Nora Said:

Schools in big cities with creative writing as a major?

We Answered:

Here are some good examples:

Brooklyn College NYC
Fordham University NYC
Harvard University Boston
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Boston
Emerson College Boston
University of Pittsburgh
University of Washington Seattle
Marquette University Milwaukee

Good luck!

Adam Said:

What, in your opinion, should be the aim of creative writing lessons in schools?

We Answered:

Too succinctly author a piece of writing that is original.

Julie Said:

Are there any good schools where you could double major journalism and creative writing?

We Answered:

I want those majors too...

There are TONS of schools like this...

for example, Boston University , Columbia University NY (which are harder to get in)

There's Purdue in Indiana
LaSalle in Phile....tons of places to go..


If these places are too far or too expensive just go here:
http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/se…

and put in your search criteria

Roger Said:

What are some good schools for creative writing?

We Answered:

Seattle Pacific University has a nationally known english department or Princeston University.

George Said:

Interlochen questions along with creative writing?

We Answered:

Interlochen educates young artists in a variety of creative fields. The only graduate I know personally is an actor, not a writer. He's extremely good, and he has very positive feelings about his experience at the school. This link to the school will give you some of the information you're looking for:

http://www.interlochen.org/

An "interlochen" web search will help you learn even more.

Betty Said:

What are great creative writing schools?

We Answered:

The problem with Columbia, Sarah Lawrence, CSA + U Dub is that none of these programs are very well-funded and there are other programs that are just as good, if not better than the ones you've listed and they're much better-funded too. CSA has virtually no funding; UW only gives 2-3 fellowships per genre at most; ditto with Sarah Lawrence. And though Columbia is a great program, it's funding problems are legendary. Some accepted students receive a 3/4 tuition waiver + small stipend, and some students receive a scholarship for $250. In the most expensive city in America, that's sacrilegious. Consider these schools:

1. Cornell University (amazing program, fully funded, many MFA graduates teach at CU afterward)

2. University of Texas-Austin (three years, 25k stipend + tuition scholarship for all accepted students, including summer stipends)

3. University of Michigan (fantastic program, amazing faculty, fully funded + a great college town too--Ann Arbor)

4. Johns Hopkins (great program, caters to experimentalist writing, fully funded)

5. Florida State University (one of the top 10 programs in the nation, fully funded, large department + great faculty, including a Pulitzer-Prize winning author)

6. Brown University (one of the top 10 programs in the nation, fantastic writers, fully funded, amazing faculty + university)

7. Indiana University (3 year program, one of the top 10 programs in the nation, fully funded; IU has a fantastic summer writers conference too)

8. University of Notre Dame (2 years; great, eclectic faculty; inexpensive cost of living; all students receive tuition scholarships; 8 out of 20 students receive stipends; all students can teach composition classes; 2 competitive paid summer internships to work in NYC at a major publishing house or a prominent literary agent; one graduating MFA will win the Sparks Prize for 25k and a year's time to write)

9. Syracuse University (3 years; fantastic faculty (George Saunders); fully-funded, within striking distance of NYC)

10. University of Wisconsin-Madison (rotates between poetry + prose admissions; fully funded; great college town; program has an amazing reputation; graduating MFA prizes)

11. Purdue University (fully funded; great faculty; up and coming program; low cost of living; 3 year program)

12. University of California Irvine (fully funded; great faculty; fantastic reputation (Aimee Bender + Michael Chabon, being two of the better known graduates)

13. University of Alabama (fully funded; great, eclectic faculty; up and coming program; MFA students teach CW + composition; four-year program)

Caveat: because almost all of the above-mentioned programs are fully-funded + well known, they tend to get more applications, which means their acceptance rates will be lower. If you're interested in checking out admissions statistics for these programs, check out:

http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2007/01/2007-creative-writing-mfa-rankings.html

If you want more options for MFA programs in the US + Canada, look at the following link:

http://www.newpages.com/creative-writing-programs/creative-writing-programs.htm

Keep in mind that Western Michigan University sends its MFA students to Prague for its Summer in Prague Writing Conferences.

One final thing, if you want to get a PhD and you're also interested in studying creative writing, you should consider applying to one of the 30 or so PhD in literature + creative writing programs. Most of these doctoral programs give you dual emphasis on literature AND creative writing. Basically, you'll take a bunch of literature courses, along with workshop classes in your genre + then instead of writing a critical dissertation of 150 pages, you'll write a short critical essay around 50 pages in addition to a book of poems, a novel, or a collection of short stories. Here are some of the best PhD programs in Literature + Creative Writing according to the Atlantic Magazine:

1. University of Southern California
2. University of Houston
3. Florida State University
4. UNLV
5. University of Utah

You can add to this the following programs that are also very good:

6. University of Missouri-Columbia
7. University of Southern Mississippi
8. Ohio University
9. University of Wisconsin-Madison (that has an internal major option)

Additionally, some of the better known PhD programs in Literature + CW in the UK are:

1. University of Manchester
2. University of Glasgow
3. University of East Anglia
4. University of Middlesex
5. University of Kent
6. University of Sussex

Funding for MFA programs in the UK doesn't seem very good for foreigners, but I could be wrong. In any case, I wish you luck with that. I hope this helps you out.

Bruce Said:

what course do I take to teach high school students creative writing?

We Answered:

You would major in english with a minor in education. I'm sure most colleges have creative writing classes that would be helpful for you to take. You would go through and take all the classes you have to take to get a degree in english and then additionally take all the classes required by your university to become a certified teacher. When you are looking for a job you are more than likely not going to teach just creative writing during the day. I have never heard of just a creative writing teacher. Most teachers teach several courses within their subject. For example, you might teach 7 or 8 classes a day. You might do a couple periods of creative writing, a couple advanced placement english for juniors, a couple advanced placement english for seniors, maybe a speech class or an informative writing class. How big the school is that you get a job at will determine their course offerings and what you will be able to teach.