The MFA in Creative Writing is designed to be completed in three years. Students may specialize in Fiction or Poetry. A minimum of 49 hours is required for this terminal degree. A series of creative writing workshops, courses in form and theory, new media writing, composition pedagogy, and literature and theory electives are designed for students wishing to pursue careers as writers or writer/scholars at the college level. Students also have the opportunity to work as editors on the Minnesota Review and The New River: a Journal of Digital Writing and Art. A creative thesis, a written final exam, and an oral defense are required.
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The 49 hours required for the degree must be distributed as follows:
Creative Writing Workshops: 15 hours (6704/Fiction, 6714/Poetry, 6724/Playwriting, 6734/Creative Nonfiction, 6744/New Media Writing); at least 9 hours must be in the designated specialty; students are encouraged to explore other genres in 6 hours of workshops.
Form and Theory Courses: 6 hours (5734/Form and Theory of Fiction, 5744/Form and Theory of Poetry).
GTA Training and Composition Pedagogy: 3 hours.
Creative Writing Pedagogy and Practicum: 3 hours.
Editing a Literary Journal (5774): 6 hours
Research & Thesis (5994): 6 hours; a book-length creative thesis (a collection of poetry; a collection of short stories, or a novel)
Graduate English courses: 9 hours; students may use an independent study in Editing a Digital Journal to help fulfill this requirement.
