university of houston creative writing

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences    > Department of English    > Creative Writing, MFA

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the college graduate admission requirements   , applicants to the MFA in Creative Writing program must meet the following minimum requirements for admission to the program and for the degree:

• The applicant should have completed 12 hours of advanced English with an average of 3.0 or better grade point average.
• The applicant should have two years of college-level study in one foreign language or otherwise demonstrate, with a passing score on the GSFLT, a reading knowledge of a foreign language.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Submission of a manuscript consisting of a maximum of 10 pages of poetry or 20-25 pages of fiction.
• A statement of intent (1,000 or fewer words): reasons for pursuing graduate study in creative writing, which writers in the applicant’s genre the applicant is reading, and comments on those writers.
• On a separate sheet of paper, list awards and publications of the applicant.
• Two official copies of transcripts from each school attended.

The GRE Advanced Subject (Code 64) score is not required for MFA applicants.

• an overall undergraduate or graduate grade point average of 3.00 or higher (on a 4‐ point scale) from an institution accredited by one of the six regional accrediting associations as specified in the UH Minimum Qualifications for Admission to Masters and Doctoral Programs ( General Admission Policy   ), or
• a grade point average in the top 80% on other GPA scales and a combined IELTS score above 7 or TOEFL score above 79 or a DUOLINGO score above 105.

Consult the Creative Writing Program for additional information and more specific requirements.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 36 hours of approved graduate courses. these courses must be distributed over creative writing workshops and courses in literary studies. Specific requirements are as follows:

• 15 hours in creative writing, including 9 hours in the primary genre, 3 hours of Master Workshop, and 3 hours of Poetic Forms and Techniques for poetry students, Fiction Forms and Techniques for fiction students, or Nonfiction Forms and Techniques for nonfiction students. Students are strongly encouraged to take the course in Forms and Techniques early in the MFA program.
• 3 hours of Writers on Literature
• 12 hours in English or American literature or other literary studies (Students should divide their courses between early and later literatures. Early British literature is defined as British literature before 1800 and early American literature is defined as American literature before 1865.)
• 6 hours of elective courses (literature or other literary studies, workshop in the primary genre, workshop in a crossover genre, Writers on Literature, or coursework in another department that complements the student’s program). In addition, MFA students must complete a creative thesis for 6 credit hours.

In addition, MFA students must complete a creative thesis for 6 credit hours.

Major in English

Sandra L. Dahlberg , PhD, Literature and Education Concentrations S1028, 713-221-8949

Robin Davidson , PhD, Creative Writing Concentration S1075, 713-221-2716

Chuck Jackson , Ph.D., Film Studies Concentration Room 1045-S, 713-221-8615

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates who earn a BA in English will be able to:

Read literary, cultural, and scholarly texts critically by:

• analyzing, through close reading, the rhetorical and aesthetic qualities of texts;
• demonstrating understanding of the characteristics, conventions, and techniques associated with various literary genres;
• situating texts within their historical and cultural contexts;
• demonstrating understanding of the literary traditions in U.S., British, and their national literatures; and
• express that information orally.

Produce mature college-level writing that:

• advances rhetorically astute arguments about texts;
• analyzes texts within their historical and cultural contexts;
• applies a guiding critical methodology;
• employs appropriate scholarly diction and tone; and
• express orally with proficiency the above substance.

Use and document sources appropriately to:

• advance/enrich an argument;
• demonstrate engagement in critical debate; and
• orally communicate the process of using and citing sources including a and b above.

NOTE: The primary BA in English degree concentration centers on literary/cultural studies. Students can alternatively select one of three concentrations: the creative writing concentration; the English education concentration; and the film studies concentration.

Degree Requirements

To complete a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, students must satisfy the “ Requirements for CHSS Majors   ” and fulfill the coursework listed below.

Common Core Requirements

See listing under Common Core Requirements    in this catalog.

Preparatory Lower-Level Requirements

(Courses in this area cannot be reused from the common core)

6-8 Hours of Foreign Language:

Complete 6-8 semester credit hours in the same foreign language. Semester credit hours are contingent upon placement exams, courses taken, or transfer credit. Semester credit hours bypassed by placement must be made up in elective credits. Hours earned in excess of three semester credit hours for any foreign language course may be applied to the elective area.

3 Hours in Pre-1800 Lit.:

Complete 3 semester credit hours from the following choices:

• ENG 2301 - Survey of World Literature: Ancient to 17th Century
• ENG 2311 - Survey of American Literature: Beginnings to 1865
• ENG 2313 - Survey of British Literature: Beginnings to 1800

3 Hours in Post 1800 Lit.:

• ENG 2302 - Survey of World Literature: 17th Century and Beyond
• ENG 2312 - Survey of American Literature: 1865 to Present
• ENG 2314 - Survey of British Literature: 1800 to Present

Major Requirements

15 hours in creative writing:.

• ENG 3309 - Introduction to Creative Writing
• ENG 4309 - Advanced Creative Writing

Complete 6 Semester Credit Hours from

• ENG 3343 - Workshop in Fiction
• ENG 3344 - Workshop in Poetry
• ENG 3345 - Workshop in Creative Nonfiction

Complete 3 Semester Credit Hours from

• ENG 3319 - Introduction to the Study of Language
• ENG 3346 - Introduction to Literary Translation
• ENG 3399 - Directed Study in English
• DRA 3308 - Playwriting
• HUM 3326 - Playwriting
• SPAN 3322 - Translation

6 Hours in Genre:

Complete 6 semester credit hours from

• ENG 3311 - Studies in Poetry
• ENG 3312 - Studies in Fiction
• ENG 3313 - Studies in Dramatic Literature

12 Hours in Lit./Theory:

Complete 12 semester credit hours from:

• ENG 3306 - Introduction to Literary Theory
• ENG 3307 - Shakespeare
• ENG 3314 - Studies in Autobiography
• ENG 3315 - Studies in Science Fiction
• ENG 3321 - African-American Literature
• ENG 3322 - Mexican-American Literature
• ENG 3323 - Technology and Literature
• ENG 3337 - Studies in Medieval English Literature and Culture
• ENG 3339 - Digital Media Theory
• ENG 3340 - Cultural Criticism
• ENG 3341 - Postcolonial Studies
• ENG 3347 - Studies in Early Modern British Literature and Culture
• ENG 3350 - Gender Studies in Literature
• ENG 3352 - Studies in World Mythology and Folklore
• ENG 3353 - Social Class and Literature
• ENG 3354 - Introduction to Film Studies
• ENG 3356 - Early Cinema
• ENG 3357 - Film Theory
• ENG 3358 - Studies in 18th Century British Literature and Culture
• ENG 3362 - Studies in the Literature and Culture of the Americas before 1800
• ENG 3363 - Studies in 19th Century US Literature and Culture
• ENG 3364 - Studies in US Literature and Culture after 1900
• ENG 3367 - Studies in 19th Century British Literature and Culture
• ENG 3377 - Studies in British Literature and Culture: 20th Century and Beyond
• ENG 3387 - Studies in World Literature and Culture
• ENG 4311 - Contemporary Literature
• ENG 4312 - Literature of the South and Southwest
• ENG 4313 - Psychology through Literature
• ENG 4314 - Major Authors
• ENG 4324 - Seminar in Ethnic Studies
• ENG 4327 - Advanced Film Studies
• ENG 4341 - Seminar in Postcolonial Studies
• ENG 4350 - Advanced Gender Studies

3 Hours in Publishing:

Complete 3 semester credit hours from:

• ENG 3330 - Desktop Publishing
• ENG 3331 - Advanced Desktop Publishing
• ENG 3332 - Literary Magazine Production: The Bayou Review
• ENG 3335 - Publishing for the Web
• ENG 4360 - Publications Workshop

Portfolio Requirement

• ENG 4098 - English Portfolio

Free Electives

Majors are required to complete a sufficient number of elective semester credit hours so that their entire coursework, including the above required courses, totals 120 semester credit hours. Upper or lower-level courses may be applied to this area, with the exceptions described under the “ Requirements for CHSS Majors   ” section.

• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
• Department of English
• Academic Programs
• Graduate Studies

M.F.A. in Creative Writing

How to apply.

Minimum Requirements for Admission

• B.A. degree (for M.F.A.); M.A. in English or M.F.A. in Creative Writing (for Ph.D.)
• 3.0 GPA in undergraduate studies (for M.F.A.); 3.5 GPA in graduate studies (for Ph.D.)

Application Dates

• Application deadline is January 15.
• Decisions are usually made by the end of March.

Application Details

Consult the UH Graduate School for detailed instructions on how to submit your application electronically.

The Creative Writing Program requires the following: 

• Online application and application fee.
• Three letters of recommendation from people who can assess your writing skills (often a former professor). Letters will be solicited by the UH Admissions Office and submitted electronically.
• Unofficial transcripts (with degrees posted) may be uploaded with your online application. If you are accepted, you will need to send official academic transcripts (sealed in the issuing envelope) from every university or college you have attended. Official transcripts should be sent directly to the UH Graduate Admissions Office (University of Houston, Graduate Admissions, P.O. Box 3947, Houston, TX 77253-3947 or electronically to [email protected].)
• An original creative manuscript (maximum 10 pages of poetry or 20 – 25 pages of fiction). Fiction manuscripts should be double-spaced, on numbered, single-sided pages: poetry can be single-spaced and formatted as desired. Note: Submitting more than the recommended amount is strongly discouraged and could adversely affect the evaluation process.
• A critical manuscript (Ph.D. Candidates only). Provide a scholarly paper written for a literature course.
• Your Statement of Intent. In 1,000 words or less, state why you wish to pursue graduate study in creative writing: which writers in your genre you are reading and their import to you and your work: and whether you have taught before and intend to pursue teaching as a career.
• The University of Houston Graduate School requires demonstration of proficiency in English for all applicants, regardless of citizenship status. Please visit their website  for a list of ways this requirement may be met.

Helpful Tips

• You may apply in more than one genre, but in order to do so you must send separate application packets and application fees for each genre. The applications will be reviewed by different faculty members for each genre.)
• If you are submitting letters of recommendation through a dossier service such as Interfolio, you may leave the recommendation section of the application blank. Letters of recommendation submitted through dossier service should be sent to  [email protected] . 
• Primary emphasis will be placed on the creative manuscript in all applications.
• Approximately 6 – 8 students in the genres of poetry and fiction are admitted each year. These numbers are inclusive for both the M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs.
• For more helpful tips and encouragement, visit our FAQ page, the Graduate Application Cheat Sheet and the Faculty Advice page. 

We’re here to answer your questions! Contact us at 713-743-3014.

Inspiring Readers & Writers

By fostering the art of creative writing, Inprint's mission is to inspire readers and writers in Houston and beyond.

Mission and Vision

Inprint envisions Houston, Texas as a city where the literary arts are a defining resource. Thanks in large part to Inprint’s programs, Houston is a vibrant community of creative writers and readers, rich with workshops, readings, and other kinds of literary activity. Writers from all backgrounds delight in coming to Houston to read, teach, and study creative writing. Thousands of Houstonians, recognizing the value and impact of the written word, join in Inprint programs to write, read, and support the literary arts. The community is enriched by some of the nation’s top emerging writers, who study at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program and teach at Inprint and various local community centers, schools, and universities.

As Houston’s premier literary arts nonprofit organization, Inprint annually serves more than 15,000 readers and writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.

Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series The Inprint Margerett Root Brown Reading Series has brought the world’s leading writers to Houston since 1980. The series has featured more than 400 writers from 38 countries, including winners of 12 Nobel Prizes, 70 Pulitzer Prizes, 65 National Book Awards, 54 National Book Critics Circle Awards, and 17 Booker Prizes, as well as 21 U.S. Poet Laureates. The authors read from their work, followed by an on-stage interview and book signing at which audience members can meet the writers. General admission is $5, with free tickets for students and senior citizens.

Inprint Cool Brains! Reading Series The Inprint Cool Brains! Reading Series has presented the country’s most exciting children’s authors since 2004. The series has featured more than 40 middle-grade authors, including winners of the National Book Award, the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, and more. The authors give a lively presentation, followed by an audience Q&A and book signing at which kids can meet the writers. The first 100 families to arrive receive free books and free bus scholarships are available for student groups.

Escritores en la casa Escritores en la casa is a new Spanish-language reading series that features internationally renowned authors from Latin America, Spain, and the United States. Hosted in collaboration with the University of Houston’s Spanish Creative Writing P.h.D. Program, these bilingual events include a reading and interview, followed by an audience Q&A and book signing at which audience members can meet the writers. 

Inprint Poetry Buskers The Inprint Poetry Buskers spread the joy of poetry at festivals and events throughout the city. Using typewriters and their quick wit, these talented poets write personalized poems for people based on the themes they request. The buskers write in both English and Spanish and are mostly graduate students from the prestigious University of Houston Creative Writing Program. The buskers recently appeared at the BIPOC Bookfest, Menil Neighborhood Community Day, Hermann Park Conservancy Kite Festival, and Sin Muros: A Borderless Teatro Festival.

Inprint Book Club The Inprint Book Club, facilitated by a local writer, meets one Sunday afternoon each month to discuss new books by authors featured in the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series.

Ink Well: A Podcast by Tintero Projects and Inprint In Ink Well: A Podcast, writers, educators, activists, and Tintero Projects co-founders Jasminne and Lupe Mendez chat with established and emerging writers of color, including Carolyn Forché, Joy Priest, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, and more.

Inprint Writers Workshops Inprint Writers Workshops, considered Houston’s “Best Place for Aspiring Writers” ( Houston Press ), are conducted in various genres such as fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Workshops are open to individuals of all backgrounds, including those who are exploring creative writing for the first time, as well as aspiring writers who want to prepare work for publication. These courses run for 6-10 weeks and are led by the region’s top writers, including graduate students, alumni, and faculty from the prestigious University of Houston Creative Writing Program.

Inprint Teachers-as-Writers Workshops Inprint Teachers-as-Writers Workshops fill a gap in teacher training, providing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction classes that sharpen the writing skills of K-12 teachers from Houston-area schools. These tuition-free workshops serve approximately 45 teachers per year, enhancing the instruction of thousands of local students.

Inprint Senior Memoir Workshops Led by skilled local writers, Inprint Senior Memoir Workshops help revive family memories, preserve community histories, and give seniors a sense of accomplishment. Workshops are currently running at Harris County Precinct One’s Finnigan Park Community Center and the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. Each workshop ends with a public reading and the publication of an anthology.

Inprint Life Writing Workshops Inprint Life Writing Workshops give healthcare providers the chance to process complex hospital experiences through reflective writing. These workshops are open to employees from all parts of the hospital and are currently running at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Pediatrics.

Inprint Incarcerated Workshops Inprint Incarcerated Workshops give men and women at Harris County Jail a new creative outlet and a sense of well-being. Each workshop ends with a reading in the jail and the publication of an anthology.

Inprint Writing Workouts Inprint Writing Workouts provide the opportunity for individuals to be introduced to creative writing in a variety of settings. Workouts have been conducted in flooded communities, senior centers, art museums, and more.

Support for Emerging Writers Inprint awards annual fellowships and prizes to graduate students at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program, the University of Houston Spanish Creative Writing P.h.D. Program, and an undergraduate at Rice University. Inprint’s support of emerging writers has totaled more than $4.5 million since 1983 and has served 600+ students from all walks of life. 

Inprint Writing Café The Inprint Writing Café offers local writers a quiet space to work on Friday mornings.

Inprint Archive of Readings The Inprint Archive of Readings makes hundreds of past readings from the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series and the Inprint Cool Brains! Reading Series accessible online.

Collaborations with many organizations Inprint’s community collaborations with Houston-area arts organizations include readings, literary discussions, festivals, workshops, cross promotions, and more.

Inprint 1520 West Main Houston, Texas 77006

Phone: 713.521.2026 [email protected]

Inprint House is located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District, next to The Menil Collection and St. Thomas University.

• Rich Levy Executive Director ext. 12
• Krupa Parikh Associate Director ext. 13
• Justin Jannise Development Manager ext. 11
• Josie Mitchell Communications Manager ext.15
• Amanda Ortiz Program Manager ext. 10
• Will Lowder Inprint UH Creative Writing Program Fellow ext. 16

Volunteer Leadership

Board of directors 2023/2024.

Marcia West, Chair Mary S Dawson, President Chinhui Juhn, Vice President Andy Lusk, Secretary/Treasurer

Robin Angly Marrick Armstrong Katharine Barthelme Frank Alan Bigman Carolyn Russell Brock Laura Calaway Gracie Cavnar Liz Crowell Gwendolyn Dawson Consuelo Duroc-Danner Gulchin Ergun Brooke Feather Richard Finger Debbie Gary Catherine Blanchard Gillespie Marc Grossberg Matt Henneman Pablo Hernández Schmidt-Tophoff Michael Hohertz Madeleine Callery Hussey Robbi Jones Christopher King Kevin Kushner Harriet Latimer Leah Lax Kevin Lewis Rebecca McDonald Ron Restrepo Docia Rudley Katie Sammons Sarah Beth Seifert Michael Sklar Doreen Stoller Liara Tamani Michelle Lopez Varma Sannam Warrender

Advisory Board 2023/2024

Dina Al-Sowayel Jeanie Arnold Mary Barone Kathryn Boehme Bielinski Heather Brown Robert Bruce Robert Campbell Chris Cander Bettie Cartwright Paige Cawthon Grace Chan Sarah Choi Nicole Clark Jess Elle Rick Evans Randi Faust Lynn Goode Holly Haire Terri Hamm Rodrigo Hasbún Olive Hershey David Isaak Kathryn Kase Caroline Leech Valarae O. Lewis Eduardo Marquez Certucha Marie Matter Ed Nawotka Ricardo Nuila Eamonn Quigley Noelle Reed Bobbi Samuels Sapna Singh Brittany Smith Emily Wolf Schaffer Melinda Spaulding Chevalier Mimi Swartz Bobby Tudor Vera Walker-Hawkins Aline Wilson Michael Zilkha

Past Presidents

Charlotte Banham Christina Bryan Bettie Carrell Mary S Dawson Consuelo Duroc-Danner Cece Fowler Eleanor Gilbane Marc Grossberg Matt Henneman Sis Johnson Kevin Lewis Franci Neely Chris Seger Hinda Simon Craig Smyser Mark Wawro Marcia West

National Advisory Council

Sandra Cisneros Richard Ford Edward Hirsch Mary Karr Naomi Shihab Nye Salman Rushdie George Saunders Bapsi Sidhwa Jacqueline Woodson

Inprint was founded in 1983 by a group of community leaders who sought to address a need in Houston for greater support and appreciation of the literary arts. The founders—C. Glenn Cambor, Karl Kilian, and Gay Block—soon recruited others to the cause. They envisioned Houston as a city of letters, a place where writers come to study, work, and make a life for themselves, thereby enhancing the city and making the power of the written word vital to its citizens.

The founders knew that supporting the nascent and already distinguished University of Houston Creative Writing Program (UH CWP) was crucial to realizing this vision, and the support of the UH CWP became the raison d’être for Inprint, resulting in a powerful synergy connecting a literary arts nonprofit organization, a university-based creative writing program, and a major American city. Since its inception, Inprint has provided fellowships, prizes, employment, and other support to UH CWP students of more than $4.5 million, enabling the university to recruit some of the country’s most talented emerging writers to live and work in Houston.

This history of support has been defined by several major events. In 1991, Inprint was given a $1 million anonymous gift to establish and maintain an endowment fund for UH CWP student fellowships in honor of founding Inprint President C. Glenn Cambor. In that same year, further fundraising provided the underwriting for an Inprint office and professional staff. Until that time, Inprint had been run entirely by volunteers.

The first juried prizes to be established by Inprint for UH CWP students were the Donald Barthelme Fellowships, commemorating the great fiction writer and native Houstonian who served on the UH CWP faculty from 1980 until his death in 1989. In 1999, Inprint embarked on a major fundraising effort, the Inprint Literary Capital Campaign, which raised more than $3 million from foundations, corporations, and individuals to establish the $1.5 million Cullen Foundation Chair in Creative Writing (held jointly by fiction writers Antonya Nelson and Robert Boswell) and nine named endowed graduate student fellowships at the UH CWP. The campaign also provided funding for three Inprint community programs for five years.

A few years later, Inprint established additional juried prizes for mid-career graduate students at the UH CWP, including the Lucille Joy Prize in Poetry, the Diana P. Hobby Prize, the Paul Verlaine Prize in Poetry, the Joan and Stanford Alexander Fiction Prize in honor of Andrea White, and the Robert J. Sussman Fiction Prize in honor of Bob Sussman. In 2013, three additional prizes—the Inprint Marion Barthelme Prizes—were established to honor the memory of long-time Inprint Board member Marion Barthelme. These prizes are awarded each year to two UH CWP graduate students and to one graduating senior from Rice University. In 2016, the Edgar M. Larsen Fellowship was established to pay tribute to long-time Inprint Board member and Inprint’s pro-bono investment manager Ed Larsen. Thanks to Inprint’s support, the UH CWP continues to be one of the nation’s most renowned creative writing programs, with a growing international reputation.

As Inprint has blossomed, it has nurtured a vibrant literary life in Houston among diverse social, racial, and economic groups by launching and developing several essential literary performance and educational programs. Inprint’s flagship performance program is the prestigious Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, founded by the UH CWP in 1980. Now in its 42 nd season, the Series is a nationally renowned literary showcase that has presented the world’s leading writers—close to 400 since 1980, including winners of 12 Nobel Prizes, 70 Pulitzer Prizes, 65 National Book Awards, 54 National Book Critics Circle Awards, and 17 Booker Prizes, as well as 21 U. S. Poet Laureates.

The Inprint Cool Brains! Reading Series, which presents the nation’s top middle-grade writers in Houston free of charge, was officially added to Inprint programs in 2007. Working closely with school districts and libraries throughout the Houston area, Cool Brains! provides a way for young readers and their families to meet their favorite authors and build a lifelong love of reading and writing. To date, Cool Brains! has presented more than 40 of the most acclaimed and beloved children’s writers, focusing on readers ages 8-12.

Throughout the 1990s, other Inprint literary performance programs enriched Houston’s cultural life. From 1993 – 2000, Inprint’s Literary Conversations presented major writers and other artists speaking on poetry, fiction, playwriting, the personal essay, biography and memoir, science writing, and music and literature, in collaboration with many other local arts organizations. From 1995 to 2003, Inprint collaborated with Brazos Bookstore and other cultural groups on a number of marathon readings featuring dozens of community members reading aloud and celebrating such great works as Dante’s Inferno , Joyce’s Ulysses , Beowulf , Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying , Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men , the poetry of Walt Whitman, and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey .

In 2006, Inprint launched a Studio Series featuring emerging writers from across the country in public readings and community outreach events. Each of these writers also held craft talks with graduate students at the UH Creative Writing Program, providing valuable mentoring at a time when the faculty was short-handed. Eight writers took part in the Studio Series over two years. The program was discontinued due to the success of faculty hiring at UH.

Inprint’s literary educational programs play a key role in developing a community of writers in Houston, today offering more than 40 writing workshops per year that serve the general public, senior citizens, K-12 teachers, healthcare workers, and others with intensive writing instruction. Inprint’s Writers Workshops, named Houston’s “Best Place for Aspiring Writers” by the Houston Press , have since 1991 provided local writers with 6-10 week workshops that help them to hone their skills and prepare work for publication, in workshops led by published writers including many students and alumni from the UH CWP. Limited to 12 people per class, Inprint Writers Workshops provide an invaluable and in-depth workshop experience. One and two-day intensive workshops have also been offered to increase our reach. In conjunction with the workshops, Inprint also offered The Business of Writing from 1996 to 2002, a one-day conference presenting several of the nation’s leading editors, agents, and writers that was designed to provide aspiring writers with an understanding of how to get their work published.

From 1995 through 2014, Inprint’s after-school Youth Writing Program was offered at Project Row Houses, SHAPE Community Center, and Finnigan Park Community Center, providing an invaluable after-school activity free of charge for at-risk community school children. Since 1996, Inprint Senior Memoir Workshops have provided senior citizens from across Houston with an activity that revives family memories, preserves community histories, and gives seniors a vital sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Offered over the years at senior centers in different parts of the city, from the north side and Fifth Ward to the East End, these nine-month workshops, led by community writers and UH CWP alumni and students, culminate each year with the publication of an anthology of the participants’ work and a community celebration. In 2014, a new senior workshop was begun at Amazing Place, a day center for adults with mild to moderate dementia.

Inprint’s Teachers-as-Writers Workshops were founded in 1997 to fill a gap in teacher training, providing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction workshops that sharpen the skills of K-12 teachers. These tuition-free 8-10 week workshops, which serve 75 teachers per year from throughout the Houston area, are based on the idea that better writers make better writing teachers. Teachers learn new techniques for the classroom, and the workshops also are personally enriching, which aids in retention and helps teachers to keep their creative juices flowing.

After exploring possible collaborations with the medical community in Houston, Inprint established Life Writing Workshops at Houston Methodist in spring 2007. These workshops, led by UH Creative Writing Program graduate students and alumni, serve employees at the Texas Medical Center at all levels, from doctors to orderlies to the lobby pianist. This program is a model of exceptional, meaningful, and innovative workforce development. The interdisciplinary approach embraced in the workshops, combining healthcare and creative writing, provides uncommon opportunities for professional and personal enrichment.

In 2008, Inprint established the Inprint Poetry Buskers Program, which sends poets with typewriters to various festivals and events throughout the Houston area. The poetry buskers write free poems on demand about topics chosen by the recipient, taking poetry out to the streets and inspiring the public with spontaneous whimsy, creativity, and skill. Buskers write in both English and Spanish and are primarily students and alumni of the UH CWP.

In 2018, Inprint launched Ink Well , a podcast that focuses primarily on Latinx and other writers of color, in collaboration with Tintero Projects. Other collaborative efforts with Tintero Projects have included bilingual workshops and readings.

In 2019, Inprint started a Spanish reading series Escritores en la casa , in collaboration with the UH Spanish Creative Writing PhD Program. The series is free and open to the public, and features a writer reading from their work, followed by Q&A and a book signing.

Inprint’s programs, events, and educational activities have achieved recognition in Houston and beyond. According to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike, “The good folks of Houston should be grateful to have such an institution operating in their midst.” Edward Hirsch, president of the Guggenheim Foundation, speaks to Inprint’s value and uniqueness: “Inprint gives a kind of center to literary life in Houston, with its tentacles going out in different directions…. I don’t think there is anything like Inprint in the country, and I’ve been to a lot of cities. Believe me, I’d like to find it.” Inprint was twice ranked #1 in the Texas Commission on the Arts competition for literary grants and received a TCA Star Award for excellence in marketing. For more than a decade, Inprint has received national endorsement in the form of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, the Inprint Cool Brains! Reading Series, and Inprint Writers Workshops have been voted “Best of Houston” by the Houston Press on several occasions; H-Texas magazine chose Inprint Writers Workshops as the city’s “Best Adult Education Program”; and the Houston Chronicle singled out Cool Brains! for bringing the “superstars of children’s and young-adult literature to town, making it a truly cool addition to the literary scene.” Houston, thanks to Inprint’s efforts, is now nationally recognized as a literary center.

Employment Opportunities

Inprint is not currently hiring.

Inprint is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an equal opportunity employer that values workplace diversity, and we encourage applications for our jobs, internships, and volunteer positions from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or age.

UH professor brings home Pulitzer Prize for true crime memoir

A University of Houston professor with a Ph.D. and several novels under her belt can add a new title to her extensive resume: Pulitzer Prize winner.

Cristina Rivera Garza, director of the creative writing program in Hispanic Studies at UH, was announced as a winner on May 6 in the memoir or autobiography category. She won for her 2023 genre-bending true crime memoir Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice .

The book recounts Garza's return to Mexico City 30 years after the murder of her younger sister, Liliana Rivera Garza, in 1990. Liliana Garza was 20 at the time and was studying architecture. The book addresses issues including gendered violence in Mexico, intimate partner violence and corruption.

Cristina Garza was born and raised in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and moved to the United States in 1989. She earned her Ph.D. in Latin American history from UH in 1995 and has since become a lauded voice in both Mexican and international literary circles for her poetry, short stories and novels.

In 2020, she returned to Mexico City, where she began digging through letters and diary entries penned by her sister. 

"I got access to, in a way, instructions that she left for me about how to go about telling the story of her life," Garza told the New York Times in 2022.

Incredibly, the release of the memoir may have led to a breakthrough in the case. Shortly after the book's publication in Spanish in 2022, Garza received an emailed tip that the suspect had been living in Southern California under an assumed name and had died in 2020, the same year Garza began work on the project.

"I believe that this award belongs rightfully to Liliana," Garza said in a story about her Pulitzer win on the UH website . "This is a book that I wrote with my sister. It’s not just a book about her."

In addition to her Pulitzer, Garza has also won six of Mexico's highest literary awards, was a 2023 finalist for the National Book Awards, and won a MacArthur Fellowship grant in 2020 for fiction.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing The Write Stuff for Writers

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Many people write creatively, but few hone their skills to develop their writing craft to its highest form. Even fewer learn the other skills it takes to become a successful writer, such as the steps needed to get a book published and into the hands of readers. Liberty’s 100% online Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing can help you develop your writing passion into a career so you can set your works free to impact culture and the world.

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Our online MFA in Creative Writing is designed to help you build on your writing skills with specific workshops dedicated to the craft of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting. With a work-in-progress approach to writing practice and mentorship from our faculty of experienced writers and scholars, you can learn the specific skills you need to make your writing stand out.

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• Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree

Why Choose Liberty’s MFA in Creative Writing?

Our online MFA in Creative Writing is mainly offered in an 8-week course format, and our tuition rate for graduate programs hasn’t increased in 9 years. Through our program, you can study the writing process and develop your creative skills through workshops with experienced writing professionals. With our flexible format, you can grow in your creative writing while continuing to do what is important to you.

As a terminal degree, the online MFA in Creative Writing can also help you pursue opportunities to teach writing at the K-12 or college level. You will gain comprehensive and in-depth exposure to writing, literature, publishing, and many other professional writing skills that you can pass on to students. Partner with the Liberty family and learn under faculty who have spent years in the field you love. Your career in professional writing starts here.

What Will You Study in Our MFA in Creative Writing?

The MFA in Creative Writing program is designed to help you become an excellent creative writer across the genres of creative fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, and poetry. You can learn how to produce aesthetically and culturally engaged creative works while gaining professional knowledge and practice. You will also study foundational contemporary literature so that you have a background in studying important works to draw on for your writing.

To help you in your professional writing, you will also study many essential skills in editing, layout, and the business of publishing so that you can best position yourself for success in the market. Through your creative writing courses and workshops, you can develop your craft so that you will be ready for your thesis project.

Here are a few examples of the skills Liberty’s MFA in Creative Writing can help you master:

• Marketing your projects and pursuing new writing opportunities
• Organizing writing and adapting it to different types of writing
• Tailoring writing to specific audiences and markets
• Understanding what makes art effective, compelling, and impactful
• Writing compelling stories that engage readers

Potential Career Opportunities

• Book and magazine writer
• Business communications specialist
• Creative writing instructor
• Publications editor
• Screenwriter
• Website copy editor and writer
• Writing manager

Featured Courses

• ENGL 600 – Editing, Layout, and Publishing
• ENGL 601 – Writing as Cultural Engagement
• ENGL 603 – Literary Theory and Practice
• WRIT 610 – Writing Fiction

Degree Information

• This program falls under the College of Arts and Sciences .
• View the Graduate Arts and Sciences Course Guides (login required).
• Download and review the Graduate Manual for MFA .

Degree Completion Plan (PDF)

Not sure what to choose?

Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.

• Tuition & Aid

Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.

All Tuition & Fees

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Financial Aid Forms & Eligibility

Scholarship Opportunities

Admission Information for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Admission requirements.

• A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required) .
• Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form .
• Creative Writing Sample – A creative writing sample of one creative writing work of at least 2,500 words or a culmination of creative writing samples totaling 2,500 words.*
• Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy .

*A sample of one or more poems totaling a minimum of 750 words may also be submitted. Song lyrics are not accepted at this time as writing samples.

Preliminary Acceptance

If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:

• Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
• Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
• Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
• If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application .
• Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.

Dual Enrollment

Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.

Transcript Policies

Unofficial college transcript policy.

Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:

• Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
• Cumulative GPA
• A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
• Degree and date conferred (if applicable)

Official College Transcript Policy

An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to [email protected] .

If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Admissions Office Contact Information

(800) 424-9596

(888) 301-3577

Email for Questions

[email protected]

Email for Documents

[email protected]

Liberty University Online Admissions Verification

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Lynchburg, VA 24515

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Submit your application online or over the phone.

Apply by phone: (800) 424-9595

Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.

Who May Qualify?

• Active Duty
• Reserve/National Guard
• Veterans/Retirees
• Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
• Current Department of Defense Employees

Available Benefits:

• Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
• Additional discount for veterans who service in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course) *
• 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)

*Not applicable to certificates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an mfa in creative writing.

A Master of Fine Arts degree, or MFA, is a terminal degree in an artistic craft that demonstrates that you have achieved the highest level of training and skill in your discipline. Like a doctorate, an MFA often allows you to teach courses at the graduate level while also providing many opportunities for scholarship and leadership in education. If you want to grow your creative writing skills to become the best writer you can be, then the Master of Fine Arts can help you get there.

How will students work towards developing their writing skills?

With creative writing workshops and a thesis project, you will receive support and guidance to help you become the best writer you can be.

How long will it take to complete the MFA in Creative Writing?

You can complete the MFA in Creative Writing in just 48 credit hours!

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College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences    > Department of English    > English Creative Writing Minor

A minor in English Creative Writing consists of 18 semester credit hours. Students may focus on poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. Portfolio admission is required before students can enroll in 4000-level Creative Writing courses. Students submit portfolios after the completion of ENGL 3331    and while enrolled in at least one of the following courses: ENGL 2318   , ENGL 3330   , or ENGL 3332   . Students can transfer in 3 hours of credit for a creative writing course taken at the second-year level or beyond; the transfer course must include a workshop element. Courses to be applied to the minor must be approved by the department.

Creative Writing Minor Requirements

Credit hours required for this minor: 18.0

Beginning Creative Writing

3.0 Credit Hours

It is suggested that students take this course within the first six hours of advanced English.

• ENGL 3331 - Beginning Creative Writing: Poetry Credit Hours: 3.0

Creative Writing Courses at the 2000 and/or 3000 Level

6.0 Credit Hours

Two Creative Writing courses at the 2000 and/or 3000 level selected from among the following:

• ENGL 3330 - Beginning Creative Writing: Fiction Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 3332 - Beginning Creative Writing: Nonfiction Credit Hours: 3.0
• ENGL 2318 - Creation and Perform of Lit Credit Hours: 3

Literature Course at the 3000 or 4000 Level

One literature course at the 3000 or 4000 level that expands the student’s understanding of literary traditions.

• ENGL 3324 - The Development of the Novel Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 3325 - Structures of Poetry Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 3328 - Masterpieces of British Literature from the Eighteenth Century Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 3351 - Am Lit Since 1865 Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 3354 - Contemp Amer Fiction Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4332 - Modern and Contemporary Poetry Credit Hours: 3

Creative Writing Courses at the 4000 Level

Two Creative Writing courses at the 4000 level taken only AFTER the 3000 level course requirements and the literature requirement have been satisfied, as well as successful admission by portfolio. Choose from fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.

• ENGL 4386 - Short Story Writing Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4382 - Poetry Writing Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4352 - Nonfiction Writing Credit Hours: 3.0
• ENGL 4387 - Senior Writing Projects in Creative Writing: Fiction Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4384 - Senior Writing Projects in Creative Writing: Poetry Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4385 - Fiction Forms Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4383 - Poetic Forms Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 4358 - Senior Writing Projects in Creative Writing: Nonfiction Credit Hours: 3.0
• ENGL 4357 - Nonfiction Forms Credit Hours: 3.0
• ENGL 4395 - Advanced Topics in Creative Writing Credit Hours: 3