The MFA Program in Creative Writing consists of a vibrant community of writers working together in a setting that is both challenging and supportive. This stimulating environment fosters the development of talented writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The program is not defined by courses alone, but by a life built around writing.
Our renowned faculty are Catherine Barnett, Jeffrey Eugenides, Nathan Englander, Jonathan Safran Foer, Terrance Hayes, Katie Kitamura, Hari Kunzru, Nick Laird, Deborah Landau, Joyce Carol Oates, Sharon Olds, Claudia Rankine, Matthew Rohrer, Zadie Smith, Darin Strauss, and Ocean Vuong. Visiting faculty members in 2022-2023 will include Cris Beam, Marie-Helene Bertino, Alex Dimitrov, Uzodinma Iweala, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, David Lipsky, Sally Wen Mao, Leigh Newman, Julie Orringer, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Parul Sehgal, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Brandon Taylor, Hannah Tinti, Phillip B. Williams, and Monica Youn.
Through innovative literary outreach programs, a distinguished public reading series, an exciting public student reading series, special literary seminars with visiting writers, and the production of a high-quality literary journal, students participate in a dynamic literary community actively engaged in all aspects of the literary arts—writing, reading, teaching, publishing and community outreach. Students also have the opportunity to enjoy America's most literary terrain; New York University is situated in the heart of Greenwich Village, a part of the city that has always been home to writers.
Over recent years, program alumni have received many of the nation's most distinguished literary honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Guggenheim Fellowship, The MacArthur Fellowship, The National Endowment of the Arts Literary Fellowship, The Wallace Stegner Award, The Whiting Award, the Yale Series of Younger Poets, and the National Poetry Series, among many others. NYU CWP alumni include Aria Aber, Amir Ahmadi Arian, Julie Buntin, Nick Flynn, Nell Freudenberger, Aracelis Girmay, Isabella Hammad, Ishion Hutchinson, Mitchell S. Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, Raven Leilani, Dana Levin, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Maaza Mengiste, John Murillo, Gregory Pardlo, Morgan Parker, Nicole Sealey, Solmaz Sharif, Peng Shepherd, Ocean Vuong, Jenny Xie, and Javier Zamora.
The annual application deadline is December 18. We do not require GRE test scores. For further information about how to apply, please visit the GSAS Application Resource Center's useful online publication, "Application Requirements and Deadlines for Departments and Programs." Specific departmental requirements can be found here. You may also contact the Creative Writing Program at (212) 998-8816 or creative.writing@nyu.edu
INFORMATION SESSIONS
We typically host information sessions in October/November, which include a program overview of the Full-Residency Creative Writing MFA and a general outline of the admissions process by our Director Deborah Landau and Graduate Program Manager Zachary Sussman, followed by a brief Q&A. For sessions regarding the fall 2023 admissions cycle, please check back on this page closer to September 2022 for exact dates, format (virtual via Zoom or in-person open house), and RSVP information. Space may be limited.
We do not hold information sessions for our Low-Residency MFA program, but are happy to answer any questions about either program via email at creative.writing@nyu.edu.
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh