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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
School and Department
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
Writing
Our info sessions for college applicants have passed, but we’re still eager to hear from you. If you’re thinking of applying to the creative writing program at Pratt, feel welcome to email department chair Beth Loffreda (bloffred@pratt.edu)
A group of students sits at a table, talking to each other with animated expressions

Write every day.

At Pratt, you’ll be writing from day one in a deeply personalized, joyful, transformative environment. We value a plurality of styles and approaches, and your writing practice will be at the heart of your studies as you develop your voice.

A Close-Knit, Supportive Community

A small student-to-faculty ratio, dedicated 24/7 student writing spaces, on-campus readings, and departmental social events foster an intimate and collaborative environment. Our extraordinary faculty will be both partner and mentor to you, helping you to explore, refine, reimagine, and own your talents.

A Dynamic Curriculum

Strengthen your writing practice with foundational courses in critical thinking, research, and world literature. Then dive into specialized writing electives like songwriting, journalism, and screenwriting, alongside classes in art and design and transdisciplinary minors. Your studies culminate in a book-length senior thesis project, which 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).

Hands-On Experience

Gather with your peers twice a week for intensive studios built on feedback and generative writing. You’ll also have opportunities to gain real-world experience by editing our well-established student publications, The Prattler and Ubiquitous, and by completing the Writing Lives Pathway, which prepares you for life after graduation.

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.

Explore Other Media

Complement and enhance your writing practice with courses in other media: painting, fashion, animation, photography, and more.

Collaborate Across Disciplines

Work with student artists, filmmakers, and designers on collaborative projects. Pratt’s rich array of minors, including Art of the Book, Black Studies, Photography, Social Justice, and Teaching Writing in NYC, to name a few, allows you to build a profoundly interdisciplinary practice that enriches and distinguishes your writing.

Write in Brooklyn. And Berlin!

  • An aerial view of Pratt Brooklyn campus showing leafy trees and brick buildings.
  • Two students in front of a building in Berlin. They are pointing at the building.

A Thriving Literary Hub

Brooklyn is home to diverse literary communities, experimental and alternative publishing houses, and nonprofits, some led by our visionary faculty. (For one example, check out the *Belladonna Collaborative.) Through courses like Community as Classroom, we help you find your people in Brooklyn and connect with NYC’s vibrant writing scene.

Study Abroad

Expand your worldview by spending 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

Internships and Fieldwork

Our dedicated internship coordinator will help you identify and secure internship opportunities across NYC at publishing houses, literary agencies, film and TV studios, podcast networks, newspapers and magazines, arts organizations, and community nonprofits. 

Passionate about social justice or building new writing communities? Fieldwork is a unique course offering for students who want to gain experience that a more traditional internship can’t support, such as designing a community-engagement project.

In-Class Professional Training

Our Writer as Worker course provides skills and guidance for pursuing internships while in the program and meaningful employment after graduation. Through weekly visits with guest authors, agents, editors, journalists, teachers, filmmakers, and communications experts, you’ll gain practical knowledge on how to successfully apply for jobs, grants, fellowships, and graduate school.

Dedicated Career Support for Life

Your career journey doesn’t end at graduation. Our departmental alumni coordinator and Pratt’s Center for Career and Professional Development offer lifelong support, including one-on-one strategy sessions and reviews of résumés, cover letters, and websites.

Events and Visiting Writers

Stand Up Comedy for Writers. Video by Max Berger.
Read More in Prattfolio.

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

  1. Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

    Associate Professor

  2. Laura Henriksen

    Adjunct Associate Professor

  3. Christian Hawkey

    Professor

  4. Laura Elrick

    Associate Professor

  5. Dianca Potts

    Adjunct Associate 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’ve Worked

  • People Magazine
  • Esquire Magazine
  • Forever Magazine
  • This American Life
  • The Poetry Project
  • The Brooklyn Rail
  • The Center for the Humanities 
  • Twenty Stories Bookstore
  • NO OD NY
  • Saint Ann’s School
  • Books Are Magic
  • Belladonna*
  • The New School
  • Columbia University
  • Montclair State University

Graduate Programs Recently Attended by 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
  • New York University Interactive Telecommunications Program (M.P.S.)
  • New York University MFA Creative Writing Program
  • Brooklyn College MFA Creative Writing Program
  • Syracuse University Art History Program (M.A.)

Recent Alumni Publications

  • Laura Henriksen, Duvall, Shelley (Newest York, 2025)
  • Anika Jade Levy, Flat Earth (Catapult Books, 2025)
  • Cat Ingrid Leeches, I Wander the Earth, Hungry for Semen (Carrion Bloom Books, 2025)
  • Katie Vogel, The Awakening (Bottlecap Press, 2024)
  • Laura Henriksen, Laura’s Desires (Nightboat Books, 2024)
  • Adrian Shirk, Heaven Is a Place on Earth (Counterpoint, 2022)
  • Kate Gavino, A Career in Books (Plume, 2022)
  • 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)

Success Stories

A woman with long brown hair in a blue blouse smiling outdoors.

For Laura Henriksen, BFA Writing ’12, One Teacher’s Mentorship Opened Whole Possible Futures

Prattfolio Story

Profile picture of Lina

Writing Alumni Stories

Page

Author James Hannaham reads from a red book in a narrow venue lit in orange-red tones

Discovering Our Literary City

Prattfolio Story

This American Life, The Out Crowd, episode 688, by Lola Dupre

Team Featuring Writing Alumna Lina Misitzis Awarded Pulitzer Prize for This American Life Episode

Article

From the Catalog

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

  • Congratulations to our faculty member Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts on her grant from the Warhol Foundation! Sharifa was awarded for her forthcoming book “Proving Ground: Proposals for a Genealogy of Black Feminist Land Art”. We can’t wait to read it!
  • Another exciting spring course! WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS with Sincere Brooks! THIS COURSE WILL EXPLORE WHAT “YOUNG ADULT” MEANS; WHAT THE GENRE IS SAYING TO ITS AUDIENCE-AND WHY; HOW THEMES OF LOVE, SEX, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, AND EXISTENTIAL ANGST ARE PACKAGED FOR YOUNG READERS; AND HOW HISTORY, RACE, GENDER, MEDIA, AND TECHNOLOGY SHAPE THOSE THEMES. WE WILL ALSO EXAMINE HOW AUTHORS OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE CRAFT THEIR WORK TO ENGAGE READERS. STUDENTS WILL READ AND ANALYZE BOOKS WRITTEN FOR YOUNG ADULTS, CONSIDERING WHAT ELEMENTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO CREATING A MEANINGFUL YA NARRATIVE AND WHY THE GENRE RESONATES WITH AUDIENCES FAR BEYOND ITS INTENDED READERSHIP. ALONG THE WAY, STUDENTS WILL REFLECT ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES AS YOUNG READERS-WHAT CHARACTERS AND THEMES SPOKE TO THEM, AND WHY-AS A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION IN WAYS THAT TRANSCEND AGE.
  • Another spring elective spotlight: James Hannaham’s PLAYS AND MOVIES! There are seats available - register today :) In this class, students will read plays and film scripts out loud, occasionally in goofy voices. No acting skills are required, but reading skills will be appreciated. Please be eager to embarrass yourself. Some of the scripts will have been written by known playwrights and screenwriters, others will be written by you. We may read transcripts of real events. Some of the movies will have been made by professionals, some of the movies will be made by you. A portion of the material will be suggested/chosen by the class. As we read, we will also do research. Before we make movies or finish plays, we will read and revise scripts. The final project will be a short play or a short film made by you. There might be special guests.
  • SPRING COURSE SPOTLIGHT: Rachel Levitsky’s M/ekphrastic writing! Please note the time correction from our initial course announcements (the class meets 10-12:50) Ekphrasis, according to its most basic definition, is writing that addresses art. The Min front of the word in the course title presumably stands for: MEDIA. But it also might be: ME. By shifting the emphasis from the fixed art object to the moving image and interactive forms of electronic media, the writer gains a dynamic opportunity to move and merge with works of art. In M/Ekphastic writing, the writer, the writing and the media defy fixity, each becoming an ever-altering form. In this elective, students will create their own personal media stories, respond to digital and analog moving images, invent their own (deterritorialized) media-based projects. Students will also read and interact with numerous antecedents of work that can be called mekphrasic by writers such a s Raul Ruiz, Jean Cocteau, Lisa Robertson, Holly Melgarde, Jean Genet, Fred Moten, Bernadette Mayer, Vidhu Aggarwal, Katz Tepper, Renee Gladman, Cecilia Vicuna and Anne Waldman. ALL types of writers and writing welcome.
  • Join second-year MFA candidate Alexandra Zernik on Monday in the Student Union for Letters Never Sent - a guided letter writing exercise inviting you to release what you’ve been holding inside and transform it into creative healing.
  • Beyond the Spine brought the books to Midnight Breakfast! Currently, they’re reading Good Material by Dolly Alderton 🥞🥓📚 If you’re interested in joining Beyond the Spine, send us a DM here or find them through Engage!
  • CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: VASSAR REVIEW “We accept a range of work including poetry, prose, sculpture, soundscapes, performance, scripts, digital media, and beyond that relates to this year’s theme. Bilingual texts and excerpts from longer dramatic works such as screenplays and graphic novels are also considered. We do not accept works previously published in print but will consider previously exhibited visual work. Simultaneous submissions are allowed but require that artists notify editors if the work has been accepted elsewhere. All contributors retain copyright over their individual works. For a better understanding of our history, see our website: https://vassar-review.vassarspaces.net/“
  • Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
  • Come to the @ubi.mag launch tonight at 5:00pm in the Dekalb Gallery! Free literary art and pizza 🍕💚
View on Instagram
Congratulations to our faculty member Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts on her grant from the Warhol Foundation! Sharifa was awarded for her forthcoming book “Proving Ground: Proposals for a Genealogy of Black Feminist Land Art”. We can’t wait to read it!
Congratulations to our faculty member Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts on her grant from the Warhol Foundation! Sharifa was awarded for her forthcoming book “Proving Ground: Proposals for a Genealogy of Black Feminist Land Art”. We can’t wait to read it!
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Congratulations to our faculty member Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts on her grant from the Warhol Foundation! Sharifa was awarded for her forthcoming book “Proving Ground: Proposals for a Genealogy of Black Feminist Land Art”. We can’t wait to read it!
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
1/9
Another exciting spring course! WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS with Sincere Brooks! THIS COURSE WILL EXPLORE WHAT “YOUNG ADULT” MEANS; WHAT THE GENRE IS SAYING TO ITS AUDIENCE-AND WHY; HOW THEMES OF LOVE, SEX, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, AND EXISTENTIAL ANGST ARE PACKAGED FOR YOUNG READERS; AND HOW HISTORY, RACE, GENDER, MEDIA, AND TECHNOLOGY SHAPE THOSE THEMES. WE WILL ALSO EXAMINE HOW AUTHORS OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE CRAFT THEIR WORK TO ENGAGE READERS. STUDENTS WILL READ AND ANALYZE BOOKS WRITTEN FOR YOUNG ADULTS, CONSIDERING WHAT ELEMENTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO CREATING A MEANINGFUL YA NARRATIVE AND WHY THE GENRE RESONATES WITH AUDIENCES FAR BEYOND ITS INTENDED READERSHIP. ALONG THE WAY, STUDENTS WILL REFLECT ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES AS YOUNG READERS-WHAT CHARACTERS AND THEMES SPOKE TO THEM, AND WHY-AS A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION IN WAYS THAT TRANSCEND AGE.
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Another exciting spring course! WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS with Sincere Brooks! THIS COURSE WILL EXPLORE WHAT “YOUNG ADULT” MEANS; WHAT THE GENRE IS SAYING TO ITS AUDIENCE-AND WHY; HOW THEMES OF LOVE, SEX, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, AND EXISTENTIAL ANGST ARE PACKAGED FOR YOUNG READERS; AND HOW HISTORY, RACE, GENDER, MEDIA, AND TECHNOLOGY SHAPE THOSE THEMES. WE WILL ALSO EXAMINE HOW AUTHORS OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE CRAFT THEIR WORK TO ENGAGE READERS. STUDENTS WILL READ AND ANALYZE BOOKS WRITTEN FOR YOUNG ADULTS, CONSIDERING WHAT ELEMENTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO CREATING A MEANINGFUL YA NARRATIVE AND WHY THE GENRE RESONATES WITH AUDIENCES FAR BEYOND ITS INTENDED READERSHIP. ALONG THE WAY, STUDENTS WILL REFLECT ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES AS YOUNG READERS-WHAT CHARACTERS AND THEMES SPOKE TO THEM, AND WHY-AS A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION IN WAYS THAT TRANSCEND AGE.
3 days ago
View on Instagram |
2/9
Another spring elective spotlight: James Hannaham’s PLAYS AND MOVIES! There are seats available - register today :) In this class, students will read plays and film scripts out loud, occasionally in goofy voices. No acting skills are required, but reading skills will be appreciated. Please be eager to embarrass yourself. Some of the scripts will have been written by known playwrights and screenwriters, others will be written by you. We may read transcripts of real events. Some of the movies will have been made by professionals, some of the movies will be made by you. A portion of the material will be suggested/chosen by the class. As we read, we will also do research. Before we make movies or finish plays, we will read and revise scripts. The final project will be a short play or a short film made by you. There might be special guests.
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Another spring elective spotlight: James Hannaham’s PLAYS AND MOVIES! There are seats available - register today 🙂 In this class, students will read plays and film scripts out loud, occasionally in goofy voices. No acting skills are required, but reading skills will be appreciated. Please be eager to embarrass yourself. Some of the scripts will have been written by known playwrights and screenwriters, others will be written by you. We may read transcripts of real events. Some of the movies will have been made by professionals, some of the movies will be made by you. A portion of the material will be suggested/chosen by the class. As we read, we will also do research. Before we make movies or finish plays, we will read and revise scripts. The final project will be a short play or a short film made by you. There might be special guests.
4 days ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
SPRING COURSE SPOTLIGHT: Rachel Levitsky’s M/ekphrastic writing! Please note the time correction from our initial course announcements (the class meets 10-12:50) Ekphrasis, according to its most basic definition, is writing that addresses art. The Min front of the word in the course title presumably stands for: MEDIA. But it also might be: ME. By shifting the emphasis from the fixed art object to the moving image and interactive forms of electronic media, the writer gains a dynamic opportunity to move and merge with works of art. In M/Ekphastic writing, the writer, the writing and the media defy fixity, each becoming an ever-altering form. In this elective, students will create their own personal media stories, respond to digital and analog moving images, invent their own (deterritorialized) media-based projects. Students will also read and interact with numerous antecedents of work that can be called mekphrasic by writers such a s Raul Ruiz, Jean Cocteau, Lisa Robertson, Holly Melgarde, Jean Genet, Fred Moten, Bernadette Mayer, Vidhu Aggarwal, Katz Tepper, Renee Gladman, Cecilia Vicuna and Anne Waldman. ALL types of writers and writing welcome.
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
SPRING COURSE SPOTLIGHT: Rachel Levitsky’s M/ekphrastic writing! Please note the time correction from our initial course announcements (the class meets 10-12:50) Ekphrasis, according to its most basic definition, is writing that addresses art. The Min front of the word in the course title presumably stands for: MEDIA. But it also might be: ME. By shifting the emphasis from the fixed art object to the moving image and interactive forms of electronic media, the writer gains a dynamic opportunity to move and merge with works of art. In M/Ekphastic writing, the writer, the writing and the media defy fixity, each becoming an ever-altering form. In this elective, students will create their own personal media stories, respond to digital and analog moving images, invent their own (deterritorialized) media-based projects. Students will also read and interact with numerous antecedents of work that can be called mekphrasic by writers such a s Raul Ruiz, Jean Cocteau, Lisa Robertson, Holly Melgarde, Jean Genet, Fred Moten, Bernadette Mayer, Vidhu Aggarwal, Katz Tepper, Renee Gladman, Cecilia Vicuna and Anne Waldman. ALL types of writers and writing welcome.
5 days ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
Join second-year MFA candidate Alexandra Zernik on Monday in the Student Union for Letters Never Sent - a guided letter writing exercise inviting you to release what you’ve been holding inside and transform it into creative healing.
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Join second-year MFA candidate Alexandra Zernik on Monday in the Student Union for Letters Never Sent - a guided letter writing exercise inviting you to release what you’ve been holding inside and transform it into creative healing.
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
Beyond the Spine brought the books to Midnight Breakfast! Currently, they’re reading Good Material by Dolly Alderton 🥞🥓📚 If you’re interested in joining Beyond the Spine, send us a DM here or find them through Engage!
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Beyond the Spine brought the books to Midnight Breakfast! Currently, they’re reading Good Material by Dolly Alderton 🥞🥓📚 If you’re interested in joining Beyond the Spine, send us a DM here or find them through Engage!
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: VASSAR REVIEW “We accept a range of work including poetry, prose, sculpture, soundscapes, performance, scripts, digital media, and beyond that relates to this year’s theme. Bilingual texts and excerpts from longer dramatic works such as screenplays and graphic novels are also considered. We do not accept works previously published in print but will consider previously exhibited visual work. Simultaneous submissions are allowed but require that artists notify editors if the work has been accepted elsewhere. All contributors retain copyright over their individual works. For a better understanding of our history, see our website: https://vassar-review.vassarspaces.net/“
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: VASSAR REVIEW “We accept a range of work including poetry, prose, sculpture, soundscapes, performance, scripts, digital media, and beyond that relates to this year’s theme. Bilingual texts and excerpts from longer dramatic works such as screenplays and graphic novels are also considered. We do not accept works previously published in print but will consider previously exhibited visual work. Simultaneous submissions are allowed but require that artists notify editors if the work has been accepted elsewhere. All contributors retain copyright over their individual works. For a better understanding of our history, see our website: https://vassar-review.vassarspaces.net/“
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon :) feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Thanks to everyone who came by and helped us transform cannoneer into a festive winter wonderland this afternoon 🙂 feel free to add your own decor or take some for your own space from our leftover garlands and tinsel in the library!
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
Come to the @ubi.mag launch tonight at 5:00pm in the Dekalb Gallery! Free literary art and pizza 🍕💚
@prattwriting
@prattwriting
•
Follow
Come to the @ubi.mag launch tonight at 5:00pm in the Dekalb Gallery! Free literary art and pizza 🍕💚
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
9/9

School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

A student pours a chemical into a beaker while wearing a labcoat and protective glasses.

Writing