Home » Programs » Graduate Creative Writing Programs » MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

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  • Program in Creative Writing

  • Contact Information:

  • Mailing Address:

  • University of Alabama
  • Box 870244
  • Tuscaloosa
  • AL
  • 35487
  • Program Director: John Estes
  • Program Contact: John Estes
  • Phone Number: (205) 348-0495
  • Website: cw.english.ua.edu
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Instagram: Instagram

  • Program Information:

  • Degree: MFA
  • Type: residency
  • Length of Program: 3 or 4 years
  • Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Cross-Genre
  • Enrollment: 50 students
  • Total Credits Required: 48
  • Application Deadlines: Priority Deadline: December 1
    Final Deadline: December 31
  • Scholarships: yes (see website)
  • Assistantships: yes (see website)
  • Core Faculty: Joel Brouwer, Taylor Brorby, Brooke Champagne, John Estes, Kwoya Fagin Maples, Nana Nkweti, Wendy Rawlings, Kellie Wells
  • Reading Series: MFA Reading Series
  • Literary Magazine: Black Warrior Review
  • Recent Visiting Writers: Carl Phillips, Maggie Nelson, Ander Monson, Chika Unigwe, Paul Beatty, Emma Bolden, Garth Greenwell, Joy Priest, Carmen Maria Machado, Hanif Abdurraqib, and many others

Program description: The University of Alabama MFA in Creative Writing celebrates its 50th year in 2024. We are a 3 year program (with an optional 4th), where all admitted students are fully funded, with a 2-1 teaching load starting in the second year (stipend is approximately $17k).

As a student at Alabama, you will be part of an active and vibrant literary community while enjoying a flexible curriculum allowing you the freedom to develop your craft within and across genres of your choice. You will also take courses in literature, criticism, and across the university; motivated students are able to complete an additional master’s degree. The MFA culminates in a thesis project, on which you will work closely with a faculty mentor.

The program offers professional development beyond diverse teaching opportunities, including editing for the Black Warrior Review, the Alabama Prison Arts Fellowship, our Young Writers Camp, and various position in arts administration. Research and conference travel funding is available through the Department, College, and Graduate School. Alumni go on to successful careers in publishing, teaching, and other literature-adjacent fields, but whatever your aspirations an MFA can be not only an invaluable degree but a rich and irreplaceable time to grow as a writer and person. 

Find more great programs at the NewPages Guide to Graduate Creative Writing Programs.