University degrees: Postgraduate
Course length: Three years (38 credits)
Think of this as an open invitation to experiment. Columbia College Chicago’s Master of Fine Arts in Fiction program not only accepts different aesthetic styles, it demands them. You’ll push your boundaries and grow as a writer with the help of faculty members and peers.
You’ll build an awareness of the overall traditional literary conversation, and you’ll be encouraged to forge your own path as a writer. If you choose, you’ll work as a graduate school instructor or teaching assistant and take advantage of publishing and portfolio opportunities.
During your first year in the MFA program, you’ll immerse yourself in writing workshops with fellow students and have professional publishing and teaching opportunities. You’ll take a hard look at writers who inspire you, studying their creative processes as you work on your craft in a structured environment.
As you study the form and theory of fiction, you’ll work with students and faculty members in both Nonfiction and Poetry.
As you finish your MFA program, you’ll build on your work from previous classes to create a substantial thesis with the help of a faculty member.
But there’s so much more:
English and Creative Writing Professor Joe Meno
As a student in Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction MFA program, you’ll foster close working relationships with our award-winning faculty members in a small, intimate community of writers.
You’ll find a home at Columbia if you’re looking for a program that emphasizes discipline and process, exposure to a broad literary conversation, and guidance in publishing. Our faculty members will support you as you stretch yourself. As artistic role models, they’ll encourage and inspire you to take risks—because they’ve been taking risks for years.
Our faculty includes award-winning fiction writers:
Living and studying in Chicago means you’ll have opportunities to participate in the literary community here. The city has one of the country’s best live literary scenes, with a diverse range of styles and genres and a welcoming environment for new writers.
