university of illinois urbana champaign creative writing mfa

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Creative Writing Guide: Home

• Finding Books
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• Literary Magazines (A-E)
• Literary Magazines (F-L)
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Other Useful Library Guides

• African American Literature Library Guide
• American Literature Library Guide
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Best Websites for Creative Writing

This research guide provides information on library resources that may be helpful to an aspiring writer. It includes:

• lists of the literary magazines in the library holdings
• useful titles for inspiration
• publication and reference
• information on literary prizes and Web resources related to creative writing

Finding Literary Magazines

Here are several resources that include directories of awards, contests, magazines, presses, and publishers.

• Association of Writers and Writing Programs
• Community of Literary Magazines and Presses
• Poets & Writers
• Submittable Discover

Ask A Librarian

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• Last Updated: Oct 31, 2024 11:19 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/creativewritingguide

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MFA in Studio Art

Our program values making as a way of thinking and engaging the world. We support both specific forms of making and cross-media practices as important forms of research and critical expression.

Katherine Hair’s “Turtle Derby; You Can’t Go Home Again” (wax, chalk, soil. 2022).

The Studio Art (MFA) program supports diverse forms of specialized research within a common environment of artistic production and critique. Guided by specialists in a variety of traditional and experimental forms, each MFA candidate develops a body of work in the context of expansive discussions about art’s aesthetic, social, economic, and political dimensions. Specialization through thesis research prepares students to work in contemporary fields of art wherein medium-specific histories present secondary (though important) concerns within a broader exploration of art’s evolving functions and forms.

Who/What/Where We Are

Program faculty members are all working artists, exhibiting and presenting in regional, national, and international settings.

The MFA degree prepares students for participation in a broad range of professional contexts from gallery exhibition and art commission to curating, publication, or activism. Our graduates often also seek teaching positions in postsecondary college and university settings and typically accrue some teaching experience to this end by serving as instructors in our undergraduate programs.

Students in the Studio Art MFA program (Painting, Sculpture, New Media, Printmaking & Photography) benefit from a unique range of possible collaborators and advisors across the university. Historically, students have developed connections within the College of Fine and Applied Arts through coursework in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, or Theatre or across the campus through study in such areas as Gender and Women’s Studies, Media and Cinema Studies, History, or English/Creative Writing.

The twin cities of Champaign-Urbana present many opportunities for creative cultural production; larger urban centers (Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis) are only two and a half hours away, offering destinations for galleries, exhibitions, symposia, and professional connections.

The School of Art + Design provides personal studio space for each MFA student and 24-hour access to the School’s many production facilities that include installation and critique spaces; woodshops; workshops for ceramics, plaster, and metalworking; comprehensive computer and digital output labs; and an extensive equipment checkout system. We also offer the archives of the  Krannert Art Museum  and the collection of the  Ricker Library of Architecture and Art .

Faculty Research Interests

Conrad Bakker painting, sculpture, alternative economies of art production and distribution, thing theory

Cristobal Bianchi Public space, experimental poetry, poetics of the sky, cultural trauma, psychoanalysis, birds, participation, performance, art and social change

Kira Dominguez Hultgren Textiles, material and visual critical studies, embodied knowledges and practices, research methodologies, adjacent and approximate assimilations

Rachel Fein-Smolinski Health humanities, medical archives, science fiction, disability activism, pain, addiction, gender and sexuality, queer phenomenology, body horror, interdisciplinary photo and installation

Ryan Griffis experimental geography, political ecology, research-based practices, collaboration & collective forms of making, documentary media

Ben Grosser software, networks, social media, surveillance, computer vision, computational agency

Kevin Hamilton interactive media, telepresence, research methodologies, history of technology

Patrick Earl Hammie painting, portraiture, illustration, body in visual culture, narrative, gender, race, identity

Laurie Hogin painting, neuroscience, landscape and ideology, color, desire, materialism, narrative

Emmy Lingscheit printmaking, post-natural world, systems

Guen Montgomery objects, materiality, the everyday, gender and identity

Melissa Pokorny sculpture, landscape and memory, collecting, nature/culture, magic

Stacey Robinson graphic design, illustration, graphic novels, speculative futures

Joel Ross photography, sculpture. text/image, nationalism, identity, legality, narrative

Stephen Signa-Aviles sculpture, bricolage, material studies, decolonization, myths & rumors, labor history and migration, sports and music culture

Deke Weaver performance, animality, myth, ecology, storytelling

Requirements

We offer a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Painting, Sculpture, and New Media. In this program, students work under the supervision of faculty from three different graduate areas (Painting, Sculpture, and New Media) to develop bodies of work in a variety of media and disciplines. The degree requires at least 64 graduate credit hours over three years of residence, culminating in a thesis project that includes an exhibition component (participation in the MFA exhibition in the Krannert Art Museum) as well as a written component.

We have teaching opportunities available, and full funding is offered to most of our MFA students. Financial support is made possible by Graduate Assistantship appointments and by awarding students with grants and fellowships, given out by the School of Art + Design, and by the University of Illinois Graduate College. Our Graduate Assistantships are 9-month appointments that require 10 hours of service per week. They include a stipend, and they come with a full tuition waiver and a partial campus fee waiver.

Application

Fall admittance only. The deadline for Fall 2025 admissions is January 15, 2025.

Ask Us a Question

Emmy Lingscheit  

Ellen de Waard  

Deke Weaver  

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

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Application Fee Assistance

As part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign proudly participates in the FreeApp program. FreeApp is designed to increase access to graduate education for students who possess qualities and experiences that enhance the diversity of the intellectual, cultural, and social environments at Big Ten Academic Alliance universities.  Through this program, prospective students can request a graduate application fee waiver for Ph.D. or Master of Fine Arts programs at participating universities.

The priority deadline for requests is November 15.  You are responsible for obtaining graduate applications directly from the institutions where you plan to apply. For more information about campus specific admissions, contact the appropriate FreeApp Coordinator .

Course Catalog

Art & design, mfa.

for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Art and Design

The degree of Master of Fine Arts in Art and Design is designed to prepare qualified individuals for distinctive achievement in the professional area of their choice. Fields of concentration include Design for Responsible Innovation and Industrial Design or to pursue Studio Art as an area of focus.

A minimum of 64 hours of graduate credit is required for the M.F.A. degree. Individual studio space and specialized resources essential to the acquisition of a high-quality professional education are available to students in all areas of study. The interdisciplinary Studio which includes Painting, Sculpture, Photography and New Media require a graduation exhibition of creative work and a written thesis approved by a thesis committee for deposit in the School of Art and Design's graduate office. The Industrial Design and Design for Responsible Innovation programs require a graduation exhibition, a written thesis approved by a thesis committee and a thesis deposit in the Graduate College Thesis Office. Admission for all programs is determined by a faculty review of a portfolio of the applicant's creative work, records of previous education and experience, letters of recommendation, and other significant achievements that may be viewed as predictors for success in the program.

Applications are considered for Fall Semester admissions only. For international applicants a recent English Proficiency test score of 96 (TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS) (or an exemption) is needed for admissions. 

Graduate Teaching Experience

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience for master and doctoral students.

Facilities and Resources

Resources for graduate students in art and design include the Krannert Art Museum’s excellent permanent collections and changing exhibitions; the Ricker Library of Art and Architecture, one of the largest art and architecture libraries in the nation; the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; School of Art and Design facilities, which include extensive computer laboratories, digital photography and video editing equipment, wireless networking, ink-printing facilities, ceramic, woodworking, and metal shops, rapid prototyping and laser cutting, black/white and color darkrooms, shooting studios, and a wide selection of production and presentation equipment via reservation and checkout facility. A variety of lectures, symposia, musical programs, dramatic productions, and other cultural events associated with a large and progressive university complement the Art and Design Facilities.

Financial Aid

Fellowships, assistantships, and tuition and service fee waivers are awarded each year on a competitive basis, with consideration given to the applicant’s grade point average and, in the case of applicants for the M.F.A. programs, quality of creative work.

Other Requirements

MFA in Art & Design, concentration in Industrial Design

• Inquiry and insight: Select and use appropriate research and experimental methods, to access existing data or to generate new data, to analyze and draw insights, with a particular emphasis on user needs.
•  Ideation: Produce creative proposals to identified design opportunities, using design thinking, modelling, and prototyping strategies, with an appropriate integration of functional, technical, ergonomic and visual factors.
• Implementation: Select and use appropriate making and manufacturing processes with an understanding of the potential of new technologies, and the demands of sustainability.
• Informing: Use visual and verbal communication, to explain and persuade, as appropriate for different audiences.
• Self development: Carry out independent learning and reflexive evaluation of your work, as well as to plan and implement action, individually or in teams, effectively managing self and others.
• Contextualisation: Locate your own activity within the multiple contexts of design practice, including the theoretical, professional, cultural, environmental and technological contexts.

MFA in Art & Design, concentration in Design for Responsible Innovation

• Demonstrate familiarity with the design research literature relevant to their topic.
• Create prototypes for research purposes.
• Explain the different epistemological modes of knowledge production.
• Select research methods appropriate to the thesis topic.

School of Art & Design

School of Art & Design Art & Design faculty School Director: Brooke White Director of Graduate Studies: Terri Weissman 138 Art and Design Building, 408 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL 61820 Graduate Office: (217) 333-0642

Graduate Studies Advisors:

MA; PhD in Art History: David O'Brien MA; EdM; PhD in Art Education: Laura Hetrick MFA in Studio: Ryan Griffis and Emmy Lingscheit MFA in Industrial Design: David Weightman MFA in Design for Responsible Innovation: Stacey Robinson

College of Fine & Applied Arts

Ellen de Waard Graduate College Admissions Requirements

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2024-2025 Catalog (PDF)

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• iSchool Connect

Matthew Kollmer

Doctoral Student

PhD, Information Sciences, Illinois (in progress)

MFA, Creative Writing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

MA, Literary Studies, Washington State University

Graduate Certificate, Digital Humanities, Washington State University

BA, English, Winona State University

[email protected]

• https://matthewkollmer.com/

Research focus

My primary research applies text mining, data science, and machine learning to the study of U.S. literary history and literary regionalisms. I have accompanying interests in book history, bibliography, and print culture. I’m also interested in digital humanities pedagogy.

• Ryan Cordell

In the News

• Archives and Preservation
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Computational Social Science, Social Computing
• Cultural Informatics and Heritage
• Data Analytics and Human Centered Data
• Digital Humanities
• Diversity and Social Justice
• Natural Language Processing, Text Mining, Text Analysis, Computational Linguistics

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Police Training Institute

Jen whiting.

Jen Whiting is an academic and educator with a career spanning education, curriculum design, and information technology. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Jen holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Queens University and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Rider University. Her teaching experience covers a range of institutions and programs, including the Police Training Institute, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Baruch College, Montclair State University, the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, and Mercer County Community College. Her roles have encompassed serving as an instructor, lecturer, teaching assistant, and assistant professor, demonstrating her versatility and expertise in diverse educational contexts.

In addition to her instructional roles, Jen has made contributions as a Research Specialist and Curriculum Analyst at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's College of Education. She has developed courses focusing on the education of law enforcement personnel and has participated in research for a federally funded grant to analyze the curriculum and pedagogy of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Beyond her education-focused roles, Jen has a rich history in administrative and IT roles at Princeton University and Cornell University. Jen began doing research at PTI in the summer of 2022.

Jen and her partner live in Champaign, Illinois with their dog and cat. Jen can often be found at Physical Training (PT) in the early mornings with PTI recruits. If you don’t see her there, ask her why she’s slacking off.

Fully Scholarship

Fully Funded Scholarships

Best Fully Funded MFA Programs in Creative Writing

Fully funded Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs in Creative Writing provide aspiring writers with a unique opportunity to pursue their passion for writing while receiving financial support. These programs not only offer a platform for honing one’s literary skills but also eliminate the burden of hefty tuition fees and living expenses, making them an attractive option for many aspiring writers.

A fully funded MFA program covers tuition costs, and in some cases, also provides a stipend or assistantship that supports living expenses. This financial support allows students to focus entirely on their writing and literary endeavors without the distractions of financial constraints. Such programs are typically offered by universities or colleges that prioritize the development and cultivation of emerging literary talent.

By removing financial barriers, fully funded MFA programs attract a diverse range of students from various backgrounds. This diversity enhances the learning experience, as students are exposed to a multitude of perspectives and writing styles. Collaborative workshops and seminars foster a vibrant creative community where aspiring writers can exchange ideas, receive feedback, and develop their craft.

Table of Contents

University of Arkansas:

The University of Arkansas offers a fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing that provides students with a comprehensive curriculum and financial support. Students admitted to this program receive full tuition waivers, a competitive stipend, and health insurance. The program focuses on fiction and poetry, providing workshops, seminars, and mentorship from esteemed faculty members. With a commitment to fostering literary excellence, the University of Arkansas MFA program prepares students for careers in writing and academia.

Link https://www.uark.edu/

Boise State University:

Boise State University’s fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing emphasizes a close-knit community of writers and offers a range of genres including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Students receive a full tuition waiver and a teaching assistantship, allowing them to gain valuable teaching experience while honing their craft. The program features workshops, seminars, and individualized mentoring from acclaimed faculty members. Boise State University’s MFA program equips aspiring writers with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the literary world.

Link https://www.boisestate.edu/

Brown University:

Renowned for its prestigious writing programs, Brown University offers a fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing. This highly competitive program provides students with full tuition coverage, a generous stipend, and health insurance. With a focus on literary experimentation and innovation, the program encourages students to explore various genres and cross-disciplinary approaches. Students benefit from close relationships with renowned faculty members and participate in workshops, seminars, and public readings. Brown University’s MFA program cultivates the next generation of literary trailblazers.

Link https://www.brown.edu/

Arizona State University:

Arizona State University offers a fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing that provides students with the financial support they need to focus on their writing. This program offers fiction and poetry tracks and covers full tuition costs along with a teaching assistantship that includes a stipend and health insurance. Students work closely with accomplished faculty members in workshops, seminars, and mentoring sessions. Arizona State University’s MFA program prepares students to excel in their writing careers through rigorous training and an environment that fosters creative growth.

Link https://www.asu.edu/

University of California Irvine:

The University of California Irvine’s fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing is highly regarded for its emphasis on literary excellence and diversity. Students admitted to this program receive full tuition coverage, a competitive stipend, and health insurance. The program offers workshops, seminars, and opportunities to engage with renowned visiting writers. With a focus on experimental and innovative writing, the University of California Irvine MFA program provides aspiring writers with the tools and resources to push boundaries and redefine literary norms.

Link https://uci.edu/

Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University’s fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing offers a supportive and nurturing environment for aspiring writers. Students admitted to this program receive full tuition waivers and teaching assistantships, providing valuable teaching experience alongside their studies. The program offers workshops, craft seminars, and opportunities to work closely with faculty mentors. With a focus on fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction, Florida Atlantic University’s MFA program equips students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in the literary world.

Link https://www.fau.edu/

Georgia College & State University:

Georgia College & State University offers a fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing that aims to develop talented writers in a collaborative and diverse community. Students in this program receive full tuition waivers, a generous stipend, and health insurance. The program offers workshops, seminars, and opportunities to gain teaching experience. Faculty members provide individualized mentoring and support as students explore various genres and hone their craft. Georgia College & State University’s MFA program prepares writers for successful careers in publishing, academia, and beyond.

Link https://www.gcsu.edu/

University of Houston:

The University of Houston’s fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing is renowned for its distinguished faculty and commitment to literary excellence. Students admitted to this program receive full tuition coverage, a competitive stipend, and health insurance. The program offers workshops, seminars, and opportunities to work on the esteemed literary journal, Gulf Coast. With a focus on fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, the University of Houston’s MFA program provides a dynamic and immersive environment for aspiring writers to thrive.

Link https://www.uh.edu/

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign:

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign offers a fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing that provides students with comprehensive support. Students admitted to this program receive full tuition waivers, a competitive stipend, and health insurance. The program offers workshops, seminars, and opportunities to engage with visiting writers and scholars. Students work closely with esteemed faculty members who provide individualized attention and mentorship. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign’s MFA program prepares writers for successful careers in writing, teaching, and publishing.

Link https://illinois.edu/

Iowa State University:

Iowa State University’s fully funded MFA program in Creative Writing offers a vibrant and collaborative community for aspiring writers. Students in this program receive full tuition waivers and teaching assistantships, allowing them to gain valuable teaching experience. The program offers workshops, seminars, and opportunities to participate in literary events and readings. With a focus on fiction and poetry, Iowa State University’s MFA program nurtures writers as they develop their craft and prepares them for careers in writing and publishing.

Link https://www.iastate.edu/

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