California College of the Arts is home to many renowned graduate programs, from Writing to Design. Our MFA Writing Program alum include the best-selling authors Julie Lythcott-Haims and Molly Prentiss -- as well as the poets LaTasha Diggs and Andrew Nicholson, among many others. We pride ourselves on how we teach craft - enacting the spirit and principles of our 107-year-old art and design college. Our San Francisco campus is expanding and growing, with new dorms, classrooms, and cafes, in a neighborhood that is a hot bed for the maker movement.

Our dynamic, full-time faculty engage in diverse, active practices as writers and research scholars, with four books coming out in 18-19 alone and speaking engagements from Ushuaia to Chicago to Portland. Our faculty has received Fulbright, NEA, and NEH awards.

MFA Writing students are encouraged to engage in studios ranging from the illustrated children's book to garment structures and screenwriting and podcasting. We believe writers in the 21st century have more opportunities to be more creative than at any other time in history.

San Francisco is a global center for writing in both traditional and innovative forms -- and the gestation point for established and emergent technologies that impact, challenge, and nourish writers. The CCA MFA Writing Program leverages all of the Bay Area's deep resources, including local authors, Litquake events, and vibrant creative culture to create a transformative and deeply supportive studio culture.

The program is grounded in the craft of writing with an emphasis on the disposition and gaze of seminal practitioners across genres and the arts. Students dip into Surrealism, Bay Area literary movements like the Beats, and read at and create 'zines with the CCA Wattis Institute.

CCA’s San Francisco campus is located in the city's robust design district -- an innovation corridor a short bike ride from the Mission District, home to bookstores, coffee shops, and a vibrant cultural scene.

We leverage our location and connections with leading writers to create courses, jobs, and events for our students. We partner with key local leaders to add relevance to our studios.

Surrounded by world-class museums and cultural centers, leading writers, and amazing resources, you study in the core of a vibrant, inspiring environment.

Past visitors represent the best of writing today:

R.O. Kwon

NourbeSe Philip

Akhil Sharma

Tracy K. Smith

Julie Lythcott-Hains (program alum)

Dana Johnson

Matt Klam

Adam Johnson

Marlon James

Contact Information

1111 8th Street
MFA Program in Writing
San Francisco
California, United States
94107-2247
Email: jdarznik@cca.edu
http://cca.edu/academics/graduate/writing