University of Iowa

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the first graduate creative writing program in the United States, is now housed in the Dey House, an 1850s Italianate structure and the oldest building on campus. A major expansion added 9,000 square feet of dedicated space, including faculty offices, a student commons, and the Glenn Schaeffer Library, which holds first-edition books by Workshop graduates. The addition was designed to preserve the Dey House’s prominence from the street while opening the interior to broad views of the Iowa River Valley and the west campus. The commons serves as a venue for readings and events, and the library provides a quiet, light-filled setting for study, research, and conversation.

Founded in 1936, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop established the country’s first MFA in Creative Writing and set the template for graduate writing programs that later emerged at universities across the United States. The Workshop formalized the peer-driven critique model, professionalized creative writing as an academic discipline, and demonstrated that sustained mentorship from working authors could produce work with national consequence. Within a decade, universities began replicating Iowa’s structure; today, the MFA has become the standard credential for advanced study in the field.

The program’s influence can be measured in the record of its alumni. More than forty graduates have received Pulitzer Prizes in fiction and poetry. Iowa-trained writers have also served as U.S. Poets Laureate, earned National Book Awards, and received MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships. Their books have been published by Knopf, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Graywolf, Harper, and other major houses, regularly appear on national reading lists, and form a significant portion of contemporary literature taught in colleges and universities.

The Workshop’s internal culture developed through the work of faculty who defined its expectations for precision and critique. Frank Conroy strengthened the program’s emphasis on close reading and revision; Marvin Bell refined its pedagogical structure in poetry; James Alan McPherson broadened its intellectual scope; and Marilynne Robinson set a high standard for analytic rigor in fiction. Under the current director, Lan Samantha Chang, the program has broadened its engagement with diverse narrative traditions and approaches, reflecting changes in the broader literary landscape while preserving the disciplined workshop environment that has shaped its reputation.

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop has produced more Pulitzer Prize winners than any other graduate writing program in the world—yet the program has never required a single standardized test, GPA cutoff, or academic writing sample for admission. Admission has always depended almost entirely on the strength of the creative manuscript, which means some of the most influential books in contemporary literature came from writers who were admitted on the merit of 30–35 pages of original work, and nothing else. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Workshop Structure and Impact

The Workshop awards MFAs in fiction and poetry and admits a deliberately small group of students to maintain the program’s intensive structure. The cohort model centers the workshop itself: manuscripts circulate weekly, faculty provide line-by-line critique, and students learn to evaluate narrative and poetic choices with precision. This work is paired with craft seminars, individual conferences, visiting-writer sessions, and a reading series that brings established authors, editors, and translators to Iowa City throughout the year.

Admission remains highly selective. Application cycles regularly draw thousands of submissions, and acceptance rates are typically reported at under 3%. Those who enter receive full tuition support and a stipend through teaching assistantships or fellowships, which allows them to focus on completing substantial new work across the two-year program.

The influence of the Workshop extends into nearly every corner of contemporary literary culture. Graduates hold positions at major universities, contribute to national magazines, and publish books that shape current conversations about fiction and poetry. Several notable works began as MFA theses, including Paul Harding’s Tinkers, which won the Pulitzer Prize; Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing; Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep; Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties; and Brandon Taylor’s Real Life. These books demonstrate how the Workshop’s training carries into the broader landscape of publishing, where its alumni continue to set standards for narrative ambition and stylistic control.

When the Iowa Writers’ Workshop was founded in 1936, it became the first university program in the United States to grant academic credit for writing fiction and poetry—an idea so radical at the time that several universities publicly argued creative writing could never be taught in a classroom. The model Iowa pioneered is now used by more than 350 MFA programs across the country. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Curriculum and Pedagogical Approach

The curriculum at Iowa is designed to build a sustained practice of writing grounded in technical rigor, critical reading, and exposure to a wide range of literary traditions. Workshops form the core of both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Students submit new work regularly, receive detailed line edits from peers and faculty, and revise toward increasingly polished drafts. Seminars complement the workshop by introducing narrative theory, poetics, literary history, translation methods, and cross-genre craft, giving students the analytical frameworks needed to evaluate their own writing with precision.

Undergraduates progress from introductory workshops to advanced courses that require substantial portfolios in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction. Senior projects and capstone manuscripts are developed through guided revision, preparing students for graduate study or entry into editorial and publishing work. Many participate in specialized electives offered through the Magid Center for Writing, such as writing for the public sphere, digital storytelling, or literary editing.

Graduate students work toward a book-length thesis—either a collection of stories, a novel manuscript, or a poetry collection. Each thesis is developed through individual meetings with faculty advisors, workshop critique, and targeted craft seminars. The expectation is consistent: produce a manuscript substantial enough to stand as the foundation of a first book.

Experiential learning is integrated throughout the program. Students gain practical editorial experience through The Iowa Review and other campus journals, work with K–12 writers through the Iowa Youth Writing Project, and participate in the long-running Visiting Writers Series, which brings leading contemporary authors, translators, and editors to campus. These opportunities place students in direct conversation with the broader literary community and reinforce the program’s emphasis on producing work that can move into publication and professional practice.

Curriculum

The creative writing curriculum at Iowa is built around sustained manuscript development, close critical reading, and exposure to a range of literary traditions. Undergraduates move through a sequence of workshops in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction while also taking courses in narrative theory, contemporary literature, and form. These courses emphasize line-level precision, structural decision-making, and revision practices that mirror the expectations of graduate-level study.

Electives allow students to extend their work into adjacent disciplines, including translation, playwriting, screenwriting, digital storytelling, and writing for public audiences. Many enroll in seminars offered through the Magid Center for Writing, which connect creative practice with fields such as journalism, publishing, and community arts.

Advanced undergraduates may apply to participate in Workshop-taught undergraduate seminars, where they work directly with MFA faculty or visiting writers in small manuscript-driven classes. Capstone projects require a substantial portfolio or long-form manuscript—typically a story collection-in-progress, a novella, a series of essays, or a curated poetry portfolio—developed under faculty supervision.

Graduate students build a body of work toward a book-length thesis in fiction or poetry. Thesis advising includes individual manuscript conferences, targeted craft sessions, and structured revision plans that carry manuscripts from early draft to submission-ready form. Students also participate in genre-specific craft seminars that address issues such as point of view, lineation, narrative pacing, and the historical development of genre conventions.

Students at all levels regularly attend readings, lectures, and master classes through the long-running Visiting Writers Series, which brings nationally prominent writers, translators, and editors to campus each semester. These events integrate contemporary literary discourse directly into coursework and give students consistent access to working artists.

Course Requirements

Undergraduates complete a sequence of introductory, intermediate, and advanced workshops alongside required courses in literature and critical analysis. A senior project or thesis, evaluated by faculty, serves as the culminating requirement. Select students may also complete internships in publishing, youth writing outreach, or editorial work.

Graduate students complete a prescribed number of workshops and craft seminars before advancing to thesis hours. Within the two-year program, students typically produce a full-length manuscript: either a novel draft, a collection of stories, or a poetry collection of 40–60 pages. Continuous revision is a core expectation, and thesis committees provide structured feedback across the writing process.

Detailed requirements, including credit distribution, workshop progression, and elective options, are outlined in the program’s course guide.

Faculty

The creative writing faculty includes novelists, poets, essayists, and translators whose books are published by major houses and widely reviewed in national outlets. Recent faculty have included writers such as Charles D’Ambrosio, Lan Samantha Chang, Jamel Brinkley, Tracie Morris, and Kaveh Akbar, each bringing distinct expertise in narrative structure, lyric technique, hybrid forms, and contemporary poetics.

Faculty offices remain open to students for manuscript discussions, and instructors routinely mentor students through revision, publication planning, and early-career decisions. Visiting faculty and readers supplement the core faculty, offering students access to a broad range of literary approaches.

Enrollment Data

The creative writing program confers roughly 60 undergraduate degrees and approximately 50 MFA degrees each year. These numbers reflect both the scale of the undergraduate major and the selectivity of the MFA program. MFA cohorts typically include 20–25 writers across fiction and poetry, allowing for sustained faculty engagement with each manuscript.

Alumni outcomes point to the program’s reach: graduates publish widely with major presses, hold faculty appointments at universities around the world, and contribute to journals, arts organizations, and literary nonprofits. Many maintain long-term ties to Iowa City’s literary community, which remains one of the country’s most active centers for writing and publishing.

Admissions

Admission to the undergraduate program is based on the University of Iowa application, with additional review for placement into advanced workshops. Selection for upper-level courses is driven primarily by writing samples.

Admission to the MFA program is based almost entirely on the strength of the manuscript submission. Fiction applicants typically submit 30–35 pages; poetry applicants submit 10–12 poems. Statements of purpose and letters of recommendation contextualize the applicant’s goals but do not outweigh the writing sample. MFA students admitted to the Workshop receive complete tuition remission and a stipend through teaching assistantships, fellowships, or grants.

Application timelines, funding details, and submission formats are updated each cycle through the program’s admissions portal.

For decades, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop operated without formal course requirements, grades, or rigid degree checklists—students advanced almost entirely through faculty consensus on the quality of their work. In some years, a thesis committee could—with full institutional authority—refuse to award the MFA unless the manuscript met the program’s standards, making Iowa one of the only graduate programs in the country where the degree was earned almost exclusively by artistic merit rather than credit accumulation. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop awards the Master of Fine Arts in English, a degree that has defined graduate training in creative writing since the program’s founding. The Workshop is housed in the Dey House and its adjoining Glenn Schaeffer Library, a space designed for concentrated manuscript work, faculty conferences, and the readings and talks that anchor the program’s intellectual life. Its setting within Iowa City, a UNESCO City of Literature, places students in the center of a long-established literary community.

The MFA is a two-year, fully residential program in fiction or poetry. Each entering class typically includes 10–12 writers per genre, allowing for detailed manuscript critique and sustained faculty attention. Workshops form the core of the curriculum. Students submit work regularly, receive extensive written and in-person feedback, and participate in roundtable discussions that emphasize revision, rhetorical clarity, and the structural decisions that shape a finished manuscript. Craft seminars and literature courses provide additional grounding in genre history, contemporary practice, and the technical components of prose and poetry.

Faculty mentorship is central to the program. Students work closely with instructors whose books are published by major presses and who have received national recognition for their contributions to the field. Visiting writers, including novelists, poets, translators, and editors, teach short courses, lead master classes, and give public readings through the long-running Visiting Writers Series. These engagements expose students to a range of artistic approaches and connect their study to ongoing national literary conversations.

MFA candidates complete a book-length thesis under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Fiction students typically submit a novel manuscript or a collection of stories; poetry students produce a curated manuscript of poems that reflects two years of ongoing revision. Thesis review includes individual conferences and structured feedback from committee members, preparing students to bring their manuscripts into the publishing process.

The residency requirement immerses students in Iowa’s broader literary network. MFA candidates engage with organizations such as The Iowa Review, the University of Iowa Press, the International Writing Program, and Prairie Lights Bookstore, all of which play active roles in the city’s literary culture. These connections, along with funded teaching opportunities and editorial work, provide students with professional experience that supports careers in publishing, teaching, and the wider arts sector.

Graduates of the Workshop leave with a completed manuscript, a critical foundation in their genre, and a set of working relationships within one of the most established literary communities in the United States.

Curriculum

Graduate students follow a curriculum built around intensive workshop practice and a sequence of seminars that examine genre history, prosody, narrative structure, and the technical choices that shape finished manuscripts. Fiction and poetry students take genre-specific craft courses each semester, along with elective seminars in translation, hybrid forms, the long poem, the novel, contemporary fiction movements, and cross-genre narrative strategies.

Workshops meet weekly and require the submission of new writing on a regular schedule; faculty provide line edits, annotations, and detailed letters outlining revision priorities. Students also attend lectures and master classes offered through the Visiting Writers Series, which integrates perspectives from leading figures in contemporary literature.

A complete set of course descriptions, including rotating seminars and special topics offerings, is available in the program’s curriculum guide.

Course Requirements

MFA candidates complete a combination of workshops, craft seminars, and thesis hours over the two-year program. Fiction students typically enroll in four workshops and several seminars before advancing to thesis work; poetry students follow a similar structure with an emphasis on seminar-based study of poetic form and lineage.

The thesis represents the culmination of the program: a novel draft or story collection for fiction writers, or a curated manuscript of poems for poets. Each thesis is developed across multiple semesters in consultation with a primary advisor and at least one additional faculty reader. Students also complete teaching pedagogy requirements before leading their own undergraduate sections, gaining classroom experience that supports future academic appointments.

Detailed degree requirements and semester-by-semester structure are outlined in the official course guide.

Faculty

The MFA faculty includes novelists, poets, and translators whose work appears with major publishers and whose books have received national recognition. Faculty routinely hold fellowships from institutions such as the MacArthur Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In addition to regular faculty, the Workshop brings in visiting professors and readers whose short-term seminars expose students to emerging literary movements, international writing traditions, and editorial perspectives. Faculty mentorship is direct and sustained; every student works closely with an advisor who guides manuscript development and helps prepare work for submission to agents and publishers.

A complete list of faculty and recent visiting writers is available through the program’s directory.

International Applicants

Applicants educated outside the United States must submit transcripts for evaluation through the Graduate College. English-language proficiency scores may be required depending on prior academic history and country of study. International applicants are encouraged to review funding eligibility, visa timelines, and residency requirements early in the application process to ensure adequate time for document preparation.

Complete application instructions for international candidates are provided on the Graduate Admissions site.

Admissions

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree and submit a writing sample that demonstrates clear command of craft and artistic direction. The writing sample is the primary basis of admission. Fiction applicants typically submit 30–35 pages of prose; poetry applicants submit 10–12 poems. Competitive applications show both stylistic control and the capacity for sustained, long-form development.

The Graduate College requires a minimum GPA of 3.0; applicants below this threshold may be reviewed for provisional admission if the writing sample demonstrates exceptional ability. Letters of recommendation and personal statements provide additional context but do not outweigh the manuscript.

Application deadlines and required materials are listed in the Creative Writing Admissions portal, and early submission is advised due to the program’s high volume of applications.

Funding

Every MFA student admitted to the Workshop receives full funding, including tuition remission, health insurance, and a stipend for both years of study. Funding is administered through teaching assistantships, research fellowships, and university grants; all students receive equivalent financial support regardless of genre or year.

Graduates may apply for postgraduate fellowships that allow continued residence in Iowa City to complete or revise a manuscript. These opportunities extend the program’s support beyond the degree and help emerging writers transition from thesis to publication.

For details on the Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate program, including its distinguished alumni network and competitive funding packages, see our feature on the Top Creative Writing MFA Programs in the U.S.