The Residency, which usually runs from late August to mid-November, is designed for established and emerging creative writers — poets, fiction writers, dramatists, and nonfiction writers. The minimum requirements are that they have published at least one book, and that they possess sufficient proficiency in English to benefit from the Iowa experience.

The Residency provides writers with time, in a setting congenial to their efforts, for the production of literary work. It also introduces them to the social and cultural fabrics of the United States, enables them to take part in American university life, and creates opportunities for them to contribute to literature courses both at the University of Iowa and across the country. 

Participants of the Fall Residency do not take classes at the University of Iowa, and no degree is given for participation. The program provides various literary activities for the public outlined here. All the activities offered by the program are optional, and the writers are free to use their time as they wish, to write or to conduct research.