university of denver creative writing program

Request Info

Courses & Schedule

Get into your courses through our learning management system.

Tuition Payment

Waitlist/course, withdrawals and refunds, more resources you may be looking for:, professional creative writing: master’s degree, we're here to help.

* Indicates a required field.

At a Glance

Classes Begin June 17

Format Asynchronous and Hybrid Online

Term Length 10 Weeks

Admission No GRE or GMAT

4 Course Certificate Tuition $12,896

Duration As few as 6 months

6 Course Certificate Tuition $19,344

Duration As few as 12 months

Master's Degree Tuition $38,688

Duration As few as 18 months

Top-Ranked University

U.S. News & World Report Rankings

Talk to an Enrollment Manager

Chris Heriza 303-871-4785 Schedule an appointment Email me

Skills You’ll Learn

Craft writing with a keen awareness of the limits and opportunities of the writing’s genre

Cultivate writing routines and habits that support creative productivity

Define your audience and write in ways that move and entertain them

Concentrations

Professional creative nonfiction writing.

Master’s Degree Certificate

Professional Dramatic Writing

Professional fiction writing, professional poetry writing, professional creative writing at du stories of impact.

See how the University of Denver is leading the conversation on creative writing and developing professionals in the field with these stories of impact from our community.

Faculty Spotlight: Joseph Hutchison Publishes New Collection

Faculty Spotlight: Annie Dawid Explores Her Battle With Depression and Fascination with Jonestown

Alumnus Spotlight: New Graduate Plans to use Degree to Share Stories From the Past

Flexible Online Classes

We understand the demands of balancing work, friends and family, and school can be challenging. That's why at University College, you can complete your program entirely online. Our online learning platform makes it easy to work anywhere at any time.

Online Experience 5

Invest in Your Future

Skip to Content

University of Colorado Denver

• Campus Directory
• Events Calendar
• Human Resources
• Student Services
• Auraria Library
• CU Denver Police
• University Policies

Schools and Colleges

• College of Architecture and Planning
• College of Arts & Media
• Business School
• School of Education & Human Development
• College of Engineering, Design and Computing
• Graduate School
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• School of Public Affairs

Campus Affiliates

• CU Anschutz Medical Campus
• CU Colorado Springs

Other ways to search:

• University Directory

Think Creatively

Creative writing.

This course of study offered by the Department of English is designed to develop a student’s ability to read literature responsibly and imaginatively, to foster an understanding and appreciation of our literary inheritance, and to provide the historical perspective from which to evaluate contemporary writing and to produce it.

Program Learning Goals

English Major Creative Writing Requirements

General Requirements:   Students majoring in English must complete a minimum of 39 hours in English. A minimum of 27 hours must be earned in upper-division courses.  None of the required 39 hours may be taken Pass/Fail.  Only courses completed with a grade of C- (1.7) or better may be counted toward the major.  Students must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the major GPA.  A minimum of 15 upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours of work in the English Major must be taken with the CU Denver English faculty. Core composition courses ENGL 1010, 1020, and 2030 do not count toward the English Major. 

NOTE :  Double majors in English and English Writing must complete 63 hours total for both majors.

Advanced Standing:   CLEP and AP credit will not count toward the English Major or the English Writing Major.  Such credit may apply toward the College writing requirement (ENGL 1020 and 2030) or be counted as general electives. Check with CLAS Advising for details.

Minors: The English Department also offers minors in Literature, Film Studies, and English Writing, Rhetoric and Technology.  Courses counted in a minor cannot be counted toward the major. 

Honors Program:   Latin Honors may be earned by participating in the department’s Honors Program.  You are encouraged to begin the program in your junior year.  The program requires additional coursework and affords you the opportunity to work individually with the professor of your choice.  Speak to a professor or click on this link ( https://clas.ucdenver.edu/english/latin-honors ) for more information on honors in the English Department.

Internships: Internships are also available to students who have completed over 60 credit hours; for information, contact The Experiential Learning Center at 303-315-7258 in the Tivoli, Suite 260.  Internships count as upper-division electives.

I.  Required Courses (15 credit hours)

• ENGL 2450 Introduction to Literature
• ENGL 3020 Poetry Workshop
• ENGL 3050 Fiction Workshop
• ENGL 4025 Advanced Poetry Workshop
• ENGL 4055 Advanced Fiction Workshop

II. Area Requirements (9 hours) Choose 1 track:

A. fiction or b. poetry, a.  fiction.

• ENGL 4610 Narrative: Form & Theory 
• ENGL 4850 Senior Fiction Workshop  

Choose 1 course

• ENGL 4200 Survey of the English Novel to 1900 
• ENGL 4220 African-American Literature 
• ENGL 4230 The American Novel 
• ENGL 4236 The American Short Story 
• ENGL 4802 Special Topics in Creative Writing (Emphasis in Fiction) 

B.  Poetry 

• ENGL 4160 Poetics  
• ENGL 4820 Senior Poetry Workshop 

Choose 1 course. 

• ENGL 4166 History of American Poetry 
• ENGL 4801 Special Topics in Creative Writing (Emphasis in Poetry) 

III. Required Electives (15 hours) Choose 5 courses.  

The first seven courses below are strongly recommended. However, any upper division ENGL course not  already completed for another major requirement can be applied as an elective. *Courses with an asterisk may be taken more than once, if the topic/titles differ. 

• ENGL 3001 Critical Writing   
• ENGL 3106 Writing for Print Media 
• ENGL 3416 Magazine Writing 
• ENGL 4800 Special Topics in Creative Writing* 
• ENGL 4801 Special Topics in Creative Writing: Poetry*
• ENGL 4802 Special Topics in Creative Writing: Fiction* 
• ENGL 4810 Literary Editing Practicum 
• ENGL _______ Any 3000 or 4000 level 

To complete this major: 39 Credit Hours

• Major - Creative Writing
• Major - English Film Studies
• Major - English Writing, Rhetoric and Technology
• Major - Literature
• Minor - Creative Writing
• Minor - English Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology
• Minor - Film Studies
• Minor - Literature
• Certificate - Proposal and Grant Writing (PGW)
• Certificate - Technical and Professional Writing Certificate (TPW)
• Certificate - Undergraduate Certificate in Teaching English Language Learners (CTELL)

Don't miss the Creative Writing Reading Series! Past guest readers for the annual Jake Adam Yorke Memorial Reading have included: 

• Alexander Chee
• Tarfia Faizullah
• Manuel Muñoz
• Natalie Diaz
• Danielle Evans
• Eduardo Corral  
• Website Feedback
• Privacy Policy
• Legal Notices
• Accreditation

© 2021  The Regents of the University of Colorado , a body corporate. All rights reserved.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission . All trademarks are registered property of the University. Used by permission only.

• Skip to Content
• Catalog Home
• Institution Home

• Graduate Catalog /
• Colleges & Schools /
• Arts & Sciences /
• Programs of Study /

Creative Writing - Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

The MFA in creative writing is a three-year degree program that values literary study, innovation and writing that tests the limits of conventional forms.

The program challenges students to write in a variety of genres and to study literature from the point of view of a working writer. Recent graduates have become not only published authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays and screenplays, but also journalists, editors, publishers, and college-level and secondary-level teachers.

The degree program culminates in the submission and oral defense of a creative thesis in poetry or fiction. Students may develop custom programs in nonfiction and scriptwriting with available faculty with secondary interests in those genres.

Requirements

Required coursework, language requirement.

Students earning the creative writing MFA must complete a foreign language requirement, either before or after enrolling at CU Boulder, prior to the semester in which they intend to graduate. The language requirement can be met in one of the following ways:

• Complete a fourth-semester (second-semester sophomore) college language course with a grade of C or better. Completion of only freshman-level language courses does not qualify as evidence of competence.
• Take the foreign language proficiency exam administered each semester by the English department. In some cases, students may be asked to make independent arrangements for such an exam. 
• Present other evidence of competency in a foreign language to the associate chair for graduate studies. In most cases, this evidence consists of native or near-native command of a language; a written exam may be administered to confirm such fluency.

General Requirements

All students must complete a thesis as part of the degree requirements. The thesis should be a book of poetry, short stories, literary/creative nonfiction or a substantial portion of a novel, play or screenplay. It may also be a combination of these genres. The thesis should be at least 70 pages in length, though most students write between 70 and 150 pages. The bulk of work used in a thesis should have been written while the student was enrolled in the creative writing MFA program, and it should be in a form acceptable to the committee. The thesis must include an abstract (1 to 3 pages) that states the writer's aims and explains how the thesis reflects those aims.

Students take a total of 9 thesis hours in one or more semesters. The student should select a committee of three faculty (the advisor, who is a faculty member in the Creative Writing Department; one other creative writing faculty member; and a faculty member in literary studies) during the semester prior to that in which they will defend the thesis. A rough draft of the thesis should be made available to the advisor prior to the thesis defense so that problems may be discussed at an early enough date to enable the student to work on them. The advisor will work with the student to advise them on manuscript length, suggestions for improvement and general compilation. The advisor and the student will also agree on a reading list about which the student may be questioned at the defense.

See the index in the  Graduate Student Handbook  for the MFA-CRWR Thesis Action Item Checklist, which includes deadlines and a suggested schedule.

A thesis defense must take place before the semester's deadline for completing defenses (see the Graduate School's website for a list of semester deadlines). A student must give their completed thesis to their entire committee and file a Master's Examination Report at least two weeks in advance of the defense. The defense is an oral examination of the thesis that lasts about an hour. All committee members must be present in person or via teleconference. A positive vote from at least two of the committee members is required to pass. A student who fails the defense may not reattempt it for at least three months, and not until any work prescribed by the committee has been completed. The student may retake the examination only once; the second exam covers the same material and includes the same committee members as the first.

Thesis Submission and Format

The final draft of the MFA thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School by the applicable deadline and must comply with the Graduate School's specifications for theses and dissertations as described on the Graduate School's Master Graduation Information - Thesis Plan webpage. Students must include all stipulated parts of the thesis (e.g., title page, signature page, abstract, table of contents, bibliography) and are encouraged to ask the Graduate School to check the format of the thesis before they submit the final copy ( [email protected] ).

Candidacy and Diploma Applications for MFA

Students must submit their Candidacy Application for an Advanced Degree by the stipulated deadline, which is generally the third or fourth week of classes in the semester in which the student plans to graduate. The candidacy application confirms that all degree requirements will have been completed by the end of the semester. Return all forms to the graduate program assistant for signatures and submission to the Graduate School.

All students planning to graduate must apply online to graduate. This step must be completed regardless of whether the student plans to attend the commencement ceremony. See the Graduation section for more information.

MFA students have four years from the semester in which they are admitted and begin coursework to complete all degree requirements. To continue past four years, students must file a petition for an extension of the time limit with the dean of the Graduate School. Such petitions must first be submitted for endorsement to the English Department's associate chair for creative writing. Extensions may be granted for up to one year.

Print Options

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Skip to Content

• Prospective Students
• Current Students

Creative Writing

• News & Events

Other ways to search:

• Events Calendar

The Department of English has moved from Hellems and Denison to Muenzinger . The main office is in Muenzinger D110.

Since the 1970s, the Creative Writing Program at CU Boulder has provided a center for American experimental writing in the Rockies. Guided by our innovative and award-winning faculty, you will discover the heights of your imagination and explore new territories in language and form.

Undergraduate Studies

Find out how to become an English major or minor, find your academic advisor, join a group, and apply for a scholarship, internship, independent study, or the honors program.

Learn more about undergraduate studies

Graduate Studies

Learn about the graduate degrees offered including MFA, MA, and PhD programs. Find scholarships, groups and explore faculty members and teaching opportunities.

Learn more about graduate studies

Published Works by Creative Writing Faculty 

Masses & motets: a francesca fruscella mystery, jeffrey deshell.

Noah Eli Gordon's "Is That the Sound of a Piano Coming from Several Houses Down? (Solid Objects)" included in The New York Times' April 3 "New & Noteworthy" list

Someone Shot My Book, Julie Carr

Objects from a Borrowed Confession, Julie Carr

My Hero, Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior, Stephen Graham Jones

See Published Works by Creative Writing Alumni

Check Out the CU Boulder MFA Showcase

Follow Creative Writing on Facebook

Check Out the CU Boulder Creative Writing Series

Creative Writing Faculty

35 Best Colleges for Creative Writing – 2024

April 12, 2024

Bookworms and aspiring writers can pursue an undergraduate degree in creative writing where they will tackle coursework covering the reading and writing fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as well as the theory and history of the craft. While becoming the next J.K Rowling, Stephen King, or Margaret Atwood may be the goal, holders of creative writing degrees end up on a variety of career paths. This can include: publishing, editing, journalism, web content management, advertising, or for those who “make it” as writers—the next generation of literary superstars. Our list of Best Colleges for Creative Writing goes beyond the most famous writer factories like the University of Iowa and Columbia University, providing you with 35 institutions known for their stellar programs in this field.

Finally, note that although some of the colleges featured below do not offer a formal major in creative writing, their undergraduate offerings in this subject area are so strong that they warrant inclusion on our list.

Methodology 

Click here to read our methodology for the Best Colleges for creative writing.

Best Creative Writing Colleges

Here’s a quick preview of the first ten creative writing institutions that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.

1) Columbia University

2) Brown University

3) Johns Hopkins University

4) University of Chicago

5) Washington University in St Louis

6) Emory University

7) Stanford University

8) Northwestern University

9) Duke University

10) Yale University

All of the schools profiled below have stellar reputations in the field of creative writing and commit substantial resources to undergraduate education. For each of the best colleges for creative writing, College Transitions will provide you with—when available—each school’s:

• Cost of Attendance
• Acceptance Rate
• Median  SAT
• Median  ACT
• Retention Rate
• Graduation Rate

We will also include a longer write-up of each college’s:

• Academic Highlights – Includes facts like student-to-faculty ratio, average class size, number of majors offered, and most popular majors.
• Professional Outcomes – Includes info on the rate of positive outcomes, companies employing alumni, and graduate school acceptances.

Columbia University

• New York, NY

Academic Highlights: Columbia offers 100+ unique areas of undergraduate study as well as a number of pre-professional and accelerated graduate programs.  Class sizes at Columbia are reasonably small and the student-to-faculty ratio is favorable; however, in 2022, it was revealed that the university had been submitting faulty data in this area. It is presently believed that 58% of undergraduate courses enroll 19 or fewer students. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (22%), computer science (15%), engineering (14%), and biology (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Examining the most recent graduates from Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science, 73% had found employment within six months, and 20% had entered graduate school. The median starting salary for graduates of Columbia College/Columbia Engineering is above $80,000. Many graduates get hired by the likes of Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Google, Citi, McKinsey, and Microsoft.

• Enrollment: 8,832
• Cost of Attendance: $89,587
• Median SAT: 1540
• Median ACT: 35
• Acceptance Rate: 4%
• Retention Rate: 98%
• Graduation Rate: 95%

Brown University

• Providence, RI

Academic Highlights: Students must choose one of 80+ “concentration programs,” but there are no required courses. Class sizes tend to be small—68% have fewer than twenty students—and 35% are comprised of nine or fewer students. Biology, economics, computer science, mathematics, and engineering are among the most popular areas of concentration at Brown; however, it is hard to distinguish any one program, because Brown possesses outstanding offerings across so many disciplines.

Professional Outcomes: Soon after receiving their Brown diplomas, 69% of graduates enter the world of employment. Companies employing the greatest number of Brown alums include Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Apple, McKinsey & Company, and Bain & Company. The Class of 2022 saw 27% of graduates go directly into graduate/professional school. Right out of undergrad, Brown students boasted an exceptional 81% admission rate to med school and an 81% admission rate to law school.

• Enrollment: 7,639
• Cost of Attendance: $84,828
• Median SAT: 1530
• Acceptance Rate: 5%
• Retention Rate: 99%
• Graduation Rate: 96%

Johns Hopkins University

• Baltimore, MD

Academic Highlights: With 53 majors as well as 51 minors, JHU excels in everything from its bread-and-butter medical-related majors to international relations and dance. Boasting an enviable 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and with 78% of course sections possessing an enrollment under 20, face time with professors is a reality. Many departments carry a high level of clout, including biomedical engineering, chemistry, English, and international studies. Biology, neuroscience, and computer science, which happen to be the three most popular majors, can also be found at the top of the national rankings.

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2022 saw 94% of graduates successfully land at their next destination within six months of exiting the university; 66% of graduates entered the world of employment and a robust 19% went directly to graduate/professional school. The median starting salary across all majors was $80,000 for the Class of 2022. JHU itself is the most popular choice for graduate school. The next most frequently attended institutions included Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and MIT.

• Enrollment: 6,044
• Cost of Attendance: $86,065
• Acceptance Rate: 7%
• Retention Rate: 97%

University of Chicago

• Chicago, IL

Academic Highlights: There are 53 majors at UChicago, but close to half of all degrees conferred are in four majors: economics, biology, mathematics, and political science, all of which have particularly sterling reputations. Economics alone is the selection of roughly one-fifth of the undergraduate population. Over 75% of undergrad sections have an enrollment of nineteen or fewer students, and undergraduate research opportunities are ubiquitous as 80% of students end up working in a research capacity alongside a faculty member.

Professional Outcomes: On commencement day, 99% of the Class of 2023 were employed or continuing their education. Business and financial services (30%) and STEM (12%) were the two sectors that scooped up the most graduates, but public policy and consulting were also well-represented. The most popular employers of recent grads include Google, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, Citi, and Accenture. For those heading to grad school, the top seven destinations are Yale, Columbia, Penn, MIT, Stanford, UCLA, and Johns Hopkins.

• Enrollment: 7,653 (undergraduate); 10,870 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $89,040

Washington University in St. Louis

• St. Louis, MO

Academic Highlights : WashU admits students into five schools, many of which offer nationally recognized programs: Arts & Sciences, the Olin School of Business, the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the Art of Architecture programs housed within the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. The most commonly conferred degrees are in engineering (13%), social sciences (13%), business (13%), biology (11%), and psychology (10%). 66% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and over one-quarter have single-digit enrollments. 65% double major or pursue a minor.

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2022 sent 52% of grads into the workforce and 28% into graduate and professional schools. Companies employing the highest number of WashU grads feature sought-after employers such as Amazon, Bain, Boeing, Deloitte, Google, IBM, Goldman Sachs, and Microsoft. Of the employed members of the Class of 2022 who reported their starting salaries, 79% made more than $60k. The universities welcoming the largest number of Bears included the prestigious institutions of Caltech, Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Stanford.

• Enrollment: 8,132 (undergraduate); 8,880 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $83,760
• Median ACT: 34
• Acceptance Rate: 11%
• Retention Rate: 96%
• Graduation Rate: 93%

Emory University

• Atlanta, GA

Academic Highlights: This midsize university offers a diverse array of majors (80+) and minors (60+), and 30% of Emory students pursue more than one area of study. Over half of Emory’s student body works directly with a faculty member on academic research and 58% of courses have class sizes of under twenty students. Ultimately, the greatest number of students go on to earn degrees in the social sciences (15%), biology (14%), business (14%), health professions (12%), and mathematics (9%).

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduation, 66% of 2022 grads were already employed, and 96% had arrived at their next destination. The top employers of recent Emory grads include Deloitte, Epic, ScribeAmerica, Meta, Morgan Stanley, and Cloudmed. Graduates of the Goizueta Business School found strong starting salaries with an average of $81k.  In the last few years, multiple Emory grads/alums received acceptance letters from the following top law schools like Columbia, Berkeley, and Georgetown. Med school acceptances included Duke, Johns Hopkins, and Vanderbilt.

• Enrollment: 7,101
• Cost of Attendance: $83,702
• Median SAT: 1500
• Median ACT: 33
• Retention Rate: 95%
• Graduation Rate: 90%

Stanford University

• Palo Alto, CA

Academic Highlights: Stanford has three undergraduate schools: the School of Humanities & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. 69% of classes have fewer than twenty students, and 34% have a single-digit enrollment. Programs in engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, international relations, and economics are arguably the best anywhere. In terms of sheer volume, the greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (17%), computer science (16%), engineering (15%), and interdisciplinary studies (13%).

Professional Outcomes: Stanford grads entering the working world flock to three major industries in equal distribution: business/finance/consulting/retail (19%); computer, IT (19%); and public policy and service, international affairs (19%). Among the companies employing the largest number of recent grads are Accenture, Apple, Bain, Cisco, Meta, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Microsoft, and SpaceX. Other companies that employ hundreds of Cardinal alums include LinkedIn, Salesforce, and Airbnb. Starting salaries for Stanford grads are among the highest in the country.

• Enrollment: 8,049 (undergraduate); 10,236 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,833

Northwestern University

• Evanston, IL

Academic Highlights : Northwestern is home to six undergraduate schools, including Medill, which is widely regarded as one of the country’s best journalism schools. The McCormick School of Engineering also achieves top rankings, along with programs in economics, social policy, and theatre. The social sciences account for the greatest number of degrees conferred (19%), followed by communications/journalism (13%), and engineering (11%). 45% of classes have nine or fewer students enrolled; 78% have fewer than twenty enrollees. 57% of recent grads had the chance to conduct undergraduate research.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 69% of the Class of 2022 had found employment and 27% were in graduate school. The four most popular professional fields were consulting (18%), engineering (18%), business/finance (16%), and communications/marketing/media (13%). Employers included the BBC, NBC News, The Washington Post , NPR, Boeing, Google, IBM, Deloitte, PepsiCo, Northrop Grumman, and Goldman Sachs. Across all majors, the average starting salary was $73k. Of those headed straight to graduate school, engineering, medicine, and business were the three most popular areas of concentration.

• Enrollment: 8,659 (undergraduate); 14,073 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $91,290
• Graduation Rate: 97%

Duke University

Academic Highlights: The academic offerings at Duke include 53 majors, 52 minors, and 23 interdisciplinary certificates. Class sizes are on the small side—71% are nineteen or fewer, and almost one-quarter are less than ten. A stellar 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio helps keep classes so reasonable even while catering to five figures worth of graduate students. Computer Science is the most popular area of concentration (11%), followed by economics (10%), public policy (9%), biology (8%), and computer engineering (7%).

Professional Outcomes: At graduation, approximately 70% of Duke diploma-earners enter the world of work, 20% continue into graduate schools, and 2% start their own businesses. The industries that attract the largest percentage of Blue Devils are tech (21%), finance (15%), business (15%), healthcare (9%), and science/research (6%). Of the 20% headed into graduate school, a hefty 22% are attending medical school, 18% are in PhD programs, and 12% are entering law school. The med school acceptance rate is 85%, more than twice the national average.

• Enrollment: 6,640
• Cost of Attendance: $85,238
• SAT Range: 1490-1570
• ACT Range: 34-35
• Acceptance Rate: 6%

Yale University

• New Haven, CT

Academic Highlights: Yale offers 80 majors, most of which require a one- to two-semester senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research is a staple, and over 70% of classes—of which there are over 2,000 to choose from—have an enrollment of fewer than 20 students, making Yale a perfect environment for teaching and learning. Among the top departments are biology, economics, global affairs, engineering, history, and computer science. The social sciences (26%), biology (11%), mathematics (8%), and computer science (8%) are the most popular areas of concentration.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduating, 73% of the Yale Class of 2022 had entered the world of employment and 18% matriculated into graduate programs. Hundreds of Yale alums can be found at each of the world’s top companies including Google, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. The most common industries entered by the newly hired were finance (20%), research/education (16%), technology (14%), and consulting (12%). The mean starting salary for last year’s grads was $81,769 ($120k for CS majors). Nearly one-fifth of students immediately pursue graduate school.

• Enrollment: 6,590 (undergraduate); 5,344 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,705
• Graduation Rate: 98%

Hamilton College

• Clinton, NY

Academic Highlights: The student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1, and without any pesky graduate students to get in the way, face time with professors is a regular occurrence. In fact, 28% of all classes have nine or fewer students; 72% have nineteen or fewer. Economics, government, and biology are among the strongest and most popular majors; other standout programs include public policy, mathematics, and environmental studies. Thirty percent of students earn social science degrees, with biology (13%), visual and performing arts (9%), physical science (7%), and foreign languages (7%) next in line.

Professional Outcomes: Examining the 491 graduates in Hamilton’s Class of 2022, an enviable 97% wasted no time landing jobs, graduate school acceptances, or fellowships. The most commonly entered industries were finance (17%), education (13%), business (12%), and science/tech (11%). Only 17% of 2022 graduates went directly into an advanced degree program. In one recent year, 33% of Hamilton grads were studying a STEM field, 22% were in the social sciences, 17% pursued a health care degree, and 5% went to law school.

• Enrollment: 2,075
• Cost of Attendance: $82,430
• Median SAT: 1490
• Acceptance Rate: 12%
• Graduation Rate: 92%

Princeton University

• Princeton, NJ

Academic Highlights: 39 majors are available at Princeton. Just under three-quarters of class sections have an enrollment of 19 or fewer students, and 31% have fewer than ten students. Princeton is known for its commitment to undergraduate teaching, and students consistently rate professors as accessible and helpful. The Engineering Department is widely recognized as one of the country’s best, as is the School of Public and International Affairs.

Professional Highlights: Over 95% of a typical Tiger class finds their next destination within six months of graduating. Large numbers of recent grads flock to the fields of business and engineering, health/science, & tech. Companies presently employing hundreds of Tiger alumni include Google, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, IBM, and Meta. The average salary ranges from $40k (education, health care, or social services) to $100k (computer/mathematical positions). Between 15-20% of graduating Tigers head directly to graduate/professional school.

• Enrollment: 5,604 (undergraduate); 3,238 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $86,700

Carnegie Mellon University

• Pittsburgh, PA

Academic Highlights: There are a combined 80+ undergraduate majors and 90 minors available across the six schools. Impressively, particularly for a school with more graduate students than undergrads, CMU boasts a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and small class sizes, with 36% containing single digits. In a given school year, 800+ undergraduates conduct research through the University Research Office. The most commonly conferred degrees are in engineering (21%), computer science (16%), mathematics (12%), business (10%), and visual and performing arts (9%).

Professional Outcomes: By the end of the calendar year in which they received their diplomas, 66% of 2022 grads were employed, and 28% were continuing to graduate school. The companies that have routinely scooped up CMU grads include Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Accenture, McKinsey, and Deloitte. With an average starting salary of $105,194, CMU grads outpace the average starting salary for a college grad nationally. Of those pursuing graduate education, around 20% typically enroll immediately in PhD programs.

• Enrollment: 7,509
• Cost of Attendance: $84,412

University of Iowa

• Iowa City, IA

Academic Highlights: 200+ undergraduate majors, minors, and certificate programs are available across eight colleges, including the Tippie College of Business, which has a very strong reputation. The most commonly conferred degree is business (24%), with parks and recreation (10%), social sciences (8%), health professions (8%), engineering (7%), and communication & journalism (5%) next in popularity. Over half of its undergraduate sections enroll 19 or fewer students, and 30% of undergrads conduct or assist research.

Professional Outcomes: 96% of Class of 2022 grads found their first job or advanced degree program within six months of receiving their diploma. The most commonly entered industries were healthcare (23%), entertainment/the arts (14%), finance and insurance (11%), and marketing/PR (10%). Companies that employ hundreds of alumni include Wells Fargo, Collins Aerospace, Principal Financial Group, Amazon, Accenture, and Microsoft. The median salary for 2022 grads was $50,000. 28% of recent graduates went directly into graduate school; 76% remained at the University of Iowa.

• Enrollment: 22,130 (undergraduate); 7,912 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $28,846-$32,259 (in-state); $50,809-$54,822 (out-of-state)
• Median SAT: 1240
• Median ACT: 25
• Acceptance Rate: 85%
• Retention Rate: 89%
• Graduation Rate: 73%

Emerson College

Academic Highlights: All 26 majors offered by the school have some element of performance or artistry and include highly unique academic concentrations such as comedic arts, sports communication, and musical theater. Emerson has a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio and 69% of courses seat fewer than 20 students. The Journalism and Communications Studies programs rank among the top in the country. By sheer popularity, the top majors are film/video production, journalism, marketing, theater arts, and creative writing.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of leaving Emerson, 61% of recent grads were employed, 4% were enrolled in graduate school, and 35% were still seeking their next landing spot. Top employers include the Walt Disney Company, Warner Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and CNN. The average full-time salary for employed grads is $40,255. Of those entering a master’s program, the bulk stay put, pursuing a master’s at Emerson in an area like writing for film and television, creative writing, or journalism.

• Enrollment: 4,149
• Cost of Attendance: $73,000
• Median SAT: 1360
• Median ACT: 31
• Acceptance Rate: 43%
• Retention Rate: 86%
• Graduation Rate: 77%

University of Southern California

• Los Angeles, CA

Academic Highlights : There are 140 undergraduate majors and minors within the Dornsife College of Arts & Sciences alone, the university’s oldest and largest school. The Marshall School of Business, Viterbi School of Engineering, and programs in communication, the cinematic arts, and the performing arts are highly acclaimed. Popular areas of study are business (22%), social sciences (11%), visual and performing arts (11%), communications/journalism (9%), and engineering (8%). Most courses enroll 10-19 students, and USC does an excellent job facilitating undergraduate research opportunities.

Professional Outcomes: 96% of undergrads experience positive postgraduation outcomes within six months of earning their degree. The top five industries entered were finance, consulting, advertising, software development, and engineering; the median salary across all majors is an astounding $79k. Presently, between 300 and 1,500 alumni are employed at each of Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, and Meta. Graduate/professional schools enrolling the greatest number of 2022 USC grads include NYU, Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, Pepperdine, and UCLA.

• Enrollment: 20,699 (undergraduate); 28,246 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $90,921
• Median SAT: 1510

Cornell University

Academic Highlights: A diverse array of academic programs includes 80 majors and 120 minors spread across the university’s seven schools/colleges. Classes are a bit larger at Cornell than at many other elite institutions. Still, 55% of sections have fewer than 20 students. Most degrees conferred in 2022 were in computer science (17%), engineering (13%), business (13%), and biology (13%). The SC Johnson College of Business houses two undergraduate schools, both of which have phenomenal reputations.

Professional Outcomes: Breaking down the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at Cornell, 68% entered the workforce, 28% entered graduate school, 1% pursued other endeavors such as travel or volunteer work, and the remaining 3% were still seeking employment six months after receiving their diplomas. The top sectors attracting campus-wide graduateswere financial services (18%), technology (17%), consulting (15%), and education (10%). Of the students from A&S going on to graduate school, 15% were pursuing JDs, 5% MDs, and 22% PhDs.

• Enrollment: 15,735
• Cost of Attendance: $88,150
• Median SAT: 1520

Oberlin College

• Oberlin, OH

Academic Highlights: Over 40 majors are available at Oberlin, which is an extremely strong provider of a liberal arts education. 79% of classes had 19 or fewer students enrolled. The greatest number of degrees conferred are typically in music, political science, biology, psychology, and history. The Conservatory of Music has a worldwide reputation, and programs in the natural sciences are similarly strong, leading to remarkable medical school acceptance rates and a high number of future PhD scientists and researchers.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months, 74% of recent grads found employment, 17% enrolled in graduate school, and just 5% were still seeking employment. Multiple recent grads were hired by Google, Netflix, and Sony Pictures. Over the last few years, multiple students have gone on to pursue advanced degrees at Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Brown, Columbia, Princeton, and the University of Michigan. Oberlin also has a reputation for churning out future PhDs and, is among the top 20 schools (per capita) across all disciplines in producing graduates who go on to earn their doctoral degrees.

• Enrollment: 2,986
• Cost of Attendance: $85,496
• Median SAT: 1400-1540
• Median ACT: 32-34
• Acceptance Rate: 33%
• Retention Rate: 87%
• Graduation Rate: 83%

University of Pittsburgh

Academic Highlights: Pitt admits freshmen to the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, the College of Business Administration, the Swanson School of Engineering, and the School of Nursing. Pitt’s engineering and business schools are top-rated and among the most commonly chosen fields of study. Premed offerings are also top-notch, with majors in the health professions (12%), biology (11%), psychology (9%), and computer science (9%) rounding out the list of most popular majors. Pitt has a strong 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio; 42% of sections have an enrollment of under twenty students.

Professional Outcomes: Within a few months of graduating, 94% of 2022 grads entered full-time employment or full-time graduate or professional school. Engineering, nursing, business, and information sciences majors had 73-86% employment rates while other majors tended to flock to graduate school in large numbers. Employers scooping up the highest number of grads in one recent year included the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (170), PNC (57), BNY Mellon (36), and Deloitte (19). Median starting salaries fluctuated between $37k-65k depending on major.

• Enrollment: 20,220 (undergraduate); 9,268 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $38,034-$43,254 (in-state); $56,400-$66,840 (out-of-state)
• Acceptance Rate: 50%
• Retention Rate: 92%
• Graduation Rate: 84%

Swarthmore College

• Swarthmore, PA

Academic Highlights: Swarthmore offers forty undergraduate programs and runs 600+ courses each academic year. Small, seminar-style courses are the norm—an outstanding 33% of sections enroll fewer than ten students, and 70% contain a maximum of nineteen students. Social science degrees are the most commonly conferred, accounting for 24% of all 2022 graduates. Future businessmen/women, engineers, and techies are also well-positioned, given Swat’s incredibly strong offerings in economics, engineering, and computer science.

Professional Outcomes: 68% of Class of 2022 grads entered the workforce shortly after graduation. Popular industries included education (17%), consulting (16%), and financial services (13%); the median starting salary was $60,000. Google is a leading employer of Swarthmore grads followed by Amazon, Goldman Sachs, IBM, and a number of the top universities.  18% of 2022 grads pursued advanced degrees, with 35% pursuing a PhD, 35% entering master’s programs, 10% heading to law school, and 7% matriculating into medical school.

• Enrollment: 1,625
• Cost of Attendance: $81,376
• Graduation Rate: 94%

Bryn Mawr College

• Bryn Mawr, PA

Academic Highlights: On the home campus, undergraduates can choose from 35 majors and 50 minors. Roughly 35% of the student body earns degrees in the natural sciences or mathematics, a figure four times the national average for women. By volume, the most popular majors are mathematics, psychology, biology, English, and computer science. An 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to small class sizes with 74% of sections having fewer than twenty students, and 24% of sections enrolling nine students or fewer.

Professional Outcomes: One year after receiving their diplomas, 57% of Bryn Mawr graduates had found employment and a robust 28% had already entered graduate school. Most of the organizations employing the greatest number of alumni are universities and hospital systems, although Google, Accenture, JPMorgan Chase, and Vanguard do employ a fair number of Bryn Mawr graduates. Among recent grads pursuing further education, 63% were in master’s programs, 13% were already working on their PhD, and 10% were in medical school.

• Enrollment: 1,409
• Cost of Attendance: $79,880
• Median SAT: 1400
• Acceptance Rate: 31%
• Retention Rate: 90%

Wellesley College

• Wellesley, MA

Academic Highlights: There are 50+ departmental and interdisciplinary majors. Thirty-six percent of course sections have single-digit enrollments while 77% have 19 or fewer students. In addition, opportunities for participation in research with faculty members abound. Most programs possess sterling reputations, including chemistry, computer science, neuroscience, and political science, but the Department of Economics shines most brightly, leading many into PhD programs and high-profile careers. Economics, biology, and computer science are the most frequently conferred degrees.

Professional Outcomes : Six months after graduating, 97% of the Class of 2022 had achieved positive outcomes. Of the 76% of grads who were employed, 24% were working in the finance/consulting/business fields, 17% in education, 17% in internet and technology & engineering, and 15% in healthcare/life sciences. Top employers included JPMorgan Chase, Google, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Goldman Sachs. The average starting salary for one recent cohort was a solid $63k. Of the 20% of 2022 grads who directly entered an advanced degree program, common schools attended included Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Stanford, MIT, and Emory.

• Enrollment: 2,447
• Cost of Attendance: $84,240
• Acceptance Rate: 14%

Colby College

• Waterville, ME

Academic Highlights: Offering 56 majors and 35 minors, Colby provides a classic liberal arts education with a high degree of flexibility and room for independent intellectual pursuits. A 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio is put to good instructional use as roughly two-thirds of courses have fewer than 19 students. Being a true liberal arts school, Colby has strengths across many disciplines, but biology, economics, and global studies draw especially high praise. These programs along with government and environmental science attract the highest number of students.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 93% of the Class of 2022 had either obtained jobs or were enrolled full-time in a graduate program. Eighteen percent of graduates enter the financial industry and large numbers also start careers in education, with government/nonprofit, STEM, and healthcare next in popularity. The Medical school acceptance rate over the past five years is 68%, nearly double the national average.

• Enrollment: 2,299
• Cost of Attendance: $86,720
• Average SAT: 1485
• Average ACT: 33
• Acceptance Rate: 8%
• Retention Rate: 93%
• Graduation Rate: 87%

University of Michigan

• Ann Arbor, MI

Academic Highlights: There are 280+ undergraduate degree programs across fourteen schools and colleges, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) enrolls the majority of students. The Ross School of Business offers highly rated programs in entrepreneurship, management, accounting, and finance. The College of Engineering is also one of the best in the country. By degrees conferred, engineering (15%), computer science (14%), and the social sciences (11%) are most popular. A solid 56% of classes have fewer than 20 students.

Professional Outcomes: Within three months of graduating, 89% of LSA grads are employed full-time or in graduate school, with healthcare, education, law, banking, research, nonprofit work, and consulting being the most popular sectors. Within three months, 99% of Ross grads are employed with a median salary of $90k. Top employers include Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, EY, Morgan Stanley, PwC, Deloitte, and Amazon.  Within six months, 96% of engineering grads are employed (average salary of $84k) or in grad school. General Motors, Ford, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta employ the greatest number of alumni.

• Enrollment: 32,695 (undergraduate); 18,530 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $35,450 (in-state); $76,294 (out-of-state)
• Median SAT: 1470
• Acceptance Rate: 18%

Bucknell University

• Lewisburg, PA

Academic Highlights: Over 60 majors and 70 minors are on tap across three undergraduate schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. Getting well-acquainted with your professors is easy with a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, and class sizes are reasonably small. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the areas of the social sciences (26%), engineering (14%), business (14%), biology (11%), and psychology (9%).

Professional Outcomes: Nine months after graduation, 94% of the Class of 2022 had launched their careers or entered graduate school. Financial services is the most common sector for Bucknell grads to enter, attracting 24% of alumni. Across all disciplines, the average salary for a Class of 2022 grad was $69,540. Bucknell saw 18% of 2022 grads go directly into an advanced degree program. Bison alumni heading to graduate school predominantly pursue degrees in the medical field, social sciences, business, or engineering.

• Enrollment: 3,747
• Cost of Attendance: $80,890
• Median SAT: 1380
• Median ACT: 32
• Retention Rate: 91%

Haverford College

• Haverford, PA

Academic Highlights: Haverford offers 31 majors, 32 minors, 12 concentrations, and eleven consortium programs—areas of study that can be pursued at partner campuses. The school’s 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio and exclusive emphasis on undergraduate education lead to exceptionally intimate classes, 33% of which have fewer than 10 students, and 72% have fewer than 20. The most popular areas of study at Haverford include the social sciences (24%), biology (14%), psychology (11%), physical sciences (10%), computer science (9%), and mathematics (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Six months after leaving Haverford, 63% of the Class of 2022 had found employment, 19% had enrolled in graduate school, and 9% were still job hunting. Employers hiring multiple recent Haverford grads include Epic, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Boston Consulting Group, Goldman Sachs, the National Institutes of Health, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Of the 19% of 2022 grads who elected to continue their education, the most commonly entered fields of study were STEM (51%) and medicine/health (15%).

• Enrollment: 1,421
• Cost of Attendance: $87,180
• Graduation Rate: 91%

Colorado College

• Colorado Springs, CO

Academic Highlights: Rather than the typical semester schedule, Colorado College operates on the “block plan,” a series of eight three-and-half-week periods during which students take only one course. You won’t find a more intimate liberal arts college than CC. Classes have a cap of 25 students, and no more than a handful of courses exceed that figure. The average class consists of 16 students. In terms of sheer volume, most degrees are conferred in the social sciences (28%), biology (17%), natural resources and conservation (8%), and physical science (6%).

Professional Outcomes: Among the Class of 2022, an impressive 99% arrived successfully at their next destination within six months of earning their diploma. The largest number of graduates who pursue employment end up in the fields of education, technology, health care, the arts, and government.  The bachelor’s degree earned at Colorado College is unlikely to be the last degree a graduate will earn. Five years after graduation, the typical cohort sees 70-90% of its members having either completed or finishing an advanced degree.

• Enrollment: 2,180
• Cost of Attendance: $87,128
• Acceptance Rate: 16%
• Graduation Rate: 86%

Brandeis University

• Waltham, MA

Academic Highlights: Brandeis offers 43 majors, the most popular of which are in the social sciences (18%), biology (17%), business (10%), psychology (8%), public administration (8%), and computer science (7%). The student-faculty ratio is 11:1, and 60% of courses contain nineteen or fewer students. Departments with a particularly strong national reputation include economics, international studies, and sociology as well as all of the traditional premed pathways including biology, and chemistry.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 98% of the Class of 2022 had found their way to employment (59%), graduate school (35%), or another full-time activity like travel or volunteer work (4%). Members of the Class of 2022 were hired by Red Hat, Deloitte, Nasdaq, NPR, and McKinsey & Company. The average starting salary for recent grads is $61k. A large contingent of grads elects to continue at Brandeis for graduate school. Many others go to BU, Columbia, Duke, Harvard, and Yale.

• Enrollment: 3,687
• Cost of Attendance: $86,242
• Median SAT: 1440
• Acceptance Rate: 39%

Macalester College

• St. Paul, MN

Academic Highlights: Students can choose from roughly 40 majors and over 800 courses that are offered each academic year . Being an undergraduate-only institution, Macalester students enjoy the full benefits of the school’s 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The average class size is only 17 students, and 14% of class sections have single-digit enrollments. Macalester possesses strong offerings across many different disciplines. Programs in economics, international studies, and mathematics are among the best anywhere.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 95% of the Macalester Class of 2022 had found employment, graduate school, or a fellowship. Employers of recent grads include ABC News, Google, Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical Company, McKinsey & Company, the ACLU, the National Cancer Institute, and National Geographic . Across all sectors, the average starting salary for recent grads was above $62k. Sixty percent of Mac grads pursue an advanced degree within six years of earning their bachelor’s.

• Enrollment: 2,175
• Cost of Attendance: $79,890
• Median SAT: 1430
• Acceptance Rate: 28%
• Retention Rate: 88%

Barnard College

Academic Highlights: Barnard has a 10:1 student-faculty ratio, and a sensational 71% of courses are capped at nineteen or fewer students; 18% have fewer than ten. Many get the chance to engage in research alongside a professor as 240+ undergraduates are granted such an opportunity through the Summer Research Institute each year. Barnard’s most popular majors, by number of degrees conferred, include economics, English, political science, history, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and art history.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 91% of 2022 Barnard grads had found employment or were enrolled in a graduate program. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Blackrock, Citibank, and Morgan Stanley all appear on the list of the top fifteen employers of Barnard alumni. Within ten years of graduation, over 80% of Barnard alums eventually enroll in graduate school. Those entering graduate school flock in large numbers to Columbia, with 112 heading there over the last three years.

• Enrollment: 3,442
• Cost of Attendance: $90,928
• Acceptance Rate: 9%

Georgetown University

• Washington, D.C.

Academic Highlights: The student-faculty ratio is 11:1, and 60% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students. While some classes are a bit larger, only 7% cross the 50-student threshold. Those desiring to join the world of politics or diplomacy are in the right place. The Government and International Affairs programs are among the best in the country. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (38%) followed by business (20%), interdisciplinary studies (8%), and biology (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 75% of members of the Class of 2022 entered the workforce, 19% went directly into a graduate or professional program of study, and 3% were still seeking employment. The Class of 2022 sent massive numbers of graduates to a number of major corporations including JPMorgan Chase (22), Citi (21), BOA (18), Morgan Stanley (16), and EY (10). Those attending grad school stay at Georgetown or flock to other elite schools like Columbia and Harvard.

• Enrollment: 7,900
• Cost of Attendance: $85,000

Elon University

Academic Highlights: Students choose from 70 majors and can add a number of interesting minors like adventure-based learning, coaching, and multimedia authoring. Elon’s 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to an average class size of 20 students; 51% of sections contain fewer than 20 students. The areas in which the greatest number of degrees are conferred are business (29%), journalism/communication (20%), social sciences (8%), the visual and performing arts (6%), and psychology (6%).

Professional Outcomes: Results of a survey administered nine months after graduation found that 96% of the Class of 2022 had found employment, a graduate school, or an internship. Top employers of recent Elon graduates include Bloomberg, Deloitte, EY, Google, Goldman Sachs, Red Ventures, and Wells Fargo. Recent business grads enjoyed a median salary of $61k while communications majors earned $47k. Just under one-quarter of recent grads gained acceptance into graduate/professional school and many remain at Elon.

• Enrollment: 6,337
• Cost of Attendance: $66,657
• Median SAT: 1260
• Median ACT: 28
• Acceptance Rate: 78%

DePauw University

• Greencastle, IN

Academic Highlights: No matter which of the 40+ majors you pursue at DePauw, you will enjoy the benefits of small class sizes and face time with faculty. A 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio and the fact that only four class sections in the whole university enroll more than 29 students assures that. The greatest number of DePauw undergrads earn degrees in the social sciences (17%), biology (10%), the visual/performing arts (9%), communication/journalism (8%), and computer science (6%).

Professional Outcomes: The university’s “Gold Commitment” guarantees that all grads will land at their next destination within six months, or they will be provided with an entry-level professional opportunity or an additional tuition-free semester. Top employers of DePauw grads include Eli Lilly and Company, IBM, Northern Trust Corporation, AT&T, and Procter & Gamble. Tigers applying to graduate and professional schools experience high levels of success. Of medical school applicants who earned a 3.6 GPA and scored in the 80th percentile on the MCAT, 90% are accepted to at least one institution.

• Enrollment: 1,752
• Cost of Attendance: $74,400
• Acceptance Rate: 66%
• Graduation Rate: 79%

University of Washington – Seattle

• Seattle, WA

Academic Highlights: 180+ undergraduate majors are offered across thirteen colleges/schools. Personal connections with professors abound as 55% of grads complete a faculty-mentored research project. The College of Engineering, which includes the College of Computer Science & Engineering, is one of the best in the nation; UW also boasts strong programs in everything from business to social work to environmental science. The most popular degrees are the social sciences (13%), biology (12%), computer science (11%), and business (8%).

Professional Outcomes: Within months of graduation, 73% of Class of 2022 grads were employed and 17% were continuing their education. The most popular employers of the Class of 2022 included Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and KPMG. Across all living alumni, 6,000+ work for Microsoft, and 4000+ work for each of Boeing and Amazon. Of those headed to graduate/professional school, just over half remain in state, mostly at UW itself. Large numbers of 2022 grads also headed to Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and USC.

• Enrollment: 36,872 (undergraduate); 16,211 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $34,554 (in-state); $63,906 (out-of-state)
• Median SAT: 1420
• Acceptance Rate: 48%
• Retention Rate: 94%

We hope you have found our list of the Best Colleges for Creative Writing to be useful and informative as you continue your college search process. We also invite you to check out some of our other resources and tools including:

• AP Score Calculators 
• SAT Score Calculator 
• ACT Score Calculator
• Best Summer Programs 
• College List Building Tool
• Best Colleges by Major

Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

• 2-Year Colleges
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Essay
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• Graduate School Admissions
• High School Success
• High Schools
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Private High School Spotlight
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.

I am a... Student Student Parent Counselor Educator Other First Name Last Name Email Address Zip Code Area of Interest Business Computer Science Engineering Fine/Performing Arts Humanities Mathematics STEM Pre-Med Psychology Social Studies/Sciences Submit

• Skip to Content
• Bulletin Home
• Institution Home

Print Options

• Dual Degrees
• Degrees and Certificates
• Anthropology
• School of Art and Art History
• Emergent Digital Practices

English and Literary Arts

• Lamont School of Music
• Media, Film &​ Journalism Studies
• Religious Studies
• Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science
• Daniels College of Business
• DU-​Iliff Joint Doctoral Program
• Graduate School of Professional Psychology
• Graduate School of Social Work
• Josef Korbel School of International Studies
• Morgridge College of Education
• College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
• Sturm College of Law
• University College
• General Information
• Admission and Enrollment Policies
• Tuition, Fees and Financial Aid Policies and Procedures
• Academic Requirements, Policies and Procedures
• Academic and Student Support Services, Policies and Procedures
• Course Descriptions
• Undergraduate
• Graduate >
• Schools, Colleges, and Divisions >
• College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences >
• Admission Requirements
• Program of Study

Office: Sturm Hall Mail Code: 2000 E. Asbury Ave., Denver, CO 80208 Phone: 303-871-2266 Email: [email protected] Web Site: http://www.du.edu/english

The Department of English and Literary Arts offers a PhD in English and Literary Arts with concentrations in creative writing and literary studies, as well as an MA with a concentration in literary studies.

Our major areas for dissertation research include creative writing; modern and contemporary British literature; American literature; American multicultural literature and Anglophone literatures; genre studies; and literary theory and rhetoric. We also offer course work in traditional literary fields, cultural studies, ethnic literatures and gender studies.

The University of Denver’s Department of English and Literary Arts is small and intimate, with 21 faculty members, all of whom publish widely and seek to translate their expertise into shared learning experiences in and out of the classroom.

Our distinctive curriculum allows students to tailor their degrees to their specific talents and interests. We offer not only typical graduate seminars but also writing workshops, individually designed tutorials and colloquia devoted to teaching and professional development. Such a curriculum encourages students to cross genre boundaries in their writing, to relate theory to practice and to work creatively with scholarly projects.

Doctor of Philosophy in English and Literary Arts with a Concentration in Creative Writing

Degree and gpa requirements.

• Bachelor's degree: All graduate applicants must hold an earned baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university or the recognized equivalent from an international institution.
• Master's degree: This program requires a master's degree as well as the baccalaureate.
• Grade point average: The minimum undergraduate GPA for admission consideration for graduate study at the University of Denver is a cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits (approximately two years of work) for the baccalaureate degree. An earned master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution supersedes the minimum standards for the baccalaureate. For applicants with graduate coursework but who have not earned a master’s degree or higher, the GPA from the graduate work may be used to meet the requirement. The minimum GPA is a cumulative 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate coursework undertaken.
• Program GPA requirement: The minimum undergraduate GPA for admission consideration for this program is a cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.

English Language Proficiency Test Score Requirements

The minimum TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test score requirements for this degree program are:

• Minimum TOEFL Score (Internet-based test): 80
• Minimum IELTS Score: 6.5
• Minimum C1 Advanced Score: 176
• Minimum Duolingo English Test Score: 115

English Conditional Admission: No, this program does not offer English Conditional Admission.

Doctor of Philosophy in English and Literary Arts with a Concentration in Literary Studies

Master of arts in english and literary arts with a concentration in literary studies, doctor of philosophy in english and literary arts with a concentration in creative writing , degree requirements, course requirements.

At least 48 hours of foundational course work must be taken as formal ENGL classes, excluding Independent Research (ENGL 4995, ENGL 5995), Independent Study (ENGL 4991, ENGL 5991), and tutorials (ENGL 4100).

Five courses distributed over three literary periods. Students must take at least one course in one period and at least two courses in the other two periods. Students may only take two approved 3000 level courses (ENGL 3800 and 3982) in the Department of English. Registration for any other ENGL 3000 level class must be made by special petition to be approved by the full Graduate Committee.

Workshops. Students on the Creative Writing track must take three workshops. 

Minimum number of credits required for the degree: 90 graduate-level quarter hours beyond the master’s degree

Non-course requirements:.

• Preliminary advancement to candidacy
• Advancement to candidacy
• A dissertation of publishable quality that makes a significant contribution to its field. This will take the form of an extended scholarly and critical work (usually between 150 and 250 pages) OR a creative work (fiction or poetry). The creative dissertation must include a critical preface that situates the dissertation in its literary context.
• Oral defense. When the dissertation is completed, it must be defended by the candidate. For spring quarter graduates, the defense should take place by April 30. Typically no dissertation defenses will be held during the summer quarter. The candidate is therefore advised to set the defense date as far in advance as possible. The defense takes the form of a discussion with the committee concerning the content, context and implications of the work.
• Successful completion of ENGL 3800 Bibliography and Research Methods class in the Department of English.
• Successful completion of ENGL 3982 (Writers in the Schools).
• Successful completion of a graduate translation class (students must secure approval of instructor).
• Successful completion of Old English (4 credits).
• Selection and successful completion of a cognate course in another department that will augment specific skills. This course must be approved by the Graduate Committee.

Students may also consult the department for additional Tool proficiency options. The Tool requirement must be completed one quarter before graduation.

• Proposal & Prospectus review. By the end of the Fall quarter of the third year, students must submit a Dissertation Area Proposal to the director of graduate studies. This proposal is a brief description (250-300 words) of the proposed area of the dissertation; it must be signed by at least two dissertation committee members. Before the end of the Winter quarter of the third year of study, all students should complete the prospectus review, which is an oral discussion based on the written dissertation prospectus. The prospectus review is conducted by a committee consisting of the first two readers of the dissertation. The prospectus should be approximately 2,500–3,000 words and should be presented to the faculty readers well in advance of the review. For students concentrating in Creative Writing, the prospectus should discuss the theoretical and generic origins of the project, its methodology and artistic goals.
• Written comprehensive exam. After completing 60 credit hours, including the 48 hours of foundational coursework, doctoral students will take written comprehensive examinations during the week prior to the start of Fall Quarter of their third year of study. Students will be examined in three (out of four) areas of study: (1) an author or major figure; (2) a genre; (3) a period; and (4) a second period or special topic. Students will prepare a reading list for each examination area in consultation with two faculty examiners; the scope of each exam must be approved by the faculty examiners and the graduate director. All lists must be signed by both examiners and submitted to the graduate director by the date published in the department's Graduate Handbook (typically during the first week of May) or the student will not be allowed to take the exam the following fall.

Doctor of Philosophy in English and literary arts with a Concentration in Literary Studies 

Five courses distributed over three literary periods. Students must take at least one course in one period and at least two courses in the other two periods. Students may only take two approved 3000 level courses (ENGL 3800 and 3982) in the Department of English. Registration for any other ENGL 3000 level class must be made by special petition to be approved by the full Graduate Committee.  

• A dissertation of publishable quality that makes a significant contribution to its field. This will take the form of an extended scholarly and critical work (usually between 150 and 250 pages).
• Oral defense. When the dissertation is completed, it must be defended by the candidate. For spring quarter graduates, the defense should take place no later than April 30. Typically no dissertation defenses will be held during the summer quarter. The candidate is therefore advised to set the defense date as far in advance as possible. The defense takes the form of a discussion with the committee concerning the content, context and implications of the work.
• Proposal & Prospectus review. By the end of the Fall quarter of the third year, students must submit a Dissertation Area Proposal to the director of graduate studies. This proposal is a brief description (250-300 words) of the proposed area of the dissertation; it must be signed by at least two dissertation committee members. Before the end of the Winter quarter of the third year of study, all students should complete the prospectus review, which is an oral discussion based on the written dissertation prospectus. The prospectus review is conducted by a committee consisting of the first two readers of the dissertation. The prospectus should be approximately 2,500–3,000 words and should be presented to the faculty readers well in advance of the review.
• Written comprehensive exam. After completing 60 credit hours, including the 48 hours of foundational coursework, doctoral students will take written comprehensive examinations during the week prior to the start of Fall Quarter of their third year of study. Students will be examined in three (out of four) areas of study: (1) an author or major figure; (2) a genre; (3) a period; and (4) a second period or special topic. Students will prepare a reading list for each examination area in consultation with two faculty examiners; the scope of each exam must be approved by the faculty examiners and the graduate director. All lists must be signed by both examiners and submitted to the graduate director by the date published in the department's Graduate Handbook (typically during the first week of May) or the student will not be allowed to take the exam the following fall.

Master of Arts in English and Literary arts with a Concentration in Literary Studies

• 45 hours of course credit, up to 13 hours of which may be taken in graduate tutorials (ENGL 4100), independent research (ENGL 4995) and/or cognate courses outside the department.
• All course work for the MA should be taken at the University of Denver, but, in rare exceptions, a maximum of 10 credit hours may be transferred to count for the requirements if approved by the director of graduate studies and meet the University's transfer of credit policy.
• While students have no specific course requirements beyond the 32-hour minimum within the Department of English and the 13 hours of tutorials or cognate courses, they are advised to work closely with an adviser to determine a balance between coverage and focus. Students may only take two approved 3000 level courses (ENGL 3800 and 3982) in the Department of English. Registration for any other ENGL 3000 level class must be made by special petition to be approved by the full Graduate Committee.   Courses must be completed within three years of enrollment (excluding ENGL 4995).

Minimum number of credits required for the degree: 45

Non-course requirements.

• A thesis of at least 18,000 words. The thesis for an MA in literary studies is either a single scholarly/critical essay or two 30-page scholarly/critical essays. The thesis adviser must approve a prospectus for the thesis.
• Oral Defense. The defense takes the form of a discussion on the content, context and implications of the work.  

ENGL 3000 Advanced Creative Writing-Poetry (4 Credits)

Technique, writing practice and criticism.

ENGL 3001 Advanced Creative Writing-Poetry (4 Credits)

ENGL 3002 Advanced Creative Writing-Poetry (4 Credits)

ENGL 3003 Advanced Creative Writing-Poetry (4 Credits)

ENGL 3010 Advanced Creative Writing-Fiction (4 Credits)

ENGL 3011 Advanced Creative Writing-Fiction (4 Credits)

ENGL 3012 Advanced Creative Writing-Fiction (4 Credits)

ENGL 3013 Adv Creative Writing-Fiction (4 Credits)

ENGL 3015 Advanced Creative Writing: Non-Fiction (4 Credits)

ENGL 3017 Travel Writing-Fiction & Fact (4 Credits)

A study of European, American and other narratives of travel. This course examines relevant postcolonial and literary theories of travel and nationhood.

ENGL 3040 Introduction to Publishing (4 Credits)

Cross listed with ENGL 2040 , MFJS 3140.

ENGL 3121 Chaucer: Canterbury Tales (4 Credits)

Life, culture, language and literary trends of Chaucer's age as reflected in "The Canterbury Tales".

ENGL 3320 Oral Literature and Orality in Literature (4 Credits)

The term "oral literature" generally refers to narratives and poems (including songs) performed and disseminated orally from one generation to the other. Oral literature is, in some respects, the foundational 'text' of written literature. The questions that we explore in this course include: How did oral literature develop, and what are the characteristics? How has oral literature been shaped by time and place? How is it distinct from as well as related to written literature? To answer these questions, we explore different forms of oral literature and also study the use of orality in written literature. Our studies involve the examination of material and texts from different parts of the world.

ENGL 3402 Early Romantics (4 Credits)

ENGL 3405 Postmodern Visions of Israel (4 Credits)

This course investigates how representation of Israel as a modernist utopia have been replaced in contemporary literature with images of Israel as a dystopia. The class discusses the historical context that gave rise to visions of an idealized Israel, and the role the Hebrew language played in consolidating and connecting narration to nation. Next the class considers how belles-lettres from recent decades have reimagined Israel as a series of multilingual “multiverses.” A selection of fiction translated from Hebrew forms the core of class reading. Theoretical exploration of postmodernism help us conceptualize the poetics of postmodern literature. No knowledge of Israeli history or Jewish culture is necessary to succeed in this course. Cross listed with JUST 3405 .

ENGL 3706 Writing the American West (4 Credits)

Explores historical and contemporary writing produced in and about the American West.

ENGL 3711 20th-Century American Fiction (4 Credits)

Fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction on selected themes by 20th and 21st century American writers. Topics for study may include issues related to regionalism, ethnicity and gender, as well as specific social and historical concerns.

ENGL 3730 Literature and Medicine: Addiction and Modernity (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to accounts of substance use and addiction from the nineteenth century through the present day. We will examine canonical and contemporary literary texts, medical writings, visual representations, smartphone applications, and films alongside topics such as liberalism, inequality, imperial expansion, consumerism, “digital drugs,” and the pathologization of addiction. We will consider our readings in light of the following questions: What role do substance use and addiction play in constructing the modern self and society? What can representations of addiction teach us about our relationship with the external world? How does addiction act as a metaphor, a narrative device, or even a political sign? How do gender, class, and race affect narratives of addiction? How do accounts of addiction interact with philosophical texts, medical treatises, and imperial and colonial discourses? In addition to writing critical essays, students will evaluate smartphone addiction treatment apps and devise a creative project on a topic relevant to this course.

ENGL 3731 Topics in English (1-4 Credits)

ENGL 3732 Topics in English (1-4 Credits)

ENGL 3733 Topics in English (1-4 Credits)

Topics vary reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the department and studies of the faculty.

ENGL 3742 Jesus in Jewish Literature (4 Credits)

This course surveys literary depictions of Jesus in Jewish literature. Readers are often surprised to learn that throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, major Jewish writers have incorporated the figure of Jesus of Nazareth into their work. This class explores the historical, aesthetic, and spiritual reasons for the many Jewish literary representations of Jesus and of his literary foil, Judas. A selection of materials including short stories, poems, novels, scholarly essays and polemics in English and in translation from Hebrew and Yiddish demonstrate the depth of Jewish literary culture’s engagement with Jesus’ life and teachings. Among the many writers we will read are: S.Y. Agnon, Sholem Asch, Uri Zvi Greenberg, Haim Hazaz, Emma Lazarus, Amos Oz, Philip Roth, and L. Shapiro. Ultimately, this class will consider how literary representations of Jesus can destabilize perceived distinctions between Jews and Christians. While helpful, no knowledge of Jewish languages, religious tradition, or cultural practice is necessary to succeed in this course. This course is cross-listed as JUST 3742 .

ENGL 3743 Modern Jewish Literature (4 Credits)

Stories, novels and memoirs by 20th-century Jewish writers; consideration of issues of generation, gender and idea of Jewish literature as a genre. Cross listed with JUST 3743.

ENGL 3744 African American Literature (4 Credits)

This course examines fiction, poetry, autobiography, and drama by African American writers, with strong consideration on the socio-historical conditions that gave rise to and continue to inform this literary tradition.

ENGL 3800 Bibliography/Research Method (4 Credits)

ENGL 3803 Modernism/Postmodernism (4 Credits)

ENGL 3813 History and Structure of the English Language (4 Credits)

A composite course studying both the structure of modern English and the history of the English language.

ENGL 3815 Studies in Rhetoric (4 Credits)

This course will examine the history and principles of rhetoric and how they pertain to theory and practice in the field of composition and rhetoric.

ENGL 3817 History of Rhetoric (4 Credits)

ENGL 3818 Composition Theory (4 Credits)

ENGL 3819 Old English (4 Credits)

This class introduces students to Old English grammar, prose, and poetry. This course is a prerequisite for ENGL 3200.

ENGL 3821 Literary Criticism: 19th Century-Present (4 Credits)

ENGL 3822 Literary Criticism: 20th Century (4 Credits)

Critical methods and philosophies of 20th-century critics; their relationship to traditions.

ENGL 3823 Interpretation Theory (4 Credits)

ENGL 3825 Cultural Criticism (4 Credits)

Cross listed with ENGL 2835.

ENGL 3852 Topics in Poetics (4 Credits)

ENGL 3982 Writers in the Schools (2,4 Credits)

This course operates mostly "in the field." Following the models of California Poets in the Schools and Teachers & Writers Collaborative, students are in training with a poet-in-residence, observing him as he conducts a residency in a public school. In addition, we have our own meetings to discuss pedagogy, classroom practices and management, teacher-writer relations, and all other necessary logistical planning. Placement in public schools is facilitated by Denver SCORES, an education program dedicated to increasing literacy in Denver's at-risk school population. For those wishing to work with middle or high school students, or in other community settings (e.g., homeless or women's shelters), special arrangements can be made. This course is a collaborative effort between CO Humanities, Denver SCORES, and the University of Denver.

ENGL 3991 Independent Study (1-17 Credits)

ENGL 3995 Independent Research (1-10 Credits)

ENGL 4000 Colloquium (2 Credits)

ENGL 4001 Sem Creative Writing-Poetry (4 Credits)

ENGL 4009 Seminar -- Creative Nonfiction (4 Credits)

Advanced writing and study of creative nonfiction, including prose development and structure.

ENGL 4011 Sem Creative Writing-Fiction (4 Credits)

ENGL 4012 History/Theory of Genre-Poetry (4 Credits)

ENGL 4017 Travel Writing (4 Credits)

ENGL 4050 The Critical Imagination (2 Credits)

This graduate level course explores poetry, fiction, and criticism as different facets of the imagination. This is a large and a necessarily vaguely defined topic. But in the world of literary studies, creativity and criticism are clearly symbiotic. Reading and writing are connected activities. The poet or fiction writer is often a critic, and there are numerous treatments of interpretation in the critical canon suggesting that the act of reading and interpreting is itself an imaginative and creative act. The course explores genre signatures and possibilities, as well as provides an introduction to some of the analytics through which texts, literary and otherwise, are interpreted.

ENGL 4100 Graduate Tutorial (2-4 Credits)

ENGL 4120 Beowulf (4 Credits)

Reading and translation of the Old English Beowulf. Prerequisite: ENGL 4125 .

ENGL 4125 Old English (4 Credits)

This class introduces students to Old English grammar, prose, and poetry. This course is a prerequisite for ENGL 4120 .

ENGL 4150 Special Topics in Medieval Lit (4 Credits)

ENGL 4200 Special Topics-Early Mod Lit (4 Credits)

ENGL 4210 Holocaust Literature (4 Credits)

This seminar presents a multidisciplinary and transnational approach to literature of the Holocaust. Students consider memoir, fiction, and poetry drawn from a variety of national literatures and linguistic traditions. Works written by victims, survivors and 'witnesses through the imagination' are all considered. These readings are supplemented by secondary texts, including historical and philosophical materials, as well as relevant works from the social sciences.

ENGL 4213 Advanced Studies in Early Modern Literature (4 Credits)

ENGL 4220 Seminar-Studies in Shakespeare (4 Credits)

ENGL 4300 Advanced Studies in 18th Century Literature (4 Credits)

ENGL 4424 Topics in English: 19th Century Literature (4 Credits)

Special Topics courses will explore specific topics within historical periods, single authors, or theoretical/critical/ scholarly issues.

ENGL 4510 ISL Dharamsala: Tibet, Global Citizenship, & Community Literacies (4 Credits)

ISL Dharamsala presents DU students with the unique opportunity to study international community literacies as a practical component of global citizenship through service-learning placements and study in Dharamsala, India. Home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, Dharamsala is a multi-generational community located in the northern Indian foothills of the Himalayas. During fall quarter, students will study community literacies in the practice of global citizenship and service while immersed in the geo-political, religious, and other contexts experienced by Tibetans in exile. During their time in Dharamsala, cultural immersion and a service-learning placement will give students insight into the complexities of social justice issues and cultural nuances they have been studying and provide opportunities to contribute to local and global society through informed and reflective practice.

ENGL 4600 Adv Studies -20th Cent Lit (4 Credits)

ENGL 4621 Adv Studies-20th C. Literature (2-4 Credits)

This course will offer (and be required of) graduate students an advanced foundation in 20th century literature; the primary texts and their cultural/historical/ theoretical contexts.

ENGL 4650 Special Topics: 20th Cent Lit (4 Credits)

ENGL 4660 The Black Imagination (4 Credits)

Focusing mainly on Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas (especially the USA and the Caribbean/Latin America), this course explores and connects aspects of the black imagination. These aspects include oral performances, thought systems, literature, art, cinema, and critical discourses in different eras and in various places. Studied together, these existential and intellectual signposts provide an expanded insight into black (African and African diasporic) aesthetics from an intercontinental and an interdisciplinary perspective.

ENGL 4675 Theories of Narrative: Formalism, Narratology, Cybertext (4 Credits)

This class traces developments in narrative theory from Russian Formalism through "classical" narratology and on to examine the border between traditional narrative texts and texts that require a higher degree of interactivity, sometimes called "cyber texts." The goal is to identify significant contributions to narrative theory and to suggest the possibilities for the future of the field. Seminal articles, key works, and critical introductions survey key advances in narrative theory to present an overview of the field from its inception to contemporary trends.

ENGL 4700 Antebellum American Literature (4 Credits)

ENGL 4701 Topics in English (2-5 Credits)

A topics class; topics may change.

ENGL 4702 Topics in English (2-5 Credits)

ENGL 4730 American Romanticism (4 Credits)

ENGL 4732 Spc Tpc: Antebellum Amer Lit (4 Credits)

ENGL 4743 Black Feminist Criticism (4 Credits)

This course examines the discursive reach of black feminist criticism by journeying into the creative terrain of literature, visual art, music, and performance produced by black women in the United States and throughout the black diaspora, from the nineteenth century to the present.

ENGL 4830 Seminar: Teaching and Writing Literature (2-4 Credits)

ENGL 4840 Topics in Composition Studies (2-4 Credits)

Each offering of this course focuses on specific issues in theory, research, or pedagogy within the broad field of composition studies. Examples of topics include the development of writing abilities; genre theory and composing; multimodal texts and their intersections and disjunctions of rhetoric and composition; the history of composing theories and practices; realms of composing, including the academic, civic, vocational, aesthetic, and interpersonal; institutional formations and settings of composing; discourse theories; stylistics; race, gender, class and composing; and so on.

ENGL 4851 Publishing Institute (6 Credits)

ENGL 4852 Dissertation Colloquium (2 Credits)

This two-credit dissertation colloquium is offered in the winter and spring for third-year PhD students in English who are in the process of researching and writing their dissertations. In addition to having weekly presentations and discussions of work in progress, the group will peruse prefaces and introductions to former English Department dissertations, write and abstract for their own dissertation, and possibly revise and send out a piece from their dissertation. The class is open to both literary studies and creative writing students. Restricted to doctoral students in English.

ENGL 4991 Independent Study (1-17 Credits)

ENGL 4995 Independent Research (1-17 Credits)

ENGL 5991 Independent Study (1-17 Credits)

ENGL 5995 Independent Research (1-17 Credits)

ENGL 5999 American Literary Marketplace (0-2 Credits)

“American Literary Marketplace” bridges the culture of writing within the Department of English and Literary Arts with the culture of publishing in the United States. As an experiential learning course, it offers graduate students a formal, structured opportunity—as an internship, externship, or cooperative educational experience, depending on the student’s need—to deepen their writing practice and enact classroom learning outside and beyond the literary classroom.

Patrick Cottrell , Assistant Professor, MFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Clark Davis , Professor, PhD, University at Buffalo - State University of New York

Donna Beth Ellard , Associate Professor, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara

Rachel Feder , Associate Professor, PhD, University of Michigan

Graham Foust , Professor, PhD, University at Buffalo - State University of New York

Menglu Gao , Assistant Professor, PhD, Northwestern University

Eric Gould , Professor, PhD, University of London

Tayana Hardin , Associate Professor, PhD, University of Michigan

Douglas D. Hesse , Professor, PhD, University of Iowa

W. Scott Howard , Professor, PhD, University of Washington

Joanna Howard , Associate Professor, PhD, University of Denver

Poupeh Missaghi , Assistant Professor, PhD, University of Denver

Maik Nwosu , Professor and Department Chair, PhD, Syracuse University

R.D. Perry , Assistant Professor, PhD, University of California-Berkeley

Aleksandr Prigozhin , Assistant Professor, PhD, University of Chicago

Bin Ramke , Professor, PhD, Ohio University

Selah Saterstrom , Professor, MFA, Goddard College

Jennifer Soong , Assistant Professor, PhD, Princeton University

Billy J. Stratton , Associate Professor, PhD, University of Arizona

Kristy L. Ulibarri , Associate Professor, PhD, University of Illinois-Chicago

Jan Gorak , Professor, Emeritus, PhD, University of Southern California

Brian Kiteley , Professor, Emeritus, MA, City College NY

Eleanor McNees , Professor, Emerita, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder

Jessica Munns , Professor, Emerita, PhD, University of Warwick

Margaret Whitt , Professor, Emerita, PhD, University of Denver

Diana D. Wilson , Professor, Emerita, PhD, University of Denver

William F. Zaranka , Provost, Emeritus, PhD, University of Denver

Contacts & Directions | Maps | Jobs | Giving | DU Mobile Site | Site Map

© 2023-2024 University of Denver. All rights reserved. Privacy. The University of Denver is an equal opportunity affirmative action institution.

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Advent 2024 English and Creative Writing Classes

Other pages in this section:

English Courses

English 101 will set you to work planning, writing, and revising essays of various lengths, practicing a handful of essential skills that make for clear and persuasive writing.  Though every English 101 features a play by Shakespeare, the content of each courses differs widely, from medieval poetry to contemporary drama, from African-American memoir to speculative fiction.   

This iteration of Representative Masterpieces will include close study of Homer’s Iliad , Vergil’s Aeneid , Beowulf , and The Inferno of Dante. The course thus follows the development of the epic form from its origins in oral poetry through its refinement as literary art, and more importantly from its emergence from the heroic ethics of the ancient world and transformations at the hands of Christian writers.

This course focuses on several early works from different literary genres (but excluding the epic) manifestly part of “the cultural imaginary” of writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Shelley, Toni Morrison, and Wendell Berry. First-hand knowledge of such works both enhances one’s ability to identify and understand literary subtexts, and also trains students to be attentive to the productive ways that later writers responded to and repurposed these premodern literary touchstones. Using English translations, we will be reading and thinking critically about Plato’s “Parable of the Cave” from the Republic and “Ladder of Love” from the Symposium ; Euripides’s Alcestis , Medea , and Bacchae ; Cicero’s On Duties , On Friendship , and Scipio's Dream ; Virgil’s Georgics [Poem of the Land]; Apuleius’s The Golden Ass ; Ovid’s Metamorphoses ; and the courtly romances of Marie de France. This course involves student-centered constructivist and collaborative classroom exercises (“capers”), as well as individual presentations and formal “write-ups.” A good time will be had by all.

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” (Marcus Garvey)

Wait a minute: English languages? What does that mean?

From a basic perspective, we share one English: we can effectively transmit meaning from one to another. Yet variations in our own use of English reveal that what we might conceive of as one language is not so easily limited. In this course, we’ll study the English language(s) from a variety of perspectives: historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. In doing so, we’ll come to understand how our English(es) have been used as a means not simply for communication but for expressing both power and empowerment.

ChatGPT, in its Gen-Z voice, offers this recommendation: “Yo, I'm totally vibing with this class! It's gonna be lit and give me some serious brain workout, you know? Can't wait to dive in and see what's up. Gonna be mad interesting, for real.”

This course explores our place in the world through three complementary activities: reading, writing, and meditation. We will read together a wide selection of poems offering diverse views of “nature” and our relationship to the earth, taking into account African-American and Indigenous views as well as the European perspective that has long been dominant. We will also undertake a range of contemplative practices, including walking and sitting meditation, outdoors when possible.  Through journal-keeping and poetic experiments as well as formal essays and presentations, students will articulate their discoveries and hone their skills as readers and observers, both of poetry and of the natural world.

There is no responsible way to approach the study of Chaucer’s works without attending to the intersection between language, bodies, gender, and desire within them. As “the father of English poetry,” Chaucer plants his poetic feet in the relationships between the genders, in how we view bodily pleasures (or their absence), in the way language circulates in the social space between bodies, and in how we approach questions of bodily subjectivity from the pagan past to his Christian present. This is true when Chaucer writes about romantic or sexual love, but it is also true when he writes about religion, politics, history, animal fables, and dream visions. In this class, we will consider how the study of (often deeply troubling pieces of) Chaucer’s work should energize our contemporary assumptions and questions about gender and sexuality even as we become familiar with Chaucer’s historical contexts, his language, and his engagement with the literary innovations of his day. Because this is an upper-level class, all of our reading will be in the original Middle English, and so we will begin with a series of lessons on the language. No previous experience with Middle English is expected or required. By the end of the class, however, we will all be comfortable with reading (and reading aloud) the language of Chaucer’s 14th century London.  

Advent 2024 our focus for “Shakespeare 1” will be six plays written and performed between 1594 and 1599, the years just after Shakespeare had published his two long narrative poems (when London’s theatres were closed due to the bubonic plague) and before his company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men (in which Shakespeare was an actor, playwright, and shareholder), moved to the newly constructed Globe Theatre. Although these six plays continue to have perennial appeal in their own right, we will also investigate the historical contexts associated with their composition and staging—especially Shakespeare’s aesthetic tendency toward lyricism, a term and theme we will need to explore and define before we can examine how it informs and animates his plays written between 1594-99. Although his great tragedies¬–other than Romeo and Juliet (1595) which we will read this term–come after his prolific lyrical period, he continued to experiment with several different dramatic forms including the insertion of high tragic elements within madcap comedies such as The Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Midsummer Night’s Dream , and The Merchant Of Venice . Finally, we will study the historical tragedy Richard II, one of Shakespeare’s only plays written entirely in verse, which is deeply concerned with issues of royal succession at a time when childless Queen Elizabeth I was approaching the end of her life and a long, glorious reign.

This course involves student-centered constructivist and collaborative classroom exercises (“capers”) including team performances of select episodes and scenes, as well as individual presentations and formal “write-ups.” The one-night-a-week class structure is ideal for allowing us to dive deeply into each of these plays in a serious and sustained way, including playing out various possible stagings of the same episode or scene to discern what exactly the text is asking actors to emphasize and to highlight in their performance. No prior acting experience is required or assumed, for as the closing couplet of The Comedy of Errors puts it so well:

“We came into the world like brother and brother, And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.”

In English 359, we read the poetry of sixteenth-century England. Amidst dramatic shifts in religion and politics, a variety of notable poetic styles flourished in this era: the sonnets of Wyatt and Surrey, imitated from Italian models; the amatory sequences of Sidney, Shakespeare, and Spenser, telling the story of love through delicious languor and rapt immobility; and the mythological epyllia (brief epics) of Shakespeare and Marlowe. The course culminates in a complete reading of Book I of Spenser’s Faerie Queene, a chivalric romance that evokes an idealized vision of the middle ages even as it breaks new ground in the representation of contemporary history.

The eighteenth-century British novel was at heart experimental, riffing on but also departing from previous literary forms. This survey invites us to explore the early British novel in all its multifarious inventiveness as we read and discuss works by Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Lawrence Sterne, Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, and Jane Austen. Particular attention will be paid to the way the early novel interrogates concepts of gender and sexuality. 

Spanning the 18th, 19th, and 20th century, this course explores the relationship between the British empire and literatures written in English. Through colonial and postcolonial novels, poems, imperial romances, travel narratives, and essays, the course analyzes how Britain's territorial and ideological expansion abroad shaped the form and content of English literary expression. Balancing historical context and close analysis of novels, films, and critical texts, the course will consider how empire has affected literature and literary study and how these fictions of empire continue to shape the contemporary world. Readings will include works from Chinua Achebe, Joseph Conrad, Daniel Defoe, E. M. Forster, H. Rider Haggard, Jean Rhys, Olive Schreiner, and Rabindranath Tagore. 

Coming of age during the American and French revolutions, William Blake was an original multimedia artist who saw the imagination as the key to liberation, both for the individual and for society.  In this seminar, we will dive deeply into his poetry and visual art, while at the same time looking at their political and cultural context. Engagement with literary criticism and theory will enable students to take their own place in the scholarly conversion surrounding this unique and challenging author. 

“Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.”--Blake

Victorian literature is famously preoccupied with the past: memory and personal experience, national history, nostalgia, and repressed trauma. At the same time, Victorian culture encouraged a robust faith in various visions of progress: the possibility of self-determination, advances in science and technology, and the growth of England as a nation. In this survey of Victorian poetry and non-fiction prose, we will read works of literary and intellectual significance by writers whose preoccupations ranged widely—from romantic desire to evolutionary science, from religious belief to the rise of capitalism. Yet they all grappled with the relationship between art, individuals, and the ever-changing society they inhabited. As we put these fascinating works in dialogue with one another, we will pay special attention to their representations of individual and collective pasts, presents, and futures.

This course, the first half of the two-semester survey of American literature before the twentieth century, begins with the earliest writings in English by European explorers and colonizers and follows the slow emergence of distinctive political, moral and literary traditions that were recognizably American. It thus features, along with poetry and fiction, a good deal of nonfiction writing in the form of essays, memoirs, and sermons. The course culminates with the period usually called “the American Renaissance,” a thirty-year span just before the Civil War in which internationally important works were created by such writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman.

This course will be a stone’s skip across British poetry, fiction, and drama from around 1900 to the present moment. Using and breaking a variety of familiar forms, tropes, and conventions, the writers of this period work to understand and represent the practice of modern warfare, the disintegration of the British Empire, the rise of the English welfare state, and the slippery concept of "Britishness" itself. The survey explores these historical and cultural contexts, observes the different kinds of critical attention these genres demand, and emphasizes the practice of close reading. Students will have some choice about the forms of work they undertake. 

In this course, we’ll explore literary and cultural representations of the US South from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. We’ll focus especially on the ways in which the South has long been conceived as “queer”—that is, deviant from national normativity and home to perversity of all kinds. Our syllabus will include works by William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote, and Randall Kenan (among many others). We’ll discuss intersections among categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality and consider the relationship between literary canon formation and the mythology of the South. 

What precipitated Ralph Ellison penning The Invisible Man ? How did we get to moving, daring women’s fiction like Sula by Toni Morrison? African American Literature is a rich tradition, as artistic as it is political, as inward facing as it is socially responsible. Forces of antiblackness have long considered the act of writing a threshold of humanity—even and especially when writing was illegal for African Americans; however, writers like poet Phyllis Wheatley have eloquently exceeded that benchmark. Black letters, then, are conscious extensions of not only cultural identities but the fullness of Black humanity, which writers from Frederick Douglass to Toni Cade Bambara commit to representing through a diversity of stories. In this course, we trace the beginning of the African American Literary Tradition, reading classic novels and landmark essays that all center the same question: what is the point and potential of Black writing?

An advanced research methods and composition course required for students pursuing honors in the department. The class will introduce students to the process of conducting independent research in the field of English and will provide experience with the most common research tools and methods used by scholars of literary analysis. We will discuss argumentative structures, disciplinary conventions, and work together in a collegial and cooperative environment that gives students experience with scholarly collaboration. Class sessions will be devoted to giving students in-class writing time, offering peer critiques, reflecting on the nature of scholarly writing, and working through exercises to develop and discover students’ individual voices and analytic priorities. In addition, students will work closely with their thesis advisor throughout the term as part of the course requirements, meeting with their advisor regularly outside of class for individual guidance and feedback about their project. By the end of the semester, students will have produced an initial rough draft of their thesis project that will then be revised in a more leisurely manner, under the supervision of their thesis advisor, during the following term. 

Admission to the class is granted by the department. To be selected, students must submit an abstract of their intended project over the summer and the department will approve the abstracts they believe will produce successful honors theses. 

Creative Writing Courses

Discussions will center on students' poems. Selected readings are assigned to focus on technical problems of craftsmanship and style.

If you’re dreaming up ways to tell new stories, the Beginning Fiction Workshop provides a welcoming space to explore techniques to hone your skills as a writer of fiction. You will read a diverse array of stories while we create a common language to aid us in discussion of the stories we study and create. You will write through generative exercises and build toward your own stories. Each writer will uncover their writing voice while becoming a part of the larger writing community. Together, we will become studied observers and generous participants in the writing and reading of fiction. 

Are you a fan of The Flight Attendant or House of Cards ? Do you love Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto , or Turning Red ? What do they all have in common? They were all written by playwrights. Whether you are a fiction writer interested in improving your dialogue, a poet who wants to explore narrative, a theatre geek who wants to see their work come to life, or someone simply interested in trying something new, Beginning Playwriting Workshop is an excellent opportunity to explore dramatic writing in a safe and supportive environment. Emphasis is placed on promoting growth as a writer. A variety of foundational texts are read in order to develop an understanding of basic dramatic structure. Each play is chosen to address a corresponding skill, such as dramatic tension, subtext, dialogue, exposition, or character. Weekly writing exercises are assigned to work in concert with the plays we read. By reading plays and dissecting the form and content, students have an opportunity to develop their analytic skills, which can then be applied to their own work. In addition to short writing exercises, students will also complete either two 10-minute plays or a one-act play.

Craft-based instruction in specific formal issues in the tradition of poetry. Students will read poems through the lens of technique and craft, studying how writers utilize certain forms. The class will also focus on the generation of creative work, adhering to the forms discussed in class. Prerequisite: WRIT 205 or WRIT 206 or WRIT 207 or WRIT 208.

In this iteration of the forms course, we will focus on the novel. Over the course of the semester, we will study a range of contemporary novels, looking at story structure, elements and expectations of genre conventions, character development, and explorations of conceits and themes. We will also focus on the generation of our own concept, working to create between 50 and 75 pages of the opening of the novel, while also building a comprehensive outline, character sheet, and researching our setting. We will also spend time on the professional aspects of pitching a novel to an agent. 

Building on the skills learned in Beginning Playwriting, students in Intermediate Playwriting will explore plays that utilize a non-linear story structure.  The semester will begin with readings from contemporary playwrights like Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Katori Hall, and Lauren Yee, as we continue to discuss craft. By reading plays and dissecting the form and content, student have an opportunity to develop their analytic skills which will serve them well as they begin examining their own work.  Students will apply the skills they have learned as they write their own original one-act play (30-60 pages).

In the advanced workshop, students focus on their capstone project, sharing that work with peers in a workshop setting. The course requires students to work with the professor to develop specific reading lists with the goal of shaping their own capstone project. The primary focus of the workshop is the creation and critique of their own work and the work of their peers. Prerequisite: WRIT 306.

Graduate Programs

Director of Saint Leo’s Master of Creative Writing Program Awarded 2023 Bronze Medal in Florida Book Awards

Dr. Anne Barngrover’s ‘Everwhen’ poetry collection earns a top prize in the state. Read more about her book and her advice for writers.

• News and Events

Tags in Article

• College of Arts Sciences and Allied Services
• Creative Writing
• Master of Arts in Creative Writing
• MA in Creative Writing
• Florida Book Awards
• Graduate Program
• Liberal Arts
• National Poetry Month

During National Poetry Month, it’s fitting to congratulate Saint Leo University’s Dr. Anne Barngrover, who has been awarded the 2023 Bronze Medal by the Florida Book Awards for her poetry collection, Everwhen.  Barngrover, associate professor of creative writing, and director of the  Master of Arts in Creative Writing Program , will attend the awards ceremony in Tallahassee, FL, at the end of April. 

The Florida Book Awards were established in 2006. The 18th annual competition featured 170 eligible publications submitted across 11 categories for books published in 2023.

Earning the gold medal for poetry was Kweku Abimbola of Tampa for Saltwater Demands a Psalm (Graywolf Press) and the silver medal was awarded to Jessica Q. Stark of Jacksonville for Buffalo Girl .

Barngrover’s Everwhen will be among the other Florida Book Award-winning books on permanent display in the library at the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee and in an exhibit case on the third floor of Florida State University's Strozier Library.

Published by the University of Akron Press, the award-winning Everwhen is Barngrover’s third poetry collection. Barngrover’s  Brazen Creature was published in 2018 also by the University of Akron Press and was a finalist for the 2019 Ohioana Award for Poetry, and Yell Hound Blues  was published by Shipwreckt Books in 2013. 

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Barngrover earned her Bachelor of Arts from Denison University, her Master of Fine Arts from Florida State University, and her doctorate in English and creative writing from the University of Missouri.

Q&A with Dr. Anne Barngrover

Q. This is a BIG award! Are you having “all the feelings?” Why do you think the judges selected Everwhen ?

 A:  Thank you! I’m not exactly sure why the judges selected Everwhen. In the writing world, as in other creative pursuits, there’s so much subjectivity and rejection, the rejection far outweighing the acceptances, and oftentimes you never know why your work can get rejected by one literary journal, press, or award and accepted by another. I’ve had to learn a long time ago not to take any of it too personally and to develop a thick skin, to trust my creative instincts, and to keep marching on. That being said, I am so grateful to all those who have supported Everwhen and am very honored to have been chosen for the bronze medal.

Q: Do the poems in Everwhen follow a theme — are they connected? And if so, can you explain the theme?

 A:  I wrote and revised these poems from around 2017-2021, so the images, obsessions, and preoccupations of those years became part of this collection. Everwhen is an anxious book concerned with how our planet is being treated and how vulnerable people, especially women, are treated in tandem. Many of these poems speak as plants or as the Roman goddess Ceres, ruler of agriculture and of women and girls, as imagined in the 21 st century. Ceres’ insistence on truth-telling and resilience are familiar navigations for me. 

As a decade-long Florida resident, I experience this state as verdant, otherworldly, and misunderstood, rife with the manmade horrors of toxic algae, disappearing species and coastlines, dangerous weather patterns, and the highest reports of cyber-attacks in the country, and all of these local concerns are reflected in the poetry of this book. Overall, Everwhen deals with love, grief, and beauty in the apocalypse; the body and mind in peril; and the ecological concept of Deep Time.

Q: What inspires you to write, whether it be poetry or another form of writing?

  A: I am most inspired to write when I am reading other poems that strike me in their imagery, visual form, musicality, and use of the line, or when I am reading evocative prose. I love that poems are made up of both lines and sentences; I am most inspired by the possibility of sentences. 

My daily bike rides around my neighborhood also inspire me because I live in an area that contains a lot of lush and unusual nature. Likewise, I am inspired by the places I travel to, whether that is a nearby beach or a city in Europe. Physically moving outside helps me to meditate, think deeply, and observe the world around me. I bring all of my reading and my observations with me when I come to the page to write, and in doing so, I never face the blank page alone.

Q: What advice do you give to young writers?

 A : Read! My  students know that my mantra is, “Read five times more than you write.” Read within your genre and outside of your genre. Read work that is old and work that is new. Read work that is similar to what you want to write and work that is wildly different. 

Reading gives you permission to try new things in your writing, to experiment with form and perspective, and to re-imagine the possibilities of storytelling and expression. No one can work in a bubble; all successful writers borrow from the writers who came before them. If you do not read, you will stagnate as a writer. What’s more, reading can become one of the greatest loves of your life; I know it has been a great love in mine. 

Leading Micro-credential in Creative Writing This Summer

This summer, Barngrover will lead the 2024 master’s in creative writing summer residency as well as a micro-credential program in creative writing. The micro-credential program will provide feedback from creative writing faculty and peers on what participants are working on — new fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. It takes place 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., July 8-13 at Saint Leo’s campus, 33701 County Road 52, St. Leo, FL 33544. The deadline to sign up is June 15. For more information, email  [email protected]

Skip to Content

• Current Students
• Faculty/Staff
• University of Denver
• College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• English & Literary Arts

English and Literary Arts - Literary Studies

College: AHSS

Back to Academic Programs

• Learn more about the English & Literary Arts Department

Our PhD in English and literary arts with a concentration in literary studies exposes you to a wide range of literature and literary theory as you prepare to teach and research at the university level. Our students draw connections across genres, relate theory to practice and work creatively on research projects.   

In this program, you'll teach various courses in literature and writing and develop your skills as an educator. You'll also be able to customize your professional development by organizing your own reading series, attending conferences and collaborating with faculty to publish original research. The curiosity, work ethic and analytical skills you'll cultivate throughout your studies can help you establish successful a career in both academic roles and professional settings that value communication and creative problem solving.

Learn more about the program .

What Sets Us Apart

A faculty of writers, critics and scholars who regularly publish in the best journals and presses

Small class sizes, allowing you to work one-on-one with some of the best writers and literary scholars in the country

Degrees tailored to your specific talents and interests, with major areas for research including creative writing, modern and contemporary British literature, American literature, American multicultural literature and Anglophone literatures, genre studies, and literary theory and rhetoric

Courses outside the traditional literature model, including writing workshops, individually designed tutorials and colloquia devoted to teaching and professional development

Move forward in your critical study of English and literature.

See how you can find your unique path at DU.

Request Information

Degree Requirements

• Students in the Literary Studies concentration will complete 90 graduate-level quarter hours. 
• 48 of these hours will be in formal classes (excluding tutorials, independent study and independent research courses).
• Non-coursework requirements include comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal and prospectus, a dissertation of publishable quality that makes a significant contribution to its field and an oral defense.

See the DU Graduate Bulletin  for full course requirements. 

Featured Faculty

Clark Davis

View Profile

Professor, Department Chair 

Application Information

Financial Aid

Application Requirements

Start your application, undergraduate applicants.

We accept both the Common App and our own Pioneer App. The Common App is a universal application that can be sent to many schools, while the Pioneer App is only used by the University of Denver.

Pioneer App

First-Year Students Transfer Students

Graduate Applicants

Go to the graduate admission application to submit your information. For information on admission requirements, visit the graduate academic programs page and locate your program of interest.

Graduate Application

Explore Programs

Graduate Academic Programs

University of Notre Dame

Department of English

College of Arts and Letters

• Home ›
• News and Events ›
• News ›

Creative Writing Program Director Roy Scranton wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Published: April 11, 2024

Author: Paul Cunningham

Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Program Director Dr. Roy Scranton has been named a 2024 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation , and awarded a grant supporting his forthcoming book Ethical Pessimism: Climate Change and the Limits of Narrative . Now in its 99th year, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation recognizes & awards monetary prizes to the 2024 class of trail-blazing fellows across 52 fields.

“Humanity faces some profound existential challenges,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. “The Guggenheim Fellowship is a life-changing recognition. It’s a celebrated investment into the lives and careers of distinguished artists, scholars, scientists, writers and other cultural visionaries who are meeting these challenges head-on and generating new possibilities and pathways across the broader culture as they do so.”

In all, 52 scholarly disciplines and artistic fields, 84 academic institutions, 38 US states and the District of Columbia, and four Canadian provinces are represented in the 2024 class, who range in age from 28 to 89. More than 40 Fellows (roughly 1 out of 4) do not hold a full-time affiliation with a college or university. Many Fellows’ projects directly respond to timely issues such as democracy and politics, identity, disability activism, machine learning, incarceration, climate change and community. Since its founding in 1925, the Foundation has awarded over $400 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 fellows.

Dr. Roy Scranton is an essayist, novelist, literary critic, and climate philosopher, best known for his work on war, war literature, and the Anthropocene. He is the author of five books, and has written widely for publications such as the New York Times , Rolling Stone , MIT Technology Review , the Yale Review , and elsewhere. Dr. Scranton grew up in Oregon, dropped out of college, and spent his early twenties wandering the American West. He served four years in the US Army (2002–2006), including fourteen months in Iraq, then completed his bachelor’s degree and earned a master’s degree at the New School for Social Research, before earning a Ph.D. in English at Princeton. His essay “Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene” was selected for the 2015  Best American Science and Nature Writing . He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences at Rice University, has been awarded a Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities and a Lannan Literary Fellowship for Fiction, and held the inaugural Teaching Lab Fellowship at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study.

Skip to Content

Current Students

Interested in more? Search Courses

• Search Input Submit Search

Admission Steps

Professional writing - professional creative nonfiction writing - ma, admission requirements.

Terms and Deadlines

Degree and GPA Requirements

Additional Standards for Non-Native English Speakers

Additional standards for international applicants.

For the 2023-2024 academic year

See 2024-2025 requirements instead

Fall 2023 quarter (beginning in September)

Final submission deadline: July 28, 2023

International submission deadline: June 16, 2023

Winter 2024 quarter (beginning in January)

Final submission deadline: November 10, 2023

International submission deadline: September 15, 2023

Spring 2024 quarter (beginning in March)

Final submission deadline: February 16, 2024

International submission deadline: December 8, 2023

Summer 2024 quarter (beginning in June)

Final submission deadline: May 3, 2024

International submission deadline: February 23, 2024

Final submission deadline: Applicants cannot submit applications after the final submission deadline.

Degrees and GPA Requirements

Bachelors degree: All graduate applicants must hold an earned baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university or the recognized equivalent from an international institution.

Grade point average: The minimum undergraduate GPA for admission consideration for graduate study at the University of Denver is a cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits (approximately two years of work) for the baccalaureate degree. An earned master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution supersedes the minimum standards for the baccalaureate. For applicants with graduate coursework but who have not earned a master’s degree or higher, the GPA from the graduate work may be used to meet the requirement. The minimum GPA is a cumulative 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate coursework undertaken.

Program GPA requirement: The minimum undergraduate GPA for admission consideration for this program is a cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale

Official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), C1 Advanced or Duolingo English Test are required of all graduate applicants, regardless of citizenship status, whose native language is not English or who have been educated in countries where English is not the native language. Your TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test scores are valid for two years from the test date.

The minimum TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test score requirements for this degree program are:

Minimum TOEFL Score (Internet-based test): 80 with minimum of 20 on each subscore

Minimum IELTS Score: 6.5 with minimum of 6.0 on each band score

Minimum C1 Advanced Score: 176

Minimum Duolingo English Test Score: 115

English Conditional Acceptance Offered: No, this program does not offer English Conditional Admission.

Read the English Language Proficiency policy for more details.

Read the Required Tests for GTA Eligibility policy for more details.

Per Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) regulation, international applicants must meet all standards for admission before an I-20 or DS-2019 is issued, [per U.S. Federal Register: 8 CFR § 214.3(k)] or is academically eligible for admission and is admitted [per 22 C.F.R. §62]. Read the Additional Standards For International Applicants policy for more details.

Application Materials

Transcripts, letters of recommendation.

Required Essays and Statements

Writing Sample

We require a scanned copy of your transcripts from every college or university you have attended. Scanned copies must be clearly legible and sized to print on standard 8½-by-11-inch paper. Transcripts that do not show degrees awarded must also be accompanied by a scanned copy of the diploma or degree certificate. If your academic transcripts were issued in a language other than English, both the original documents and certified English translations are required.

Transcripts and proof of degree documents for postsecondary degrees earned from institutions outside of the United States will be released to a third-party international credential evaluator to assess U.S. education system equivalencies. Beginning July 2023, a non-refundable fee for this service will be required before the application is processed.

Upon admission to the University of Denver, official transcripts will be required from each institution attended.

Recommendations are optional and not required as part of admission materials. The admission committee reserves the right to request recommendations when reviewing an admission application.

Essays and Statements

Personal statement instructions.

At University College, we strive to foster a collaborative and engaging learning environment that emphasizes the practical application of knowledge and supports self-directed, motivated learners. Our programs are designed to build upon the unique background and experiences of adult learners.   A personal statement (two pages double-spaced, 450-500 words) is required and should be submitted via the application status page. In your personal statement please answer the following questions: 1. How does your chosen program/concentration align with your personal and professional goals? 2. In what ways will your work experiences, professional background, previous education, or other lived experiences enable you to contribute to an engaging learning environment?

Résumé Instructions

The résumé (or C.V.) should include work experience, research, and/or volunteer work.

Writing Sample Instructions

Applicants must submit a creative writing sample (2-3 pages) in any genre.

Start the Application

Online Application

Financial Aid Information

Start your application.

Your submitted materials will be reviewed once all materials and application fees have been received.

Our program can only consider your application for admission if our Office of Graduate Education has received all your online materials and supplemental materials by our application deadline.

Application Fee: $75.00 Application Fee

International Degree Evaluation Fee: $50 Evaluation Fee for degrees (bachelor's or higher) earned from institutions outside the United States.

Applicants should complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15. Visit the Office of Financial Aid for additional information.

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Graduate Division
• College of Liberal and Professional Studies

Joseph Earl Thomas's SINK makes the PEN Lit Awards Longlist

Creative writing instructor Joseph Earl Thomas ’s fabulous debut novel, SINK , has made it onto the 2024 PEN America Literary Awards Longlist. SINK  is a contender for the PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD, which goes to “a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.”

The Awards ceremony will be held on April 29th; we're crossing our fingers for him!