Creative Writing, MFA
Program Description
Degree Awarded: MFA Creative Writing
In the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, students gain foundational knowledge of literary craft, developing a deep capacity to read as writers read --- for pleasure and surprise, and also for strategy, technical dexterity, and how language works on the page. Students take two workshops in their primary genre (fiction or poetry) as well as one workshop in another genre. The department offers courses in creative nonfiction, translation and creative methods, designed each year in alignment with student curiosity, faculty interests and pressing questions in the field at large.
Mentorship at ASU includes artistic vision and practice, as well as framing career goals and planning for a writer's life --- potentially within, and often outside --- the academy. Three years of study allow students to grow as writers, immersing themselves in multiple genres and cross-genre innovations, collaborative artistic or community projects, and the deep engagement of their own work, often a book-length manuscript.
The program is unswervingly student-first. Incoming poets and fiction writers work with an outstanding faculty who have received major national and international recognition, including fellowships from the Guggenheim, Howard, Lannan, and MacArthur Foundations; the National Endowment for the Arts and United States Artists; the Freedom Scholar Award; National Book Critics Circle Award; National Magazine Award; OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature; and Whiting Writers Awards; multiple Pulitzer Prizes; medals of achievement from the National Society of Arts and Letters; two Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets; and the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets.
In concert with the MFA program in creative writing, three additional ASU entities extend the programming, funding opportunities and training available to MFA students. The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing offers fellowships, support for professional development, and other teaching and leadership opportunities including a Community Outreach Graduate Assistantship. They also host an annual conference that brings major writers to campus each fall. The Center for Imagination in the Borderlands brings writers and other artists for intensive workshops, classes and public events throughout the year, and it offers research and pedagogy-based fellowships. The Worldbuilding Initiative brings major external writers together with ASU writers --- from the MFA program and elsewhere in the university --- for workshops and events. The creative writing program also hosts the Craft and Content lecture series and the Stellar Alumni reading series featuring MFA graduates with recent books.
MFA poets and writers may also serve on the editorial board of an international literary journal, Hayden's Ferry Review, gain translation experience through the Thousand Languages Project, and intern with award-winning independent literary press Four Way Books.
Sally Ball, Director of Creative Writing, Professor
Justin Petropoulos, Program Manager
Degree Requirements
Curriculum Plan Options
- 48 credit hours including a written comprehensive exam and the required applied project course (ENG 593)
Required Core (6 credit hours)
ENG 585 Artful Attention Writers as Readers (3)
ENG 665 Creative Methods (3)
Track Requirement (12 credit hours)
Fiction Track
ENG 563 Forms of Fiction (3)
ENG 564 Fiction Workshop (6)
ENG 565 Poetry Workshop (3) or ENG 566 Creative Nonfiction Workshop (3)
Poetry Track
ENG 562 Forms of Poetry (3)
ENG 564 Fiction Workshop (3) or ENG 566 Creative Nonfiction Workshop (3)
ENG 565 Poetry Workshop (6)
Additional Writing Courses (6 credit hours)
ENG 550 Translation (3)
ENG 598 Special Topics (3)
ENG 664 Mixed Genres (3)
ENG 667 Creative Writing and the Professions (3)
ENG 680 Practicum (3)
Reading and Conference for Project Development (6 credit hours)
ENG 590 Reading and Conference (3)
Electives (15 credit hours)
Culminating Experience (3 credit hours)
ENG 593 Applied Project (3)
Additional Curriculum Information
Electives must consist of ASU courses at or above the 500-level from an approved list. The required six credit hours of ENG 590 Reading and Conference must be taken over two semesters (3 credit hours each semester). As part of their track requirements, students must taken one workshop in a genre other than their track focus. A written comprehensive exam and an applied project are required.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants should have an undergraduate major in English or creative writing; however, exceptional students who do not have either of these undergraduate majors may be admitted on the basis of writing excellence.
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.
All applicants must submit:
- graduate admission application and application fee
- official transcripts
- statement of purpose
- resume or curriculum vitae
- three letters of recommendation
- creative manuscript
- statement of teaching philosophy
- academic writing sample
- proof of English proficiency
Additional Application Information
An applicant whose native language is not English (regardless of current residency) and has not graduated from an institution of higher learning in the United States must provide proof of English proficiency. Applications are not processed without valid proof of English proficiency. Official scores must be sent to ASU in order for the application to be processed.
The personal statement should include the applicant's writing background, intended area of specialization and a brief self-evaluation of recent work (double-spaced, up to three pages or 750 words). The creative manuscript should be up to 20 pages of poetry or up to 30 pages of prose (prose should be double-spaced). Students applying for a teaching assistantship must submit a statement of teaching philosophy and an academic writing sample.
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Application Deadlines
Fall
Learning Outcomes
- Analyze and critique the writing of other creative writers.
- Explicate their creative works articulately.
- Create original fiction or poetry that incorporates theoretical and foundational literary knowledge.
Career Opportunities
A MFA in creative writing graduate is prepared primarily for the professional creation of new art, including fiction, poetry and other written forms. In addition to working as novelists, poets and short story writers, graduates go on to careers in education, arts administration, media and entertainment, and in political and community organizations. Career examples include:
- book designer or publicity specialist
- book or magazine editor
- creative writing professor
- curriculum designer
- essayist or journalist
- grant writer and developer
- literary or events coordinator
- nonprofit administrator
- public relations and communications manager
- screenwriter
- secondary education teacher
Global Opportunities
Global Experience
With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu
Program Contact Information
If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.
- enggrad@asu.edu
- 480/965-3168