Ivy League Schools that Offer an MFA in Creative Writing
Creative writing MFA programs at Ivy League schools give aspiring writers the opportunity to work closely with world-class academics. These elite schools' admissions policies range from highly-selective (eight students per year) to being open to anyone with a bachelor's degree and demonstrated ability.
Brown University
Brown University offers an MFA in Literary Arts. This two-year program offers a relatively-flexible curriculum that can be tailored to an individual student's interests. It is based on two courses per semester, including one writing workshop and one elective, and the latter can be any course offered at Brown. During the last semester, students complete a thesis instead of attending a workshop.
<h2 id="section---ColumbiaUniversity"> Columbia University</h2><p>The Columbia University MFA in Writing is a two-year program where students can specialize in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or writing and literary translation. During each semester of the two-year program, students take one writing workshop and three seminars. The writing workshop is typically limited to 7-12 students, giving them more individual attention.
</p><h2 id="section---CornellUniversity"> Cornell University</h2><p>Cornell University offers an MFA in Creative Writing program where students can specialize in poetry or fiction. The highly-selective program only admits eight students each year, four in each specialization, and students are guaranteed funding for the duration of the two-year course of study. The curriculum is comprised of workshops and courses, plus an editorial assistantship in the first year and teaching experience in the second year. The final project is a book-length manuscript that students write under the supervision of their chosen committee of two faculty members.
</p><h2 id="section---DartmouthCollege"> Dartmouth College</h2><p>Dartmouth College's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program offers a concentration in creative writing, which is a relatively structured and interdisciplinary course of study. The curriculum includes three creative writing courses in fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, poetry, or periodic journalism in addition to an independent study in creative writing. Outside of writing courses, the program also requires students to take a research methods module, an elective, and three interdisciplinary courses. Finally, no tuition is charged for the other requirements, including a summer symposium, three ethics workshops, a creative thesis, and the thesis presentation.
</p><h2 id="section---HarvardUniversity"> Harvard University</h2><p>Harvard University offers a Master of Liberal Arts in Creative Writing and Literature program through its extension school, which has been a pioneer in distance learning programs. Anyone with a bachelor's degree can gain admission to the program if they complete the first two courses, a proseminar on the elements of writing and a class on advanced fiction writing, and earn a grade of B or higher. From there, students will need to complete 10 more courses that can be taken online, with the exception of the on-campus summer writer's residency.
</p><p></p><table border="1"><tr><th> School Name </th><th> Programs Offered </th><th> Average Full-time Graduate Tuition & Fees (2018-2019)*</th></tr>
<tr><td> Brown University </td><td> MFA in Literary Arts </td><td> $55,332</td></tr>
<tr><td> Columbia University </td><td> MFA in Writing </td><td> $48,390</td></tr>
<tr><td> Cornell University </td><td> MFA in Creative Writing </td><td> $29,584</td></tr>
<tr><td> Dartmouth College </td><td> Master of Arts in Liberal Studies - Creative Writing </td><td> $53,829</td></tr>
<tr><td> Harvard University </td><td> Master of Liberal Arts - Creative Writing and Literature </td><td> $47,562</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: *National Center for Education Statistics</i>
</p><h2 id="section---AdmittanceRequirementsForIvyLeagueCreativeWritingMasterSDegreePrograms"> Admittance Requirements for Ivy League Creative Writing Master's Degree Programs</h2><p>All of the programs above require a 4-year bachelor's degree or the equivalent (for international students) and applicants will be asked to upload official transcripts, but unlike many other programs of study, these writing programs do not require GRE scores or have minimum bachelor's degree GPA requirements, placing a greater emphasis on demonstrated writing ability.
</p><p>Brown, Columbia, Cornell, and Dartmouth also require letters of recommendation. Personal statements and writing samples required for admission vary by school and by concentration (fiction, poetry, etc.). Harvard Extension School is the exception, requiring students to start taking classes and earn a B or above in them before they complete the rest of the application; students must maintain a B average for the duration of the course in order to be awarded the degree. Finally, all of the schools have English language proficiency requirements like the TOEFL or IELTS, which can be waived under certain circumstances (e.g. possession of a bachelor's degree from 4-year college in the US).
</p><p>Applicants to creative writing master's degree programs at Ivy League schools will have a 4-year degree but may have never had the opportunity to focus solely on the craft of writing in an academic setting. Due to the close faculty supervision and small workshop sizes in these programs, students can gain more individual attention than they did as undergraduate students and emerge as better writers.</p>