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Florida International University

Florida, united states.

The program was founded in 1990 and the 1994 Yearbook of the Dictionary of Literary Biography listed FIU's MFA program as among the top ten in the U.S ("Who Runs American Literature," George Garrett). Since that time the accomplishments of its widely published faculty and alumni have grown significantly. Awards to faculty include a Macarthur "Genius" grant, New York Times best-selling listings, and New York Times Notable Book of the Year and "Editors' Choice" awards. Alumni have published more than 180 books and have been named on multiple occasions to New York Times best-seller lists, garnering such accolades as the Iowa Short Fiction Award, The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, The AWP Donald Hall Poetry Prize, the Rona Jaffe Writer's Award, Presidential Inaugural Poet, and nomination as a Pen Hemingway Award finalist.

The program has the simple operating philosophy of helping talented writers across all genres reach their intended audiences

The 1996 U.S. News and World Report named Florida International University, founded in 1965, one of America's top 150 Universities and similar designations have followed over the years. FIU, with some 43,000 students, is the State University of Florida at Miami. The Creative Writing Program is housed at the Biscayne Bay Campus, directly on Biscayne Bay, where on-campus housing is available. A wide range of rental housing is found in nearby Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, and in the nearby Broward County communities of Dania Beach and Hollywood. Study at FIU is a rich multi-ethnic, multicultural experience. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is a dynamic community of more than 3 million with a distinctive Latin American and Caribbean flavor in its many dance, theatre, art, and music institutions. Writers enjoy the opportunity for editorial experience on Gulf Stream magazine and The Florida Book Review, the annual FIU Literary Awards Competition, as well as participation in the Miami Book Fair International, the O, Miami Poetry Festival, and the Writers on the Bay Series, which has included residencies by such writers as Pat Conroy, Madeliene Blais, Scott Turow, Rita Dove, Louis Simpson, John Wideman, Elmore Leonard, Derek Walcott, Luisa Valenzuela, Tony Hillerman, Robert Pinsky, and Gay Talese.

Each year the program names the winner of the Lawrence A. Sanders Award for Fiction, given to a writer whose work exhibits literary merit and popular appeal. Recipients have included Isabel Allende, Amy Tan, Tim O'Brien, and Dennis Lehane. The award includes a $5,000 prize and a statuette executed by Ignacio Casteneda, fifth generation sculptor from Mexico City.

Contact Information

3000 NE 151 Street AC1-335, English/Creative Writing Program North Miami Florida, United States 33181 Phone: (305) 919-5857 Email: [email protected] https://case.fiu.edu/english/mfa-creative-writing/index.html

Bachelor of Arts in English BA: Creative Writing Track +

Undergraduate program director.

Florida International University's Bachelor's in English offers course specializations, such as literature, writing and rhetoric, creative writing and linguistics. Graduates of these programs may go on to pursue master's or doctoral degrees, or find careers in fields like writing, teaching and journalism.

Students study theory along with the best professional works in fiction, poetry, and non-fiction and develop their own voices in these genres through hands-on guidance and workshop feedback.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing MFA +

Graduate program director.

The program is a 48 credit studio/academic curriculum leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree. It includes a minimum 18 credits of writing workshop, 15 credits of literature, 3 credits of form and theory, and 6 credits of thesis. There is no language requirement. Graduate workshops include short fiction, the novel, popular fiction, screenwriting, creative nonfiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. The program places great emphasis upon the preparation and completion of a book-length creative thesis.

Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA and a minimum of 9 credits of undergraduate course work in creative writing. Admission is based primarily on the strength of the applicant's submitted writing sample.

Denise Duhamel

Denise Duhamel’s numerous and acclaimed books of poetry include Second Story, Scald, and Blowout, which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her nonfiction publications include The Unrhymables: Collaborations in Prose (with Julie Marie Wade). She has guest edited The Best American Poetry and is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/33

Debra Dean’s popular and critically acclaimed books have been published in twenty-two languages. Her bestselling debut, The Madonnas of Leningrad was a New York Times Editors’ Choice novel, a #1 Booksense Pick, a Booklist Top Ten Novel, and an American Library Association Notable Book of the Year. Her other awards have included the Paterson Fiction Prize and a Florida Book Award.

http://www.rusoffagency.com/authors/dean_d/debra_dean.htm

Lynne Barrett

Lynne Barrett is the author of the story collections Magpies, The Secret Names of Women, and The Land of Go. She has edited the anthologies Tigertail: Florida Flash and Making Good Time: How We Do, And Don’t, Get Around in South Florida. A recipient of the Edgar Award for best mystery story and an NEA Fellowship, she is also the editor of The Florida Book Review.

http://www.lynnebarrett.com/

John Dufresne

The Way That Water Enters Stone; Louisiana Power & Light; Love Warps the Mind a Little; Deep in the Shade of Paradise; The Lie That Tells a Truth: a Guide to Writing Fiction; Johnny Too Bad: Requiem, Mass: No Regrets, Coyote; Flash!: Writing the Very Short Story; Storyville! An Illustrated Guide to Writing Fiction.

https://john-dufresne.squarespace.com/

Campbell McGrath

Campbell McGrath is the author of numerous books of poetry, most recently Nouns & Verbs: New and Selected Poems. He has received many of America’s major literary prizes for his work, including the Kingsley Tufts Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, a USA Knight Fellowship, and a Witter-Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress. His poetry has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times, as well as in scores of literary quarterlies and anthologies.

https:www.campbellmcgrath.com

Les Standiford

Les Standiford is the founding director of the FIU Creative Writing program and the author of well over 20 books, including the John Deal mystery series. His works of narrative non-fiction include Last Train to Paradise and Bringing Adam Home—both New York Times best-sellers—as well as Battle For the Big Top. He has received the Barnes and Noble Discovery award, the New York Times Editors Choice, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.

http://www.les-standiford.com/

Julie Marie Wade

Julie Marie Wade is the author of many collections of poetry, prose, and hybrid forms, including Otherwise: Essays, Fugue: An Aural History, Skirted: Poems, Just an Ordinary Woman Breathing, and Same-Sexy Marriage: A Novella in Poems. She has won the Marie Alexander Poetry Series and the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir and received grants from the Kentucky Arts Council and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund.

http://www.juliemariewade.com/

Richard Blanco

Richard Blanco served as the fifth presidential inaugural poet and received a National Humanities Medal from President Biden. He has authored several works of poetry and prose, including Homeland of My Body: New and Selected Poems, and The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood. He’s received the Patterson Poetry Prize, a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir, and the Beyond Margins Award from PEN. He was appointed as the first-ever Education Ambassador for the Academy of American Poets.

https://richard-blanco.com/

Ana Menéndez

Ana Menéndez is the author of five books of fiction, most recently The Apartment. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt, and her awards include a Pushcart Prize for fiction, a Florida Book Awards bronze medal, an American Society of Newspaper Editors first prize for commentary and a National Association of Hispanic Journalists first prize for commentary. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Bomb Magazine, The New York Times, The New England Review and Tin House and has been included in numerous anthologies, including The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature.

Publications & Presses +

Gulf Stream Magazine

Reading Series +

Writers on the Bay Reading Series ( https://www.facebook.com/Writers-on-the-Bay-Reading-Series-305268070478/ )

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Creative Writing at Florida International University

Jump to any of the following sections:

• Available Degrees

Creative Writing Degrees Available at FIU

• Master’s Degree in Creative Writing

FIU Creative Writing Rankings

The bachelor's program at FIU was ranked #169 on College Factual's Best Schools for creative writing list .

Popularity of Creative Writing at FIU

In 2021, 11 students received their master’s degree in creative writing from FIU. This makes it the #92 most popular school for creative writing master’s degree candidates in the country.

FIU Creative Writing Students

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the creative writing majors at Florida International University.

FIU Creative Writing Master’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 11 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in creative writing from FIU. About 55% were men and 45% were women.

The majority of master's degree recipients in this major at FIU are white. In the most recent graduating class for which data is available, 55% of students fell into this category.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Florida International University with a master's in creative writing.

• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By Comayagua99 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies .

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Resources for Creative Writing

• Finding Journals & Magazines
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This guide will show you how to find fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and other resources related to writing at the Hubert Library

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• Last Updated: Nov 20, 2023 3:01 PM
• URL: https://library.fiu.edu/creativewriting

Information

Fiu libraries floorplans, green library, modesto a. maidique campus, hubert library, biscayne bay campus.

Directions: Green Library, MMC

Directions: Hubert Library, BBC

On the shoulders of giants: next generation of authors and poets hone their craft at FIU

Your next great read might just be by an FIU grad. As we mark Celebrating Literacy Week, Florida!, we introduce you to three students getting their literary start at the university.

By Gisela Valencia

January 24, 2024 at 11:46am

FIU’s graduate program in creative writing is turning out award-winning writers who are gracing the world with their words and stories.

As evidenced by alumni (think “Mystic River” author Dennis Lehane, “Infinite Country” author Patricia Engel and Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco), today’s students are tomorrow’s bestselling writers.

“Every year at our Student Literary Awards, I always tell people they are going to get a glimpse of the literary future,” says Les Standiford, director of the creative writing program, which is housed under the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. “The proof of that comes every fall semester. MFA graduates read from their thesis or from their first published work at an event at Books & Books. They show us that the literary future is now.”

To celebrate FIU’s contributions to literature and introduce you to some of FIU’s budding writers (you’ll thank us when they’re famous and you have signed copies of their books on hand), we introduce you to three creative writing students who share why they chose to follow their dreams at the university and how FIU is setting them up for success.

Emily Chaffins

Emily Chaffins ’23 was looking for one thing when searching for a university: an undergraduate program that focused on her dream field – creative writing. She found it at FIU. Thanks to a revamp of degree offerings several years ago, English majors can earn their degrees with an area of specialization, one of which is creative writing.  

“It intrigued me,” Chaffins recalls. “FIU has a specific creative writing track. A lot of English programs don't have that option.” She was also happy to see that FIU offers a mystery and suspense class, something none of the other universities she had applied to offered. “I was really excited about that [class] since it’s one of the areas I’m interested in pursuing. That was a dream for me.” 

She became a Panther and never looked back. Today, Chaffins is a graduate student in FIU’s MFA in creative writing, and she’s taking hold of every opportunity to grow as a writer. Last semester, she took a literary journalism course that allowed her and her peers to cover the renowned Miami Book Fair as bloggers and journalists. This semester, she’s taking another set of courses, including a graduate level mystery and suspense class that she loves.

Even before beginning the MFA, she found stellar mentors among the program’s acclaimed faculty (most creative writing faculty teach both graduate and undergraduate classes). She says the quality of the faculty and their dedication to helping undergraduate students is what propelled her to apply to the grad program.

“Every single one of my professors made me feel so welcome and so wanted,” she says. “That’s why I really wanted to go to FIU for the MFA, too.”

While taking an undergraduate course with Professor Debra Dean, Chaffins wrote a short story that caught Dean’s attention. “At the time, I wasn’t even sure the short story was any good,” Chaffins says. But Dean saw something in the story. “She really encouraged me and gave me advice.”

Chaffins submitted her short story to FIU’s Student Literary Awards, a contest judged by writers outside of the university. The result? She won first place in undergraduate fiction. “Winning that award really boosted my confidence and showed me I was on the right path,” Chaffins says.

Chaffins is interested in writing mysteries and historical fiction. In the future, she plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in creative writing.

Michael Rojas

For Michael Rojas ’22, writing is a deeply personal act. And yet, it is also embedded in community – in humanity.

“The human condition goes beyond our ability to measure and map out,” says Rojas, a current MFA student and an English alumnus. “You need to experience it. Creative writing, for me, offers avenues for readers and writers to see the world and understand what it is to be human.”

He says he chose to pursue his MFA at FIU because the close-knit network of faculty and students within the program makes the university a writing haven. Rojas can even list the names of peers and recent alumni he’s learned from and with whom he regularly talks about the craft of writing.

“Even when we are not in classes with each other, we kind of workshop pieces at any time,” he says. “Especially if you’re a new writer, you’re always second guessing yourself. It’s good to show your peers your stories and get their feedback.”

He adds that learning from the program’s successful faculty is the greatest opportunity. “The professors are a big part of why I chose FIU and what makes the community we have here great,” he says. “We have amazing faculty on hand.” Before beginning the program, he recalls reading Dean's “The Madonnas of Leningrad” (the novel was a national bestseller and winner of awards such as the American Library Association’s Notable Book of the Year). “I was blown away by the level of expertise and craft,” he says. Now, he's learning from her and a group of top-notch faculty members. 

Rojas—a diehard fiction writer—has also discovered a newfound love for poetry thanks to FIU’s holistic creative writing curriculum, which requires students to engage in writing across genres. “I’ve really discovered that I like [poetry]. With poetry, I find that I tend to be honest about my family life. You have memories sitting in your mind. I find myself allowing these real experiences to bleed into my poetry. And it’s cathartic. You see a lot of my authentic voice and my real life coming into the words.”

In 2022, Rojas was awarded a CASE Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, which provides two years of financial support for selected fellows. That same year, he earned the runner-up honor for one of his poems in the FIU Student Literary Awards. 

Rebecca Wallwork

Becoming an author has always been Rebecca Wallwork’s dream.

“I just loved telling stories,” she says. “I was a kid with my head in the clouds. But growing up, I didn’t think I could be a novelist. It didn’t seem accessible to me.”

Wallwork felt journalism offered a more stable career path. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Western Sydney and worked as a journalist in her native Australia, New York City and, eventually, Miami.

When COVID hit more than two decades later, Wallwork found she had some extra time on her hands — time to follow her passion. She says FIU’s program “sounded like the perfect kind of place for me to be.” One of the big reasons: students in the program learn how to hone their writing skills and how to teach creative writing at the university level.

“Not all MFA programs have classes for teaching composition and creative writing,” she says. “FIU does. Those classes are really great selling points. We get the theory behind how creative writing is taught. As a [Teaching Assistant], I’ve taught a class, and I really enjoy it.”

She also praises the faculty’s willingness to discuss practical matters (how to submit to literary magazines, how to make a living as a writer, etc.). She particularly appreciates the program’s bringing poets and authors to campus during the Writers on the Bay Reading events. During Q and A sessions at these literary readings, students can ask questions about the craft of writing – and about the business of being a writer. 

Thanks to FIU, Wallwork is about to launch her new career. She plans to write novels and become a creative writing professor. She has her sights set on returning to FIU for the latter job. “It would be a dream to teach in this program,” she says.

In 2022, Wallwork won first place in graduate fiction and was the runner-up in graduate poetry at the Student Literary Awards. Last year, she earned the runner-up honor for her fiction. She will be graduating from FIU this spring. She plans to find an agent and start submitting her thesis, a novel, to publishers.

If alumni success predicts a little bit of the future, we’ll soon see Wallwork’s name on the cover of a published book. 

Learn more about how the creative writing program is turning out alumni authors and poets who are sharing their acclaimed storytelling talents with the world. 

Mark your calendars for Thursday, Feb. 1, to attend readings by visiting poets Vievee Francis and Matthew Olzmann, as part of the Writers on the Bay Reading Series. The event will take place at the BBC bookstore at 8 p.m.

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Center for Excellence in Writing

We assist students and faculty in all stages of the writing process through face-to-face and online tutoring, workshops and community engagement. Our multilingual staff is dedicated to creating a welcoming, respectful, and collaborative environment to help all writers succeed in the classroom and beyond.

Make an Appointment  Post-Appointment Survey

How to Make an Appointment 

We offer individual consultations and workshops for any writing you are working on throughout your time at FIU. Whether you are brainstorming, drafting, revising or polishing, our writing consultants can assist you with projects such as:

• Papers, reports and projects for any course in any department
• Honors theses, master's theses and dissertations
• Resumes and applications for fellowships and employment 
• Personal statements
• Group projects
• PowerPoint presentations and other non-print projects

2 Panthers earn Fulbright Awards

Top tips for success during the pandemic

Remote tutoring can help you finish your semester strong

December Dissertation Writing Retreat

Center for Excellence in Writing Presents at 2019 National Conference

Center for Excellence in Writing presents at SWCA Conference

  Center for Excellence in Writing in CASE News   Center for Excellence in Writing in FIU News

Upcoming events will be posted here.

MMC: 11200 SW 8th Street, GL 125 Miami, FL 33199 Tel: 305-348-6634

BBC: 3000 NE 151st Street, HL Second Floor Miami, FL 33181 Tel: 305-919-4036

Engineering Center: 10555 West Flagler Street, EC 2792 Miami, FL 33181 Tel: 305-348-6634

[email protected]

Blog of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Florida International University

Friday, December 18, 2015

Fiu mfa spotlight: ashley m. jones.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Nina romano's first novel, the secret language of women.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Elisa albo's each day more published.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Anthony gagliano's the emperor's club published.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Dave landsberger's poetry collection suicide by jaguar debuts.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Fiu mfa authors at miami book fair international 2014.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Just published: ran henry's spurrier.

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Applications.

Visit Steps to Apply and Admissions Requirements to learn more about the application and what it takes to get accepted to FIU. 

Important : Before applying online, please make sure to log out of any other FIU systems and close down all other browser windows. This will prevent any login security conflicts with the application.

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Doctoral Application

Students interested in the following programs must submit the applications below   instead   of the general graduate application:

• Nursing Practice (DNP) Application
• Physical Therapy (DPT) Application
• Public Health (Ph.D.) Application

Graduate Admission Application

Master's Application

Students interested in the following programs must submit the applications below   instead   of using the general graduate application:

• Application for All Other Business Master's
• Athletic Training (MS-AT) Application
• Nurse Educator (MSN Nurse Ed) Application
• Nurse Practitioner (MSN NP) Application
• Occupational Therapy (MS-OT) Application
• Physician Assistant Studies (MPA) Application
• Professional MBA Online Application
• Public Health (MPH) Application
• Speech Language Pathology (MS)

Graduate Certificate Application

For students currently enrolled in a FIU master’s or doctoral degree program:  Current Student Graduate Certificate Application  

• Post-Master's Nurse Practitioner Certificates Application
• Nurse Educator Post-Master's Certificate Application

Specialist Application

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Pathways

To be considered for admission to an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Pathway, applicants must have a minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA and no fewer than 75 credits of bachelor’s degree requirements completed.

Apply through MyFIU

Visit   Accelerated Pathway page  for steps to apply.

List of possible pathways open for enrollment.