Framework for Diverse & Equitable Programs in Creative Writing

Evaluating BA and MFA Creative Writing Programs

This framework is designed for academic programs in creative writing, to counter the harmful effects of the traditional workshop articulated by writers such as Junot Díaz, Claudia Rankine, and Viet Thanh Nguyen.

The framework enables creative writing programs to self-evaluate their practices in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The sections below describe what faculty can do at the department-level to increase equity in their programs, in conjunction with campuswide strategic planning regarding diversity and inclusion.

Representation matters: The framework asks faculty to think about what their department communicates through curriculum, programming, marketing, and personnel decisions.

Equity and inclusion should be at the forefront of all the decisions we make.

“In short, if creative writing is to have meaning in the academy of the future, it needs to partake of those very qualities and purposes best representative of true scholarship—namely, broad, informed, intensive reading, thinking, and writing and a commitment to social betterment of a troubled world.”
​—David Radavich

Download the Framework