MFA in Creative Writing

A premier program, designed for you.

Our MFA curriculum is customized to fit your artistic and professional interests in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

A home for writing in the Midwest.

Butler University’s 36-hour MFA in Creative Writing program is supported by a lively Indianapolis literary community. You’ll have opportunities to edit content for our literary magazine, have coffee or a meal with guests of the Visiting Writers Series, and work with top-flight, full-time faculty. The Efroymson Center for Creative Writing, one of the few such dedicated writing centers at any university, provides a cozy home for classes, quiet writing space, or after-hours socializing. Many graduates say they never want to leave the program, noting our emphasis on community over competition.

In addition to building a foundation through graduate workshops in your home genre, you’ll have the opportunity to choose from in-depth elective courses, such as screenwriting, young adult fiction, literary editing, publishing, and teaching creative writing. As a full-time student, you can finish program requirements—10 courses and six hours of formal thesis work—in just two years.

Explore the Curriculum

A Focus on Service

All MFA candidates participate in community service projects. Some mentor high school storytellers through Writing in the Schools, or coach students in grades 3–12 during our summer camps and Bridge Program. Through our Creative Writing for Wellness Initiative, students can also teach in hospitals, senior citizen centers, alternative high schools, and prisons.

Learn How We Serve

Student Success

Our students and alumni are a widely diverse group—in age, genre interests, and professional backgrounds. But they all love writing and enjoy supporting one another, and we don’t mind bragging about them.

See What Our Grads Have Accomplished

Experienced Faculty

All our faculty are actively publishing writers with strong regional and national reputations in their fields. We have six full-time tenured faculty in creative writing, who have published more than 20 books and countless shorter works in literary and popular journals.

Meet Our Team

Our Home

The Efroymson Center for Creative Writing

Since opening its doors in December 2011, The Efroymson Center for Creative Writing has hosted MFA courses, poetry luncheons, public readings, and literary discussions. It also provides workspace for visiting writers, students, faculty, and alumni. Formerly an elegant private residence, the building was purchased and remodeled with a $1 million donation from the Efroymson Family Fund.

Butler University, Center for Creative Writing

Visiting Writers Series

The Butler Department of English regularly hosts public readings and Q&A sessions with some of the most influential people in contemporary literature.

View This Semester’s Schedule

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MFA in Creative Writing

A home for writing in the Midwest.