Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Creative writing program ranked fifth in country

Tuesday, September 20, 2011, By Cyndi Moritz
Share
College of Arts and Sciences

The creative writing M.F.A. program in the Department of English in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences was recently named one of the top programs in the nation by Poets & Writers magazine. The program was tied for fifth place with Cornell University. SU’s program was ranked seventh last year.

“This ranking confirms something we’ve known for a long time—that our M.F.A. program, long a national leader, is among the very best out there,” says Michael Goode, associate professor and chair of SU’s Department of English. “Every top program’s faculty has garnered major prizes and recognition, but few can boast that their acclaimed faculty gives students the kind of personalized attention that our M.F.A. students receive. Year after year, the same faculty who are garnering NEA fellowships, Guggenheims, MacArthur “genius” grants, Isabella Gardner Awards and National Book Award nominations, are right there in our classrooms and offices working closely with the next generation of writers to hone their craft. We’re thrilled to see their demonstrated talent and dedication as writers and teachers affirmed by this important ranking.”

For the full-residency (like SU’s, meaning the students are full time and relocate to the area) rankings, 640 M.F.A. applicants were asked during the 2010–2011 application cycle where they applied for the forthcoming academic year and were surveyed about these choices. This information was combined with hard data from programs that release funding and admissions figures to the public.

The University of Iowa received the top ranking. It was followed by the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Brown University.
SU’s three-year program, which was instituted in 1992, was ranked fifth for its fiction program and ninth for its poetry program.

“It’s good to see the program get the positive attention it deserves,” says Christopher Kennedy, director of SU’s creative writing program.

  • Author

Cyndi Moritz

  • Recent
  • Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival
    Wednesday, May 28, 2025, By News Staff
  • Timur Hammond’s ‘Placing Islam’ Receives Journal’s Honorable Mention
    Tuesday, May 27, 2025, By News Staff
  • Expert Available to Discuss DOD Acceptance of Qatari Jet
    Thursday, May 22, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse University 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Light Work Opens New Exhibitions
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Light Work Opens New Exhibitions

Light Work has two new exhibitions, “The Archive as Liberation” and “2025 Light Work Grants in Photography, that will run through Aug. 29. “The Archive as Liberation” The exhibition is on display in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery at Light…

Spelman College Glee Club to Perform at Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service June 29

As the grand finale of the 2025 Syracuse International Jazz Fest, the Spelman College Glee Club of Atlanta will perform at Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, June 29. The Spelman College Glee Club, now in its historic 100th year, is the…

Alumnus, Visiting Scholar Mosab Abu Toha G’23 Wins Pulitzer Prize for New Yorker Essays

Mosab Abu Toha G’23, a graduate of the M.F.A. program in creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences and a current visiting scholar at Syracuse University, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for a series of essays…

School of Architecture Faculty Pablo Sequero Named Winner of 2025 Architectural League Prize

School of Architecture faculty member Pablo Sequero’s firm, salazarsequeromedina, has been named to the newest cohort of winners in the biennial Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, one of North America’s most prestigious awards for young practitioners. “An…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.