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You're a writer. Join a unique community of poets, fiction and nonfiction writers, storytellers, and artists at Pratt.
A group of students sitting in a garden enclosed by white buildings and surrounded by trees and plants. They are listening to a faculty member.
Professor Laura Elrick teaches students the ritual of paper-making from plants grown in Pratt's Textile Dye Garden.
Type
Undergraduate, BFA
Credits
126
Duration
4 Years
Courses
Plan of Study

Write every day.

The maker space in the writing studios
The maker space in the writing studios

At Pratt, you’ll be writing from day one in a supportive, joyful, transformative environment that puts your writing practice at the heart of your studies.

Our extraordinary faculty will partner with you and mentor you, helping you to explore, refine, reimagine, and own your talents.

Beyond your deep dive into poetry, fiction, or nonfiction each semester, you’ll have the chance to take specialized classes in songwriting, journalism, ecopoetics, sci-fi, stand-up comedy, children’s book writing, and more.

Your senior thesis will be the expression of your voice, your questions, and your creative ambition. This book-length project can take the shape of a novel, memoir, screenplay, or graphic novel, or a collection of poems, short stories, or experimental essays (or a mix of forms and images).

Students in the Writing program have their own dedicated 24/7 writing spaces with desks, cozy furniture, computers, free printing, art supplies, and a library of faculty, student, and alumni publications.

Installation by Cassandra Bristow, BFA Writing ’22
“Illuminated” installation by Cassandra Bristow, BFA Writing ’22, in the new writing studios

Write at an art school.

Expand your creativity by exploring other mediums—painting, fashion, animation, and more.

Collaborate with student artists, filmmakers, and designers and find inspiration from faculty across campus.

Explore Pratt’s rich array of minors, including Art of the Book, Black Studies, Photography, Social Justice, Teaching Writing in NYC, and many others.

Write in Brooklyn. And Berlin!

Brooklyn’s literary scenes are endlessly fascinating. The borough is home to diverse literary communities and experimental, alternative publishing houses and non-profits, some of them led by our visionary faculty. (For one example, check out the *Belladonna Collaborative.)

No matter who you are or what you write, you’ll find your people in Brooklyn, and we’ll help you do that through courses like Community as Classroom.

If you’re interested in study abroad, spend a semester studying in our Pratt Berlin program.

Write your future.

Eight book covers
Books from the bookstore Twenty Stories founded by Emory Harkins and Alexa Trembly, both BFA Writing ’16

Connect with publishers, agents, and literary professionals through our specially-tailored Writing Lives pathway and our course Writer as Worker.

Prepare for an authentic and sustainable working and writing life through our internship program.

Passionate about social justice? Pursue a self-designed community-engagement project via our innovative Fieldwork class.

Meet renowned writers and learn from their experiences through our events series.

After graduation, we help you to stay connected with us and with other amazing graduates.

The Experience

A student sits in the library with their laptop and papers in front of them.

Socially engaged and deeply personalized, our tight-knit writing community values a plurality of voices and approaches to writing, both on and off the page. You’ll gather with your peers twice a week for intensive studios, where feedback sessions, generative writing, inspiring reading, and collaborative thinking take place. First-year foundational courses span critical thinking, research, world literature, the elements of writing, and immersion in New York City. After your first year, dive into specialized writing electives, classes in art and design, liberal arts study, transdisciplinary minors, and opportunities to edit student publications like The Prattler and Ubiquitous. A small student-to-faculty ratio on the Brooklyn campus fosters an intimate sense of community, as do on-campus readings, our 24/7 student writing spaces, and departmental social events.

Writing in NYC

Taken in the first year, our “Community as Classroom” course will immerse you in literary series, institutions, and activities across the city, supporting your discovery of emerging artistic scenes and galvanizing literary heritage.

Career & Professional Development

We help our students build authentic, creative, and sustainable writing and working lives. Our third year course “Writer as Worker” provides concrete skills and guidance to discern, acquire, and plan for internships while in the program and meaningful employment after. Weekly visits with guest authors, agents, editors, journalists, teachers, filmmakers, and communications experts help you make informed choices about the work/life experiences you’d like to explore. You’ll gain practical survival skills for how to successfully apply for jobs, grants, fellowships, and grad school so that you can build a future that inspires you.

Internship & Fieldwork

Our dedicated internship coordinator will help you identify, apply for, and make the most of NYC internship opportunities. Our students regularly intern at publishing houses, literary agencies, film and tv studios, podcast networks, newspapers and magazines, arts organizations, and community nonprofits, gaining invaluable skills and mentors along the way. Fieldwork is a unique course offering for students who want to gain experience “in the field” that a more traditional internship can’t support: it’s an opportunity for a student to design a community-engagement project or artistic activity they otherwise couldn’t accomplish.  Our credit-bearing internship and fieldwork seminars ensure your project becomes an educational opportunity through which you can discern the material realities of the writing life.

Events & Visiting Writers

Our Writer at Large program, the annual Michael Mahoney Memorial Reading, the MFA’s Writing Activisms series, and other events bring renowned writers to campus for readings, workshops, and manuscript consultations. Beyond these events, department faculty regularly invite writers to spend time with their classes. Recent guests include Ottessa Moshfegh, Ross Gay, Simone White, Layli Long Soldier, Alexander Chee, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Michelle Tea, Asiya Wadud, Chloë Bass, Sarah Thankam Mathews, and Eugene Lim.

Our Faculty

Writing’s faculty are distinguished writers, artists, and editors who are deeply committed to nurturing the potential of each student. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives they provide a rigorous and singular educational experience. See all Writing faculty and administrators.

  1. Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

    Assistant Professor

  2. Laura Henriksen

    Adjunct Associate Professor

  3. Christian Hawkey

    Professor

  4. Laura Elrick

    Associate Professor

  5. Dianca Potts

    Visiting Assistant Professor

  6. Christopher Perez

    Visiting Professor

  7. Anna Moschovakis

    Adjunct Associate Professor – CCE

Our Alumni

A group of young people are gathered around a teacher as they look at her computer screen. They are in a classroom with a grey door in the background.

Where They Work

  • Carly Tagen-Dye, Editorial Assistant, People Magazine
  • Anika Jade Levy, Founding Editor, Forever Magazine 
  • Alexa Trembly and Emory Harkins, Twenty Stories Bookstore
  • Ryan Carson, Founder, NO OD NY
  • Erin Perez, Poetry Teacher, Saint Ann’s School

MFA Programs Recently Attended by BFA Writing Alumni

  • Brown University MFA Literary Arts Program
  • Columbia University MFA Writing Program
  • University of Wyoming MFA Creative Writing Program
  • The New School MFA Creative Writing Program

Recent Alumni Publications

  • Adrian Shirk, Heaven Is a Place on Earth (Counterpoint, 2022)
  • Laura Henriksen, Laura’s Desires (Nightboat Books, 2024)
  • Phoebe Robinson, Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes (Tiny Reparations Books, 2021) 
  • Brandi Spering, This I Can Tell You (Perennial Press, 2021)
  • Kate Gavino, A Career in Books (Plume, 2022)

Success Stories

Ready for More?

HERE’S HOW TO APPLYPORTFOLIO HELPOUR CAMPUS & BEYOND
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.Building your portfolio can be daunting. We’ll answer your questions and help you feel confident about the portfolio you submit with your application. Start building your portfolio, now.You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
@prattwriting
Writing at Pratt

@prattwriting

  • Professor @silvinalopezmedin is participating in Under the Same Sun: Publishing and Performing Latin American Translations in Nueva York next week! Link to register: https://events.nyu.edu/event/underthesamesun?fbclid=IwY2xjawIRwHRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSr34DGkE-KExpnTNiECxSl72pv_AguEKtZLcsJkJkHvsCIq9bwNeKVoWQ_aem_tClZRfMUadstRq8s5c79jw
  • Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
  • Our Michael Mahoney reader this spring is the great Fred Moten! Join us next week on February 13th!
  • Happy first Tuesday Takeover of 2025! Today we asked writers around The Cannoneer what they’re most looking forward to this semester. Happy Tuesday!
  • Student nominations are underway for Pratt Institute’s 2025 Distinguished Teacher Award via emails with a unique link for each student, voting closes on Friday, February 21, 2025. For over 40 years, the Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA) celebrates exceptional teaching, and recognizes the recipient’s commitment to Pratt’s students and mission. The Distinguished Teacher is nominated by students and the award is conferred by the Academic Senate, the Administration, and the Board of Trustees.
  • Seats are still open in Prof. Christopher Rey Pérez’s spring 2025 WR-320-04 Whose Future? course. Contact your academic advisor to enroll today! 🪑
  • Seats are still open in Prof. Gabriel Cohen’s spring 2025 WR-320-17 First Chapters: Start Your Novel course! Contact your academic advisor to enroll! 🪑 📖
  • Pratt News published an article this week about first-year MFA Writing candidate Ben Miller, whose second book Pandemonium Logs was published by Raritan Skiff Books, an imprint of Rutgers University Press, in fall 2024. Link in bio to the full article 🔗!
  • There are still a few seats left in Prof. Rachel Levitsky’s spring 2025 History and Practice of the Writers’ Walk course. Contact your academic advisor to register! 🪑
Professor @silvinalopezmedin is participating in Under the Same Sun: Publishing and Performing Latin American Translations in Nueva York next week! Link to register: https://events.nyu.edu/event/underthesamesun?fbclid=IwY2xjawIRwHRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSr34DGkE-KExpnTNiECxSl72pv_AguEKtZLcsJkJkHvsCIq9bwNeKVoWQ_aem_tClZRfMUadstRq8s5c79jw
Professor @silvinalopezmedin is participating in Under the Same Sun: Publishing and Performing Latin American Translations in Nueva York next week! Link to register: https://events.nyu.edu/event/underthesamesun?fbclid=IwY2xjawIRwHRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSr34DGkE-KExpnTNiECxSl72pv_AguEKtZLcsJkJkHvsCIq9bwNeKVoWQ_aem_tClZRfMUadstRq8s5c79jw
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
1/9
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
Happy Tuesday Takeover! 💛Here’s a day in the life of a Pratt Writing Student from the perspective of 3rd year, Hadley Uribe and 2nd year Anna Avent! We hope you all have a wonderful second week back!
4 days ago
View on Instagram |
2/9
Our Michael Mahoney reader this spring is the great Fred Moten! Join us next week on February 13th!
Our Michael Mahoney reader this spring is the great Fred Moten! Join us next week on February 13th!
5 days ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
Happy first Tuesday Takeover of 2025! Today we asked writers around The Cannoneer what they’re most looking forward to this semester. Happy Tuesday!
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
Student nominations are underway for Pratt Institute’s 2025 Distinguished Teacher Award via emails with a unique link for each student, voting closes on Friday, February 21, 2025. For over 40 years, the Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA) celebrates exceptional teaching, and recognizes the recipient’s commitment to Pratt’s students and mission. The Distinguished Teacher is nominated by students and the award is conferred by the Academic Senate, the Administration, and the Board of Trustees.
Student nominations are underway for Pratt Institute’s 2025 Distinguished Teacher Award via emails with a unique link for each student, voting closes on Friday, February 21, 2025. For over 40 years, the Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA) celebrates exceptional teaching, and recognizes the recipient’s commitment to Pratt’s students and mission. The Distinguished Teacher is nominated by students and the award is conferred by the Academic Senate, the Administration, and the Board of Trustees.
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
Seats are still open in Prof. Christopher Rey Pérez’s spring 2025 WR-320-04 Whose Future? course. Contact your academic advisor to enroll today! 🪑
Seats are still open in Prof. Christopher Rey Pérez’s spring 2025 WR-320-04 Whose Future? course. Contact your academic advisor to enroll today! 🪑
Seats are still open in Prof. Christopher Rey Pérez’s spring 2025 WR-320-04 Whose Future? course. Contact your academic advisor to enroll today! 🪑
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
Seats are still open in Prof. Gabriel Cohen’s spring 2025 WR-320-17 First Chapters: Start Your Novel course! Contact your academic advisor to enroll! 🪑 📖
Seats are still open in Prof. Gabriel Cohen’s spring 2025 WR-320-17 First Chapters: Start Your Novel course! Contact your academic advisor to enroll! 🪑 📖
Seats are still open in Prof. Gabriel Cohen’s spring 2025 WR-320-17 First Chapters: Start Your Novel course! Contact your academic advisor to enroll! 🪑 📖
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
Pratt News published an article this week about first-year MFA Writing candidate Ben Miller, whose second book Pandemonium Logs was published by Raritan Skiff Books, an imprint of Rutgers University Press, in fall 2024. Link in bio to the full article 🔗!
Pratt News published an article this week about first-year MFA Writing candidate Ben Miller, whose second book Pandemonium Logs was published by Raritan Skiff Books, an imprint of Rutgers University Press, in fall 2024. Link in bio to the full article 🔗!
Pratt News published an article this week about first-year MFA Writing candidate Ben Miller, whose second book Pandemonium Logs was published by Raritan Skiff Books, an imprint of Rutgers University Press, in fall 2024. Link in bio to the full article 🔗!
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
There are still a few seats left in Prof. Rachel Levitsky’s spring 2025 History and Practice of the Writers’ Walk course. Contact your academic advisor to register! 🪑
There are still a few seats left in Prof. Rachel Levitsky’s spring 2025 History and Practice of the Writers’ Walk course. Contact your academic advisor to register! 🪑
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
9/9

From the Catalog