 

Creative Writing Courses: choose a minimum of two Residential College creative writing courses that focus on writing fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. Only one course in a student’s major plan should be at the 200-level:

Introductory Courses (may elect 1 to count towards major):

Upper-level Courses:

RCHUMS 320 Advanced Narration 

RCHUMS 321 Advanced Poetry Writing 

RCHUMS 325, 326, 425, 426 Creative Writing Tutorials 

Digital Writing / Skills Courses: choose a minimum of two digital storytelling / writing courses at the 300-level or above that focus on digital media and/or electronic literature writing and practice. Courses that have been used to meet the requirement in the past include:

RCCORE 334 (Section 004) Digital Storytelling

English 420 Tech and the Humanities / Electronic Literature

RCSCI 360 (Section 001) Documentary Photography

RCHUMS 325, 326, 425, 426 Creative Writing Tutorials with a focus on writing for, and/or creating, electronic literature or digital media content (permission of instructor required)

Digital Studies Requirement: At least 2 courses required 

Choose a minimum of two digital studies theory courses at the 300-level or above that focus on the theory of digital culture and/or the digital humanities. Courses that have been used to meet the requirement in the past include:

AmCult 358 Topics in Digital Studies

AmCult 360 Radical Digital Media

FTVM 368 Topics in Digital Media Studies

English 405 Theories of Writing

Literature Requirement: At least 3 courses required 

Literature courses must be taken at the 300-level or above. Literature courses should not focus on digital studies but should offer complementary skills and additional context in the art and craft of literature. One course must focus on ancient/medieval literature. For more information on specific literature requirements, please see the Literature section listed under Fiction / Creative Nonfiction.

A student deemed eligible to attempt Honors typically completes the following process:

A student whose overall academic record meets the eligibility criteria for honors and whose creative work models originality and the promise of mastery in their chosen genre may apply for an honors thesis. Honors theses are typically 75-100 pages of polished fiction or creative nonfiction, or a collection of 25 or more poems. The student and their faculty advisor will determine the exact length and content of the final thesis. 

To be eligible to apply for honors, a student must demonstrate exceptional skill in the art and craft of prose, poetry, or creative nonfiction. The student must have completed a minimum of two Residential College creative writing classes, although honors students typically complete three or more by the start of their thesis sequence. The student also must hold a GPA of at least 3.4 overall. 

Students who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply for the honors thesis project in the winter term of their junior year, typically by late March. To apply, students shall submit:

A writing sample (10 pages of prose or 5 poems) that represents the student’s best, most polished work.

A brief statement (1-2 pages) describing the honors project. Applicants should also include the name of a faculty member they wish to request as their thesis advisor.

Questions about the submittal process can be directed to the creative writing major advisor  here

The Honors Committee, consisting of faculty in the Creative Writing program, will judge the student’s work on its quality, originality, and promise of mastery in their chosen genre. The Committee reviews all honors applications after the submission deadline. Students are notified of the Committee’s decision in late March or early April. If the planned project is accepted for honors, the Committee will assign a faculty thesis advisor to the student. 

Honors Theses require a two-semester commitment. Students enroll in RCCORE 490 for the fall term and RCHUMS 426 for the winter term. A passing grade in RCCORE 490 earns a Y grade, indicating that the thesis work will continue into the next semester. At the end of the second term, the Y grade converts to the grade earned in RCHUMS 426. Exceptions to the two-semester requirement are rare but may be discussed with the thesis advisor.

When the honors thesis project is complete (typically the last week of March or the first week of April of the senior year), the student’s honors thesis advisor and one other member of the Residential College’s Creative Writing faculty will determine if the project qualifies for honors and (if so) what level of honors the student receives. Honors thesis students also participate in a public reading with fellow thesis students at the end of the winter term (typically the second week of April).

To download the honors information, click here.

Creative Writing faculty

Laura Kasischke Poetry; Fiction

Christopher Matthews Fiction; Poetry

Sarah Messer Poetry; Creative Nonfiction; Prison Creative Arts Program

Susan Rosegrant Creative Nonfiction; Journalism; Fiction

Laura Thomas Fiction; Creative Nonfiction

A. Van Jordan Poetry, Film Studies

Aisha Sloan Creative Nonfiction, Digital Storytelling

Open to All

You don’t need to be a dedicated major to participate in workshops, tutorials, and classes taught by Creative Writing faculty, which are open to enrollment from all students. If even only for a semester, you wish to explore your interest in writing, consider taking a RC Creative Writing course !

For RC students, creative writing courses fulfill the RC Arts Practicum requirement. For RC and LSA students, RCHUMS 220, RCHUMS 221, and RCHUMS 325 satisfy Creative Expression distribution.

You can participate in the RC Review , our annual student-run journal featuring student poetry, fiction, and visual art. RC students can get a credit for participating in the RC Review.

Or consider joining the RC Creative Writing Forum , which like RC Review, offers RC students a credit, but is open to all for participation.

RC Writers website

Check out the  RC Writers Website,  for the Residential College writing community.

Recent Events

Paths to publication: a conversation with allison epstein and jon michael darga.

Link to the video recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ArrpiEKKc

Love & Zombies & Literature: What makes Genre Writing Literary?

Link to the recording of the webinar on our youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SD6LC4Zu-0

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Creative Writing Program

THE PROGRAM

The Creative Writing Program offers undergraduate writers a focused, adventurous experience in creative expression. The Program’s nationally recognized, award-winning faculty teach a wide variety of courses on genre-specific craft across fiction, poetry, play-writing and creative non-fiction. As practicing writers, the program’s faculty lead students in conversations with the some of the most innovative and culturally responsive contemporary writers who visit classes, facilitate generative writing sessions, and offer literary readings and interdisciplinary performances. We also offer courses on the history and practice of literary editing and publishing, along with a range of professionalizing events focused on industry practices and careers for those interested creative writing.    

In our program, self-expression lives alongside political expression. We view writing both as a tool of personal inquiry and growth, and as a tool for critical investigation and literary analysis.  We celebrate a diverse array of social functions for literary practices and affirm that the cultural purpose of literature evolves with an emerging generation of writers, in which we include our students. We welcome writers at all levels of experience, who practice and live within many languages, and who aspire to literary genealogies & traditions on their own terms. In the Program’s classes and culture, creative expression is understood to be a living entity and a practice of global citizenship that includes all of us.   

Our program celebrates writing within and outside the classroom. We facilitate field trips to regional galleries and festivals, and are honored to house the MSU Creative Writing Club, led by students. We are also the home of Red Cedar Review, one of the oldest student-managed literary journals in the United States. 

BA in English with CW Concentration

Minor in Creative Writing

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MFA Program in Creative Writing - NMU English

MFA Program in Creative Writing

MFA Program

"The heart wants what it wants, and it wants the time and space to write. That is the gift. Our students sift through language, lands, and experiences and come out the other side with some of the finest writings being produced today. You can check out our track record and it's all there—the student successes, the publication credits, all of that. But what you can't see are all the hours our MFA students spend with faculty polishing their voice and craft, or that moment when an emerging writer experiments with another genre or medium and comes away with a hybrid artsy work that shines and shines. I'm honored to be a part of our writing community here at NMU because we are the perfect mix of weirdness and dedication, seriousness and playfulness, and we also have cats."

-  Dr. Patricia Killelea  

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Prospective Students

NMU's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program is a three-year, 48-credit degree. Students will take workshops in more than one genre (we offer fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and occasionally screenwriting), two literature courses plus one critical theory course. All new teaching assistants also take a Teaching Practicum to ready you for teaching responsibilities your first semester

While you're here, check out our literary magazine  Passages North , which is run primarily by graduate students, and our events page , which details our visiting writers program.

How to Apply

A strong application includes a writing sample that gives us a sense of your aesthetic and your obsessions, a personal statement that helps us understand what you'd like to get out of your three years studying writing in a wintery place, and some sense that you are a kind and enthusiastic community member. Prospective students may apply as writers of poetry, nonfiction, fiction, or hybrid work, and may apply in more than one genre. Once enrolled in the program, students do not need to commit to a genre; our official MFA degree is in creative writing, rather than any particular genre, so students are free to write across and between genres.

Teaching Assistantships

The funding package includes a $11,236 yearly stipend and a full tuition waiver (for both in-sate and out-of-state students). Health insurance is not at this time included in the package although some free services are provided by the University's  Health Center . After the first year, other Graduate Assistantships are also available, including as the managing editor of Passages North or the assistant director of the Writing Center.

What Our Professors Have to Say

Current students.

Below is a narrative calendar, of sorts, to guide your three years in the MFA program, including links to relevant pages. Many forms and guidelines you'll need are located on the  English Department's Student Forms & Info page . We also have an  English Department Share Drive , which provides teaching resources and sample documents meant to serve as models for grant apps and other academic paperwork situations. Email MFA Director Matt Frank at [email protected]  with any specific questions. 

During your first semester, many of you will take EN 509: Teaching Practicum and some of you will be teaching for the first time. We’d also recommend taking a workshop in the first semester, or at least the first year. Your time and attention will be pulled in many directions–teaching, possibly settling into a new community, acclimating to the language and power structures of academia–and it’s easy to lose track of what likely brought you here in the first place as you manage your day-to-days. A workshop will get you writing, will connect you with other writers in all stages of the program, and will introduce you to a faculty member who may end up being a part of your thesis committee. While there is often a heavy and important element of peer feedback in workshops, it’s also a goal of workshop to insist that you spend some of your best creative hours focusing selfishly on your own practice, your own work. In semesters when you may not have a workshop, your own writing time may slip to the bottom of your to-do list, but if you take a workshop early, and you establish some writing habits and expectations for yourself, you may find yourself more insistent about guarding your writing time even when it is not assigned.

Keep in mind the larger plan of study for the program. Overall, you’ll be taking workshops in more than one genre, a couple of literature classes, a theory class. There is a small amount of room for an elective: keep in mind that you can build yourself an internship (in the past students have interned with NMU’s Grants Office and Passages North, but we can talk about external internships as well if you do the leg work to set things up) or a class in another department (for example, an upper-level biology course or a directed student with a faculty member in history). Most classes can be taken in any order; EN 600, for example, can be taken before EN 500, and that may be the case for you depending on what is offered when you’re here.

Every year there will be a couple of required Professional Development days (PD days) for funded graduate students. On these days, faculty, alums, fellow grad students, and/or NMU staff will present or lead discussions about topics relevant to your professionalization: teaching, publishing, navigating the university. Keep an eye on your email for announcements about these days.

By the end of the first year, be thinking about your thesis. You won’t need to submit a proposal until the fall of your second year, but let your interests and your curiosities be guiding your reading and your writing so that when Fall semester comes around you can begin sketching out a plan. As well, be thinking about which faculty member you’d like to be working with one-on-one. Each MFA student needs to select one Thesis Director and two Thesis readers. Note that there is a cap on the number of thesis students each faculty member can work with, so you might want to reach out early if you’ve got somebody in mind.

There are several opportunities for additional funding. In early February of each year, you can apply for a  $1500 summer Excellence in Education grant . Note that the Ex in Ed grant application requires a letter of recommendation, a detailed budget, and possibly--depending on your project--Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, so give yourself some time to build the application. Go to the  English Department's share drive  (log in using your regular NMU login info) for a handful of sample successful applications to consult as models. In March, applications open for the  King-Chavez-Parks Future Faculty Fellowship . 

It’s likely you’ll teach EN 111: Composition I both of your first two semesters, but opportunities to teach EN 110: Good Books, EN 211: College Composition II, and EN 215: Intro to Creative Writing will arise down the road. The Department Head will reach out to solicit your preferences. Other grad assistantships include the Assistant Director of the Writing Center and the Managing Editor of Passages North. (The funding packages of these two gigs are the same as those of Teaching Assistants.) Talk to the Department Head, the Editor-in-Chief of Passages, or the Director of the Writing Center to learn more and to express interest in those jobs.

What else should you consider in your first year? Get involved as an editor with  Passages North . Attend  Visiting Writers  readings and get in touch with the Director of the Visiting Writers program to let them know what writers you’d like to invite to read. Consider joining the  Graduate Students Association (GSA) . Make friends, keep in touch with your life outside the program, read just for fun sometimes, figure out how to survive and maybe even enjoy winter, close your school email occasionally, watch your trash TV: i.e., don’t forget to be a person, and if the expectations start to feel overwhelming don’t be afraid to reach out to your professors, to the Department Head, or to the MFA Director Matt Frank at [email protected]  anytime.

Second Year

In your second year, you’ll be starting to hone your thesis project. In the Fall, you’ll write a thesis proposal. This is a 500-word document describing how you see your project at this time: what is your work about, what structures do you imagine, what writing from the world influences and inspires you. The thesis proposal guidelines are here , but in general state your plan. We know the work will change as you dive deeper inward, but the proposal is a chance to articulate to yourself and to some people who are not you what you envision yourself working towards. You’ll also choose a Thesis Director and two Thesis Readers from the faculty to comprise your thesis committee. Consider the creative writing faculty, of course, but also look to professors who teach in other areas of the department.

Consider when you’ll register for thesis credits. You’re required to take 8-12 over the course of the program. Taking 4 credits in two or three different semesters is the most common way to accomplish this, but they can be taken in smaller chunks as well, depending on your plan of study. When you take 4 thesis credits, you’ll do work on your thesis project that is equivalent to the amount of work you’d do taking a workshop or a literature class. You’ll consult with your Director to establish a schedule of reading, writing, feedback expectations, one-on-one meetings, etc.

Again, you might consider applying for an  Excellence in Education grant  or the  Future Faculty Fellowship , if eligible. You can be awarded the Ex in Ed grant twice over your three years here. (Any two of the three years, even your final year.)

In your second year, continue to be a person and reach out to first-year students who are still acclimating to the program and the UP to share your tips and tricks for a balanced grad student life.

In the third year, you’ll finish that thesis (though you might not believe it while you’re actually in the pit of it). Work with your Thesis Director and Readers to build a work you're proud to share, but keep in mind that there may be a gap--of time, of revision--between a successfully completed thesis and a publishable manuscript. That's okay! You'll be working closely with your Thesis Director as you take your thesis credits, but also remember to keep your two Readers in the loop. Communicate about your progress, your timetable, and establish expectations of feedback. While in the past we had rigid page minimums, the increasing amount of hybrid and flash writing has inspired us to allow theses to be more flexible about page counts. Do think of your thesis, however, as a book-length project, and consult with your Thesis Director to establish a page count that makes sense for your particular project.

Keep in mind your thesis will include an introductory essay. This essay may be a chronicle of the building of the thesis, it may be a book proposal written with future publishers in mind, it may describe your craft as you close-read your own work in the context of the larger literary world, or it maybe be something more playful or experimental. Again, talk it out with your Thesis Director.  This page on The Commons  links you to recent theses submitted by NMU graduates; you can find models of the thesis introduction by reading through the pdfs posted there. 

The deadline for submitting theses is one month before graduation, so often in early April or even late March if you graduate in the Winter. Leave yourself time to prepare the the thesis according to the  University's specific thesis submission guidelines . Theses are submitted to The Commons, which provides public access to your work, but if you'd prefer your thesis to remain private, you may request an embargo on downloads. The process is detailed on the same page as the guidelines.

Remember to  register for graduation  in your final semester. Prepare to be celebrated and to share some of your work at our year-end MFA reading, one of our favorite days of the year. And keep in touch after you move on to your next wonderful thing.

A Few Other General Resources

• On campus  mental health counseling  is free to all students.
• Click here for accommodations or support from the  Disability Services office . 
• Some health services are available to graduate students at no cost through the  NMU Health Center . 
• Resources for queer students and queer allies are available on the  NMU Allies page .
• The  Student Equity and Engagement Center  provides support for safe and diverse learning environments. See also these  specific student interest groups  if you're interested.
• Visit the  NMU Food Pantry . 
• Northern Michigan University is located upon the ancestral homelands of the Anishinaabe Nation. Visit the  Center for Native American Studies  for "active learning and service learning opportunities that strengthen student engagement, interaction, and reciprocity with Indigenous communities."
• For COVID-19 updates, visit NMU's  Safe on Campus  page.

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Doctor of Philosophy in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis

Please send all inquiries to english-graduate@wmich.edu .

A 90-credit hour degree, the doctoral program in creative writing allows students to hone their writing of poetry, fiction, and playwriting.

Students coming to this degree are granted up to 30 hours credit from their master’s program, and are then required to take ENGL 6150: Literary Criticism, a forms course in their genre, one class in their major area (i.e., contemporary poetry, fiction, or playwriting), and at least 12 credit hours of workshop in their genre. Having fulfilled these requirements, students take an additional 9 elective credits, six hours of teaching pedagogy, and round out their doctoral experience with reading and dissertation hours. The program is designed with significant flexibility to meet the student’s educational aims.

Doctoral students from our program have gone on to tenure-track jobs at a variety of institutions, including Kansas State University, California State University, San Bernardino, West Chester University, The University of Southern Mississippi, Kendall College, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Pacific Lutheran University, and Truman State University.

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University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

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MFA Program

Poetry: Linda Gregerson, Tung-hui Hu, Khaled Mattawa

Fiction: Julie Buntin, Gabe Habash, Peter Ho Davies, Kiley Reid

Creative Nonfiction: Aisha Sabatini Sloan

The program offers full funding for two years, which includes full tuition remission and monthly stipend through fellowships and graduate student instructorships. The program will be able to offer six qualifying graduates of our program one year of post-MFA funding.

Michigan Quarterly Review

The program hosts the Zell Visiting Writers Series, through which invited guests give readings, hold craft talks, lead workshops, and offer individual consultations with students. Other program features include opportunities to teach with 826michigan and InsideOut Detroit, work on the Best American Nonrequired Reading anthology, learn letterpress skills at Wolverine Press, curate the student reading series, and partner with other area literary organizations.

Brittany Bennett, Vievee Francis, Donovan Hohn, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Paisley Rekdal, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward