The Creative Writing Program

Master of Fine Arts Degree Program

Creative Writing Program Director Oscar Casares

Assistant Director Elizabeth McCracken, James A. Michener Chair in Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Program at The University of Texas at Austin offers two-year Master of Fine Arts degrees in poetry and fiction. Our program is complemented by a nationally-renowned department of literature, the UT English Department, and one of the world's largest archives for twentieth-century literature, the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center.

All of our students receive full funding for their studies through teaching assistantships, fellowships, and grants. These funding opportunities serve to supplement the academic and scholarly training that students receive in graduate courses. During their three semesters of teaching assistantships, M.F.A. candidates receive experience teaching both literature and creative writing at the college level.

Incoming graduate students also have an opportunity to participate in the editorial process of Bat City Review, a nationally distributed literary journal run entirely by graduate students. Past contributors have included Steve Almond, Aimee Bender, Billy Collins, Denise Duhamel, Stephen Dunn, Paul Muldoon, Barbara Ras, George Saunders, Helena Maria Viramontes, and C.K. Williams

Fiction Faculty

Michael Adams • Oscar Casares • Peter LaSalle • James Magnuson • Elizabeth McCracken

Poetry Faculty

Kurt Heinzelman • Thomas Whitbread • Dean Young

Our students also frequently study with the visiting faculty at the Michener Center for Writers.

Recently Visiting Creative Writing & MCW Faculty

Gabrielle Calvocoressi • Edward Carey • H. L. Hix • Denis Johnson • August Kleinzahler • Brigit Pegeen Kelly • Patrick McGrath • Antonya Nelson • Z. Z. Packer • Michael Parker • Dominic Smith • Colm Toibin