Posted by EddieL on June 09, 2007 at 11:34:29:
In Reply to: Best Fiction Writing Schools posted by JND on June 06, 2007 at 12:06:22:
: Anybody know what is the top rated fiction writing college program. Is it still the University of Iowa MFA program?
: http://www.uiowa.edu/~iww/
Yes, the U of Iowa is still on top, but I'm not sure why. It still only has an MFA program. Some of the larger universities now have broader programs with both masters and PhD degrees.
However, not many schools have PURE PhD programs in creative writing (U of Utah); most are literature programs with a specialization in creative writing (Houston, Columbia).
The Iowa MFA program is purely a workshop-oriented program, unlike most of the others. There has always been a struggle between two different approaches to teaching creative writing, the workshop approach versus the study of literature approach. These days, many programs use both approaches.