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At Sarah Lawrence, writing is at the core of all we do—it infuses every course and brings life to ideas, experiences, and emotions. Sarah Lawrence students—of all ages and across all writing programs—enjoy the guidance, collaboration, and resources to enrich their craft, explore new genres, and navigate their careers.
The College has been the academic home of some of the greatest writers and thinkers of the last century; faculty and alumni include Pulitzer Prize winners, poet laureates, and Oscar and Emmy award-winning screenwriters.
Graduate students in Sarah Lawrence's MFA Writing program concentrate in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or speculative fiction. Regardless of concentration, students are allowed—and encouraged—to take classes across all genres.
Learn more about the Graduate Writing Program
A nationally recognized writing program in which students work in close collaboration with faculty members who are active, successful writers. Focusing on the art and craft of writing, students also apply their passion as writers to courses chosen from across 50 disciplines.
Learn more about undergraduate writing
The Writing Institute offers in-person and online noncredit courses where everyone—from the novice to seasoned writers, pre-teens to retirees—can explore their talent and bring their inner writer to life.
Since 1999, Writers Week at Sarah Lawrence College has offered creative young people an immersive week-long experience with creative writing and the performance arts.
Learn more about Writers Week
Signed up for a random class just to fill credits ➝ accidentally found your passion? David Hollander’s fiction workshop flipped the script just like that for Allie Zapson. All the while, Allie’s courage to ask the tough questions — “Why are we reading this?” — lit a spark for David as an educator. From group conferences to wild reading lists, this is what happens when you stay curious.
Born in the Bronx and raised in Ghana, Nana-Ama Donkor came to Sarah Lawrence through the Bronx Community College partnership unsure of what to expect. What she found was a mentor who saw her potential right away. As Nana-Ama’s don, Carolyn Ferrell ’84 encouraged her to speak up in their fiction writing class, get involved on campus, and show up to college events where ideas, art, and activism intersect. This conversation is about the ripple effects of mentorship: how one supportive relationship can lead to another, fostering connection, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
Paige Ackerson-Kiely, director of Sarah Lawrence’s MFA in Writing program, and nonfiction faculty member Heather Harpham recognized early on that Hayley Burgess had something special. Heather’s approach centers on nurturing what is already alive in a student’s work, a philosophy reflected in her course Cells and Stars: Writing the Body, where class often moved outside and writing in nature helped Hayley feel more grounded and embodied. Through close, one-on-one faculty conferences, Hayley gained the confidence to develop her voice, supported by mentorships that value patience, trust, and discovery.