The Creative Writing program is predicated on the model of the workshop, and focuses on three areas of study: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Undergraduates who select the creative writing option fulfill some of the same requirements as those in literature, while also participating in a series of small writing workshops, gaining the techniques needed to craft poetry and/or prose that work towards artistic excellence. Graduate students pursuing an M.F.A. degree complete a series of writing workshops and seminars designed to develop their creative work and expand their understanding of literary technique.

The Creative Writing faculty is augmented each year by visiting Hugo and Kittredge fellows. The program sponsors the graduate literary magazine, CutBank, now in its fourth decade of publishing works of poetry, prose and art. Additionally, undergraduate students have the opportunity to contribute to and edit their own literary magazine, The Oval.