Creative Writing
MFA
Application Deadlines
Fall:January 15
Contact Information: 
4198 JFSB
801-422-4939
gradenglish@byu.edu
Website
Program Requirements: 

Requirements for Degree - MFA in Creative Writing

Core:  14 hours

  • Introductory course (ENGL 600): 2 hours
  • Theory course (English 617, to be taken in first year): 3 hours
  • Three writing workshops (ENGL 667, 668, or 669): 9 hours

Electives: 12 hours

  • Two 600-level literature seminars: 6 hours
  • Two additional graduate-level courses from the following:
    • 600-level literature seminars
    • 600-level writing workshops
    • ENGL 610: Composition Pedagogy (for students who desire to teach Writing 150): 3 hours
    • ENGL 611R: Studies in Teaching Advanced Composition (taken from a creative writing faculty member for students who desire to teach ENGL 218R: Introduction to Creative Writing, or from a composition faculty member for teaching any of the undergraduate advanced writing courses): 3 hours
    • ENGL 599R: Graduate Internship (by application only) (variable)

Thesis & Oral Exam: 6 hours

  • ENGL 699R (should be taken during the second year): 6 hours
  • Oral examination of thesis, coursework, and reading list

Note:  In special circumstances, up to three credit hours may be taken outside of the English department with advisor approval.  Additionally, one 300- or 400-level undergraduate course may count toward the degree with approvals from the graduate advisor and the teacher of the course.  Graduate students in such courses will be graded by graduate standards and normally will complete an additional paper or other work beyond the usual course requirements.  Courses below the 300-level and correspondence courses cannot count toward a graduate degree.

Admission Requirements: 

Requirements

  1. Undergraduate English major or its equivalent
  2. Academic writing sample
  3. Creative sample
  4. Advanced (upper-division) course in literary criticism
  5. Statement of Intent
  6. Letters of recommendation
Program Outcomes: 


Effective Presentation and Publication

Creative Writing MFA graduates produce work suitable for public presentation, publication, and other forms of creative expression that fit their post-graduate plans.

Thesis Production and Defense

Creative Writing M.F.A. graduates produce and defend a thesis-length creative document that is characterized by its originality and excellence of expression and informed by its critical introduction and/or afterword.

Discrete Area Mastery

Creative Writing M.F.A. graduates will persuasively defend, in the oral examination, the coherence of their plan of study and their mastery of a discrete area of the discipline.

Pedagogy and Teaching

Creative Writing M.F.A. graduates who teach composition or assist faculty in teaching courses in the English major will exemplify pedagogical understanding and practice that qualifies them to teach similar courses at other colleges and universities.