AWP- Director's Handbook

The Association of Writers & Writing Programs

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The AWP Director's Handbook

A Compendium of Guidelines and Information
for Directors of Creative Writing Programs

A Publication of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs 2008

The Director's Handbook (713KB)

Numbers of Degree-Conferring Programs in Creative Writing 1975-2008

Year	AA	BA/BS minor	BA/BFA major	MA	MFA	PhD	Total
2008	11	303	141	145	132	42	774
2004	10	318	86	154	109	42	719
2002	8	283	70	151	99	41	652
1996	6	298	12	134	74	28	552
1992	6	274	9	137	55	27	508
1984	4	155	10	99	31	20	319
1975	0	24	3	32	15	5	79

AWP’s institutional membership has increased seven-fold since 1975. AWP’s institutional membership, in 2008, includes 465 colleges and universities as well as 112 writers’ conferences and centers. The numbers of degree-conferring creative writing programs are compiled from successive editions of The AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs, which became a free Web publication in 2007.

The table above includes member as well as non-member institutions. Most institutions offer two or more degree-conferring programs in creative writing.

The vast majority of the 2,400 departments of English in North America offer classes in creative writing; the departments and programs accounted for above are only those that have shaped creative writing electives into creative writing programs with, at least, minor tracks of study in creative writing and literature. Among undergraduate students, classes in creative writing are among the most popular elective classes.

The Association of Writers & Writing Programs
is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of
30,000 writers, teachers, and students,
465 creative writing programs
in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.,
and 112 writers’ conferences and centers.

AWP’s Professional Standards Committee
serves as an advocate for
standards of excellence in the teaching of creative writing;
it supports fair treatment of writers in the academy,
provides writers with advice,
and conducts inquiries into disputes
over the hiring and promotion of faculty.

AWP also conducts
professional, independent assessments of
creative writing programs
and provides many other services
for writers and creative writing programs.

For more information, contact:

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs
Mailstop 1E3
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

(703) 993-4301

services@awpwriter.org
http://www.awpwriter.org

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Members of AWP are invited to read the Associatiation of Writers & Writing Programs Strategic Plan 2000 - 2010. This document details the goals, objectives, and strategies that the association will pursue throughout this decade. The complete Strategic Plan is available as a downloadable file in Portable Document Format (PDF).

2000-2010 Strategic Plan

Annual Report 2007

Annual Report 2003

If you are a member of AWP, the AWP Board of Directors encourages you to send your comments on the Strategic Plan. Write to services@awpwriter.org or to any board or staff member of AWP.