Skip to content
Creative WritingPrograms

Low-Residency MFA Creative Writing Programs Based in California

Short, mandatory in-person residencies (often once or twice a year) combined with remote mentored study between them. Study intensity (full- or part-time) is shown separately on each program.

“Based in California” means the administering school (or its verified program site) is located there. It does not mean you must live there, and it does not by itself make you eligible from every state — check each program's distance-education notes.

2 programs

Sort:A–ZDeadlineStipendRecently verified

Listed alphabetically by school. This directory is not a ranking — editorial selections are published separately under Rankings. What we list

Antioch University-Los Angeles logo

Antioch University-Los Angeles

MFA in Creative Writing

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Location: Culver City, CA
Format: Low-residencyShort, mandatory in-person residencies (often once or twice a year) combined with remote mentored study between them.
Genres: Fiction · Poetry · Creative Nonfiction · Screenwriting · Playwriting · Literary Translation
Duration: Two years: five residencies and four five-month online project periods
Funding: Partial funding
Tuition: $11,017 per semester · All students — Semesters 1-3 · 2026-2027
Deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
View programSelected in: Best Low-Residency MFA Creative Writing Programs
University of California-Riverside logo

University of California-Riverside

Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts

MFAMFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts
Location: Riverside, CA
Format: Low-residencyShort, mandatory in-person residencies (often once or twice a year) combined with remote mentored study between them.
Genres: Fiction · Creative Nonfiction · Playwriting · Poetry · Screenwriting
Duration: Seven quarters over two years
Funding: Partial funding
Tuition: $9,360 per term · All students — Per quarter; no additional fees for out-of-state students
Deadline: February 1, 2027 · Spring 2027
View programSelected in: Best Low-Residency MFA Creative Writing Programs