What Schools Have the Best Writing Program?

University of Iowa

• The University of Iowa has one of the country's most respected writing programs. The school offers a Master of Fine Arts in English, with a concentration on creative writing. They also offer an MFA with a concentration on nonfiction writing. Applicants to the creative writing program must submit a manuscript of what they feel is their best work and a personal statement along with transcripts and official records. They call their creative writing program the Writer's Workshop, and it is a two year degree study that culminates in the student handing in a creative thesis. This thesis can take the form of either a novel, a book of poetry or a collection of short stories. A 2009 article in the New Yorker lauded the school's Workshop as the "most renowned creative writing program in the world".

  University of Iowa
  Creative Writing Program
  102 Dey House
  Iowa City, Iowa 52242-7700
  319-335-0416
  uiowa.edu

Emerson College

• Emerson College in Boston is one of the top writing colleges in the United States. The Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing has a one of a kind dedication when it comes to the art of the written word. The school offers Bachelor's and Master's degrees, with a focus on giving students the tools and space they need to work creatively while introducing them to a comprehensive study of the classics in literature. U.S. News and World Report listed the college's graduate program in fine arts as one of the country's top creative writing programs.

  Emerson College
  Office of Undergraduate Admission
  120 Boylston St.
  Boston, Massachusetts 02116
  617-824-8600
  emerson.edu

Johns Hopkins

• Within the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University offers a Master of Arts in Writing that is respected around the world. The university itself is renowned as one of the best in the country, with its medical school being the centerpiece of its reputation. The writing program offers instruction by published, respected writers and is intended to help further the students' individual goals when it pertains to a career in writing. It was recently named among the top ten graduate programs in creative writing by The Atlantic.

  Johns Hopkins University
  10 North Charles St.
  Baltimore, Maryland 21201-3707
  410-516-0700
  jhu.edu