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Let elevated consciousness fuel your creativity

  • Hone your skills in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction in a professional workshop atmosphere
  • Receive individual attention from your teachers and be a part of a supportive online writing community
  • Develop yourself and your creativity holistically through the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique
  • Graduate with a robust portfolio of work and a comprehensive understanding of how to pursue a career in writing

Write more with less stress

Our program is founded on the idea that creativity is not meant to be a struggle, but instead a fun and rewarding process. Developing writers in this online bachelor’s specialization can learn in a supportive, inclusive environment that emphasizes spiritual and personal growth.

In every class, we offer our students tools and techniques to awaken creativity in authentic ways that deeply engage mind, heart, and soul.


Get started by contacting Theresa

Theresa Fross, admissions counselorTheresa Fross is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Theresa will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with program faculty when you have questions. International students may connect with their admissions counselor through our contact form.

Contact Theresa >

Contact Theresa >

Dive within & connect to creativity

As an MIU student, you’ll practice the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique daily. TM practice has been scientifically proven to enhance brain functioning, increase creativity, and lower stress.

Connecting to your innermost self through the TM technique puts you in touch with your authentic voice and allows for a deeper and richer writing experience.


Online & easy for transfer students

If you transfer in 60 or more credits, the degree can be completed in four semesters. (Transfer students can inquire with their admissions counselor to learn the exact number of credits needed to graduate.)


Degree requirements

To graduate with a Specialization in Creative Writing, students must complete:


Featured courses

Narrative Throughout Time

In order to work in any creative medium, understanding the various ways in which narrative is used is a great advantage. This course will examine the range of narrative forms and narrative devices that have been used since the dawn of time right up until the modern day. We will discover that although the forms and types of media used might have changed as technology has advanced, in fact, most of the essential forms of narrative used in creative works have been with us for ages. Understanding why will reveal how narrative reflects both the universal and unique aspects of the experience of human life.

Discovering Your Creative Process

The purpose of this class is to break boundaries and rediscover an easy relationship with the inner Muse. You’ll study your own creative process as well as what other artists, writers, and filmmakers have shared about creative inspiration. You’ll also hear from a variety of guest lecturers working in different media and discuss their work, career paths, and creative process.

The Hero in Literature

This course will explore the idea of the hero from antiquity to the present. The hero is a larger-than-life character whose actions affect the fate of a large community for good, or if a tragic hero, for ill. The hero’s behavior is a model for the ordinary individual. One of the great debates is whether the hero can even exist in the modern world. Among the texts and themes we will follow are The Odyssey (the Classical Hero), Beowulf (the Germanic Hero), Gawain and the Green Knight (the Medieval Hero), Siddhartha (the Spiritual Hero), and The Bean Trees (the Feminine Hero).

See all Creative Writing courses & degree requirements >


Get started by contacting Theresa

Theresa Fross, admissions counselorTheresa Fross is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Theresa will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with program faculty when you have questions. International students may connect with their admissions counselor through our contact form.

Contact Theresa >

Contact Theresa >

Featured faculty

Mel McCuin

Mel McCuin

Mel McCuin

Mel McCuin received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Arizona State University in 2005 and her Master of Fine Art in Creative Writing from Northern Arizona University in 2014. Her writing has appeared in The Salt River Review, The Gila River Review, The Blue Guitar, and Unstrung. Her most recent work can be viewed at howweare.org

Cost & aid for bachelor’s degree programs, 2023-24

Tuition is based on the total number of credits per semester – two semesters per year. Typically, enrollment is two courses at a time, 17 credits (full-time) or one course at a time, 9 credits (3/4 time)

US Online Undergraduate, ¾ time

The example below can vary by FAFSA analysis of independent student finances or dependent family finances.

Semester Cost and Typical Financial Aid
Tuition and fees$4,895
Federal grants (maximum)-$2,450
Net cost per semester$2,445
Federal student loan-$2,445
Your payment$0

Additional Financial Aid Information

Federal grants are available for full-time and part-time students. The grants vary depending on income level as determined by the FAFSA, and by credit load per semester. Students in higher-income categories may not qualify for federal grants.
Many companies offer tuition assistance programs to their employees. If you’re currently employed, we encourage you to check on this. If they offer assistance, please contact MIU’s Financial Aid office.
Part-time online students benefit from a proportionately lower tuition than the full-time rate. For example, a half-time student’s tuition is less than half the full-time tuition. Because these discounts are included in the part-time tuition, an additional MIU scholarship isn’t available for part-time students.
Federal Student Loans have limits based on lifetime usage, annual limits, and limited to the educational costs for each semester. Here are the annual maximum limits:

  • $5,500 per year for first-year dependent
  • $6,500 per year for second-year dependent
  • $7,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year dependent
  • $9,500 per year for first-year independent
  • $10,500 per year for second-year independent
  • $12,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year independent
Federal Student Loan Repayment is postponed as long as you are enrolled at least half-time each semester. If your enrollment drops below half-time, you have a six-month grace period before repayment begins. There are also postponements for low income and unemployment, as well as repayment based on income and Public Service Forgiveness.

There are a variety of money-saving tax benefits to assist in reducing the cost of education expenses. More about education tax benefits.
Veterans should contact the VA for information on Veterans Education Benefits. Veterans eligible for BAH monthly benefits: The VA utilizes a scale of credits per block of courses; therefore, the VA sometimes pays part-time benefits for an individual month while the university delivers full-time federal aid for an entire semester. Our Veterans Certifying Official is our Director of Financial Aid.

Loan Repayment Options

Payments are a fixed amount that ensures your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).
Payments may be fixed or graduated and will ensure that your loans are paid off within 25 years.
Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years, and are for an amount that will ensure your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).
Your monthly payments will be either 10 or 15 percent of discretionary income (depending on when you received your first loans), but never more than you would have paid under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.
Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. Any outstanding balance will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 25 years.
Your monthly payment is based on annual income, but your loan will be paid in full within 15 years.

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

US Online Undergraduate, ½ time

The example below can vary by FAFSA analysis of independent student finances or dependent family finances.

Semester Cost and Typical Financial Aid
Tuition and fees$2,895
Federal grants (maximum)-$1,850
Net cost per semester$1,045
Federal student loan-$1,045
Your payment$0

Additional Financial Aid Information

Federal grants are available for full-time and part-time students. The grants vary depending on income level as determined by the FAFSA, and by credit load per semester. Students in higher-income categories may not qualify for federal grants.
Many companies offer tuition assistance programs to their employees. If you’re currently employed, we encourage you to check on this. If they offer assistance, please contact MIU’s Financial Aid office.
Part-time online students benefit from a proportionately lower tuition than the full-time rate. For example, a half-time student’s tuition is less than half the full-time tuition. Because these discounts are included in the part-time tuition, an additional MIU scholarship isn’t available for part-time students.
Federal Student Loans have limits based on lifetime usage, annual limits, and limited to the educational costs for each semester. Here are the annual maximum limits:

  • $5,500 per year for first-year dependent
  • $6,500 per year for second-year dependent
  • $7,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year dependent
  • $9,500 per year for first-year independent
  • $10,500 per year for second-year independent
  • $12,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year independent
Federal Student Loan Repayment is postponed as long as you are enrolled at least half-time each semester. If your enrollment drops below half-time, you have a six-month grace period before repayment begins. There are also postponements for low income and unemployment, as well as repayment based on income and Public Service Forgiveness.

There are a variety of money-saving tax benefits to assist in reducing the cost of education expenses. More about education tax benefits.
Veterans should contact the VA for information on Veterans Education Benefits. Veterans eligible for BAH monthly benefits: The VA utilizes a scale of credits per block of courses; therefore, the VA sometimes pays part-time benefits for an individual month while the university delivers full-time federal aid for an entire semester. Our Veterans Certifying Official is our Director of Financial Aid.

Loan Repayment Options

Payments are a fixed amount that ensures your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).
Payments may be fixed or graduated and will ensure that your loans are paid off within 25 years.
Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years, and are for an amount that will ensure your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).
Your monthly payments will be either 10 or 15 percent of discretionary income (depending on when you received your first loans), but never more than you would have paid under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.
Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. Any outstanding balance will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 25 years.
Your monthly payment is based on annual income, but your loan will be paid in full within 15 years.

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

US Online Undergraduate, less than ½ time (4 credits)

The example below can vary by FAFSA analysis of independent student finances or dependent family finances.

Cost – less than ½ time
Tuition$2,000
Federal grants (maximum)-$900
Net cost$1,100
Federal student loans (not available)0
Your payment$1,100

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

International On-Campus Undergraduate

Annual Cost and Typical Financial Aid
Tuition and fees$16,530
Housing (single room) and meals$7,400
Health insurance (estimate)$3,506
Personal expenses, books, unexpected needs (estimate)$3,500
Cost Per Year$30,936

Full-time students may apply for up to $6,000 scholarship based on qualifying documented family income. Our undergraduate scholarship application form will be made available to you upon application to the university.


Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date.

International Online Undergraduate

Typically, online enrollment is two courses at a time (17 credits) or one course at a time (9 credits), per semester (two semesters per year).

Tuition and Fees per Semester
Full-time (12 or more credits)$8,095
¾ time (9-11 credits)$4,895
½ time (6-8 credits)$2,895
Fewer than 5 credits$500 per credit


Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date.

FAQ

You should plan to spend 12-14 hours per week for a 4-credit eight-week course. If you are taking 2 courses during an eight-week period, you should plan to spend 24-28 hours per week reading, creating assignments and discussion forum posts, and studying course materials.

The time it takes to complete an online course successfully depends on your willingness to stick to a regular schedule and learn to study effectively more than on any other factor.

We accomplish this by using an online learning platform that students find highly engaging. The program also features an extensive collaboration between students and one-on-one interaction between our faculty and each student.
This online bachelor’s specialization includes 32 credits of required course work in Creative Writing, as well as the required courses for the Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences or any other bachelor’s degree program you choose.

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