Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Gregory Spatz, Program Director
400 Catalyst
509.828.1310
The Master of Fine Arts Program is an intensive, two-year, pre-professional course of study with an emphasis on the practice of literature as a fine art. The program includes coursework in the study of literature from the vantage point of its composition and history, but the student’s principal work is done in advanced workshops and in the writing of a book-length thesis of publishable quality in fiction or poetry. The MFA is a terminal degree program.
| Required Courses | 20 | |
| GRADUATE WRITING WORKSHOP: FICTION, POETRY, LITERARY NONFICTION, DRAMA, SCRIPTWRITING OR TRANSLATION (Note: this course may be repeated for credit; students are encouraged to take one workshop from outside the major.) | ||
| Literary Form and Theory Courses | ||
| Choose one Literature course from outside the major area | 5 | |
| Choose one series–in student’s major area of study | 15 | |
Fiction | ||
| FICTION I-THE NOVEL | ||
| FICTION II-THE SHORT FORM | ||
| SELECTED TOPICS IN CRAFT | ||
Poetry | ||
| POETRY I-BACKGROUND AND THEORY | ||
| POETRY II-THE MODERNS AND MODERNISM | ||
| POETRY III-CONTEMPORARY WORLD POETRY AND POETICS | ||
| Electives in creative writing, literature and/or a secondary emphasis | 20-25 | |
| LITERARY EDITING AND DESIGN | ||
| PRACTICUM: WILLOW SPRINGS MAGAZINE, LITERARY EDITING AND DESIGN | ||
| PRACTICUM: WILLOW SPRINGS BOOKS, LITERARY EDITING AND DESIGN | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS | ||
| LITERATURE OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST | ||
| EXPERIMENTAL COURSE | ||
| PRACTICUM IN INSTRUCTION: WRITERS IN THE COMMUNITY | ||
| COMPOSITION PEDAGOGIES: THEORIES AND PRACTICES | ||
| PRACTICUM: TEACHING FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION | ||
| Thesis–minimum is 10 credits for graduation | 10-15 | |
| THESIS | ||
| Minimum Credits Required For Graduation | 72 | |
Admission Requirements
Applicants must submit the following documents with the application form: a writing sample consisting of 10–20 pages of poetry and/or 15–25 pages of prose, an 800-word letter stating the applicant’s reasons for pursuing the MFA, and two letters of reference.
Applicants for teaching assistantships must write an additional letter in which they describe their interest in and prior experience with teaching. Applications for Teaching assistantships must be submitted by mid-February. Teaching assistantships are awarded in April for the following year. No applicant can be considered for a teaching assistantship until all documentation (completed application, writing sample, letters of recommendation, and other written materials) has been received.
Completion Requirements
- Students should spend six quarters in residence.
- A student should concentrate in one of the following areas: Poetry, Fiction, Literary Nonfiction. Students, however, are expected to take coursework in areas other than the one in which they concentrate.
- In consultation with a thesis advisor, each student will compile a list of fifteen books to augment the reading done in coursework. A portion of the oral examination, held near the end of each student’s term of study, will be devoted to questions about this list and works covered in required form and theory literature courses.
- Each student must submit a literary thesis of substantial length and publishable quality. The thesis will be reviewed in the oral examination.
Students who earn an MFA in Creative Writing should be able to do the following, at a level of proficiency sufficient for entry into the profession:
- analyze works of literature using the technical language of the craft pertinent to their chosen genre of study (literary fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry);
- demonstrate an understanding of the contemporary literary landscape;
- produce texts that conform to the conventions specific to the genre being studied (literary fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry);
- provide constructive criticism of written works in progress;
- synthesize an understanding of the publishing process.