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Studies & Degrees in Poetry

Poetry is the oldest literary art. The Academy of American Poets notes that it predates literacy and comes before prose in all literatures, and that the Greek word poiesis means "making": a poem is something built. Studying poetry at a university or an arts school therefore has two sides. One is reading: the history of poetic forms, metre and rhyme, free verse, and the work of poets from different periods and languages. The other is writing: producing poems, revising them and learning to judge them.

The usual teaching method is the workshop. A small group reads each member's poems and discusses them with a practising poet. At the Iowa Writers' Workshop of the University of Iowa, for example, a workshop is a group of 8 to 12 writers, and over a semester every student submits work one or more times to be read and discussed. Seminars on literary topics complete the programme.

Qualifications and levels

Poetry is rarely the name of a first degree. Students normally meet it inside a broader programme and specialise later.

  • Bachelor's degrees. Poetry is studied within degrees in literature, languages (philology) or creative writing. In Spain an official bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits, and poetry is studied within the degrees in philology and literature.
  • Master's degrees in creative writing. The MA Creative Writing Poetry of the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom lasts one year full-time, with a part-time option. Applicants normally need a bachelor's degree with a 2:1 classification, in any subject, and submit a portfolio of up to 20 pages of poetry. In Spain, official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.
  • Master of Fine Arts (MFA). In the United States the MFA is a studio degree. The University of Iowa describes its MFA, a programme in poetry or fiction, as a terminal degree that qualifies graduates to teach creative writing at college level. It requires full-time residency and admits twenty to twenty-five new students in each genre every year.
  • Short courses, workshops and residencies. Arts centres, writers' schools and summer programmes offer poetry workshops without a degree. Ask what certificate, if any, a course gives.

Where to study

SpainExchange currently lists one active school under poetry, in Greece: The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, an independent arts school that has worked on the island of Paros since 1966 and offers programmes, workshops and artist residencies in Paros and in Tuscany, Italy. Its website now describes three intensive 15-day courses, in drawing, oil painting and photography, together with mentored residencies, so ask the centre directly whether writing or poetry is offered in the session you want.

Poetry is tied to its language more closely than any other subject. Writing programmes expect students to write in the language of instruction, so choose a country where you can write at your best, or look for programmes with a translation component. Admission is usually decided on a sample of poems rather than on marks alone.

Careers

Few people live from poems alone. Graduates combine writing with teaching, publishing and editing, translation, journalism, cultural management or copywriting. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics includes poets in the occupation of writers and authors, states that writers and authors typically need a bachelor's degree in English or a related field, and notes that many are self-employed. It projects employment of writers and authors to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. For postsecondary teachers as a whole, the same source projects growth of 7 percent over the same period.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take a degree in poetry?

Usually as a specialisation. Poetry is taught inside bachelor's degrees in literature or creative writing, and as a named track in some master's programmes, such as the MA Creative Writing Poetry at the University of East Anglia or the MFA in poetry at the University of Iowa.

What do I need to apply for a poetry master's programme?

A first degree and a writing sample. The University of East Anglia, for example, asks for a bachelor's degree in any subject and a portfolio of up to 20 pages of poetry.

What is a poetry workshop?

A small class in which students read and discuss each other's poems under the guidance of a poet. At the University of Iowa a workshop has 8 to 12 writers.

What jobs do poetry graduates do?

Most combine writing with other work, such as teaching, editing, translation or journalism. Official US projections show little or no change in the employment of writers and authors from 2025 to 2035.