|
|
2025-2026 Graduate Catalogue
Creative Writing, M.F.A.
|
|
 Return to: Graduate Programs
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Sarah Domet
The Department of Creative Writing offers an intensive studio-academic apprenticeship in the writing of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. Courses include workshops in the three genres, special topics and forms courses, as well as a range of courses in literature and environmental writing. While students are accepted in, and expected to demonstrate mastery of one genre, they are encouraged to study, and must show proficiency in, a second genre. Students, in consultation with their advisors, tailor their course schedules to their own professional and educational interests, selecting a variety of courses in creative writing, literature, criticism, rhetoric and composition, film studies, and applicable cultural studies. Students may also undertake a 15-hour sub-concentration in environmental writing, literature and research. Though the M.F.A. is a terminal degree designed for writers wishing to pursue various career paths in teaching, writing, publishing, and community arts organization, students are urged to pursue the degree primarily as a way of mastering their art by rigorous study and practice among a community of other dedicated writers. The M.F.A. degree without supporting publication credentials does not guarantee employment.
|
Admission Requirements
Applicants seeking admission to the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing are required to submit the following four items to the Graduate School before the application can be processed. - A typed manuscript in the applicant’s primary genre, labeled “poetry,” “fiction,” or “creative nonfiction”: 10 pages of poetry, 30 pages of fiction, or 30 pages of creative nonfiction (double-space prose, single-space poetry). The manuscript should demonstrate mastery of basic craft and unmistakable literary promise. Applicants are advised not to apply with a mixed-genre manuscript.
- An application for graduate admission.
- Transcripts of all college work (undergraduate and graduate).
- An essay (300-500 words) on the applicant’s goals in pursuing the M.F.A., including previous educational experience.
An applicant must have successfully completed an appropriate undergraduate degree (usually, but not necessarily, a B.A. in English or a B.F.A in creative writing), with at least a “B” average in the major field of study. Acceptable fulfillment of all the above constitutes the minimum requirements for, but does not guarantee, admission to the M.F.A. program. In general, we are seeking candidates who show artistic commitment and literary promise in their writing, and whose academic background indicates they are likely to succeed not only in graduate study but as publishing professional writers. Therefore, in evaluating candidates, the admissions committee places great emphasis on the quality of the manuscript. Applications must be received by the published deadline. All interested applicants will be considered for graduate assistantships, which will be awarded on a competitive basis as they become available. Degree Requirements (48 total credit hours)
An M.F.A. candidate must successfully complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate study: 21 credit hours in writing, six credit hours of thesis, and 21 credit hours in other graduate literature and publishing courses. Required Courses (27 credit hours)
Elective Courses (21 credit hours)
Students may substitute up to six of these credit hours of study in a related discipline, as determined by the student’s advisor, the M. F. A. coordinator, and the chair of the Department of Creative Writing. Additional Information
- An M. F. A. candidate is required to complete at least 12 credit hours of writing workshop courses in a primary genre (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction).
- An M. F. A. candidate is required to complete a minimum of six credit hours in a secondary genre, which must include at least one 3-hour writing workshop (CRW 510 , CRW 530 , CRW 542 , CRW 544 , CRW 546 , CRW 548 , CRW 550 ). Forms courses (CRW 543 , CRW 545 , CRW 547 , CRW 549 ) may be used to fulfill the remaining hours. A maximum of 9 credit hours in secondary genre(s) workshop courses will count toward fulfilling the 21 hour writing requirement.
- An M. F. A. candidate undertaking the Environmental Writing sub-concentration is required to take 9 hours of core courses (CRW 501 , CRW 532 , CRW 596 ) and 6 elective hours chosen from CRW 524 (Ecotone), CRW 549 , CRW 580 (Environmental topic) and EVS 521 .
- An M. F. A. candidate is required to complete CRW 520 : The Publishing Process, and this course will count toward fulfilling the 21 hour requirement in other graduate literature or publishing courses. A minimum GPA of 3. 0 (on a 4. 0 scale) must be maintained in all graduate course work; a “B” average is required for graduation.
- An M. F. A. candidate must complete a substantial book-length thesis manuscript of literary merit and publishable quality acceptable to the thesis committee: this ordinarily will be a novel; a novella; a collection of short stories, poems, or essays; a single long poem; a long nonfiction narrative; or some combination of the foregoing within the primary genre.
- An M. F. A. candidate must pass the Master of Fine Arts examination. A maximum of six credit hours of graduate course credit may be transferred from another accredited institution in partial fulfillment of the M. F. A. UNCW regulations will be applied in determining the transferability of course credits, and requests for transfer credit must be approved by the M. F. A. coordinator, the chair of the Department of Creative Writing, and the Graduate School.
- The M. F. A. program is designed to be completed in three calendar years.
- All requirements must be completed within five calendar years.
|
Return to: Graduate Programs
|
|
