About Master’s Program,
A fully funded M.F.A. program that combines creative and scholarly work, undergraduate teaching, and professionalization opportunities.
The M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing is nationally ranked and our graduates are the recipients of many distinguished awards and fellowships.
Master’s Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
The Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing offers concentrations in fiction and poetry and requires a creative thesis. The course requirements include both writing workshops and literature courses.
Course Requirements
- Four writing workshops in your concentration (poetry or fiction: English 688 or ENGL 689, respectively).
- Four graduate (600- or 700-level) literature courses.
- At least one semester of Studies in Narrative Form (English 789), if your concentration is fiction, or Studies in Poetic Form (English 788), if your concentration is poetry.
- NOTE: Forms courses are repeatable and can be taken outside of your concentration for elective credit.
- One graduate-level (600-level or above) course outside the English Department, or one 400-level English course elective within the English Department.
Master’s Funding Coverage,
Each year, the program accepts 6 applicants (3 fiction writers and 3 poets), who are fully funded by Teaching Assistantships for up to three years of graduate study. Our financial award packages include a stipend of about $26,000 per academic year and 60 credit hours of tuition remission (10 credit hours of tuition remission per semester) over three years of study.
MFA students do not teach during their first year in the program. They teach two classes during their second year and four classes during the optional third year of study.
Application Requirement,
- Graduate Application
- Non-refundable application fee($75) for each program to which an applicant applies.
- Unofficial transcriptsof your entire college/university record (undergraduate and graduate), including records of any advanced work done at another institution. Electronic copies of these unofficial transcripts must be uploaded along with your online application. Official transcripts will be required after an applicant is admitted to the program.
- Three Letters of Recommendation. In your online application, please complete the information requested for your recommenders and ask them to submit their letters electronically. The strongest letters of recommendation are written by individuals who are familiar with your fiction or poetry and can speak about you as a writer.
- Statement of Purpose. The statement, which should not exceed 1000 words, should address your creative interests, relevant aspects of your educational experience, and your reasons for applying to our program.
- A single Creative Writing Samplein the genre in which you are applying: for fiction, 15 pages (double-spaced); for poetry, 10-15 pages (single-spaced). To ensure that your application package is processed accurately, you must specify your genre (fiction OR poetry) in the online application.
Note: We DO NOT require–or recommend–that applicants to the MFA Program in Creative Writing submit GRE scores.
Application Deadline,
Dec 17, 2025
Application Fee,
- Non-refundable application fee($75) for each program to which an applicant applies.
