Creative Writing

Create on the shores of Lake Michigan at one of America’s first graduate English programs to grant both the MA and PhD with concentrations in Creative Writing. Our program is unique; you will hone your craft as you receive a broad-based English education that will inform and enhance your artistic vision.

While our students generally focus on a particular genre, many of them experiment in multiple genres, seeking to borrow tools from other forms that prove useful to their primary work. Some students have even successfully incorporated multiple genres in their culminating projects.

We admit 10 to 15 new students per year, and we generally have between 40 and 50 graduate-level Creative Writing students in our program. Of these students, approximately one-fourth are working at the MA level and three-fourths are working at the PhD level.

Admission Requirements 

Application Deadlines

Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.

Admission

Students in the UWM Master of Arts degree program in English must pass an M.A. exam and be recommended for admission into the Ph.D. program by their M.A. committee. An application for the Ph.D. program also must be submitted to the Graduate School.

Applicants with master’s degrees from other institutions are evaluated on the basis of standard application materials:

  • GPA
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three Supporting Letters
  • A Sample of Academic Writing

Such applicants are admitted to doctoral study provisionally and are required to complete an Academic Review within six weeks of finishing 12 credits.

For more specific information about departmental requirements for admission, please visit the English Department’s Graduate Admissions Web page.

The Academic Review is a one- to two-hour meeting with three faculty members of the English Graduate Faculty. At least two members come from the student’s concentration. The Review covers the student’s academic progress in doctoral coursework, two unrevised course papers, and a list of 20-25 books chosen by the student in consultation with the reviewers. See the English Graduate Program Handbook for further details regarding the Academic Review. Applicants should contact the Graduate Program Office for additional information and deadlines.

Creative Writing

Select one of the following:6
ENGLISH 715& ENGLISH 815Narrative Craft and Theory:and Seminar in Fiction Writing:
ENGLISH 716& ENGLISH 816Poetic Craft and Theory:and Seminar in Poetry Writing:
Select 21 credits at the graduate level in literature and cultural theory, rhetoric and composition, professional writing, and/or media, cinema, and digital studies21
Select 15 credits in creative writing 700-level or above courses15
Select 12 credits of electives12
Total Credits54

All credits must be 600-level or above, with no more than 6 credits at the 600 level.

Doctoral students may not accumulate more than 6 credits of ENGLISH 999.

Contact

Prospective Graduate Students

Questions regarding the application or the application process should be directed to the UWM Graduate School at gradschool@uwm.edu or 414-229-6569.

Current Graduate Students

Questions about research opportunities, department funding opportunities, or issues specific to the discipline should be directed to the English department.

Interested in this Plan?

For more information about the Creative Writing plan, contact Professor Liam Callanan at liam@uwm.edu.

UWM Land Acknowledgement: We acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present.   |   To learn more, visit the Electa Quinney Institute website.