Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Low-Residency, Hybrid Format
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing degree offered by Drexel University Online provides students with the skills necessary to enhance their craft, forge professional networks and succeed in careers as writers. This two-year program optimizes Drexel’s historical approach to education by emphasizing experiential learning and career-focused opportunities while students learn from award-winning writers, including 2022 residency guest authors Madeline Miller and Jason Mott .
With most of the courses completed online, the MFA in Creative Writing is a low-residency format that empowers students to enhance their creativity, while sharing and developing work within a supportive community. Through workshops, residencies, and literary courses, students receive feedback from peers and professors, gain insight into the world of professional writing, and work toward creating a publishable piece.
Program news
What does low-residency mean?
This low-residency MFA lets students complete much of their coursework through Drexel University Online, allowing them to attend the program remotely. Unlike an online MFA, which is completed entirely online, a low-residency MFA requires students to attend a few in-person residencies throughout the program. This gives you flexibility in completing your coursework while still benefiting from the workshop and networking experiences of a traditional MFA. Creative Writing MFA students participate in online workshops, reading tutorials and one-on-one packet exchanges with notable published writers. In-person residencies take place three times during the program, allowing students the opportunity to meet with professors, classmates and authors of distinction while participating in workshops and craft talks. During the professional residency, fiction writers convene in New York to meet with publishers, agents and editors.
Visit Drexel Online
Program Highlights
Scholarship and Teaching Assistant Opportunities
Learn more about our full tuition scholarship from the MFA Gift Fund for Marginalized Writers and our teaching assistant opportunities.
MFA Gift Fund for Marginalized Writers
The goal of the MFA Gift Fund for Marginalized Writers is to support diverse voices and diverse literature by funding writers whose personal experiences of marginalization inform their literary pursuits.
MFA Teaching Assistantship Program
The Drexel MFA Teaching Assistant program is a selective track for MFA students interested in composition writing pedagogy. With support and mentorship from the Department of English and Philosophy, you’ll gain paid experience as an instructor in Drexel’s First Year Writing Program. This opportunity allows you to receive professional training in the field of rhetoric and composition along with valuable experience as the sole instructor of first-year writing courses, helping you become an excellent candidate for college-level teaching positions after graduation.
Program News
Meet Graduate Student Commencement Speaker Monique D. Clark
Monique D. Clark will represent graduate students as a student speaker at the 2023 College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 15. Clark graduates with her MFA in creative writing. Learn more about her in this Q&A.
Read More
Announcing the 2023 Student Commencement Speakers
The 2023 College of Arts and Sciences Commencement Ceremony will feature two student speakers: María Paula (MaPa) Mijares Torres will serve as our undergraduate commencement speaker, and Monique D. Clark will serve as our graduate commencement speaker.
Read More
Meet Jojo Elhassan, Recipient of MFA Scholarship for Marginalized Writers
Nigerian writer Altine “Jojo” Elhassan, creative writing ’24, is the inaugural recipient of a full tuition scholarship from the MFA Gift Fund for Marginalized Writers. The scholarship aims to support diverse literary voices by funding writers whose personal experiences of marginalization—including but not limited to race, class or disability—inform their work.
Read More
Creative Writing Retreats: Collioure, France — Summer 2023 Sold Out!
Planning for our summer retreat programs in 2024 is underway.
Drexel Storylab is designed for adult learners who want to explore careers as writers. The program offers creative writing workshops and study abroad retreats geared towards non-traditional students – including working professionals, Drexel alumni and other community members. Storylab is taught by Drexel faculty members and visiting, accomplished authors of note. This program can serve as an immersion experience for anyone who is interested in pursuing Drexel's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing. Writers will stay at the historic Hôtel des Templiers, in the center of the old village in the south of France, and will fill their days with morning writing workshops, afternoon sensory experiences and evening craft talks. MFA students can take the retreat for credit with an additional fee, or simply as a way to awaken their writing self.
Learn More