About Master’s Program,
The Creative Writing Program offers the MFA degree, with a concentration in either poetry or fiction. MFA students pursue intensive study with distinguished faculty committed to creative and intellectual achievement.
Each year the department enrolls only eight MFA students, four in each concentration. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package that fully funds every student. We also offer a large and diverse graduate faculty with competence in a wide range of literary, theoretical and cultural fields. Every student chooses a special committee of two faculty members who work closely alongside the student to design a course of study within the broad framework established by the department.
Students participate in a graduate writing workshop each semester and take six additional one-semester courses for credit, at least four of them in English or American literature, comparative literature, literature in the modern or Classical languages or cultural studies (two per semester during the first year and one per semester during the second year). First-year students receive practical training as editorial assistants for Epoch, a periodical of prose and poetry published by the creative writing program. Second-year students participate as teaching assistants for the university-wide first-year writing program. The most significant requirement of the MFA degree is the completion of a book-length manuscript: a collection of poems or short stories, or a novel, to be closely edited and refined with the assistance of the student’s special committee.
Master’s Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
- Satisfactory completion of 4 required graduate workshops and 4 required graduate-level courses (plus, Literary Small Publishing, WRIT 7100, Creative Writing Pedagogical & Thesis Development, and a Teaching Internship) prior to M Exam;
- Satisfactory completion of one year as an Editorial Assistant in Epoch and one year as teaching as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Literatures in English;
- Satisfactory completion of the 2nd year Student Progress Review;
- Satisfactory completion of the Master’s Exam at the end of the fourth term;
- A minimum of four registered semesters (full-time study);
- Submission of approved Final Thesis to the Graduate School for an August conferral in the second summer;
- Completion of all degree requirements in no more than 4 registered semesters (2 years) from the time of admission.
Master’s Funding Coverage,
All MFA degree candidates are guaranteed two years of funding (including a stipend, a full tuition fellowship and student health insurance).
Year One:
- Graduate Assistantship with EPOCH. Students read submissions, plan special issues and assume other editorial and administrative responsibilities.
- Summer Teaching Assistantship, linked to a teachers’ training program. Summer residency in Ithaca is required.
Year Two
- Teaching Assistantship
- Summer Fellowship (made possible by the David L. Picket ’84 Fund and The James McConkey Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Award for Summer Support, established by his enduringly grateful student, Len Edelstein ’59)
Application Requirement,
Academic Statement of Purpose
Personal Statement
Three Letters of Recommendation
Transcripts
English Language Proficiency Requirement
Creative Writing Sample
Application Deadline,
Dec 01, 2025
Application Fee,
a nonrefundable application fee of $105
