Creative Writing, M.F.A.

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The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a terminal degree that prepares students to write and to teach at the college level. It also provides students an excellent foundation if they choose to continue their graduate work at the doctoral level. Upon attaining the M.F.A. degree, students will have acquired a productive specific knowledge of their chosen genre/area of specialization (either Poetry or Fiction). Any student who receives more than one C during his or her program will be dropped from the M.F.A. program.

The M.F.A. student must complete satisfactorily a minimum of 42 hours of graduate coursework (14 courses), plus at least 6 hours of thesis research credit.

Degree Requirements

All Poetry and Fiction workshops (ENGL 8020 Poetry Writing, ENGL 8030 Fiction Writing), creative writing craft courses (ENGL 8201 Contemporary Poetry, ENGL 8202 Contemporary Fiction Craft, ENGL 8203 Twentieth-Century American and British Poetry Craft I), and form and theory coursework (ENGL 8160 Form and Theory of Literary Craft) must be completed at Georgia State University during the degree program.

ENGL 8020 - Poetry Writing 3 Hours
ENGL 8030 - Fiction Writing 3 Hours
ENGL 8201 - Contemporary Poetry 3 Hours
ENGL 8202 - Contemporary Fiction Craft 3 Hours
ENGL 8203 - Twentieth-Century American and British Poetry Craft I 3 Hours
ENGL 8160 - Form and Theory of Literary Craft 3 Hours

Coursework

Thesis

Shortly before, or directly after completing all required Creative Writing coursework, and no later than the semester before a student plans to graduate, she or he must submit to her or his director, and to the Director of Creative Writing, a written proposal that describes her or his thesis project. The M.F.A. thesis must be a minimum of 50 pages long for a manuscript of poems or a minimum of 150 pages for a manuscript of prose fiction. M.F.A. theses must include an introduction or an afterword in which the student discusses his or her approaches, styles, methods, and influences. The semester before beginning to write the thesis, students must submit for approval by their thesis director and the Director of Creative Writing a written proposal detailing the thesis project.