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University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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  • MFA Writing Program

  • Contact Information:

  • Mailing Address:

  • UNC Greensboro
  • 3302 Moore Humanities and Research Admin Building
  • Greensboro
  • NC
  • 27402-6170
  • Program Director: Terry Kennedy
  • Program Contact: Terry Kennedy
  • Phone Number: (336) 334-5459
  • Website: mfagreensboro.org
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Facebook: Facebook
  • Twitter: Twitter

  • Program Information:

  • Degree: MFA
  • Type: residency
  • Length of Program: 2 years
  • Genre: Fiction, Poetry
  • Enrollment: 20
  • Total Credits Required: 36
  • Application Deadlines: December 15 (priority consideration); January 15 (final deadline)
  • Scholarships: yes (see website)
  • Assistantships: yes (see website)
  • Core Faculty: Xhenet Aliu, Stuart Dischell, Holly Goddard Jones, Terry Kennedy, Derek Palacio, Emilia Phillips, Jessie Van Rheenen
  • Publishing/Editing Courses: yes (see website)
  • Reading Series: Distinguished Visiting Writers Series
  • Literary Magazine: Greensboro Review
  • Recent Visiting Writers: Jamey Bradbury, Sumita Chakraborty, Jennine Capó Crucet, Tyree Daye, Ross Gay, Roy G. Guzmán, Matt Hart, Toni Jensen, Dana Levin, Kelly Link, Peter Orner, Natalie Shapero, Natasha Trethewey, and more.

Program description: One of the first creative writing programs in the country, the MFA at Greensboro is a two-year residency program with an emphasis on providing studio time for the writing of poetry or fiction. During the early years, noted faculty like Allen Tate, Caroline Gordon, Hiram Haydn, Peter Taylor, and Randall Jarrell invited other distinguished writers to campus, including Robert Lowell, Robert Frost, Flannery O’Connor, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, and Saul Bellow. Since that time, the faculty has intentionally kept the program small, fostering a tight-knit community.

Our students develop their particular talents through small classes in writing and literature, including courses in publishing, literary citizenship, and creative nonfiction. As a community of writers, students read and comment on each other’s writing in focused workshops and work closely with faculty members in one-on-one tutorials. Each year, the faculty also invites authors and editors to campus for our Distinguished Visiting Writers Series, featuring readings, workshops, and master classes.

Ten to twelve students are admitted each year. Assistantships provide graduate students with varied professionalization opportunities, including college teaching experience and hands-on editorial work for The Greensboro Review, our literary magazine. All applicants are also considered for the Randall Jarrell and Fred Chappell fellowships.

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