Creative Writing

Pursue your M.A., and craft your story, with a concentration in Creative Writing

Explore Creative Writing Graduate Studies

How it Works

At the graduate level, students may choose to concentrate on creative writing within the broader areas of Rhetoric and Writing Studies (RWS) or Literature and Cultural Studies (LCS). We offer areas of concentration in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry.

For the M.A. with a creative writing emphasis, RWS and LCS students choose their seminar courses from Advanced Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry. Additionally, our Special Topics in Creative Writing offer in-depth concentrations in a variety of forms. Over the course of two years, students work one-on-one with our nationally-recognized creative writing faculty to produce a creative writing thesis comprised of publishable work in their chosen genre(s). Our creative writing faculty includes National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, American Book Award-winner Rilla Askew, and National Poetry Series Award-winner Jake Skeets.

How You Will Be Funded

Of course, in addition to taking an intensive array of courses, at OU you will be supported financially by teaching and learning in our in our award-winning First-Year Composition program and/or working in our world-renowned Writing Center. Many students also take advantage of unique funding opportunities including research assistantships and working in our composition office.

Explore Graduate Student Funding

What You'll Create

Graduate students work closely with their faculty advisors, selected from our award-winning creative writing faculty, to develop a thesis showcasing their work as creative writers. The MA creative writing thesis may be a novel excerpt; a collection of short stories, creative nonfiction, or poetry; or a combination of genres, resulting in projects such as:

Ashley Jeffalone (MA 2019) “Rekindled and Other Stories”
- A collection of short fiction set primarily in Southwestern Oklahoma featuring disparate narrators as they explore and replicate the experience of the contemporary woman during stages of adolescence and young adulthood. In 2021, Rekindled won the prestigious Mark Allen Everett Southwest Award, judged by Kelli Jo Ford.
Bailey Brooks (MA 2022) “The Milwaukee Tavern”
- An excerpt from an historical novel set in the late 1960s, grounded in little-known historical events in Tulsa and Norman. The novel features dual protagonists: a young, Black closeted lesbian woman recently hired on as a reporter for a Tulsa news station and a young white woman who aspires to become an anchor.
Lauren Skaggs (MA 2022) “The Voice of a Girl Becoming.”
- A collection of creative nonfiction in which the author reckons with her personal history, the complexities of family and heritage, the shaping forces of environment and place, and her own disabilities and feminist worldview.
Seth A. Oliveras (MA 2023) “These Were the Nights”
- A creative non-fiction exploration focused on overcoming trauma and managing mental illness from the perspective of a Black, multiracial man.
Aaron Whitestar (MA 2023) “Prayers of the Dark-hearted”
- A collection of linked stories focusing on themes such as family/broken family, Indigenous displacement, addiction, loss, and healing.

Rilla Askew and a group of creative writing students at the 2022 Scissortail event.

Our Community

Join a vibrant community of creative writers. Our small seminar and pro-seminar courses offer students a close working relationship with our incredible faculty while facilitating critical creative writing workshop opportunities.

Simon Han speaking with a group of creative writing students at OU.

Events & Opportunities

Our creative writing community works to bring writers and creators to campus, providing opportunities to learn from and make connection with folk from all stages of their professional, creative careers.

Our Faculty + Interests

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is an award-winning poet, essayist, and novelist. Her debut novel The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois was an Oprah Book Club selection and received the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Professor Jeffers’ Website

Rilla Askew

Rilla Askew is known for her award-winning historical fiction and creative nonfiction. Noted titles include Prize for the Fire; a collection of essays, Most American: Notes from a Wounded Place; and her American Book Award-winning novel, Fire in Beulah.

Professor Askew’s Website

Jake Skeets

Jake Skeets is an award-winning Diné poet, novelist, and creative nonfiction writer. His debut collection of poetry, Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers, received the National Poetry Series Award, Kate Tufts Discovery Award, American Book Award, and Whiting Award.

Professor Skeets’ Website

Join our Learning Community - Applications are Due January 5

General English Department Application Requirements

A sample of critical or scholarly writing, no more than 25 pages long. This may be an excerpt from a longer work, such as a senior thesis. It should, however, be clear of grading comments and should preferably be in your expressed area of concentration.
A 1-2 page personal statement about what you’ve done in English or in related fields, why you want to study English, and, particularly, why you think the University of Oklahoma is an appropriate place for you to do it. We want to know what your scholarly interests are, and what areas of concentration you are planning to declare. If you aren’t sure yet what you plan to do in English, that’s fine, but we want to know that you have some idea of the possibilities.
Three letters of recommendation. On your online application, you will be asked to provide emails for three references, who will be contacted by the University with a request for a letter of recommendation. Request your references to comment specifically upon (1) your qualifications as a prospective graduate student (literary/rhetorical judgment, writing ability, originality, diligence) and, if you are applying for Graduate Teaching Assistantship, (2) your qualifications as a prospective teacher (ability to organize, enthusiasm, responsibility, objectivity). If possible, referees should use the online reference system, but if they prefer, they may send hardcopy letters directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions (731 Elm Avenue, Room 318 Norman, OK 73019).
An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae
Official transcripts from every prior institution

Also, be sure to check out our English Graduate Studies FAQ.

Interested in Applying for a Graduate Degree with a Creative Writing Concentration?

To apply for the M.A. with creative writing emphasis, applicants should submit a 20-page sample of fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry with their application materials. For more information on the standard application materials, check out our general Graduate Studies page.

Apply to the OU English
Graduate Program