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Creative Writing

Creative Writing Bachelor's Degree

The Creative Writing Bachelor of Fine Arts degree does more than sharpen your writing skills. Honing in on developing your creativity and critical thinking skills, it ultimately prepares you to do pret ty much anything. Perhaps you'll become a writer ? Or maybe you’ll launch a career in marketing ? Want to teach? Found a startup? Head a nonprofit? The opportunities are endless - t ake the first step in your journey today.

Outstanding Opportunities

"One month into my internship I was given a wonderful opportunity to move into a full-time position as communications coordinator, which is my current position. I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to use my writing and the other soft skills I developed as an undergraduate at UM to help others."

"Working as the head editor of The Oval Literary Magazine has left me with invaluable, lifetime experience. Along with fellow members, I learned how to advocate for compelling creative works, how to edit and design for the printed page; I learned to budget, promote and lobby for The Oval itself."

different Montana publication awards (Big Snowy Prize, Meadowlark Award) won by Creative Writing BFA undergrads.

average salary for writers/authors, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

average Copy Editor salary, Zippia.com

average Technical Writer salary, Zippia.com

Common Questions

View the   Undergraduate,   In-Person estimated Cost of Attendance . Please note, there are different estimations based on whether you're considered in-state or out-of-state.

The Creative Writing Bachelor of Fine Arts is a four-year degree.

You'll g ain a strong foundation in literature, literary analysis and theory with courses like Introduction to Literature, Literary Criticism , Shakespeare and Storytelling.

Creative Writing BFA at the University of Montana

Let creative writing be your trailhead

Creative Writing Research Guide

• Research Help
• Resources for Writers

Here are just a few of the many books we have in the library--use OneSearch to search for additional titles!

• Poet's Market Call Number: Information Center 808.1025 P745 Publication Date: most recent edition

• The Writer's Market Call Number: Information Center 808.028 W9561 Publication Date: most recent edition

Reference Resources

• Bloomsbury Thesaurus "Full of synonyms, alternatives, and a fascinating network of cross-references, reflecting both technical and day-to-day aspects of Modern English. It is designed to appeal to both established word-reference enthusiasts and younger users who are just beginning to explore the language."

• WorldNet: A Lexical Database for English "WordNet® is a large lexical database of English. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are grouped into sets of cognitive synonyms (synsets), each expressing a distinct concept. Synsets are interlinked by means of conceptual-semantic and lexical relations."

Select Sources for Publishing Creative Works

• Literary Magazines Connect your poems, stories, essays, and reviews to the right audiences by researching over eight hundred literary magazines.
• Poets & Writers Classifieds Section: Writing contests, conferences, workshops, editing services, calls for submissions, and more.
• Association of Writers and Writing Programs AWP provides community, opportunities, ideas, news, and advocacy for writers and teachers.
• Oval The undergraduate literary magazine of the University of Montana.
• CutBank The University of Montana’s foremost literary magazine, founded in 1973 by the Creative Writing program.
• Camas Magazine "Founded by Environmental Studies graduate students at the University of Montana in 1992, Camas is a student-run biannual literary magazine. Camas aims to cultivate fresh ideas and perspectives while remaining rooted in the landscapes and traditions of art and literature in the American West."
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• Last Updated: May 20, 2024 12:58 PM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.umt.edu/creativewriting

Debra Magpie Earling First Native American Director Of UM Creative Writing Program

Debra Magpie Earling, a Bitterroot Salish tribal member, is now director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Montana . She is the first Native American to serve as director of the 96-year-old program. Earling is thrilled by the appointment, but also a little nervous.

"Years ago, Jim Welch told a story about the chief of the Blackfeet who didn’t want to be the chief. So he ran up into the hills and hid. And they had to drum him out of the hills," Earling said.

Earling’s appointment was celebrated this week during an honoring ceremony in the Payne Family Native American Center on the University’s Missoula campus.

As President Royce Engstrom pointed out, the Creative Writing Program at UM is one of the top programs in the country.

"Three or four years ago, we set about on this campus identifying a small number of programs of national distinction — that’s what we called it. And a very rigorous competition from campus was held. Thirty-some programs applied for this status and Creative Writing was one of the three that we awarded programs of national distinction."

"Earling has been teaching at the University of Montana since 1992. William Kittridge, Regents Professor Emeritus, recalled this story about her hiring."

"I remember talking to the Dean of Arts and Sciences and he said, 'You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to hire this woman, Debra Earling.' And he said, 'Do you think that’s a good idea?' And I said sir, I congratulate you ."

During the ceremony, Kittridge and Annick Smith delivered a gift to Earling from Lois Welch, wife of the late Blackfeet author Jim Welch. Smith walked over to Earling holding a colorful wool blanket, which, Kittredge explained:

"Lois Welch gave it to me to pass on to you at an honoring like this, a traditional honoring. He got it from the Fort Belknap Tribe after the publication of "Fool’s Crow" in 1986. And she thinks Jim would love it — and I’m sure he would, and so does she — if that blanket were passed on to you at this honor."

After Earling gave gifts of her own to several people at the gathering, she began her remarks with a bit of history:

" The land the University inhabits holds both a sorrowful and brilliant story. This is the time-honored homeland of the Bitterroot Salish, and this is our traditional gathering ground. When my great-great grandfather, Chief Charlo, was forced to leave his beloved homeland in 1891, he passed through Missoula in exile. In his deepest sorrow, he stated: 'We were happy when the white man first came. We first thought he came from the light. But he comes like the dusk of evening now. Not like the dawn of morning. He comes like a day that has passed, and night enters our future with him.' Charlo’s exile was not the story he chose. But because of Charlo’s love for this particular place, he is part of this land where we now gather, and his spirit will remain forever. This will always be his homeland."

To honor the memory of Chief Charlo and her Bitterroot Salish ancestors, Earling looks forward to helping students to share their stories.

"I hope that in my position as the Director of the Creative Writing Program that I can open up doors for students. That I can serve in that capacity, that it is possible that your stories do matter."

Especially stories from Indian Country.

"This is a new generation of storytellers in tribal communities. There’s many young people that I have met who’ve worked with Anna East Baldwin in Arlee. There’s students in Two Eagle River School, students who are in all the tribal colleges who are writing, who have important stories to tell. All you Indians out there writing, come to the University of Montana. We have something big to offer."

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University of Montana Catalog 2023-2024

Creative writing m.f.a. - fiction, master of fine arts - creative writing; fiction concentration.

Degree Specific Credits:  45

Required Cumulative GPA:  3.0

• The MFA program in fiction, nonfiction or poetry normally takes two years to complete. Some students who choose to attend part-time take three years.
• A prose thesis may be a novel, group of short stories, or collection of nonfiction essays with a minimum length of 80 pages.
• A poetry thesis requires a minimum of 40 pages. With committee and graduate chair permission, an MFA could comprise work in both prose and poetry.
• Candidates must give a public thesis reading after committee approval.

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2023-24 University of Montana Academic Catalog

A PDF of the entire 2023-2024 Catalog.

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From Chaos to Creativity: One Teacher’s Path to a Writing Degree

Heather hein.

Senior Editor

Former high school teacher and lifelong writer Ellie Moran finds her perfect fit in the Professional Creative Nonfiction Writing program at University College.

Ellie Moran will never forget the day she decided to go to graduate school.

It was the fall of 2021, and she was in her classroom at Denver’s East High School, where she taught English. Suddenly, the school was placed on lockdown, and Ellie was stuck with her rowdiest class of seniors, waiting for two hours while a dozen police officers, a SWAT team and bomb-sniffing dogs went through the building.

“And I said to myself, that’s it, I’ve got to go to grad school. That was quite literally the moment I decided. I went home that day and applied to DU,” she says.

Ellie had been teaching at East, her alma mater, for five years—an experience she calls both “delightful” and “tumultuous.” She loved her students, her colleagues and the field of education, but the pressures of being a teacher were too much—and not just because of lockdowns.

“I was only in my fifth year, and I felt like I was drowning, like I didn’t have the brain space or capacity to learn or be creative,” she says. The curriculum she taught had started to feel monotonous, and she wanted to spend more time writing.

As an undergraduate, she double majored in creative writing and secondary education at the University of Colorado Boulder. A couple years into her job at East, she decided to get a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction but, just before she was set to start the program, she had an “aha” moment.

“I was walking to a coffee shop and, I don’t know why, but I just asked myself, ‘Why are you going to grad school?’ And the only answer I had was to make more money. And I was like, ‘What?’ I can’t do something I’m not passionate about,” Ellie says. That afternoon, she says, she deferred her enrollment and removed herself from the pool completely about a week later.

'I have to write every day'

She realized that writing was what she wanted to do. “It’s like survival to me. I don’t know how to navigate the world without it,” Ellie says. “I have to write every day. I observe so many things in a day, there’s so many things in [my head], that I have to expel them.”

In the fall of 2022, Ellie enrolled in University College’s Professional Creative Nonfiction Writing program, which she says is a perfect fit for the memoir style of writing she enjoys most. “I have the memory of an elephant. I remember everything and enjoy writing about the things I remember,” she explains. “I don’t necessarily enjoy writing about things that haven’t happened.”

The creativity comes in, she says, by embedding her nonfiction with poetry and figurative language or adding images and “kind of just visually playing around” on the page.

“It feels like weaving, weaving creativity into the truth. It’s essentially making your personal story universal, taking the stories I see in my everyday life and pulling out the universal truths,” she says.

Now working as an enrichment coordinator for a Montessori academy in Denver, Ellie says her long-term goal is to get into publishing. The University College program, she says, was an easy choice because of its flexible schedule and virtual option.

“There are times where I’ve been wildly overwhelmed—because it’s grad school—but for the most part, it’s been really accessible, which I’m so thankful for,” she says.

That accessibility has allowed her to zero in on her writing. “I know how to write, but I wanted to get better. I wanted professors to look at my work and say, ‘That’s terrible’ or ‘That makes no sense.’ I wanted to learn how to structure my writing better, to work on the process.”  

One of her main writing outlets is a SubStack she started last year called Mis(s) Education . She writes narrative nonfiction essays on the state of education, including topics like school shootings (including one at East High School in 2023), teacher burnout and the “epidemic of ego” in educational leadership.

She plans to continue combining her love of writing and her love of education when she moves to New York City in the fall. She has applied to several publishing houses but is also applying to some schools and community colleges for non-classroom positions in areas like student engagement and community event planning.

“The biggest thing that I've learned is that you can’t change a system while you're in it. Teachers are too tired to write about their experiences. I want to have the time to, on their behalf, talk to them, take their words, write them down and get them out there.”

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University of Montana Catalog (2018-2019)

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Creative Writing (CRWR)

This is an archived copy of the 2018-2019 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.umt.edu/ .

CRWR 115L - Montana Writers Live. 3 Credits.

(R-6) Offered autumn. Open to all majors. An introduction to Montana?s practicing creative writers and their work through reading, live performances and discussion. Regional poets and prose writers will read from their work and lead class discussion. Students prepare questions developed from readings and criticism.

Gen Ed Attributes: Lit & Artistic Studies (L)

CRWR 191 - Special Topics. 1-6 Credits.

(R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

CRWR 210A - Intro Fiction Workshop. 3 Credits.

Offered intermittently. Offered on Mountain Campus and at Missoula College. This beginning writing workshop emphasizes the reading, discussion, and revision of students' short fiction. Students will be introduced to the technical elements of writing fiction. No prior experience in writing short fiction required.

Gen Ed Attributes: Expressive Arts Course (A)

CRWR 211A - Intro Poetry Workshop. 3 Credits.

Offered intermittently. This beginning writing workshop focuses on the reading, discussion, and revision of students' poems. Students will study and use models of poetic techniques. No prior experience in writing poetry required.

CRWR 212A - Intro Nonfiction Workshop. 3 Credits.

A study of the art of nonfiction through reading and responding to contemporary nonfiction and the writing of original nonfiction works. Focus is on creative expression, writing technique and nonfiction forms. Students begin with writing exercises and brief essays, advancing to longer forms as the semester progresses.

CRWR 234 - The Oval: Literary Mag. 3 Credits.

(R-6) Offered Spring, Mountain Campus. This course is open to undergraduates who have completed at least one semester of creative writing. Students focus on the editing, design, layout and marketing of The Oval, University of Montana's undergraduate literary magazine. Students will read, discuss and develop responses to to recongnized literary works, as well as developing criteria for each volume's content and design. The class will include the evaluation and selection of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art submissions to The Oval. Students are required to keep a reading journal, and compile a portfolio of writing exercises, responses to texts and critiques of published works.

CRWR 240A - Intro Creative Writing Wrkshp. 3 Credits.

Offered intermittently. Offered at Missoula College. Beginning writing workshop designed for students to explore genres of creative writing with opportunities for students to write, and revise using genre-specific writing techniques.

CRWR 291 - Special Topics. 1-6 Credits.

CRWR 310 - Intermediate Fiction Workshop. 3 Credits.

(R-9) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., completion of CRWR 210A with a "B" average or better. An intermediate fiction writing workshop. Students will be expected to finish 3 or 4 substantial stories for the course. Although some outside material will be considered, the primary emphasis will be analysis and discussion of student work.

CRWR 311 - Intermediate Poetry Workshop. 3 Credits.

(R-9) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., Completion of CRWR 211A with a "B" average or better. An intermediate workshop involving critical analysis of students' work-in-progress as well as reading and discussion of poems in an anthology. Numerous directed writing assignments, experiments, exercises focused on technical considerations like diction, rhythm, rhyme, and imagery.

CRWR 312A - Interm Nonfiction Workshop. 3 Credits.

(R-9) Prereq., completion of CRWR 212A or CRWR 210A with a "B" average or better. An intermediate nonfiction workshop. Students read and respond to model essays, in addition to creating and revising original essays for workshop review. Assignments and exercises focus on writing craft and research techniques.

CRWR 320 - The Art and Craft of Revision. 3 Credits.

(R-6) Offered spring. Prereq., CRWR 210A or consent of instr. An intermediate writing course focused on revision of prose works-in-progress and study of narrative, plot, and editing at the language level. Materials include craft manuals, contemporary and classic examples, and student manuscripts.

CRWR 322 - Techniques of Modern Essay. 3 Credits.

Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Study of various forms of nonfiction essay, such as memoir, personal essay, travel and nature writing, profile and literary journalism. Assignments and exercises focus on writing craft and research techniques.

CRWR 391 - Special Topics. 1-9 Credits.

(R-9) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

CRWR 398 - Internship. 1-3 Credits.

(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of faculty supervisor, department chair, and the Internship Services Office.

CRWR 410 - Advanced Fiction Workshop. 2-3 Credits.

(R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., junior standing and CRWR 310 or consent of instr. An advanced writing workshop in which student manuscripts are read and critiqued. Rewriting of work already begun (in CRWR 310 classes) will be encouraged.

CRWR 411 - Advanced Poetry Workshop. 2-3 Credits.

(R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., junior standing or consent of instr. An advanced writing workshop involving critical analysis of students' work-in-progress, as well as reading and discussion of poems by established poets. Discussions will focus on structure and stylistic refinement, with emphasis on revision. Different techniques, schools and poetic voices will be encouraged. Frequent individual conferences.

CRWR 412 - Advanced Nonfiction Workshop. 3 Credits.

(R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., junior standing and CRWR 310 or 312A or consent of instr. An advanced creative writing workshop focused primarily on reading and writing nonfiction; some classes may focus on personal essay, narrative nonfiction or short forms. Students complete two substantial essays.

CRWR 424 - Creative Writing: Nonfiction, New West: From This Point. 3 Credits.

Offered spring. Nonfiction writing course offered in partnership with the New West Certificate Program. Participants will explore and choose an exact geographical point from which to formulate and develop a question at issue. Working individually and collaboratively, writers will conduct field, primary, and secondary research and draft, revise, and edit an original work focused on natural and human history and incorporating physical and cultural geography.

CRWR 425 - Storytelling. 3 Credits.

This course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, and is not limited to English majors. In-class exercises and out-of-class assignments are designed to help students identify, develop, and demonstrate effective narrative practices in their chosen fields. Students learn to recognize and identify unifying themes, motifs, and ideas in literature and oral stories. Students will read, write, edit and present stories to the class, as well as providing a critique of their peers' work.

CRWR 491 - Special Topics. 1-6 Credits.

(R-6) Offered Intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

CRWR 492 - Independent Study. 1-3 Credits.

(R-9) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of instr. and department chair, and junior or senior standing. Special projects in creative writing. Only one 492 may be taken per semester.

CRWR 496 - Service Learning. 1-3 Credits.

(R-9) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of instr. and department chair, and junior or senior standing. Special projects in creative writing. Only one 496 may be taken per semester.

CRWR 510 - Fiction Workshop. 1-15 Credits.

(R-15) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr. Level: Graduate

CRWR 511 - Poetry Workshop. 1-15 Credits.

CRWR 512 - Nonfiction Workshop. 1-15 Credits.

(R-15) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr. A creative writing workshop focused primarily on personal essay and narrative nonfiction. Attention given to writing and publishing professional magazine essays. Students complete two substantial essays. Level: Graduate

CRWR 513 - Techniques of Nonfiction. 1-6 Credits.

(R-6) Offered once every 2 years. Prereq., consent of instr. Study of form, technique and style in contemporary nonfiction. Level: Graduate

CRWR 514 - Techniques of Modern Fiction. 1-6 Credits.

(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Intensive reading of contemporary prose writers. Level: Graduate

CRWR 515 - Traditional Prosody. 3 Credits.

Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Intensive practice and readings in prosodic and other poetic techniques. Level: Graduate

CRWR 516 - Topics in Creative Writing. 3 Credits.

(R-9) Offered intermittently. Creative Writing faculty explore readings in their genres of specialty. Each professor chooses the focus, reading list, and assignments for the course. Level: Graduate

CRWR 595 - Special Topics. 1-9 Credits.

(R-9) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics. Level: Graduate

CRWR 596 - Graduate Independent Study. 1-9 Credits.

(R-9) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of instr. and Associate Chair. Special projects in creative writing. Only one 596 permitted per semester. Level: Graduate

CRWR 598 - Internship. 1-6 Credits.

(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of faculty supervisor, department chair, and the Internship Services Office. Level: Gradaute

CRWR 599 - Thesis. 1-12 Credits.

(R-12) Offered every term. Preparation of a thesis or manuscript based on research for presentation and/or publication. Level: Graduate

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Welcome! The Writing Center provides a collaborative learning environment for all members of the University of Montana community. Professional tutors support undergraduates, graduate students, alumni, faculty, and staff working on a wide variety of academic, professional, and creative writing tasks.

During spring and fall semesters, online and in-person appointments are available six days a week. Same-day appointments are often available!

Use the tabs above to access additional resources and program information, check out answers to FAQs , or email [email protected] with any further questions. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

SUMMER TUTORING HOURS

The Writing Center is open this summer! We have online and in-person summer tutoring hours available through July. If scheduled times do not work for you, please email [email protected] to request an alternative time to meet. 

SUMMER WRITING GROUPS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Graduate students are invited to join us for five weeks of online and in-person writing accountability groups this May and June. More info on these flexible drop-in offerings can be found here . Email [email protected] with any questions. Work hard so you can play hard!

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Writing consultants are eager to work with you at any point during the research, writing, and presentation process. Visit our online scheduler to make an appointment or stop by to meet with a consultant during our drop-in hours. We look forward to working with you!

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At your appointment time, log in to the scheduler, click on your appointment box, then click on the Zoom link. To get the most out of your session, please have your assignment prompt and whatever you've written so far open on your desktop. Plan to use a device with a screen large enough to see documents. If you can’t keep an appointment, please cancel using the online scheduler.

In-Person Appointments

Please have a digital or printed copy of the assignment prompt as well as any planning or writing you have done. You have the option to upload your draft through your appointment screen when you log into the scheduler. If you can't keep an appointment, please cancel using the online scheduler.

Drop-In Hours

Need last-minute feedback and don’t have an appointment? During fall and spring semesters, drop-in hours are available in the UC Branch Center (Room 206) from 3-4 pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

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