The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) hosts Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington's Creative Writing programme, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. We are part of the Wellington Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University.
Application deadlines
We have specific application deadlines for undergraduate workshops in each trimester, and for our MA and PhD programmes.
Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence
Applications are now open for our three-month Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residency.
Apply by 31 May 2026.
This residency is supported by Creative New Zealand and will be based at the IIML in the second half of 2026.
Undergraduate courses
Discover your individual voice and develop your imaginative capacity within a lively community of writers.
Master of Arts in Creative Writing
Join the Creative Writing programme with a national and international reputation for developing many of New Zealand's best writers.
PhD in Creative Writing
Our PhD programme is designed for those who wish to write creatively and think in focussed and original ways about the critical contexts of their writing.
Joanna Cho—MA graduate
‘It was the social dynamics that shaped my time at the IIML into one of the best years of my life.’
Harry Ricketts—CREW 257 Creative Nonfiction Convenor
Harry's newest poetry collection, Bonfires on the Ice, was published by Te Herenga Waka University Press in November 2025.
Caoimhe McKeogh—PhD awarded 2024
Caoimhe's PhD investigated ideas of imaginative play and playfulness in fiction, through writing a novel, Afterburn, and a critical study of playful novels.