As a student in Sarah Lawrence’s nationally recognized Masters program in Writing, you will work in close collaboration with faculty members who are both distinguished writers and devoted mentors.
While students concentrate in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or speculative fiction, you are encouraged to explore your writing fearlessly, ranging beyond genre boundaries as freely as you wish.
Why Sarah Lawrence?
- You can take classes in every genre we offer—fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and speculative fiction (fantasy/sci-fi)
- You will have bi-weekly individual meetings with faculty to discuss your work in-depth
- You will study with award-winning faculty, including Carolyn Ferrell, Jo Ann Beard, David Hollander, Marie Howe, Garth Risk Hallberg, Clifford Thompson, and Jacob Slichter
- You’ll benefit from the College’s proximity to the New York City literary scene and our strong connections to the publishing industry
- We have a tradition of literary excellence for more than 80 years
MFA Writing Fiction
MFA Fiction students focus on bringing together precision of language with boldness of imaginative grasp. We closely study the craft lessons learned by the writers who have gone before us—but never lose sight of the fact that each new work of fiction is a leap into the unknown.
MFA Creative Nonfiction
Our students engage in spirited and thought-provoking investigations of the aesthetics and ethics of nonfiction writing. MFA students consider questions such as: Is it possible to write freely about other people without exploiting them? Is there a difference between factual and essential truth? How do we find narrative coherence within the messy actualities of life?
MFA Poetry
The focus is both minute and broad—examining poems on a cellular level, then talking about larger issues, such as poetic traditions and compositional techniques. We ask for full participation, deep inquiry, and rigor.
MFA Speculative Fiction
We look closely at the special questions posed by speculative fiction, paying particular attention to the question of how to combine mind-bending world-building with powerful narrative drive. We begin from the premise that the literary exploration of alternative realities deserves as much respect as any other literary genre, and that fantasy and sci-fi writers are producing some of the most compelling fiction of our time.