Ball State University Creative Writing

Graduate Program in Creative Writing

At the graduate level, we offer an innovative and flexible two-year course of study (33 hours) toward the M.A. in English (Creative Writing), as well as the option of a 15-hour Creative Writing cognate for those seeking a Ph.D. within the English Department. We encourage cross-genre study, and our graduate students choose among writing workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as graduate literature seminars and a broad range of electives from across the Ball State campus.

The graduate degree in Creative Writing at Ball State is young―our first students enrolled in 2001―so our growing program is a vibrant place where students and faculty work together closely both within the classroom and one-on-one in thesis conferences. Together, we read, write, and talk about reading and writing, with the collective goal of creating good writing.

In addition to writing workshops, our students also have the opportunity to enroll in unique courses such as Theory of Creative Writing, Creative Writing Pedagogy, and a graduate seminar focusing on Literary Editing (in which students look at the business of words and books from both sides: the writer and the publisher).