Advanced Academic Programs

The Master of Arts in Writing Program is celebrating 20 years of success in helping writers achieve a wide range of creative and professional goals. With a part-time format, craft-base courses, and a faculty of practicing writers and editors, the program offers a challenging, nurturing home in Washington or Baltimore to expand knowledge and skills in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Science Writing. Our nine-course Master of Arts reflects the quality, prestige, and value of Johns Hopkins University; our program aims to create the next generation of citizens for our nation’s Community of Letters.

Quick Stats

In 1992, Johns Hopkins University founded the Master of Arts in Writing Program in Washington, D.C., to provide professional and artistic options for adult, part-time students. After 20 years of growth, the program offers onsite fiction and nonfiction classes in Washington and Baltimore and online-low-residency options in science-medical writing.

The Writing Program is designed primarily for part-time study; full-time study is possible under special circumstances such as for international students or military veterans. Some students take only a course or two of interest; most seek a full Master of Arts.

The fiction and nonfiction courses, along with electives in poetry, science writing, literature, teaching writing, screenwriting, and other topics, are available on weekday evenings or Saturdays at the Washington Center and at the main Hopkins Homewood Campus in Baltimore. Fiction and nonfiction students attend face-to-face classes in Washington or Baltimore to earn a degree; online/low-residency is not available in those concentrations.

Students in the online/low-residency science-medical writing concentration attend all courses fully online with the exception of a required 7- to 10-day residency in Washington, Baltimore, or another location. The program also is considering a required or optional brief thesis residency at the end of the final, online thesis course. With the exception of the residency, the science-medical writing concentration does not offer onsite classes for new students. However, students desiring more face-to-face interaction can replace at least one online course with an additional residency.

For all programs, you may earn a 9-course MA at your own pace—generally within two to five years. The programs also offer accelerated and extended options. While courses are offered year-round, including in a summer term, our flexible program allows students to take a term or two off as their schedules require.