International Master Creative Writing
A new, European master’s degree programme for writers and storytellers
Start: September 2025
The international Master Creative Writing is a unique two-year programme for graduate writing talent, starting September 2025. The Master is an intensive collaboration between three leading writing schools in Europe: ArtEZ University of the Arts located in Arnhem, the Netherlands, Escuela de Escritores located in Madrid, Spain and Scuola Holden located in Torino, Italy.
The curriculum focuses on critical narrative research, on the deepening and embedding of creative writing skills, knowledge, and techniques in the contemporary professional writing practice, and on innovative outreach to the wider European literary field.
Significant development in literature and in society, such as the constant migration of people and of stories, global economic shifts, decolonization processes, the use of language models in AI and the operation of narratives within digital culture require critical reflection on our literary discipline. Therefore, the Master Creative Writing is internationally oriented, sitespecific and has art-based research through writing at the core of the curriculum.
On the one hand, the international Master Creative Writing develops the artistic signature of the Creative Writer with literary imagination as its means of artistic expression; on the other hand, the curriculum is strongly focused on researching the innovation of the discipline, participating, and instigating international discourse, and finding and representing unheard voices in complex local, international, and global issues. We do not work according to the traditional concept of the genius writer as a splendid individual, but we want to stimulate communality, and awareness of the storyteller’s responsibility.
The programme is organised around site-specific residentials. These residentials are an integral part of the programme and act as material and trigger to relate to the European context, with its specific cultural, historically emergent, literary, and political issues.
Are you our future master’s student?
The international Master Creative Writing is open to graduates of a Bachelor Creative Writing and writing professionals with at least a completed bachelor’s degree.
You are proficient in English and originate from the Netherlands, Spain, or Italy, or you are fluent in one of these national languages in addition to the required level of English. You demonstrate the ability to produce high quality artistic and literary narrative work that stems from research, association, and imagination.
Students of the International Master Creative Writing are conscious writers who want to develop as literary artists who make a difference.
You work and write from empathy for others. Your eye for complex human, social and political issues inform artistic work, whether it is your own story, or stories expressing less represented voices. You have the potential to work from a fascination with the unknown, the hidden, the future, the misunderstood, that which needs to be fathomed, demonstrating that reflection, change of perspective and a critical approach can form the basis of your research.
Competences you will focus on during your Master Creative Writing are literary writing and narrating, contextualizing and (re)positioning, harnessing innovative potential, publishing and presenting, collaboration and outreach.
We will admit 7 students per country: a total of 21 students per year. Registrations open 1 December 2024 and admissions will take place in May 2025. The programme will start at the end of September 2025.
The programme is firmly embedded in a strong network of European literary organisations, such as the European Association of Creative Writing Programmes (EACWP) and collaborates with literary translators and mentors from the Connecting Emerging Literary Artists (CELA) platform.
Because of the common international discourse, the teaching programme is in English. You mostly write in your own language.
You will enroll as a Master student at ArtEZ University of the Arts, based in Arnhem, the Netherlands. You do not need to move to the Netherlands. Weekly tutoring will take place in Madrid, Torino and Arnhem. You will receive tutoring both in your national group, as well as in an international group, you will have classes online together with all students, and participate in the joint residencies of two weeks, three times each year.
Application and information
Students who want to partake in the auditions for the Master Creative Writing must register through Studielink (studielink.nl).
Afterwards they can log in through http://registration.artez.nl where they must upload their certificates and documents, consisting of a motivation, a portfolio, and two proposals, one for your artistic project and one research proposal. Assignment deadline: April 1 2025.
More information: artez.nl
Or email to: mastercreativewriting@artez.nl
Course load
All core courses are designed to develop an awareness of current debates within literature, and knowledge of the most important theories. You will practice formulating artistic research questions and you will be conducting artistic research. You will write and create an artistic project, and receive intensive tutoring and extensive, in-depth feedback sessions to guide the creation of your artistic work. Through these activities, you will develop skills in the collection, selection, and interpretation of sources, as well as writing, presenting and editing results to a professional and artistically high standard. You will participate in a twoweek intensive residency three times a year. Students are expected to participate actively in the residencies and courses in the form of presentations as well as in the chairing of discussions. Reviewing and discussing artistic work is a structural feature of the courses that helps to enhance giving and receiving feedback in a meaningful way.
Breakdown:
• Lectures and residencies (30%)
• Independent study, including essay and artistic work (70%)
• Group work: integrated into the residencies and course assignments.
Learning Line
I. Research & Writing
Writing artistic work
Artistic research
Tutoring
Outline programme
Literary product
Essay
Process reflections
II. Residencies (Site Specific Writing & Research)
Deep mapping
Community outreach
Portfolio
(narrative research into hidden local linkages) Narrative map
(setting up literary projects)
Collaborative project
III Courses
* Theory and debate: 10 week courses online / residential workshops / readings
* Professional build-up: 5 week courses online / residential workshops / readings
* Reading groups: international group reading / debate / podcast
Course domain
Perspectives on artistic research
Course domain
Perspectives on European literature
Courses THEORY & DEBATE
Courses PROFESSIONAL BUILD UP
Courses THEORY & DEBATE
Courses PROFESSIONAL BUILD UP
Course domain
Literature in motion
Course domain
Authorship in motion
Courses THEORY & DEBATE
Courses PROFESSIONAL BUILD UP
Courses THEORY & DEBATE
Courses PROFESSIONAL BUILD UP
ArtEZ University of the Arts
profile
The international Master Creative Writing is open to graduates of a Bachelor Creative Writing and other writing professionals with a Bachelor degree. The students must be proficient in English and originate from either the Netherlands, Spain, or Italy, and/or are fluent in one of these national languages. The students need to be able to demonstrate that they can produce high quality artistic and literary narrative work that stems from research, association, and imagination.
auditioning
Students who want to partake in the auditions for the Master Creative Writing must register through Studielink (studielink.nl)
Afterwards they can log in through registration.artez.nl where they must upload their documents, consisting of
• Motivation
• Proposals
• Portfolio
• Certificates (BA degree)
The deadline for handing in the documents will differ every year. If the assignments are assessed as sufficient, the participant will be invited to an interview.
requirements
• Participants hold a Bachelor degree
• Participants meet our English language requirements
Round 1: assignments and portfolio
The students will be asked to hand in the following documents:
Document A:
• Motivation letter and CV (in English).
• Proposal for both an essay (artistic research) and creative work (writing project) that they will develop during the master, each with a maximum of 1000 words (in English).
• An answer to the question: what knowledge do you bring in? – a proposal with a maximum of 300 words for a lecture or a panel the student can organise during the second year of the masters course (in English).
Document B:
• Portfolio with artistic work in Dutch / Spanish / Italian.
• The portfolio consists of two creative works with a maximum of 10 pages for written work, like poetry or prose, or 20 minutes for video or audio. (The participant can add a link that gives us the possibility to view the entire work if necessary.)
Assignment deadline: 1st of April 2025
After reading the documents handed in for the first round, each school will select 15 students to invite to the second round.
Round 2: interview
For the second part of the auditions, the participants will be invited to an interview in their country of residence, in either Arnhem, Madrid or Torino. In this interview they will talk about their motivation and proposals.
Interview dates:
⃣ 28th of April (Torino)
⃣ 2nd of May (Arnhem)
⃣ 6th of May (Madrid)
A commission consisting of at least one representative of every school will make a selection. from every school. We strive to have a class with 21 master students who are starting in September 2025.
Final selection
The proposals and portfolios will be assessed by an international committee, consisting of teachers and head of studies of the three different schools.
Final selection
On the 9th of May all committees from the three schools will have a joint meeting to decide on the final class of 21 students.
On the 10th of May the students will be informed.
* this schedule is tentative
What does it cost to be a Creative Writing Masters’ student?
Each year the so-called statutory tuition rates are established by the Dutch Government. For the 2025-2026 academic year they mount up to € 2.601, - in total. Please note that study lasts two years, and you will again have to pay tuition for the second academic year.
Who is eligible for the statutory tuition fee?
To be eligible for the statutory tuition fee, you must meet the following conditions:
1. Nationality
⃣ you are an EU/EEA, Swiss or Surinamese national, or
⃣ you are from a non-EEA country but are recognised by the UAF as a refugee student, or
⃣ you are entitled to student finance according to the Student Finance Act (WSF 2000), or
⃣ you have a non-EU/EEA nationality but are a family member (see Directive 2004/38/EG) of a citizen with Dutch nationality and you both live in the Netherlands
2. No previous degree in the Netherlands
This means that you have not earned a Master’s degree in Dutch governmentfunded Dutch Higher Education after 31 July 1991.
In case you have already earned a Master Degree in the Netherlands (between 1991 and today), you will be required to pay the same tuition fees as the Non-EU / EEA students.
What are the tuition fees for non-EU/EEA passportholders?
(and those who obtained a Master’s degree in the Netherlands before)
Each year the institutional tuition rates are established by the executive board of the ArtEZ University of the Arts. The rate was € 11.460,- in 2024 and will be set for the academic year 2025-2026 at the beginning of calendar year 2025.
How to pay your tuition?
Tuition fees can be paid annually in one lump sum, or, for students who have bank account in the Netherlands or in another SEPA country, can be spread over 10 installments Read more about the payment of your tuition here.
What are the costs of the residencies?
Please be aware that studying at the Master requires an additional budget for the costs of living and travel during our residencies. There are 3 compulsory 12-day residencies every year. The cost of travel and accommodation differs depending on availability, personal preference and ways of traveling. We currently estimate the costs of travel and accommodation to add up to a minimum of € 1.800,-- per study year.
How is the Master Creative Writing Funded?
Dutch Universities fall under the responsibility of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
The Dutch Ministry of Education is the main funder of public education in the Netherlands. This means that the master Creative Writing is partially funded by the Dutch Ministry. In addition to that, students pay a tuition fee. This fee is established by the Dutch Government every study year.
Income from the Master of Creative Writing:
75% Seed Funding from the Dutch Ministry of Education
25% Tuition Fees (collected by ArtEZ University of the Arts).
Are there opportunities to fund my studies?
Study Finance through the Dutch government applies to Dutch nationals, but sometimes extends to other passportholders as well. Your eligibility depends on your nationality or residency status, your age and your course. You can read more about this at: DUO
An overview of scholarships available for international students who want to study in the Netherlands is available at Study in NL
Refugee students are advised to get in touch with the University Assistance Fund (UAF) www.uaf.nl.
Do you offer an accredited MA?
The Master programme at ArtEZ University of the Arts is fully accredited. Students will graduate with a recognized MA Degree. Degree programmes in the Netherlands that are able to meet a set of standard criteria, are accredited by The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). Accreditation makes these programmes eligible for structural Dutch state funding.
What degree is required?
In line with official regulations, you must already have earned a BA, BFA or a degree-level certificate at a higher level of study in order to be accepted. Certificates will be verified by the Student Department at ArtEZ University of the Arts. Furthermore, language requirements are set in line with the requirements of ArtEZ University of the Arts.
What are the language requirements and how do I demonstrate them?
As the language of communication and instruction is English, ArtEZ has language requirements. The English language requirements are set in line with the requirements of the master level at ArtEZ University of the Arts. After you have been officially accepted, the ArtEZ Student Affairs Department will ask you for proof of meeting the language requirements. This can be done through uploading a certificate, or doing a language test. You can take an online English language test. The deadline for uploading a certificate is August 31st 2025. More information can be found here.
Questions about our language requirements? Please contact studentaffairs@artez.nl. We will contact you as soon as possible.
What is ArtEZ University of the Arts?
ArtEZ is a Dutch university of the arts, accredited and financed by the Dutch Government. ArtEZ accommodates a range of larger and smaller institutes and departments for art education and art research, in a multitude of artistic disciplines.
The university has a long tradition in art education, dating back to the establishment of the first predecessor of the current academy in 1926. Since 2002, the joint name ArtEZ has been used. In total, the university has more than 20 programmes and over 3,000 students. ArtEZ is located in the cities Arnhem, Enschede, and Zwolle, in the Eastern part of the Netherlands.
The Master Creative Writing is built upon the successful Bachelor Creative Writing, which has been based at ArtEZ since 2011. Within ArtEZ, the Master is part of the ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design, with its main location in Arnhem. Check our website www.artez.nl
Who are the partner schools?
Escuela de Escritores was founded in 2003. The school is based in Madrid, Spain. Over the last 20 years, more than 15,000 students have passed through the in-person and virtual lecture rooms, making EdE the largest Spanish language creative writing school in the world. Many prominent writers are members of our teaching staff. And some of the most outstanding young authors on the contemporary Spanish literary scene have studied our courses.
Scuola Holden was founded in 1994. The school is based in Torino, Italy. Its founders include Carlo Feltrinelli, publisher, and Alessandro Baricco, writer. Their idea was to establish a school for storytellers, at a time when the word ‘storytelling’ was not yet cool and everyone thought teaching people to write was useless. Now, more than 160 students graduate from the Scuola Holden every year. Among them are writers, social media managers, journalists, videographers, multimedia developers and screenwriters.
How
do I enroll?
Students who want to partake in the auditions for the Master Creative Writing must register through Studielink.
Afterwards they can log in through registration.artez.nl where they must upload their documents, consisting of
• Motivation
• Proposals
• Portfolio
• Certificates (BA degree)
Who is the Master Creative Writing Team?
Head of studies – Frank Tazelaar: teacher, artistic director of CELA, president of the EACWP
Substantive coordination – Hanan Faour: writer, researcher, teacher
The team shaping and running the Master:
@Arnhem
Lyzette Siepman – coordination and student affairs
Frederike Luijten – writer and teacher, project learning
Monique Warnier – coordination and exchange
Cornelia Spiess – post graduate education specialist
@Madrid
Javier Sagarna – writer and teacher, head of studies at Escuela de Escritores Madrid
Nacho Ferrando - writer and teacher, Escuela de Escritores Madrid
@Torino
Martino Gozzi – writer and teacher, head of studies at Scuola Holden
Simone Fenoil – coordination Scuola Holden
Where can I ask other questions?
You can send us an email through: mastercreativewriting@artez.nl
What are the intended Final Qualifications (Competencies)?
Qualification 1 Writing and narrating:
THE CREATIVE WRITER GRADUATE AS CREATOR
The Creative Writer graduates produce authentic, artistic and literary narrative work that stems from research, association, and imagination. They use creative insight, contemplation, inventiveness, experimentation, empathy, intuition, and knowledge to create profound narrative creative work and employ a variety of media and techniques to publish and share this work. They create new narratives through which they initiate change in the prevailing social narratives; among peers, diverse communities, social organizations, policy makers, administrators, and the public.
Qualification
2: Contextualizing and (re)positioning
THE CREATIVE WRITER GRADUATE AS RESEARCHER
Creative Writer graduates work from a fascination with the unknown, the hidden, the future, the misunderstood, and what needs to be fathomed. Here, in-depth analysis, self-reflection, change of perspective and critical approach form the basis for the investigation of narrative, fiction and truth. In this process of research, the interaction between the research and the artistic product plays a crucial role, because an important characteristic of writing is that ideas, insights, and connections arise in and through the action of writing itself: it is generative, as well as communicative.
Qualification 3: Harnessing innovative potential
THE CREATIVE WRITER GRADUATE AS INNOVATOR
Ownership, the ability to (re)position oneself, and autonomy are the hallmarks of Creative Writer graduates. These qualities enable them to position their work in an unpredictable, dynamic world with numerous and constant social, political, technological, economic, and global changes. The Creative Writer graduates recognize and analyse complex problems in the contemporary literary professional practice and resolve them in tactical, strategic and creative ways. They identify gaps in existing knowledge about current literary professional practice and take action by responsibly and critically collecting and analyzing texts, and by making original contributions to the development and application of ideas.
Qualification 4: Presenting and Publishing
THE CREATIVE WRITER GRADUATE AS INTERPRETER
Creative Writer graduates have an international network of translators, editors, curators, and publishers and have the ability to present their work within this international context. They are both leading partners in the international literary field, as well as pioneers who redefine the status and operation of authorship in ways that bring movement to the traditional and rigid forcefield of publishers, magazines, agents, venues, vendors and reading audiences.
Qualification 5: Collaboration and outreach
THE CREATIVE WRITER GRADUATE AS STRATEGIST
The context to which The Creative Writer graduates relate include the political, cultural, historical, and economic dimensions of society. These dimensions encapsulate developments at both the local level, as well as at the international level. This context is constantly changing, as new developments or shifts in recurring themes are part of our dynamic environment. Moreover, as that environment has become more global and complex due to, for example, increased digital information flows, economic recessions, an aging population, and migration of populations, the Creative Writer is aware of the importance of interaction, innovation and exchange to continuously relate to this growing complexity. Collaboration and reaching out to others is of great importance to the writing practice. The Creative Writer graduates initiate new forms of collaboration, since they are experts in reaching out to listeners, contributors, and communities. Through these actions, they redefine the context of the writing discpline, and work from a drive to operate at the center of society.
