Research & Creative Writing
Creative Writing and Research Opportunities
Find mentorship and support for your intellectual and creative pursuits! Our English literature faculty's interests range from disability studies to representations of Anne Hathaway, from the experience of reading to discourses on reason and Blackness. Creative Writing faculty are known for their award-winning work in poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction; they also produce criticism, human rights and journalistic writing, and blended genres.
The Creative Writing Program
The Creative Writing Program offers an MFA degree and an undergraduate minor. Alums (and students!) of the MFA program publish regularly and widely, with more than 70 books published since 2019. MFA students read alongside faculty at regularly scheduled public events. MFA students also edit and produce Great River Review, the oldest literary journal in the state of Minnesota.
Research Opportunities
The department offers students opportunities to research alongside faculty. Through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), students receive a scholarship while pursuing a research project with a faculty mentor. Honors undergraduates work with faculty members as part of the honors thesis. Beyond advisor mentoring, graduate students in literature and creative writing have access to summer research collaborations with faculty, as well as to interdisciplinary research opportunities across the college.
Esther Freier Lecture
In 2026, the Freier Lectures series celebrates its 25th anniversary! Since 2001, the series' twice-yearly readings and talks have featured internationally known writers ranging from Abraham Verghese to Zadie Smith, Ocean Vuong to Alison Bechdel. We look forward to seeing you at our next free event at the University of Minnesota campus.