MFA Program
See writers who attended this programPoetry: Catherine Barnett, Donna Masini, Tom Sleigh
Fiction: Adam Haslett (Program Director), Ayana Mathis, Sigrid Nunez
Creative Nonfiction: Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Mychal Denzel Smith
The program is fully funded for Poetry and Fiction. Creative Nonfiction is not currently funded. The program offers teaching opportunities for second year MFAs.
Fiction and Poetry students who live in New York State receive a full tuition award; out-of-state students receive the equivalent of an in-state tuition award towards tuition fees. Students must file a FAFSA application to be eligible for funding.
Through the Hertog Fellowship, all Fiction and Creative Nonfiction students have the opportunity to conduct research for an established writer. Recent writers students have conducted research for include: Colson Whitehead, Valerie Luiselli, Zadie Smith, Claire Messud, Mary Gaitskill, Frank Bruni, William Finnegan, Rivka Galchen, and Kaitlyn Greenidge.
Through the Thomas Hunter Fellowship, all Poetry students have the opportunity to conduct research for an established poet, publication or poetry organization. Recent examples include Poets’ House, Cave Canem, Four Ways Books, Grace Schulman, Marie Howe, Fanny Howe, Jean Valentine, and Edward Hirsch. The Poetry program also can facilitate internships with The Threepenny Review and Graywolf Press.
The MFA’s Distinguished Writers Series invites a diverse array of prominent authors each semester to visit classes and give public readings. Recent authors include: Jennifer Egan, James Hannaham, Eula Biss, Laura Kasischke, Elif Batuman, John Murillo, and Pankaj Mishra.
The program’s Creative Nonfiction track begins in process and springs from personal perspective—whether it be essays, opinion, reportage, memoir, or hybrid forms of storytelling. Creative Nonfiction seeks students who are committed to the connections between their experiences and the broader world.
Fatin Abbas, Ahmad Almallah, Ari Banias, Bill Cheng, Scott Cheshire, Alex Gilvarry, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Jessica Leigh Hester, Meng Jin, Phil Klay, Janice Y. K. Lee, Megha Majumdar, Darragh McKeon, Liz Moore, Jason Porter, Jeff Rotter, Gary Shteyngart, Jessica Soffer, Maria Venegas