MFA in Creative Writing

Why get an MFA at Notre Dame?

Apply now Application Requirements Request Information

The Notre Dame MFA in Creative Writing program combines generous, attentive focus on student work with active, engaged pedagogy. We believe that an MFA is more than a credential or two years paid writing time, but rather an active, cooperative process of growth and exploration that relies as much on peer-to-peer relationships and mentoring as it does on individual initiative.

Our vision of the MFA is a holistic one, in which community, craft, experimentation, dialogue, study, reflection, and teaching all contribute to self-directed learning.

Since the program was founded in 1992, we have emphasized recruiting a diverse, international body of students. We welcome and encourage diversity in terms of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, economic background, nationality, immigration status, ability, and disability, as well as in aesthetic approaches, genre, and vision.

Our faculty represent a rich array of ethnic, economic, linguistic, and national backgrounds. They have distinguished themselves in a variety of genres and media, and teach from their expertise in both traditional and innovative practices. 

As an admitted MFA student you will receive a full tuition waiver, a fellowship providing a full stipend, and a health insurance subsidy, as well as teaching, editorial, and publication experience. 

The Creative Writing Program encourages applications from undocumented, international, and non-traditional students.

Our application deadline is January 15.

Apply now Application Requirements Request Information

 “It's difficult to overstate the impact that the Notre Dame creative writing program had on my life. I entered the program at age 22, terrified, hoping I could somehow hold my own in workshop. I left with a stack of papers that got me an agent that got me a book deal that became a movie and more books, because Notre Dame gave me the time and community and just enough confidence to chase what I'd been otherwise convinced was an unreasonable life. My mentors at Notre Dame showed me what I did well, but more importantly, they taught me my shortcomings, and that awareness has guided just about every sentence I've written since.”