Located in the center of one of the country's most vibrantly literary cities, the Creative Writing Program at Portland State University provides writers with opportunities for creative development with a core faculty of prominent authors: Diana Abu-Jaber, Janice Lee, Gabriel Urza, and Leni Zumas in Fiction; John Beer and Michele Glazer in Poetry; and Paul Collins and visiting writer Justin Hocking in Nonfiction in Nonfiction.

Our two-year MFA degree emphasizes workshops and close mentorship by core faculty, while also offering the flexibility of a part-time option and the rich course offerings of Oregon's largest university. MFA students also work with acclaimed visiting and resident writers though our partnership with Tin House.  Leslie Jamison is the 2019 Tin House Visiting Writer. 

MFA program alumni have written for publications ranging from Tin House and the New Yorker to The Believer and Iowa Review. But above all, our program is part of Portland: long after graduating, many students stay on to make this city of Powell's and Wordstock their home.