An online MFA in creative writing serves multiple purposes. MFA stands for a Master of Fine Arts and is a type of degree geared toward creative professions such as writing, graphic arts, and fashion design. For MFA in creative writing online programs, interested students typically have a background in literature, creative writing, professional writing, or journalism. However, an online MFA in creative writing major may permit applications from those who have a bachelor’s degree in a non-related discipline.
Due to the nature of the career, professionals should choose creative writing MFA online programs. With an online option, there’s no need to attend classes in person. Notably, many students might have a hard time finding local colleges that offer the major. Moreover, an MFA in creative writing online can be done on a person’s timeframe. Online programs provide more flexibility with class scheduling and how many courses must be taken per semester. Students enrolled in online creative writing MFA programs can continue working while still attending classes. Many individuals from creative writing MFA online programs still have full-time jobs. Additionally, any type of familial obligations won’t be disrupted while courses are completed.
Methodology: Ranking the Best Online Creative Writing MFA Programs
To rank the best online MFA Creative Writing programs, the editors of Best Masters Programs compiled fully online, hybrid, and low-residency programs from across the nation. Programs are ranked according to cost, potential salary, and student satisfaction, using data from IPEDS and Niche.
1. Northwestern University
Northwestern University offers an MFA in Prose and Poetry that is available on a part-time basis but considered among Illinois’s best online MFA creative writing programs. Northwestern University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program offers academic specialties of publishing, professional development, fiction, nonfiction, popular fiction, and poetry. Students complete fifteen classes, which include thesis courses (or other culminating capstone options), which may vary based on the selected academic track.
Founded as a private school in the early 1850s, Northwestern University is one of the founding member schools in the Big Ten Conference. Northwestern’s urban campus is home to nearly 22,000 students studying for academic degrees from eleven colleges/schools. Northwestern University is located only minutes from downtown Chicago and sits along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Degree: MFA – Prose and Poetry
2. University of Georgia
The University of Georgia offers one of the nation’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Narrative Media Writing. UGA’s best online creative writing MFA degree program has a low residency requirement and can be completed in only 24 months. Degree candidates enrolled in UGA’s MFA degree are required to complete 36 graduate semester units. Each semester at the University of Georgia runs for 15 weeks.
Established in 1785, the University of Georgia is considered among the oldest public higher learning institutions in the nation, which makes it one of the colonial colleges. Additionally, this public ivy is a four designation school with a student enrollment of approximately 38,650 students. Highlight –UGA owns more than 40,000 acres in the state but also several international centers in England, Italy, and Costa Rica.
Degree: MFA – Narrative Media Writing
3. Fairfield University
Fairfield University offers one of Connecticut’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Creative Writing. Students enrolled in Fairfield University’s UGA’s best online creative writing MFA degree program may select from four concentrations – creative nonfiction, screenwriting, fiction or poetry, or a dual concentration of any two available academic tracks. Dual concentration majors will be required to submit a final thesis (book-length) that includes both creative writing genres. Students may also focus their studies on these areas of editing/publishing, literacy, health and healing, social justice, or spiritual writing.
Established by the Jesuits in the early 1940s, Fairfield University is now organized into five colleges/schools that serve more than 5,050 students online and from its suburban campus in Fairfield, Connecticut. The school offers more than four majors and other 19 minors through its programming.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
4. Seton Hall University
Seton Hill University offers one of Pennsylvania’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its MFA – its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Popular Fiction that has only limited writing-intensive residencies. Students enrolled in Seton Hill University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program are required to create and submit a novel-length project in their choice of genres. Genre choices include romance, horror, mystery, fantasy, young adult, and science fiction.
Established in the mid-1880s as an all-women’s school, Seton Hill University is a private university that is now coeducation and serves approximately 1,550 students on its suburban campus and online. Seton Hall University is home to the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education. Famous alumni include a state Supreme Court justice, a first lady of Pennsylvania, several CEOs include the CEO of Denver health.
Degree: MFA – Writing Popular Fiction
5. Oregon State University – Cascades
Oregon State University-Cascades offers one of Oregon’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Creative Writing. Oregon State University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program requires low residencies but offers students the option of writing their thesis from among these options – fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry. Oregon State University Cascades MFA in creative writing is generally completed in 24 months. The student to faculty ratio for this master’s degree in creative writing is four to 1.
Oregon State University – Cascades campus was established in 2001 in Bend, Oregon. OSU Cascades is home to approximately 1,150 students. The Cascades campus of Oregon State University is the only higher learning institution in the central area of the state that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
6. Drexel University
Drexel University offers one of Pennsylvania’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing. Drexel’s best online creative writing MFA degree program requires low residencies across a two year period as students have the flexibility to remain career-focused. Degree candidates have the option of participating with teaching assistants that allow for teaching each year. Drexel University allows for up to fifteen eligible quarter credits to be transferred upon approval by Drexel’s faculty. The program from Drexel University requires students to complete a minimum of 45-quarter units to graduate.
Established in the 1890s by financier Anthony Drexel, Drexel University is now a full-fledged institution of higher education with a student enrollment of approximately 24,050 students. Drexel University is well-known globally for its cooperative education, which allows for students to earn while they learn.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
7. University of Nebraska Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha’s College of Communication, Fine Arts & Media, in conjunction with the school’s Writer’s Workshop offers one of the nation’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Writing that only requires limited writing-intensive residencies. Degree candidates in UN Omaha’s best online creative writing MFA degree program complete four -16-week online sessions, but the entire program focuses
Established in 1908 as a private school by seminary faculty, the University of Nebraska in Omaha now operates as a space-grant institution of higher education with a student enrollment of approximately 15,350 students. Highlight –The school became a public university in 1930 when it moved campuses across town.
Degree: MFA – Writing
8. National University
National University offers one of the state of California’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing that requires no residencies. Students enrolled in National University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program complete one course/workshop at a time, learning how to strengthen their craft with mentorship. MFA degree candidates allow those enrolled to work as a student editor for the school’s online literary journal entitled The Gnu.
Established in the early to mid-1970s by a retired United States Navy Captain, National University was developed to provide affordable education to working adults throughout the country. The university serves more than 23,850 students on its campuses and online. National University is considered a pioneer in distance learning, has been offering programs for more than two decades.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
9. University of Texas at El Paso
The Liberal Arts College within the University of Texas at El Paso offers one of the state’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing that is available 100% online. This best online creative writing MFA degree program from UT El Paso requires the completion of fourteen classes over 48 credit hours, divided into workshops, classes, and thesis work. Classes for this graduate degree in fine arts and creative writing include techniques of fiction, forms of poetry, advanced screenwriting, and narrative theory, to name a few.
Established in 1914, the University of Texas (Texas -El Paso) is a member school of the state’s university system and home to the Sun Bowl every year. the University of Texas – El Paso holds the distinction of being the second largest of schools with a student enrollment that is a majority of Mexican American.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
10. Concordia University St Paul
Concordia University St Paul offers one of Minnesota’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing that requires no on-campus visits or residencies for degree candidates. Concordia University St Paul’s best online creative writing MFA degree program requires students to submit a minimum of 36 semester units to graduate. This graduate in creative writing from Concordia University St Paul (is organized into five components, classes in literature, workshops, crafting classes, research, and a thesis.
Established in the mid-1890s, Concordia University St Paul (CSP) is a member school of the Concordia system with a student enrollment of approximately 5,350 students. The school maintains an urban campus in St Paul that covers more than 40 acres. Concordia University St Paul holds the distinction of having the largest student enrollment of any Lutheran church body in the nation.
Degree: MFA in Creative Writing
11. University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans offers one of the South’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing with an emphasis in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Degree candidates enrolled in UNO’s best online creative writing MFA degree program have no required residencies but can opt for a summer residency if they choose. Students hail from all parts of the globe to complete this 45 credit hour graduate degree program in creative writing from UNO.
Established in the mid-1950s as a research school, the University of New Orleans is now a member of the Louisiana state university system. As a space grant institution of higher education, The University of New Orleans serves approximately 7,750 students. The University of New Orleans is home to more than 100 clubs, which includes more than two dozen sororities and fraternities.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
12. University of Houston-Victoria
The University of Houston Victoria offers one of the best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing that is nationally ranked. UH Victoria’s best online creative writing MFA degree program offers two academic tracks, a general or an applied literary translation track. Contingent upon the student’s needs, this graduate degree program in creative writing can be entirely online or a limited residency program. UH Victoria’s master’s degree in creative writing requires 36 graduate semester credits to meet program requirements.
Established in the mid-1970s as a public school, the University of Houston-Victoria is a multiple campus school that serves approximately 4,350 students. The University of Houston is organized into three colleges/schools in education, business, and arts/sciences.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
13. Wilkes University
Wilkes University’s Graduate Creative Writing Program offers one of the state’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing. Wilkes University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program offers these genres – publishing, fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, spoken word, playwriting, or screenwriting. Wilkes University offers two formats for this program – a weekender with online/in-person residencies four times or one week-long residency. This MFA program’s alumni from Wiles University have been involved in more than 60 films and 100 plays.
Established as a private junior college in the early 1930s, Wilkes University received its university states about six decades later. More than 2,050 students attend classes online or on-campus from the University’s seven colleges/schools. Wilkes University offers its students an impressive fourteen to one student to faculty ratio.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
14. Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University offers one of the best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing. EKU’s best online creative writing MFA degree program offers degree candidates several academic tracks in nonfiction, poetry, literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and genre fiction. Students must participate in a limited Bluegrass Writers Studio workshop for twelve credits, which may include summer residencies across the world in Portugal, for instance. Eastern Kentucky University also offers online live workshops with live audio.
Founded in the mid-1870s as Central University, Eastern Kentucky University is a multiple campus school with branch facilities in Manchester, Lancaster, Corbin, and Hazard. Eastern Kentucky University‘s student enrollment (both on-campus and online) is approximately 15,650 students.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
15. Albertus Magnus College
Albertus Magnus College offers one of Connecticut’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Writing. Students enrolled in Albertus Magnus College’s best online creative writing MFA degree program also offers a low residency option for students who wish to pursue their MFA with that opportunity. This MFA degree in writing requires degree candidates to complete 36 graduate semester units to graduate. Graduates enter the workforce after graduating from AMC’s MFA program with a portfolio of publishable work based on the genre(s) of choice.
Established in the mid-1920s by the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Albertus Magnus College is now home to more than 1,000 students studying online and on the school’s fifty-acre campus near Yale University. Alumni of Albertus Magnus College include a state representative and a federal judge.
Degree: MFA – Writing
16. Bay Path University
Bay Path University offers one of Massachusetts’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative nonfiction. Bay Path University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program requires no residencies for graduation and award-winning faculty members. The graduate degree offers several professional tracks in teaching, publishing, and narrative medicine and requires degree candidates to complete a minimum of 39 credits as full-time or part-time students.
Established in the late 189s, Bay Path University offers all-women’s undergraduate programs and coeducational programs to its approximate student body of 3,100 students. Bay Path University is also a member school of the eight college consortium in the Greater Springfield area. Bay Path University maintains several campuses in the area and has been honored to have women speakers that include Cokie Roberts and Maya Angelou.
Degree: MFA – Creative Nonfiction
17. Eastern Oregon University
Eastern Oregon University offers one of the best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing. This 60-credit best online creative writing MFAdegree program offers a cohort model that is completed in 2 to 3 years. There is a limited residency requirement (2 weeks during the summer for two summers), with classes that include special topics in writing, themes in writing and rhetoric, and themes in literature.
Founded as a public institution of higher learning for educating teachers, Eastern Oregon University now operates as a member school of the state of Oregon’s university system. The school’s campus in La Grande is home to approximately 3,550 students and is located in the Blue Mountain Range. The graduate degree programs allow for up to 15 credits to be transferred if eligible.
Degree: MFA in Creative Writing
18. Mississippi University for Women
The Arts and Sciences College at the Mississippi University for Women offers one of the South’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Creative Writing that requires the completion of 48 semester units. Students enrolled in the Mississippi University for Women’s best online creative writing MFA degree program complete classes in fiction poetry, playwriting, news media, and literature, with four brief residency courses. This MFA program from the Mississippi University for Women is ranked among the most innovative and affordable programs online according to a number of online ranking services.
The Mississippi University for Women was established in 1884 but now operates as a coeducational institution. The Mississippi University for Women is a space-grant school with a rural campus that serves approximately 2,550 students. The Mississippi University for Women holds the distinction of being the first public institution of higher education that was opened exclusively for women in the country.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
19. Lindenwood University
Lindenwood University offers one of the state’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) program in Writing that is ranked as one of the nation’s most affordable MFA in writing degree available in the marketplace. Degree candidates in Lindenwood University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program are required to complete a total of 48 semester credits, of which three credits include that required to complete a thesis. Coursework for Lindenwood University’s graduate degree in creative writing includes classic foundational literature of fiction, poetry craft foundations, and fundamentals of writing for the MFA degree program.
Established as a school for girls in the mid-1820s, Lindenwood University now serves approximately 7150 students from its 500 acre urban campus about 25 miles to the north and west of St Louis. Lindenwood University’s campus is situated on an elevated ground that overlooks the Missouri River and downtown Saint Charles.
Degree: MFA – Writing
20. Queens University of Charlotte
Queens University offers one of New Carolina’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts degree program (MFA) in Creative Writing. Degree candidates enrolled in QU’s best online creative writing MFA degree program are required to participate in limited intensive writing residencies, some of which are available for fifteen days in several South American Cities. This MGA program from the Queens University of Charlotte is a nationally ranked program with a faculty to student ratio of 1 to 4.
Established in the mid-1850s, and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, Queens University of Charlotte’s urban campus is home to more than 2,050 students vying for graduate and undergraduate degree programs from the university’s five colleges/schools. Students at QU ail from more than 40 states and 42 foreign countries.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
21. Arcadia University
The Arts & Sciences College at Arcadia University offers one of New Hampshire’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Creative Writing. Students enrolled in Arcadia University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program have the option of studying abroad (for instance, in Scotland) to gain a global perspective on writing. Graduates are required to complete 39 semester credits to graduate from the master’s program.
Founded as Beaver College in the mid-1850s, Arcadia University is a private higher learning institution with a student enrollment of more than 3,950 undergraduate and graduate degree students vying for degrees on the university’s 70+ acre campus in Glenside, a suburb of the greater Philadelphia area. The school’s Tower Castle is officially listed as a United States National Historic Landmark.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
22. Southern New Hampshire University
Southern New Hampshire University offers one of the best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Creative Writing that requires degree candidates to complete a minimum of 48 graduate semester credits to complete the master’s degree. Those enrolled in SNHU’s best online creative writing MFA degree program should understand the SNHA welcomes writers of all genres and requires no residencies by students. Applicants may apply up to 12 eligible credits, with no specific requirements for the type or topic of the undergraduate degree they possess when applying.
Founded as a business school in the early-1930s, Southern New Hampshire University is now considered one of the fastest-growing nonprofit schools in the nation. The school’s campus serves approximately 4,000 students, with another 85,000+ students studying online through the school’s robust distance learning program. University (Southern NH) offers one of New Hampshire’s best online MFA creative offers an honors program for those students who meet the requirements of this business degree option.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
23. Full Sail University
Full Sail University offers one of the Sunshine State’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Creative Writing that allows degree candidates to explore the many ways to enhance one’s love of storytelling by adding a myriad of visual elements to enhance the writing process. Full Sail University’s best online creative writing MFA degree program is available entirely online and can be completed in only one year if studying full-time. More than 175 graduate s of Full Sail University have contributed to Emmy-nominated television shows.
Full Sail University was founded in the late 1970s as a for-profit professional school and recording studio. At present Full Sail University has a student enrollment that is approximately 19,050 students who study both online and the school’s central Florida campus. Full Sail University’s beginnings are sourced to a radio school in Ohio.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
24. Converse College
Converse College offers one of South Carolina’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its MFA degree – with its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Creative Writing that offers students low residency writing intensive requirements. Degree candidates enrolled in Converse College’s best online creative writing MFA degree program offers several academic tracks in creative nonfiction, poetry, environmental writing, young adult fiction, or fiction. This is a two-year graduate degree program offered by Converse College and offers students the option of an apprentice-mentor relationship and a customizable degree plan.
Established as a private college in the late-1880s, Converse College’s urban campus in Spartanburg (and online) is home to approximately 1,150 students. Parts of the college are listed in the US National Register of Historic Places. The first class at Converse College began with about 165 students and sixteen members of the faculty.
Degree: MFA – Creative Writing
25. Emerson College
Emerson College offers two of Boston’s best online MFA creative writing programs with its MFA in Writing for Film and Television or its Master of Fine Arts in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing. The best online creative writing MFA degree program in popular fiction writing/publishing is available entirely online (with the completion of 36 semester units), which makes it ideal for those students in need of flexibility in scheduling. The MFA in film and television writing offers students low residency requirements and is mostly a self-directed graduate degree program.
Established in the 1880s as an oratory and dramatic art school, Emerson College now offers more than 35 academic degree programs and professional training options as a member of the Pro Arts School Consortium in the Boston vicinity. Emerson College has moved several times since its inception but is currently located in Boston’s theater district near the Boston Common.
Degree: MFA – Writing for Film and Television, Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing
Why Should I Get My Creative Writing MFA Online?
Online creative writing MFA programs act as workshops for those who want to pursue a professional career in the industry. Examples of courses within the major include Poetry Writing, Writing in a Second Language, Grammar and Syntax, Teaching Writing, and Framing a Story. Many programs permit students to choose a variety of seminar and workshop topics as a way to design the major to meet their career goals. Each workshop and seminar will be assigned a credit value with students earning credits throughout each semester until they have enough for graduation.
Most programs end with a capstone project that allows the student to workshop his or her novel, short story, or poetry collection. By the end of the MFA in creative writing online program, the student may be ready to submit the work for publication to agents and publishing houses.
What’s the Difference Between an Online and a Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA?
A newer program now found at colleges around the world is the low residency MFA in creative writing major. The low residency program will take a similar amount of time as a traditional MFA program, but campus requirements are reduced. To receive a low residency creative writing MFA degree, a student almost follows a hybrid schedule. On average, when a student enrolls in this type of program, he or she will have to meet on campus for a limited number of visits. Some colleges require residencies twice a year or once per semester. Other schools may only ask that residences occur on an annual basis. The residences are short-term, high-intensity sessions with fellow students, faculty members, and guest speakers. A low residency MFA in creative writing workshop will typically last from one to two weeks. During the residency, a daily schedule is provided with a selection of lectures and workshops that student can attend to fulfill degree requirements. The rest of the coursework outside the residency will be done virtually.
Both a low residency creative writing MFA and an online creative writing MFA will not require students to live on campus. However, an online MFA program doesn’t include any on-campus visits for graduation. All workshops, lectures, courses, and seminars will be done virtually. Both an online and low residency creative writing MFA will award the same Master of Fine Arts degree. The only difference is the minimal residency requirement for the latter type.
How Much Can I Make with an MFA in Creative Writing?
An MFA creative writing salary has a substantial range. Most writers and authors will have advanced degrees in the field. These writers and authors have the potential to earn more because they have taken the time to hone their crafts. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for authors and writers is $63,200 per year. However, the highest earners in the field can make more than $122,000 annually. Writers and authors have a lot of flexibility when it comes to earning a living. They can work part-time, full-time, or on a per-project basis. Those with an MFA in creative writing won’t only submit their work for book publication. They also have the skill set to work for magazines, playhouses, and film and tv production houses. In addition to writing creatively, the graduate can supplement his or her income by writing for websites, blogs, and advertisers.
An MFA creative writing salary is slightly higher if the graduate chooses to work in the field as a technical writer. Technical writers earn an average of $72,850, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many skills taught in creative writing programs such as grammar, syntax, and structure, can be applied to non-fiction pieces. Technical writing jobs are also open to those who wish to remain self-employed.
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