Creative Writing Programs
- Opportunities
- Prospective Students
- MFA Program Options
- Optional Summer Residency
- How to Write a Novel
- Writing for Video Games
- Communications Support
- Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
- Indigenous Engagement
- Prize for Best New Fiction
- Job Opportunities
Gain an unparalleled richness and diversity of creative writing courses through UBC’s Creative Writing undergraduate programs.
Our comprehensive undergraduate curriculum makes the range of our teaching available to all students. In our programs, you will free your writing potential while developing a solid base of professional craft and skill.
In one of the oldest and most established academic Creative Writing programs in the world, you can learn across a uniquely broad range of taught genres, guided by faculty and instructors who are working, published and award-winning writers themselves.
You can earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree with our Major, enhance your undergraduate degree with our Minor in Creative Writing, or take individual courses to support your educational, career and personal goals.
We welcome you to explore what our programs can offer you.
You can find options in our undergraduate programming allowing you to explore and write fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, scripts for TV, film, stage, radio, web and videogames, comics, songwriting, and more, all while building a solid and progressive foundation in craft and technique.
To find your own best path, it’s helpful to understand how our undergraduate course structure differs from other undergraduate programs.
Our Major is a closed studio program for third- and fourth-year students, with a selective portfolio-based admission process. Our 400 level CRWR courses are studio workshop classes restricted to those admitted to the Major program.
All 200 and 300 level CRWR courses are open-enrolment. These courses are the building blocks for the Minor, but are also an integral part of several other UBC programs. They can also be taken as freestanding electives, and can be used to build bespoke undergraduate degree programs.
Program Options
Other Options
I found a true community in the UBC Creative Writing program. The staff, faculty and students all want to encourage a positive experience and took time to listen to feedback. I felt I grew as an artist and as a person in this program.
Quick links.
- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)
- Graduate School
- Prospective Students
- Graduate Degree Programs
Canadian Immigration Updates
Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more
Go to programs search
Creative Writers are at the heart of our cultural industries. Poets, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, graphic novelists, magazine writers: they entertain, inform and inspire. For more than 50 years, UBC’s Creative Writing program has been producing writers who’ve shaped Canadian and international culture. A studio program with the writing workshop at its heart, the MFA focuses on the work created by students as the primary text. Through intensive peer critique and craft discussion, faculty and students work together with the same goal: literary excellence.
For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website
What makes the program unique?
UBC’s Creative Writing program was the first writing program in Canada, and is the largest and most comprehensive in the country. It is highly ranked internationally, and draws students from around the world for its multi-genre approach to writing instruction. Students are required to work in multiple genres during the course of the degree. As a fine arts program rather than an English program, students focus on the practice of writing rather than the study of literature.
Small, intensive workshops characterize the program, as does our breadth of offerings: with 12 genres of writing available for study there are more opportunities for learning than at any other writing program in the world.
Faculty are distinguished, working writers. We have 12 professors, an additional 9 permanent instructors and regularly bring in a wide variety of writers in residence and adjunct instructors from the writing community.
The residencies are rich with opportunities to connect with other professionals and provide that physical workshop experience I was looking for.
Wole Olayinka
Quick Facts
Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, program instructions.
The residency MFA program only has a September intake.
1) Check Eligibility
Minimum academic requirements.
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:
- Canada or the United States
- International countries other than the United States
Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.
English Language Test
Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.
Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:
TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based
Overall score requirement : 90
IELTS: International English Language Testing System
Overall score requirement : 6.5
Other Test Scores
Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:
The GRE is not required.
2) Meet Deadlines
September 2025 intake, application open date, canadian applicants, international applicants, deadline explanations.
Deadline to submit online application. No changes can be made to the application after submission.
Deadline to upload scans of official transcripts through the applicant portal in support of a submitted application. Information for accessing the applicant portal will be provided after submitting an online application for admission.
Deadline for the referees identified in the application for admission to submit references. See Letters of Reference for more information.
3) Prepare Application
Transcripts.
All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.
Letters of Reference
A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.
Statement of Interest
Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.
- Supervision
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)
Citizenship verification.
Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.
4) Apply Online
All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.
Tuition & Financial Support
Financial support.
Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.
Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)
All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)
Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)
Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .
Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)
Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.
Financial aid (need-based funding)
Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .
All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.
Foreign government scholarships
Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.
Working while studying
The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.
International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.
A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .
Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals
Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.
Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.
Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.
Cost Estimator
Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.
Career Options
Graduates of the MFA program have found success in varied fields related to writing and communication. The MFA qualifies graduates for teaching at the university level and many graduates have gone on to teach at colleges and universities in Canada, the United States and overseas as well as holding writing residencies. Many publish books and win literary awards. Others go on to work in publishing, and graduates have become book and magazine editors.
Although the MFA is a terminal degree, some graduates go on to further study in PhD programs in the US, UK and Australia.
Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats
These statistics show data for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.
ENROLMENT DATA
Completion rates & times.
- Research Supervisors
This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.
- Belcourt, Billy-Ray (Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry)
- French, Whitney (memory, loss, technology, and nature)
- Hopkinson, Nalo (Creative writing, n.e.c.; Humanities and the arts; Creative Writing: Speculative Ficton, Fantasy, Science Fiction, especially Other Voices)
- Irani, Anosh
- Koncan, Frances
- Leavitt, Sarah (Autobiographical comics; Formal experimentation in comics; Comics pedagogy)
- Lee, Nancy (Fiction; Creative Writing)
- Lyon, Annabel (Novels, stories and news)
- Maillard, Keith (Fiction, poetry)
- Marzano-Lesnevich, Alex (Nonfiction)
- McGowan, Sharon (Planning of film productions from concept to completion)
- Medved, Maureen (Fiction, writing for screen)
- Nicholson, Cecily (Languages and literature; Poetry)
- Ohlin, Alix (Fiction; Screenwriting; Environmental writing)
- Pohl-Weary, Emily (Fiction; Writing for Youth)
- Svendsen, Linda (Script development; Novels, stories and news; Writing for Television; Fiction)
- Taylor, Timothy (fiction and nonfiction)
- Vigna, John (Novels, stories and news; Fiction, Literary Non-Fiction, Creative Writing)
Related Programs
Same specialization.
- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Distance Education (MFA)
Same Academic Unit
- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre (MFA)
- Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing (MFA)
At the UBC Okanagan Campus
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Further Information
Specialization.
Creative Writing combines the best of traditional workshop and leading-edge pedagogy. Literary cross-training offers opportunities in a broad range of genres including fiction, poetry, screenplay, podcasting, video game writing and graphic novel.
UBC Calendar
Program website, faculty overview, academic unit, program identifier, classification, social media channels, supervisor search.
Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form .
Marsha Masseau
I met MFA alumna Natalie Morrill, the award-winning author of The Ghost Keeper. She spoke highly of her UBC experience, adding that many of her cohort went on to win awards in their respective genres. From that conversation, I was hooked and started plotting my path to the program. I found a copy...
Lauren Grant
UBC's School of Creative Writing is world-renowned and requires writers to work in various forms. The optional residency stream allows me to learn from incredible writers and professors without relocating to Vancouver when I have work and a family in Toronto.
Brandi Bird
I only applied to UBC. I couldn’t justify upending my life with my partner and my cats for two years of schooling. I decided if I didn’t get in, I’d try again next year. But I was lucky! I just finished my undergraduate degree at UBC and so the familiarity of campus was and is comforting but the...
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