The AWP Director's Handbook

A Publication of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs 2012

The Director's Handbook (916KB)

Numbers of Degree-Conferring Programs in Creative Writing 1975-2012

AWP’s institutional membership has increased seven-fold since 1975. AWP’s institutional membership includes 500 colleges and universities as well as 100 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
Mail Stop 1E3
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

(703) 993-4301

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

Back to Top

Friends of AWP

Why Should I Support AWP?

A Brief History of AWP

Undergraduate Hallmarks

Graduate Hallmarks

The AWP Annual report is a comprehensive look at the organization's activities throughout the year.

Annual Report 2011
(PDF-5.11MB)