CRW MFA Program Named One of Top 25 by Poets & Writers Magazine 10/27/2009 9:08:55 AM  E-Mail The UNCW Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program has been designated one of the top 25 MFA programs in creative writing in the nation in the Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of Poets & Writers. One of the top publications in the creative writing profession, Poets & Writers ranks UNCW's program fifth in creative nonfiction and places it at number 22 in poetry and number 25 in fiction. Overall, the UNCW MFA program was ranked number 24, ahead of well-established and highly funded programs at Arizona State University, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Houston, University of Arizona, Boston University, George Mason, Ohio State, Florida State, Penn State, the University of Virginia, Purdue and the University of Maryland, among others. The UNCW MFA program has steadily gained national recognition in recent years. It was named one of the "Five Top Innovative/Unique Programs in Creative Writing" in The Atlantic magazine's 2007 Fiction Issue. In addition to the program rankings, the magazine notes funding levels for each of the MFA programs included in its top 50 list. UNC Wilmington ranked 41st in overall funding and 42nd in annual funding. Sixteen of the programs ranked about UNCW are able to give full funding to their creative writing graduate students. Currently, UNCW is able to offer funding support to about 40 percent of its students. UNCW MFA program students and alumni have published more than 30 books and dozens of shorter works; core faculty have published more than 50 books as well as hundreds of shorter pieces.