Directory of The Writing University
A diverse array of writers, students, institutions, and traditions advance the culture of writing at The University of Iowa. Iowa's writing programs are the heart of this culture. Though each writing program operates independently, each is significantly enriched by creative and scholarly exhanges with other writing programs, as well as with academic departments with a more interpretive relationship to the writing arts. Institutions such as Broadcasting Services, the UI Main Libraries, and Arts Share vitalize The Writing University, broadening its scope and extending its dialogue to the public.
Creative Writing Programs
Iowa Writers’ Workshop
Lan Samantha Chang, Director. Phone: (319) 335-0416.
The Iowa Writers' Workshop is a two-year residency program which culminates in the submission of a creative thesis (a novel, a collection of stories, or a book of poetry) and the awarding of a Master of Fine Arts degree. The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop was the first creative writing degree program in the United States and the model for contemporary writing programs.
International Writing Program
Christopher Merrill, Director. Shambaugh House. Phone: (319) 335-0128.
Founded in 1967 by Paul Engle and Hualing Nieh Engle, the IWP was the first writers residency to reach out across national borders, and remains unique in the world of creative writing. Established writers from across the globe gather for three fall months in Iowa City, becoming part of the lively literary community on and off campus. Over the years, the IWP has hosted more than 1,000 writers from more than 100 countries.
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Marc Armstrong, Director. 100 Adler Journalism Building, #E305. Phone: (319) 335-3486.
Established in 1924, the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication has long been recognized as a leader in journalism education. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication undergraduate program prepares students for careers in journalism and mass communication. Journalistic writing is the core of the professional program; visual communication also is an important focus.
Nonfiction Writing Program
Robin Hemley, Director. 329 English-Philosophy Building. Phone: (319) 335-0440.
The Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa awards an MFA degree to accomplished students of literary nonfiction. Most often, the 48 semester-hour program takes three years to complete, culminating in a thesis of at least 75 pages, either a sustained essay or a collection of shorter pieces. Work in the essay and on prose style is a fundamental feature of the program.
Iowa Playwrights Workshop
Art Borreca, Director. Department of Theatre Arts. Phone: (319) 335-2700.
The Iowa Playwrights Workshop—The University of Iowa's MFA Program in Playwriting—is an intensive three-year program dedicated to educating playwrights for the professional theatre. The objective of the program is to train talented playwrights as writers and collaborative theatre artists who will lead the American theatre in the creation of new works and the training of future generations of writers and theatre artists.
Department of Cinema and Comparative Literature
Steven Ungar, Director. E210 Adler Journalism Building. Phone: (319) 335-0330.
The Department of Cinema and Comparative Literature offers individualized programs in the interdisciplinary study of literature and the study and production of film and audiovisual arts. It is the home of the country's oldest MFA program in Translation. The department offers offers the option of 2 undergraduate majors, the B.A. in Comparative Literature or the B.A. in Cinema, and graduate degrees in Film Studies, Comparative Literature, and Film and Video Production.
Iowa Summer Writing Festival
Amy Margolis, Director. Phone: (319) 335-4160.
The Iowa Summer Writing Festival consists of 136 different non-credit workshops, open to writers 21 years and older (no previous experience necessary). One-week and weekend sessions offered throughout June and July, in workshop format, in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essay, and more.
Intermedia
Jon Winet, Director. Phone: (319) 335-3907.
The Intermedia Area of The University of Iowa School of Art & Art History offers a 2 year MA/3 year MFA program that encourages interdisciplinary research and production in time-based media, experimental video, new media and installation.
Irish Writing Program
Martin Roper, Director. Office for Study Abroad, 1111 University Capitol Centre. Phone: (319) 335-0353.
The University of Iowa Irish Writing Program offers participants the opportunity to study creative writing and Irish literature in the heart of Dublin.
Iowa Young Writers’ Studio
Stephen Lovely, Director. C215 Seashore Hall. Phone: (319) 335-4209.
At the Iowa Young Writers' Studio, 120 young writers from across the country come together every summer to share their work, practice craft, and improve their writing.
Translation Workshop
Maureen Robertson (Interim Director), Director. Phone: (319) 335-0330.
The MFA in Translation, originating in the Translation Workshop, is a degree program in Cinema and Comparative Literature that promotes creative performance and the study of languages, literature, criticism, and cultural history. The aim of the program is to encourage the practice of translation, and to bring about greater awareness of its tradition, as one of the primary means of cultural mediation.
Spanish Creative Writing Workshop
Thomas Lewis, Director. Phone: (319) 335-2244.
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers coursework in Spanish-language creative writing.
Undergraduate Writing Track
Robyn Schiff, Director. Phone: 319-335-0454.
The hub of the Writing Track is a cluster of intimate Writers’ Seminars that will give students the opportunity to creatively engage the relationship between reading and writing and to explore questions of craft, literary traditions, and aesthetics in a manner that is both inspiring and rigorous. Students will learn how to read literature with a writer’s gaze through discussions and workshops.
Programs Affiliated with the Writing Arts
Department of English
Jonathan Wilcox, Director. 306 English Philosophy Building. Phone: (319) 335-0454.
Students in the English Department are actively involved in the processes of creating, interpreting, and publishing a variety of texts. They experiment with diverse styles and perspectives, working with materials that range from literary classics to contemporary film, from the Anglo-American canon to multicultural, postcolonial, and feminist expansions of that canon, from drama, poetry, and fiction to autobiography, electronic, and multimedia writing.
Department of Rhetoric
Mary Trachsel, Director. Phone: (319) 335-0178.
The Rhetoric Department offers courses that fulfill the General Education Program requirement in rhetoric and provides individual instruction in its Writing and Speaking Centers. It also offers other undergraduate courses and graduate seminars.
Department of Theatre Arts
Alan MacVey, Director. Phone: (319) 335-2700.
The University of Iowa Theatre Arts Department is one of the oldest and most respected theatre programs in the country. The department offers students the opportunity to earn an undergraduate BA degree, or an MFA degree with an emphasis in acting, directing, design, playwriting, dramaturgy or stage management.
Language, Literacy, and Culture
Kathryn Whitmore, Director. Phone: (310) 355-5434.
The program in Language, Literacy, and Culture (LLC) offers a Ph.D. that brings together scholarly traditions and contemporary theory in literacy and cultural studies. Course work provides both a broad background in relevant theoretic and research literature and opportunities to conduct original studies that explore the nature of literacy practices both in and out of school.
Project on the Rhetoric of Inquiry (POROI)
Russell Valentino, Director. Phone: 319-335-2752.
The Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry (POROI) is an interdisciplinary program at the University of Iowa. Its mission is to explore how scholarship and professional discourses are conducted through argument and how paradigms of knowledge are sensitive to social-political contexts. POROI offers classes, seminars, workshops, and conferences. Together with the Graduate College, POROI offers an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Rhetoric of Inquiry to graduate students in any field.
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Marc Armstrong, Director. 100 Adler Journalism Building, #E305. Phone: (319) 335-3486.
Established in 1924, the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication has long been recognized as a leader in journalism education. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication undergraduate program prepares students for careers in journalism and mass communication. Journalistic writing is the core of the professional program; visual communication also is an important focus.
University of Iowa Center for the Book
Matthew P. Brown, Director. 216 North Hall. Phone: (319) 335-0447.
The Center for the Book is an innovative, interdisciplinary research and arts unit located within the University of Iowa Graduate College. The Center offers curricula in book technologies and book history, available to graduate and undergraduate students, as well as to the eastern Iowa community.
Media Production, Preservation, and Outreach
Arts Share
Leslie Finer, Director. 113 Halsey Hall. Phone: (319) 335-1618.
Arts Share continues The University of Iowa's long tradition of sharing creative resources from the Division of Performing Arts (music, dance, theatre), the School of Art and Art History, and the Writers' Workshop. Our goal is to strengthen the arts in underserved areas, reaching out to provide access to life-enriching arts experiences throughout Iowa.
Broadcasting Services: WSUI/KSUI Public Radio
Joan Kjaer Kirkman, Director. 710 South Clinton Street. Phone: (319) 335-5730.
WSUI and KSUI are the public radio broadcasting services of the University of Iowa and Iowa Public Radio. WSUI and KSUI enrich the literary community with programs such as "Live from Praire Lights," "Talk of Iowa," and "Know the Score."
DITV (Daily Iowan Television)
William Casey, Publisher. Jason Brummond, Director. Phone: (319) 335-6063.
DITV is the television service provided by The Daily Iowan. Established in October 2005, it is jointly supported by The Daily Iowan and the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication. DITV produces a 15-minute newscast during the academic year at 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday on UITV, Mediacom channel 17. DITV Webcasts are available around the clock at: http://www.dailyiowan.com/DITV.
School of Library and Information Science
James Elmborg, Director. Phone: 319-335-5707.
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) offers a graduate-level program of professional and academic preparation for careers in libraries and information centers. Interim director James Elmborg manages the Virtual Writing University Archive, which began as a SLIS graduate student project. SLIS also provides technical and adminstrative support for the Virtual Writing University.
The Daily Iowan
William Casey, Publisher. Jason Brummond, Director. Phone: (319) 335-6063.
The Daily Iowan is an independent, 19,500-circulation daily paper serving Iowa City and the University of Iowa community. It has consistently won a number of collegiate journalism awards, including multiple National Pacemaker Awards, and is generally regarded as one of the finest student newspapers in the country. The Daily Iowan also runs its own television station, DITV. It features streaming video on the DI frontpage.
The University of Iowa Libraries
Nancy Baker, Director. 100 Main Library. Phone: (319) 335-5299.
The University of Iowa Libraries is the largest library system in Iowa and the 14th largest among the nation’s research libraries. The Libraries' Digital Library Services, as well as Special Collections and University Archives play an important role in collecting, preserving, and digitizing the historical record of The Writing University.
UITV: The University of Iowa Television Channel
Michael McBride, Director. 23 Lindquist Center. Phone: (319) 335-5898.
University of Iowa Television (UITV) is a cable programming service available to cable television viewers on campus and in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, and surrounding communities.
University of Iowa Press
Holly Carver, Director. 100 Kuhl House. Phone: (319) 335-2000.
Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction, as well as books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world. The Press publishes the winners of the Iowa Short Fiction Award and the Iowa Poetry Prize, poetry anthologies, letters and diaries, biographies, memoirs, and regional history. As the only university press in the state, Iowa is also dedicated to preserving the literature, history, culture, wildlife, and natural areas of the Midwest.
