does brown offer creative writing

Graduate Programs

Literary arts.

The Literary Arts graduate program offers tracks in fiction, poetry and digital/cross-disciplinary.

Students take eight courses, half in writing and half in elective studies, over a two–year period to ensure maximum time for writing. In general, students take workshops with two and sometimes three different faculty writers in their respective genres.

(Note: The MFA in Playwriting is offered by Theatre and Performance Studies.)

Students often select electives such as workshops that focus on literary translation or on special topics (e.g., narrative strategies), but may also take studio and performing arts courses, and classes from all academic fields. A creative thesis is submitted in the final semester. The program numbers approximately twenty-five students in any given academic year.

Additional Resources

Performance-focused seminar room/laboratory; literary arts seminar room; Clerestory magazine; Writers on Writing reading series; writers in residence program; Geri Braman Hill Lecture; C.D. Wright Lecture, Hawkes, Honig and Waldrop Prizes in Literary Arts; John Hay Library's Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays.

Application Information

Application requirements, gre subject:.

Not required

GRE General:

Writing sample:.

Required (must be in one genre). The writing sample is the most important part of the application.

Dates/Deadlines

Application deadline, tuition and funding.

The Graduate School provides a Financial Aid package in the first year of study covering tuition, health fee and health insurance and a full fellowship stipend. In year two, those students who are in good standing and are appropriate for the classroom are offered a two-semester teaching assistantship, which covers tuition, health fee and health insurance, and provides a stipend.

Completion Requirements

Three courses in creative writing workshops, four graduate–level electives, and a thesis.

Alumni Careers

Contact and Location

Literary arts program, mailing address.

• Program Faculty
• Program Handbook
• Graduate School Handbook

• Skip to Content
• Bulletin Home
• Institution Home

Brown University

• Bulletin Home
• The College
• Undergraduate Concentrations
• Literary Arts
• 2024-25 Course Announcement Bulletin
• 2024-25 University Bulletin
• Courses @ Brown
• Your Concentration(s)
• General Regulations
• Academic Calendar
• Curricular Programs
• Undergraduate Certificates
• The Graduate School
• The Division of Biology and Medicine
• The School of Engineering
• The School of Public Health
• School of Professional Studies
• Departments, Centers, Programs and Institutes
• University Courses
• Independent Study Plans
• Financial Information
• University Libraries
• Summary of Enrollment &​ Degrees
• Written Contractual Agreements
• The Brown Alumni Association
• Bulletin Archive

Brown’s Department in Literary Arts provides a home for innovative writers of fiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, literary translation, digital/cross-disciplonary and mixed media.  The concentration allows student writers to develop their skills in one or more genres while deepening their understanding of the craft of writing. Many courses in this concentration require a writing sample; students should consult a concentration advisor or the concentration website for strategies on getting into the appropriate course(s).

Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree with concentration in Literary Arts will be expected to complete the following course work:

1. At least four writing workshops from among the following series: LITR 0100A , LITR 0100B , LITR 0110A , LITR 0110B , LITR 0110D , LITR 0110E , LITR 011oH the various courses under LITR 0210, LITR 0310/0311, LITR 0610, LITR 1010, LITR 1110, LITR 1150/1151/1152 and LITR 1410 . At least two genres must be covered within the four workshops taken. An independent study in literary arts ( LITR 1310  and LITR 1510) may count toward the workshop requirement. Other writing-intensive courses may also count, at the discretion of the advisor.

2. Six elective reading and research in literary arts courses, which must include:

• a course in literary theory or the history of literary criticism
• a course that primarily covers readings and research in literary arts created before 1800
• a course that primarily covers readings and research in literary arts created before 1900
• a course that primarily covers readings and research in literary arts created after 1900

These courses, selected in consultation with a concentration advisor, may come from (but are not limited to) the following departments: Africana Studies, American Civilization, Classics, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, Egyptology, French Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, Italian Studies, Judaic Studies, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures in English, Middle East Studies, Modern Culture and Media, Music, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Slavic Studies, South Asian Studies, Theatre, Speech and Dance, Visual Arts. With approval from the concentration advisor, courses covering pre-20th century time periods may be distributed in a variant manner, so long as they cover two distinct literary time periods that precede the 20th century

3. Among the ten required courses, at least four must be at the 1000-level or above. At least six classes (workshops and reading/research courses) that shall count toward the concentration must be taken at Brown through the Literary Arts Department; up to one of the six LITR courses may be a course taken in another department but cross-listed by Literary Arts. No more than two of the ten required courses for the concentration may also count toward fulfilling a second concentration.

4.  During the senior year, all students must take at least one course within the Literary Arts course offerings (courses with LITR designation by the Registrar, or courses approved by the concentration advisor).

Honors in Creative Writing: Course requirements are the same as those for the regular concentration (four workshops, six elective literature-reading courses), with the following changes and additions: honors candidates must include two 1000-level workshops or independent studies among their courses; and complete a thesis. Students in their seventh semester who are enrolled in or have completed at least one 1000-level workshop (or independent study) may submit honors applications to the Literary Arts Department from the first day of the fall semester to 25 September; and from 1 through 25 February in the spring. Interested students should obtain information from the office of the Literary Arts Department.

Honors in Literary Arts Production: Course requirements are the same as those for the regular concentration (four workshop, six literature-reading courses), with the following changes and additions: honors candidates must include two 1000-level workshops, production courses or related independent studies among their courses; and complete a production capstone project. Students in their seventh semester who are enrolled in or have completed at least one 1000-level workshop, production course or independent study, may submit honors applications to the Literary Arts Department from the first day of the fall semester to 25 September; and from 1 through 25 February in the spring. Interested students should obtain information form the Literary Arts Department.

Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Phone: 401-863-1000 Maps & Directions / Contact Us © 2024-25 Brown University

• A to Z Index
• Registrar's Office
• Admission Office
• Graduate School
• Alpert Medical School
• Dean of the College

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Researchers@Brown

Literary Arts

For over 40 years, Literary Arts at Brown University has been a creative and intellectual center for the U.S. literary avant-garde.  Along with a handful of other writing programs nationwide, Brown provides a home for innovative writers of fiction, poetry, electronic writing (hypertext) and mixed media.

Established in the mid-1960s by poet, translator and critic Edwin Honig, Literary Arts at Brown continues its tradition of hiring and retaining a faculty comprised of nationally and internationally known authors.  Each year, the program offers 60 – 70 classes, awards the M.F.A. degree to approximately 12 graduate student writers, and confers Honors on about 35 talented seniors who will have completed the undergraduate concentration in Literary Arts.

The online MFA application deadline is 15 December.  Applicants can expect admission decisions by 15 March.

Friend us on  Facebook  to keep up-to-date on all that we do. 

Affiliations

Faculty administrative positions.

Shenoda, Matthew Chair of Literary Arts

Faculty Positions

Akinsiku, Lanre Assistant Professor of the Practice of Literary Arts

Cayley, John H Professor of Literary Arts

Channer, Colin C D Associate Professor of Literary Arts

Colella, Laura E Assistant Professor of the Practice of Literary Arts

Coover, Robert T.B. Stowell University Professor Emeritus of Literary Arts

Ebeid, Carolina Bonderman Assistant Professor of the Practice of Literary Arts

Field, Thalia L Adele Kellenberg Seaver Professor of Creative Writing

Gander, Forrest Adele Kellenberg Seaver '49 Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing, Professor Emeritus of Literary Arts, and Professor Emeritus of Comparitive Literature

Hunt, Laird B Professor of Literary Arts

Ives, Lucy B Bonderman Professor of of the Practice of Literary Arts

Mahajan, Karan Associate Professor of Literary Arts

Mari, Francesca Assistant Professor of the Practice of Literary Arts

Maso, Carole Professor Emerita of Literary Arts

Nakayasu, Sawako Associate Professor of Literary Arts

Nelson, Peter Gale Senior Lecturer in Literary Arts

Shenoda, Matthew Professor of Literary Arts

Sikelianos, Eleni A Professor of Literary Arts

Steinbach, Meredith Professor Emerita of Literary Arts

Swensen, Cole Professor Emerita of Literary Arts

Townsend, Jacinda Assistant Professor of Literary Arts

Wideman, John Edgar Asa Messer Professor Emeritus of Africana Studies and Literary Arts

Department of English

Choosing an introductory english course.

• Undergraduate Studies

There are several ways to start your journey with English at Brown.

• Start with one of our How Literature Matters courses (ENGL01**s), the core course for the concentration.
• Or try one of our other introductory English courses below the 1000-level 
• First-year students may want to take a first-year seminar (ENGL0150).
• Our Nonfiction Writing is another popular entry point into the concentration. A third is to take a course that focuses entirely on academic writing for the university; ENGL0900 and ENGL1030 courses focus entirely on academic writing, while ENGL0930 and ENGL1050 expose students to writing skills for the outside world

English Literatures

How literature matters courses.

ENGL 0100 , 0101 How Literature Matters, is the new core course for the recently revised English concentration. All sections of this course explore questions about how literature works, how we understand it, and how we write about it through an examination of form, genre, and critical method. They aim to help students develop their skills as close, careful readers of literary form and language.

* Denotes new courses

• ENGL 0100Y, Do the Right Thing (Parker)
• ENGL 0101F, American Realism (Burrows)*

First-Year Seminars

ENGL 0150 These are introductory seminars restricted to first-year students. All of these courses count toward concentration requirements in English.

• ENGL 0151G, The Middle Ages Goes to the Movies (Min)
• ENGL 0151K, What Is Work? Race, Gender, and Sexuality at Work (Liu)*

Other Courses  below 1000-level  during Fall 2024

+ ENGL 0202 courses are electives and do not count towards concentration requirements. * Denotes new courses

• ENGL 0202B*, What Monks Want: Asceticism and Austerity Across the Global Anglophone (Jain)
• ENGL 0202C*, Experiments in Asian and Asian Diaspora Literature and Culture (Kelly)
• ENGL 0202D*, Poetic Justice: Literatures of Colonialism (Le)
• ENGL 0300M, Gender in Medieval Literature (Min)
• ENGL 0310A, Shakespeare (Scozzaro)
• ENGL 0500P, The Examined Self (Gould)
• ENGL 0511D, Austen, Eliot, James (Parker)
• ENGL 0700E, Postcolonial Literature (George)
• ENGL 0710Z, American Literature and the Constitution (Nabers)
• ENGL 0800T, Intro to Black Literary Theory (Quashie)
• ENGL 0100A, How to Read a Poem (Rabb)
• ENGL 0100U, Serial Fictions (Nabers)
• ENGL 0150S, The Roaring Twenties (Katz)
• ENGL 0151H, Literature and the Sea (Burrows)
• ENGL 0151J, Introduction to the Age of Dickens (McLaughlin)*

Other Courses  below 1000-level  during Spring 2025

+ENGL 0202 courses are electives and do not count towards concentration requirements. * Denotes new courses

• ENGL 0202E*, Memory and the Literary Imagination: Conceptions of Remembering from Shakespeare to the Present (Clawson)
• ENGL 0202F*, We the People: American Literatures of Community (Choi)
• ENGL 0202G*, Literatures of Racial Capitalism (Browne)
• ENGL 0310A, Shakespeare (Kuzner)
• ENGL 0310Q, Why Before 1700? Literature Before Literature (Egan)
• ENGL 0710V, Death and Dying (Quashie)
• ENGL 0800V, Marxist Literary Theory (Parker)

Nonfiction Writing Course Offerings for Fall 2024

The Nonfiction Writing Program at Brown is committed to the principle that writing is integral to learning. The program uniquely links academic writing and creative nonfiction and journalism; this integration offers a comprehensive and flexible approach to prose writing. All courses are conducted in small seminars. For complete a list of 2024-2025 Nonfiction course offerings, please visit the Nonfiction Website .  

Writing for the University

These are introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in nonfiction writing for students who wish to improve skills of composing and revising critical essays. Although many of these courses focus on literary subject matter, their purpose is to prepare students for writing at the college level in the entire range of the courses they are likely to take at Brown. Enrollment in each section is limited to 12 or 17. S/NC.

ENGL0900 ,  Critical Reading And Writing I: The Academic Essay

An introduction to university-level writing. Students produce and revise multiple drafts of essays, practice essential skills of paragraph organization, and develop techniques of critical analysis and research. Readings from a range of texts in literature, the media, and academic disciplines. Assignments move from personal response papers to formal academic essays. Sections 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05 are reserved for first-year students.

ENGL1030 ,  Intermediate Critical Reading And Writing II: The Research Essay

For the confident writer. Offers students who have mastered the fundamentals of the critical essay an opportunity to acquire the skills to write a research essay, including formulation of a research problem, use of primary evidence, and techniques of documentation. Individual section topics are drawn from literature, history, the social sciences, the arts, and the sciences. No pre-requisites. A writing sample may be required.

Writing for the World Outside the University

These are courses in various genres of nonfiction prose writing that supplement the English Department's offerings in literature and creative writing. They help students acquire skills in specialized areas of writing. While they may include literary subject matter, these courses are not designed to help students master the writing skills required for their academic assignments as much as to give them some preparation for critical thinking and writing tasks in their extracurricular and service activities and even in life after Brown. These courses are for students who have mastered basic writing skills. Enrollment is limited to 12 or 17. Writing sample required. S/NC.

ENGL0930 ,  Introduction To Creative Nonfiction

Designed to familiarize students with the techniques and narrative structures of creative nonfiction. Reading and writing will focus on personal essays, memoir, science writing, travel writing, and other related subgenres. A writing sample may be required. May serve as preparation for ENGL1180. Section 3 is reserved for first-year students. Sections 01 and 02 are reserved for first-year AND sophomore students.

ENGL1050, Intermediate Creative Nonfiction

For the more experienced writer. Offers students who show a facility with language and who have mastered the fundamentals of creative nonfiction an opportunity to write more sophisticated narrative essays. Sections focus on specific themes (e.g., medicine or sports; subgenres of the form) or on developing and refining specific techniques of creative nonfiction (such as narrative).  Sections also focus specifically on journalism.   Enrollment is limited to 17. No pre-requisites. Writing sample required. Banner registrations after classes begin require instructor approval.  S/NC.

The College

Courses that develop writing skills.

• Design Your Education
• Complete Your Degree
• Degree Requirements
• Writing Requirement

Seek out courses that will help you improve your ability to communicate.

Regardless of your writing abilities when you enter Brown, you will benefit from taking courses that aim to further develop your writing skills. These courses also improve your confidence in other courses and frequently result in higher course grades overall.

With guidance from academic advisors, you should consider which writing courses will best address your academic goals and professional aspirations. First-year students are especially encouraged to enroll in one or more of the courses described below.

Types of Courses that Satisfy Brown's Writing Requirement

Brown’s English Department offers a number of intensive writing courses designed to help you master the skills needed for University-level writing. Many first-year students benefit from enrolling in a section of English 0900, in which you'll learn the fundamentals of a variety of essay styles, or English 1030, which focuses on the research essay. Sections of both courses are limited to 17 students, and both courses are graded S/NC. Other courses focus on journalistic writing (English 1050) and creative nonfiction (English 0930).

All courses in the  English ,  Comparative Literature , and  Literary Arts  departments, regardless of whether they are labeled writing-designated or not, satisfy the University's writing requirement. Across a range of media and genres, each of the courses offered in these departments requires substantial writing and instructors provide substantive feedback for student writing and opportunities for revision.

Brown's  Writing Fellows program  trains undergraduate students to work intensively with peers in select classes to help improve student writing. Writing Fellows read drafts of your papers and meet in individual conferences with you to discuss your drafts. You then revise your work and submit both versions (the original with the fellow’s comments and the revision) to your course instructor. When grading papers, professors in Writing Fellows courses consider both the drafting and revision process as well as the final paper. Like English, Comparative Literature and Literary Arts courses, Writing Fellows courses satisfy the writing requirement regardless of whether they are listed as writing-designated.

If you have questions about the Writing Fellows program or are a faculty member with an interest in having a fellow assigned to one of your courses, contact the Writing Center at  [email protected] .

You can develop your skills as a writer through a broad range of coursework beyond traditional writing courses and in a diverse array of disciplines. Writing-designated (WRIT) courses are designed to help you learn how to think and communicate in writing either by learning the conventions of academic writing at the college level or by learning the conventions and expectations for writing in a particular discipline.

To further these objectives, WRIT courses should:

• Require at least two written assignments  of any length  and  in any language ;
• Provide you with substantive feedback on each writing assignment (for example, you may draft and revise a written assignment or may simply be able to apply feedback on their writing to later assignments); and
• Provide instruction, feedback and guidance in either disciplinary or academic writing conventions.

Offered in nearly all departments, WRIT courses for a particular semester may be viewed in  Courses @ Brown  by selecting "Writing-Designated Courses" in the Curriculum Program section on the left-hand navigation.

Only course instructors may request the WRIT designation. As a student, you may not petition to add the WRIT designation to particular courses.

Important considerations regarding writing-designated courses:

WRIT during semester of enrollment Faculty may  add or remove the WRIT designation  from one offering of the course to the next. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that a course is approved as WRIT in  C@B  in the semester of enrollment. 

Writing-intensive may not mean writing-designated A course with many and/or lengthy writing assignments will not necessarily qualify as a writing-designated course. For example, without an instructor or teaching assistant's feedback on the prose that can be applied to a revised version of the assignment or a subsequent assignment, a course with weekly response papers or a large final paper at the end of the course will not allow you to develop your writing sufficiently to meet the spirit of the writing requirement.

WRIT Information for Faculty

• Instructions for creating or modifying a course, including writing-designated courses
• Sheridan Center resources for instructors of writing-designated courses

Brown University PhD in Creative Writing

How much does a doctorate in creative writing from brown cost, brown graduate tuition and fees.

Does Brown Offer an Online PhD in Creative Writing?

Popular reports, compare your school options.

• Give to Brown

Student Organizations

Whether your extracurricular interests are new endeavors or lifelong pursuits — whether related to your studies or in another universe altogether — you’ll be able to dive right in at Brown.

• Life at Brown

Studying engineering but have a serious passion for improv? Never spent a night in a tent but long to trek through the backcountry? 

Brown's 500+ student organizations — from a capella groups and ultimate frisbee to student government and community service — reflect the student community’s diversity of interests. Students who can't find the club or group they want can invent one of their own.

Intramural Sports Participants

Public Service Groups

It’s easy to get involved. The  Student Activities Office   not only advises student organizations, but manages a system of  Greek and Program houses  on campus and runs leadership development programs too.

Graduate and medical students also run a wide variety of organizations and activities that enrich their experiences every day at Brown.

Current Organizations

Many memorable moments at Brown happen outside the classroom. With more than 400 student organizations, Brown lets you pursue the activities you’ve always loved, discover new passions and find people who share interests.

Brown's BearSync system enables students to search for and browse through hundreds of profiles of student organizations on campus. This  public-facing version  offers brief snapshots of each.

Explore Brown's student organizations

Nearly 60 percent of undergraduates declare the arts as their principal co-curricular interest — whether they join one of Brown’s long-established performing arts groups, create a new project of their own, or try their hand at curating, producing, experimenting with and forging new forms of art and performance.

Student music groups, who perform everything from a cappella to Beethoven symphonies, add a dynamic energy to Brown's music community.

A nexus of organizations and spaces encourage all students, faculty and staff to find a sense of belonging, build relationships across differences and develop leadership and life skills to thrive intellectually and personally at Brown and beyond.

Many student groups at Brown promote energy and environmental initiatives and have spurred significant progress towards a more sustainable world on and off campus.

A wide variety of club sports, intramural sports, physical education courses, fitness programs and recreational opportunities abound across Brown's athletics offerings.

Literary Arts

Undergraduate courses.

Literary Arts undergraduate courses - Fall 2024

Writing Sample Process for Workshops

Introductory Workshops & Lit Courses