Creative Writing, MFA
Program Description
Degree Awarded: MFA Creative Writing
The MFA in creative writing at ASU has always been an unswervingly student-first program. Through small classes, intimate workshops and one-to-one mentoring, the centuries-old apprenticeship model thrives within the New American University. Poets and fiction writers work with outstanding faculty who have published more than 80 books and garnered national and international attention through awards and honors that include:
- Guggenheim, Howard Foundation, Lannan Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and United Artists fellowships
- international Griffin Poetry Prize and Whiting Award
- multiple Pulitzer Prizes
- two medals of achievement from the National Society of Arts and Letters
- two Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets
- Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets
Additionally, in concert with the Master of Fine Arts program, several campus entities contribute to the MFA experience: the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing offers students a wide range of fellowships, support for professional development, and other teaching and leadership opportunities including a Community Outreach Graduate Assistantship. The Center for Imagination in the Borderlands brings writers and other artists for intensive workshops, classes and public events, and offers an artistic development and teaching assistant fellowship and two research assistantships. The Master of Fine Arts program also hosts a newly inaugurated series of craft lectures and an alumni reading series.
Furthermore, students have access to a variety of additional professional development opportunities, including serving on the editorial board of an international literary journal Hayden's Ferry Review, translation experience through the Thousand Languages Project and internships 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)
Coursework (39 credit hours)
Other Requirement (6 credit hours)
ENG 592 Research (6)
Culminating Experience (3 credit hours)
ENG 593 Applied Project (3)
Additional Curriculum Information
The creative writing program requires 48 credit hours of study evenly divided between writing courses and literature courses designed to inform that writing.
While students are expected to satisfy these requirements in the genre in which they were accepted, the program encourages cross-genre study, and electives can include courses taken outside of the creative writing program or even outside of the English department.
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 will not be processed without valid proof of English proficiency. Please note that 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 Master of Fine Arts 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 marketer
- book or magazine editor
- creative writing professor
- essayist or journalist
- grant writer and developer
- literary or events coordinator
- nonprofit administrator
- novelist
- poet
- 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