14 University Creative Writing Programs for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
Strong writing skills matter in almost every career. At some point, you’ll need to explain ideas clearly, tell a story, or present your thinking in a way that others understand. Developing that skill early can make a big difference. For high school students who enjoy writing or want to improve their communication skills, a creative writing program can be a great place to start.
Creative writing programs give you time to explore different forms of writing and find your own style. You may experiment with storytelling, poetry, scripts, or reflective essays while learning how writers revise and strengthen their work. Trying different formats helps you understand what type of writing you enjoy the most.
Why should I participate in a university creative writing program in high school?
While many writing programs exist, university programs often provide a more structured and academic environment. These programs are usually taught in a workshop format similar to college classes, where you will write regularly, share your work, and receive feedback from instructors and peers. Being part of a university writing program can also support your college applications. Admissions committees notice students who develop skills outside their school curriculum. At the same time, practicing writing regularly can make it easier to craft strong application essays and personal statements when the time comes.
With that in mind, here are 14 university creative writing programs for high school students!
Location: Commuter program at NYU’s New York City campus
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective
Application deadline: November 10 (For Spring)
Dates: Weekly on Saturdays, January 31 through May 9
Eligibility: Open to 9th, 10th and 11th graders
If you are accepted into this program, you will spend 14 Saturdays exploring writing for theatre, film, and television through a combination of lectures and hands-on workshops. Each meeting includes lectures on dramatic structure followed by writing periods where you develop scripts for theatre, television, or film. Faculty guide discussions about dialogue, scene construction, and character development while students share drafts with the group for critique. As the semester progresses, you continue expanding the script you began earlier in the program, refining scenes based on workshop feedback. The experience concludes with a public showcase where selected scenes or scripts are presented.
Location: Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Boston
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts; rolling admissions.
Program Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Eligibility: Students aged 13–18 currently enrolled in middle or high school
The Academic Insights Program allows you to experience aspects of university study while living on campus and learning in small groups of 7–10 students. You are taught by tutors with academic backgrounds from institutions such as the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, and classes are structured around discussion, applied tasks, and subject-specific exploration. You can choose from more than 20 subject areas, including Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Business Management, Computer Science, Economics, Medicine, and Philosophy. Depending on your course, you might take part in practical activities such as medical dissections, engineering design challenges, moot court exercises, or the development of creative writing portfolios and business case studies. Throughout the program, you work toward an individual project that reflects your academic interests. At the conclusion, you receive written feedback on your work along with a certificate of completion. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Cost: $2,500 (Residential); $475 (Online); Some full scholarships are available based on financial need
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive, courses capped at 10 students
Application Deadline: February 1
Dates: June 14 – 27 | July 12 – 25
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 10, 11, or 12
Iowa Young Writers’ Studio at the University of Iowa runs as a two-week residential program built around intensive writing workshops that resemble undergraduate creative writing courses. You will enroll in a single genre track such as poetry, fiction, creative writing, playwriting, or television writing, and participate in small workshops where drafts are discussed line by line. Seminar sessions focus on examining published writing from the perspective of craft, paying attention to narrative perspective, dialogue, imagery, and pacing. Evenings often include readings by guest authors or graduate writers connected to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Location: Kenyon College, Gambier, OH (Residential) and Online
Cost: $995 (Online); Residential varies (need-based financial aid is available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Application Deadline: March 1
Dates: June 21 – July 4 | July 12 – 25
Eligibility: High school students aged 16–18 at the time of the program
Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop takes place at Kenyon College and runs as a two-week residential writing program centered on daily workshop discussions. Each morning, you meet in a small group led by a writer associated with The Kenyon Review, where you read classmates’ drafts and discuss narrative structure, voice, and revision decisions in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Outside the workshop, the schedule includes craft talks and evening readings where published authors discuss how particular poems, essays, or stories were written and revised. You spend several hours each day drafting new material and revising earlier work while preparing pieces to bring back to the workshop for critique. By the end of the session, you leave with a portfolio of revised writing developed through multiple rounds of discussion and editorial feedback.
Location: UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (Day Camp) and Online
Cost: $650
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: No information available
Program Dates: June 22 – July 2 (residential) | July 13 – 24 (online)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9–12
UCLA Writing Project Summer Camp runs as a multi-day writing program where you spend time drafting narrative pieces and sharing them in peer review groups. Writing sessions combine short reading exercises with longer periods of independent writing where you develop essays, short narratives, or reflective pieces responding to social themes discussed during the course. Instructors lead discussions about how writers shape arguments, structure paragraphs, and revise language so that ideas become clearer on the page. Small workshop groups allow you to read your work aloud and respond to feedback from classmates before revising the draft. At the end of the camp, selected pieces from the group are collected into a printed or digital anthology.
Location: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Cost: $300 + $25 book fee
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Application Deadline: May 23 (Session A) | June 6 (Session B)
Dates: June 2 – 13 (Session A) | June 16 – 27 (Session B)
Eligibility: Grades 9–12, may vary based on the type of camp
Arizona State University’s Young Adult Writing Program is organized through the Central Arizona Writing Project and runs as short thematic camps that focus on different forms of writing. In the Writing for Social Change and Connection course, you will research local issues, conduct interviews, and develop feature stories or editorial pieces that are compiled into an online newsletter. Another course focuses entirely on the college application personal statement, guiding you through drafting and revising an essay that reflects personal experiences and goals. Workshop discussions revolve around narrative structure, clarity of ideas, and revision decisions rather than grammar drills. By the end of the session, you leave with several finished pieces developed through repeated drafting and group critique.
Location: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, or online
Cost: Residential: $5,200, Commuter: $2,330, Online: $1,325
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application Deadline: March 9 (residential); April 6 (online)
Dates: July 12 – 25 | July 26 – August 8; August 3 – 7 (online)
Eligibility: Rising 10th–12th graders (9th graders eligible for online only)
Juniper Young Writers Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst brings together high school writers for two weeks of poetry and fiction workshops. Each workshop is led by a practicing writer who guides discussions about drafts submitted by members of the group. The daily schedule includes craft sessions where you analyze poems or short stories to see how specific techniques operate. Visiting authors from the Juniper Literary Festival often read from their work and speak about editing, publishing, and revision. By the end of the program, you will have assembled a portfolio of revised writing developed during workshop discussions.
Location: Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Cost: $3,725 (Residential) | $3,095 (Commuter)
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Application Deadline: January 31 (early deadline) | April 15 (final deadline)
Dates: July 12 – 18
Eligibility: Current 8th-12th graders who have a minimum 2.0 GPA
Georgetown University’s Creative Writing Academy runs as a one-week summer course focused on fiction, poetry, and personal essays. Workshops allow you to present drafts and discuss them with classmates while instructors guide conversations about narrative pacing, dialogue, and character perspective. Writing exercises throughout the week generate new material that you revise during independent writing periods. Sessions occasionally take place outside the classroom, including writing exercises at museums or public spaces around Washington, D.C. The program concludes with an open-mic reading where participants share a piece developed during the week.
Location: University of the South, Sewanee, TN
Cost: $2,600
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective, not more than 85 students accepted
Application Deadline: March 2
Dates: June 28 – July 11
Eligibility: 9th, 10th, and 11th graders at the time of application
The Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference takes place on the campus of the University of the South and gathers around eighty high school writers for two weeks of workshops and readings. Each morning, you will attend a workshop in poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction where drafts are discussed in detail. Afternoons include craft talks from visiting writers and individual meetings with faculty to discuss your current work. Evenings often feature readings where writers present their published poems or stories. Between sessions, you spend time drafting new material that will later return to the workshop for discussion.
Location: Denison University, Granville, OH
Cost: $1,700; full scholarships for room and board are available based on financial need
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, only 48 students admitted
Application Deadline: March 3
Dates: 8 days in June or July
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors
The Reynolds Young Writers Workshop at Denison University runs for eight days and accepts a small group of writers each year. Mornings begin with workshops where each participant presents drafts of poems, stories, or essays for group critique. Later sessions include visiting writers discussing how particular pieces were written and revised. The schedule leaves several hours each day for drafting and revising new work before bringing it back to the workshop. Individual conferences with faculty allow you to discuss your writing portfolio and revision plans.
Location: Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Cost: Virtual Session: $1,195 ($250 deposit due at registration); On Campus Session: $1,950 ($250 deposit due at registration); includes daily lunch and snacks, Special Virtual Winter Session: $399
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; classes are limited to 18 students
Application Deadline: Not specified
Dates: Virtual Session: July 6 – 10; On Campus Session 1: July 20 – 24; On Campus Session 2: August 3 – 7; Special Virtual Winter Session: February 17 – 20
Eligibility: Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders
Sarah Lawrence College Summer Writers Week introduces high school writers to the workshop format used in the college’s writing program. During the week, you will enroll in a genre workshop such as fiction, poetry, or memoir, where drafts are read and discussed by the group. Faculty also meet individually with each participant to talk about specific passages and revision possibilities. The program includes reading sessions where you analyze published work and discuss how writers construct scenes or develop narrative voice. By the final day, you have revised several pieces that began earlier in the workshop.
Location: University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC
Cost: $1,460-$1,840
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Open until all spaces are filled
Dates: June 14 – 19 | June 21 – 26
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
The Great Smokies Young Writers Workshop at UNC Asheville runs as a week-long residential program devoted to writing workshops and readings. You will choose a genre track, such as fiction, poetry, or screenwriting, and spend each morning discussing drafts with a workshop group. Afternoon sessions include craft talks, panel discussions with visiting authors, and time set aside for independent writing. Instructors guide revisions by focusing on elements such as dialogue, pacing, and scene construction. The program ends with a reading where participants present a piece developed during the week.
Location: Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Cost $3,500
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: No information available
Application Deadline: Rolling until full (applications typically open November 1)
Dates: June 7 – 12, June 14 – 19
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 9–12 in good academic standing without any school suspensions
Wake Forest University’s Writing for Life Institute focuses on drafting and revising personal essays and other forms of nonfiction writing. Workshop groups meet daily to discuss drafts and suggest revisions that strengthen the narrative structure of each piece. Sessions also examine rhetorical choices, such as how tone changes when writing for different audiences. Visiting writers, journalists, and poets join the program to discuss how writing operates in professional contexts. Over the course of the week, you move through several stages of drafting, revision, and proofreading before presenting a final piece.
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT (online option available)
Cost: $3,085 (on campus, with housing) | $2,660 (on campus, without housing) | $1,380 (online)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Application Deadline: April 1 (rolling admissions; decisions released weekly)
Dates: June 21 – 26
Eligibility: Students aged 16–18; rising seniors for on-campus; rising juniors or seniors for online
Yale Young Writers’ Workshop, offered through Yale Summer Session, runs as a one-week residential writing course where you work entirely within one genre track, such as fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Each day is organized around small workshops led by writers connected with Yale, where participants read their drafts aloud and discuss them closely with the group. The conversations examine how particular choices in structure, tone, and narrative perspective shape a finished piece, often alongside readings from published authors used as examples during class discussion. Outside the workshop, you spend dedicated writing periods drafting new material that will return to the group for critique later in the week.
One other option — the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here, check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1–1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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