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Creative Writing Program

Requirements for the M.A.

The Creative Writing M.A. in English provides candidates with the opportunity to participate in a series of intensive writing workshops, to study closely with resident and visiting faculty writers, and to pursue a wide range of studies in Literature, Critical and Literary Theory, Folklore and Oral Tradition, Rhetoric and Composition. After admission to the M.A. program, students must complete 30 hours of graduate credit as follows:

  1. 12 hours in English and/or American Literature:
  • 3 hours in 19th or 20th C. American Literature
  • 3 hours in 19th or 20th C. British Literature
  • 6 hours in two of the four following fields:

      (a) Medieval
      (b) Renaissance and 17th C
      (c) Restoration and 18th C
      (d) pre-1800 American Literature
  1. 12 hours in Creative Writing: 6 hours of workshop at the 7000-level (7510 in fiction,7520 in creative nonfiction, or 7530 in poetry), and 6 hours of workshop at the 8000-level (8510 in fiction, 8520 in creative nonfiction, or 8530 in poetry). No courses may substitute for workshops. With the approval of the student's advisor, one of the four semesters may be taken in a second genre. Students with extensive workshop experience may be allowed to take all 12 hours at the 8000 level. Please check with the Director of the Creative Writing Program before enrolling in a workshop for the first time.
  2. The remaining 6 hours may be taken as electives inside or outside the department.

Additional Requirements

At the end of a candidate's studies, he or she is required to complete one of the following:

  1. The M.A. Comprehensive Examination. The written Comprehensive Exam ranges over the tradition of British and American literature, including the expanded canon.
  2. The Master’s Thesis. The MA Thesis (50-100 pgs. of scholarly work) is presented to a committee of three readers and defended in an oral examination.

The MA Portfolio. Students in Creative Writing must also complete a substantial body of professional-quality work in the genre of their choosing. Approximately 70 pages of fiction or nonfiction prose, 30 pages of poetry, or a proportionate combination of any two of those genres. Guidelines follow:

Guidelines for the Masters Portfolio

  • The portfolio consists of approximately 70 pages of fiction or nonfiction prose, 30 pages of poetry, or a proportionate combination of any two.
  • In order to initiate the process for the portfolio of creative work, the student should select the faculty adviser no later than the end of the second semester of his/her first year. The application form (Form 1A) must be filed at this time.
  • The submission form (Form IB) should accompany the first draft of the portfolio and be submitted to the faculty adviser no later than March 15 (for students graduating in the winter semester); or November 1 (for students graduating in the fall semester).
  • Portfolios must be approved before the candidate can take the M.A. Comprehensive Exam.
  • The approval form (Form 1C), along with a copy of the approved Portfolio, must be filed with the Director of Graduate Studies no later than the last week of classes in the semester the student is graduating.

Additional information about the Creative Writing MA in English may be found at the English Department website.