CAN BE COMPLETED FULLY ONLINE OR IN PERSON
Professional and Creative Writing MA in the English Department at CWU

Applications are reviewed year-round, and we accept students to begin with the Fall cohort each year.

Course of Study      |    Request Information

Take your writing to the advanced level in a wide variety of professional and creative genres.

Our Professional and Creative Writing MA program provides mentorship from award-winning writers in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Additionally, the program provides students opportunities to hone their professional writing skills with topics drawn from fields such as rhetoric and persuasive writing, research methods, and advanced technical writing and documentation. Students develop their own custom-fit course of study, which culminates in a portfolio course, and the program can be completed in four quarters. The program prepares graduates to begin writing-intensive careers, develop publishable creative writing, establish a professional writing profile, advance in the workplace, and continue to MFA or PhD programs.

Work closely with award-winning professors within our unique program.

The Professional and Creative Writing MA is an entirely new kind of graduate writing degree. Other Masters-level graduate programs in writing concentrate heavily on professional OR creative writing; however, our program is designed to meet the changing needs of writers in the new "learning" economy, while extending online learning access to students from across the state and country.

Combine professional writing with creative writing—the mix is up to you.

This approach to writing helps educate our students for a new kind of knowledge economy—one that is based less on “knowing” and more on "learning." This shift in emphasis has been brought about by the changing nature of knowledge itself. Our MA program, which is crafted to truly cross the creative and professional writing disciplines, helps students develop creative and critical thinking skills for a new kind of intellectual workplace.

Our MA’s rigorous-yet-flexible program is designed to provide an array of writing instruction and mentorship to meet a wide variety of student needs. We welcome students to an M.A. program that can serve a range of purposes. Many students are looking for an “upgrade” program to help them move forward in their established professional careers. Other students come from existing professional and creative writing jobs, but are seeking to broaden the contexts and genres available to their writing. Still others are committed to their chosen professions, and are looking for ways to practice their creative writing craft. And there are those with goals in continuing their higher education armed with a strong portfolio of writing.

Make progress toward your writing goals on your schedule.

CWU’s Professional and Creative Writing MA has no residency or synchronous requirements.  Our MA program can be completed entirely online or in person; CWU has a 10-week quarter system. We accept students on a cohort basis.

To start the Professional and Creative Writing MA in September 2023, please apply to CWU’s School of Graduate Studies.

Program Application Checklist:

• Admission to CWU School of Graduate Studies
• Minimum 3.0 GPA
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• 7-10 page writing sample
• Cover letter with a statement of graduate education objectives
• Copy of official transcripts

Contact: 
Dr. Josh Welsh
Email: Josh.Welsh@cwu.edu
Phone: 509-963-1549