Creative Writing, M.F.A.

Emerson’s Creative Writing MFA is a residency program that culminates with a creative thesis in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. As one of the longest running creative writing MFA programs in the country, Emerson’s Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing has attracted faculty members who are diverse in their capacities and adept in their fields. Nonfiction professors practice and teach the literary essay, memoir, biography, long-form narrative journalism, and opinion and arts commentary, making Emerson’s one of the most varied and challenging nonfiction programs nationwide. The fiction faculty is distinguished in all forms: the novel, novella, short story, and the short-short story. Our poetry faculty includes formalists as well as free-verse poets, with courses in the forms of poetry, translation, and the poetic sequence. A distinguishing feature of our MFA is the opportunity for students to have a translation/global engagement focus within their degree. MFA students can count on the mentoring of our faculty members during and after completing the program.

Following is the Student Learning Outcome (SLO) for the Creative Writing program:

Students will develop and revise their creative writing, improve their critical thinking skills, and demonstrate knowledge of the literature of their chosen genre as they create a body of original work of publishable quality.

Admission Requirements

Students must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and, generally, have attained a 3.0 grade point average or better. In addition, they must submit three letters of recommendation. Students may also submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test scores, but they are not required. Applicants for admission to the MFA in Creative Writing may have majored in a field other than undergraduate writing or English.

Applicants for the MFA program are required to submit a recent creative writing sample (15 double-spaced pages). The quality of the writing sample, as judged by the faculty, will be a primary factor in determining admission.

Degree Requirements

Students are admitted into the program in a particular genre: poetry, nonfiction, or fiction. The MFA program requires 48 credit hours, including a minimum of 20 credits of writing workshop courses, 12 credits of literature courses, 12 credits of department electives, and 4 credits for the master’s thesis. MFA students must complete at least 16 credits (four courses) of their required 20 credits of workshops in the genre of the thesis. At the conclusion of their coursework, students submit and defend a manuscript in one genre to be approved by a thesis committee. Students are expected to complete the degree requirements within seven years.

Students can take courses in any of the following areas: poetry, nonfiction, or fiction, but may not take more than one workshop in a given genre in a single semester. Students may explore other genres by using their remaining 4-credit required workshop and elective credits.