Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Editing, and Publishing

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Publishing, and Editing is designed

• to assist students in their development as writers of fiction, poetry, and/or creative nonfiction;
• to provide practical, hands-on experience in the field of editing and publishing;
• to deepen a student’s critical engagement with language and literature, and
• to prepare those students for careers as published authors, as well as teachers of creative writing in community colleges and universities, secondary schools, prisons, libraries, and community centers of various types.

Students seeking admission to the MFA program in English must supply the following materials directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. Graduate Application
2. Application fee
3. A statement of purpose, of 500 to 1000 words, articulating the applicant's intentions for pursuing an MFA from our particular program.
4. Official transcripts of all college-level work, including one that shows conferral of the undergraduate degree (Note: The student must have completed at least twelve hours of upper-division English courses with a 3.0 GPA or better; students with credentials from foreign universities must have their transcripts reviewed by a transcript evaluation service.)
5. Official scores for the GRE General Test (Note: The subject test in English is not required.)
6. Three letters of recommendation that discuss the applicant’s potential for success in an English graduate program
7. A creative writing sample of either 20 pages of prose or a collection of 8 - 10 poems. (Note: Applicants may submit a critical writing sample to supplement but not substitute for a creative work.)
8. International applicants ONLY: Official TOEFL scores

The English MFA Program welcomes qualified international applicants; however, an individual who does not hold American citizenship must be accepted in regular admission status, without qualifications.

A holistic review of each applicant's file will be completed, and admission will be granted on a competitive basis.

To earn the MFA in English, students must complete a minimum of forty-eight hours of graduate credit with a focus in either Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry, as indicated below.

• All MFA students are required to take ENGL 5340 at the first opportunity.
• Before beginning work on a thesis, undertaking a directed study, or transferring in graduate credits from another institution, the student must have completed at least twelve hours of graduate English coursework, including ENGL 5340, in good standing.
• All MFA students complete a two-semester thesis sequence (ENGL 6098 and ENGL 6099).
• All MFA students must pass the MFA program's portfolio requirement. Students must be enrolled in the University for the terms in which they complete and defend the portfolio.
• A student may take ENGL 5339 twice, with approval of the Department Chair.