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University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Wisconsin, united states.

The Department of English offers a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing (Plan C), a studio/academic program. The emphasis is on the writing of fiction or poetry or both, with supplemental courses in literature. The cornerstone of the program is a 2-semester sequence in either fiction or poetry. The first semester ("Narrative Craft and Theory" or "Poetic Craft and Theory") introduces the student to a broad range of literary techniques and models and to the practice of criticism at the graduate level. The second semester ("Seminar in Fiction Writing" or "Seminar in Poetry Writing") provides a graduate-level workshop in which student manuscripts are discussed. Each of the four courses may be repeated, with a change in subtitle, up to three times. In addition, students are required to take at least two literature courses (6 s/hrs) from department courses providing graduate-level introductions to the study of English. The program also provides a variety of options in creative writing and other areas. Students may take workshops in fiction, poetry, or expository writing and special workshops which cover other forms and genres (e.g., personal journalism, creative nonfiction). Courses are also available in the teaching of writing, business and technical writing, article writing, digital writing, literary criticism, and formal academic research and writing. Creative writing students may also take courses in the department's large programs in Rhetoric and Composition; Professional Writing; Literature and Cultural Theory; and Media, Cinema and Digital Studies.

The most important feature of the program is the final project ("thesis") - a substantial collection of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction, which grows out of the student's course work and independent study. The student's adviser will assist in the planning and development of this project, which is then submitted to a three-person committee for evaluation. An informal colloquium ("oral examination") concludes the student's work in the program.

The Department of English also offers a limited number of students the option of a creative dissertation in the English doctoral program. Students must meet the academic standards of the program in literature (as demonstrated by previous course work, GRE scores, writing samples, and, for those who are finishing their MA at UWM, a qualifying examination); they must also show exceptional promise as creative writers with the expectation of substantial publication before the completion of the doctorate. It is assumed that students applying to this program wish to enter careers as college teachers and mean to compete for academic positions with the best writers and scholars produced by American graduate schools.

Students in the doctoral program may take more creative writing as well as literature courses, including 12 s/hrs at the graduate seminar level. A major portion of the student's course work in literature should be selected in preparation for the first part of the preliminary examination - a written exam covering a literary period, genre, or special topic which the student has designated as a supplemental teaching area. A second, oral part of the examination covers not only the literary texts the student has studied but also his/her plans for the creative dissertation. Students interested in teaching composition or applied writing may include work in those areas in their program of study. Each student is advised by a three-member advisory board, which normally serves as the nucleus of the student's dissertation committee.

The program publishes a national literary magazine, the cream city review, which is edited by graduate students and advised by a faculty board.

Contact Information

3243 N Downer Avenue English Department, Curtin Hall 566 Milwaukee Wisconsin, United States 53211 Phone: [email protected] Email: [email protected] http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/english/grad/c-creative/index.cfm

Bachelor of Arts in English/Creative Writing Concentration +

Undergraduate program director, master of arts in english/creative writing +, graduate program director.

The Department of English offers a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing (Plan C), a studio/academic program. The emphasis is on the writing of fiction or poetry or both, with supplemental courses in literature. The cornerstone of the program is a 2-semester sequence in either fiction or poetry. The first semester ("Narrative Craft and Theory" or "Poetic Craft and Theory") introduces the student to a broad range of literary techniques and models and to the practice of criticism at the graduate level. The second semester ("Seminar in Fiction Writing" or "Seminar in Poetry Writing") provides a graduate-level workshop in which student manuscripts are discussed in the context of the preceding course. Each of the four courses may be repeated, with a change in subtitle, up to three times. In addition, students are required to take at least two literature courses (6 s/hrs) from department courses providing graduate-level introductions to the study of English. The program also provides a variety of options in creative writing and other areas. Students may take workshops in fiction, poetry, or expository writing and special workshops which cover other forms and genres (e.g., autobiography, personal journalism, creative nonfiction). Courses are also available in the teaching of writing, in business and technical writing, in article writing, in literary criticism, and formal academic research and writing. Creative writing students may also take courses in the department's large programs in Rhetoric and Composition, Professional Writing, and Modern Studies.

The most important feature of the program is the final project ("thesis") - a substantial collection of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, which grows out of the student's course work and independent study. The student's adviser will assist in the planning and development of this project, which is then submitted to a three-person committee for evaluation. An informal colloquium ("oral examination") concludes the student's work in the program.

The Department of English also offers a limited number of students the option of a creative dissertation in the English doctoral program. Students must meet the academic standards of the program in literature (as demonstrated by previous course work, GRE scores, and a qualifying examination); they must also show exceptional promise as creative writers with the expectation of substantial publication before the completion of the doctorate. It is assumed that students applying to this program wish to enter careers as college teachers and mean to compete for academic positions with the best writers and scholars produced by American graduate schools.

Students in the doctoral program may take more creative writing as well as literature courses, including 12 s/hrs at the graduate seminar level. A major portion of the student's course work in literature should be selected in preparation for the first part of the preliminary examination - a written exam covering a literary period, genre, or special topic which the student has designated as a supplemental teaching area. A second, oral part of the examination covers the student's plans for the creative dissertation. Students interested in teaching composition or applied writing may include work in those areas in their program of study. Each student is advised by a three-member advisory board, which normally serves as the nucleus of the student's dissertation committee.

The program publishes a national literary magazine, the Cream City Review, which is edited by graduate students and advised by a faculty board.

PhD in Creative Writing +

The Department of English offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing (Plan C), a studio/academic program. The emphasis is on the writing of fiction or poetry or both with additional substantial work in the study of literature and literary criticism/theory. The cornerstone of the program is a 2-semester sequence in either fiction or poetry. The first semester ("Narrative Craft and Theory" or "Poetic Craft and Theory") introduces the student to a broad range of literary techniques and models and to the practice of criticism at the graduate level. The second semester ("Seminar in Fiction Writing" or "Seminar in Poetry Writing") provides a graduate-level workshop in which student manuscripts are discussed. In addition, students are required to take at least 24 credit/hrs. of literature, 12 credit/hrs. in graduate level creative writing courses, and 12 credit/hrs. in electives, including those that may be transferred in from the student’s MA or MFA degree. The program provides a variety of options in creative writing and other areas. Students may take workshops in fiction, poetry, or expository writing and special workshops, which cover other forms and genres (e.g., autobiography, personal journalism, creative nonfiction). Courses are also available in the teaching of writing, in business and technical writing, in article writing, in literary criticism, and in formal academic research and writing. Creative writing students may also take courses in the department's large programs in Rhetoric and Composition; Professional Writing; Cultural Theory; and Media, Cinema and Digital Studies.

A major portion of the student's course work in literature should be selected in preparation for the first part of the preliminary examination - a written exam covering a literary period, genre, or special topic which the student has designated as a supplemental teaching area. A second, oral part of the examination covers the student's plans for the creative dissertation—a substantial collection of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, which grows out of the student's course work and independent study. The student's adviser will assist in the planning and development of this project, which is then submitted to a five-person committee for evaluation. Students interested in teaching composition or applied writing may include work in those areas in their program of study. Each student is advised by a three-member advisory board, which normally serves as the nucleus of the student's dissertation committee.

Applicants must meet the academic standards of the program in literature (as demonstrated by previous course work, GRE scores, and critical writing samples); they must also show exceptional promise as creative writers with the expectation of substantial publication before the completion of the doctorate. It is assumed that students applying to this program wish to enter careers as college teachers and mean to compete for academic positions with the best writers and scholars produced by American graduate schools.

Liam Callanan

Listen and Other Stories, All Saints, The Cloud Atlas

http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/english/people/faculty/callanan.cfm

Brenda Cardenas

Boomerang, From the Tongues of Brick and Stone

http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/english/people/faculty/cardenas.cfm

Rebecca Dunham

Cold Pastoral, Glass Armonica, Fascicle, The Flight Cage, The Miniature Room

http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/english/people/faculty/dunham.cfm

Valerie Laken

Separate Kingdoms: Stories, Dream House

http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/english/people/faculty/laken.cfm

Publications & Presses +

cream city review

Furrow: Undergraduate Literary Magazine

Visiting Writers Program +

Visiting Writers (for short periods, which include presenting readings, craft talks, and/or one-day workshops) have included Juan Felipe Herrera, Ramona Ausubel, Paisley Rekdal, Margot Livesey, Jesse Lee Kercheval, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Dawn Lundy Martin, Peter Rock, Daniel Borzutzky, Ken Barris, Pete Fromm, Eric Pankey, Arthur Sze, Chase Twitchell, Matthew Zapruder, Matthea Harvey, C.D. Wright, Nicole Cooley, Jesse Lee Kercheval, David Kherdian, Pam Houston, Jean Thompson, George Bowering, Robert Olen Butler, Kyoko Mori, Carolyn Knox, Ron Tanner, Adam Johnson, Robert Coover, Nega Mezlekia, Charles Bernstein, Cornelius Eady, and Galway Kinnell, among others.

Reading Series +

United We Read: Graduate Student/Faculty Reading Series ( http://uwm.edu/english/graduate/graduate-plans/creative-writing/creative-writing-events/ )

The Boudreaux Poetry Series ( https://www.facebook.com/UWMEnglish )

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University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

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PhD Program

Poetry: Rebecca Dunham Fiction: Katharine Beutner, Liam Callanan, Valerie Laken

This program offers teaching assistantships, fellowships, and awards.

Cream City Review , Furrow

The program hosts several internal writing contests with cash awards, and the United We Read Graduate Student/Faculty Reading Series and the Visiting Writers Series. Visiting writers and poets have included Juan Felipe Herrera, Peter Rock, Daniel Borzutzky, Paisley Rekdal, Nicole Cooley, C. Dale Young, Carmen Giménez Smith, Robert Olen Butler, Kyoko Mori, Ron Tanner, Adam Johnson, Nega Mezlekia, Charles Bernstein, Lysley Tenorio, and Craig Santos Perez, among many others.

The program also features internal projects such as the Literary Circular and Read Local: Eat Local, which provide opportunities for students to edit and curate flash fiction and poetry publications in inventive formats.

Students usually complete their PhD in four to five years.

Henri Cole, José Dalisay, Derrick Harriell, William (Trent) Hergenrader, Rachel Himmelherber, Caroline Knox, Soham Patel, Ching-In Chen, Phong Nguyen, Kyoko Mori, Melissa Olsen, Stephen Powers, Rene Steinke, Ron Tanner

English 215: Introduction to English Studies

• Locating Articles
• Literary Criticism - Miscellaneous Reference Sources
• Literature and Cultural Theory
• Rhetoric and Professional Writing
• Creative Writing
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Creative Writing Databases

• JSTOR Archival and current issues of more than 2,400 scholarly journals across more than 60 academic disciplines ( title lists ) along with a growing number of open access ebooks. The UW-Milwaukee Libraries have acquired access to JSTOR collections Arts and Sciences I-VIII and the subject collections for Biological Sciences, Jewish Studies and Ireland.
• MLA International Bibliography MLA International Bibliography indexes international scholarly materials, including over 4,400 journals, books, working papers, and conference proceedings on language, literature, linguistics, and folklore. It is updated 10 times a year.
• Academic Search Complete Academic Search Complete is a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 7,000 full-text periodicals, including nearly 6,000 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 11,000 journals and a total of more than 11,600 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 journals.
• Project Muse Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content. UWM has full text access to over 29,000 ebooks and 350 journals. Searching can be limited to subscribed full text access by choosing the books or journals tab and checking off a full text access box. It is also home to Modern Fiction Studies: The journal's substantial book review section keeps readers informed about current scholarship in the field. MFS alternates general issues with special issues focused on individual novelists or topics that challenge and expand the concept of "modern fiction."

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• URL: https://guides.library.uwm.edu/english215

On Having to Stop Hormone Replacement Therapy

Pinfeathers, cherry blossoms.

Dating back to 2000,  Furrow  showcases outstanding writing and art from undergraduates across the U.S. and gives UW-Milwaukee students training in editing, publishing, publication design, web design, publicity, fundraising, and business practices. Through the generous support of local donors and the UW-Milwaukee  Department of English , we publish a full-color, print issue of the journal every May and feature new work regularly on our website. Our goal is to connect student writers and artists with a broader network of creative spirits within and beyond Milwaukee. Twice we have won AWP's National Program Directors' award for best undergraduate literary journal in the U.S.

We publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, and comics from undergraduates all across the U.S. Our next  submissions  period is from  December 1, 2024 to February 20, 2025 .

Interested in becoming an editor? Enroll in UWM’s English 418 or Art 427 in the spring semester. Click here for more info.

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Creative Writing Program

The University of Washington English Department's Creative Writing Program offers a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and a two-year Master of Fine Arts  degrees in Poetry and Prose. 

Founded in 1947 by Theodore Roethke, the Creative Writing Program's tradition of transformative workshops continues with our current faculty:  David Bosworth , Nikki David Crouse ,  Rae Paris ,  David Shields,  and  Maya Sonenberg  (Prose), and  Linda Bierds (part-time) ,  Andrew Feld ,  Richard Kenney,  and  Pimone Triplett  (Poetry).  They include among their many honors fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as prizes such as the Flannery O’Connor Award in Short Fiction and the McCarthy Prize. The list of our alumni publications represents a significant chapter in the history of American literature. To see recent examples of our MFA Program alumni publications, see the article MFA Program Graduates Publish at Impressive Rates in our Spring 2022 English Matters newsletter .

The MFA Program remains purposely small, admitting only ten students per year. The relatively small size of our program (20 students at most at any given time) allows for close associations to develop among students and faculty. The first year is devoted to participation in workshops and literary seminars, and the second year allows for concentrated work on a creative manuscript and critical essay under the supervision of two creative writing faculty members. 

The BA in English with a Creative Writing Concentration prepares students not only to be more effective communicators and artists, but also creative problem solvers and more nuanced critical thinkers. By situating small, student-oriented writing workshops alongside literary models, Creative Writing classes enhance the broader study of literature and critical theory, helping students gain a greater understanding of the social and cultural forces informing their work. A student completing the program is more able to situate themselves in a larger aesthetic and social context and make more meaningful, informed decisions about their own artistic practice. In addition, through the intense practice of creative writing, students are able to see the world more clearly, in a more nuanced and meaningful manner, and apply these skills to a wide variety of work and life situations.

Director:  Nikki David Crouse

Program Coordinator: Shannon Mitchell 

Graduate Program Advisor: Tim Cosgrove

Undergraduate Program Advising: Humanities Academic Services

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• Creative Writing, MFA

The program in creative writing offers a two-year master of fine arts degree in creative writing in the areas of fiction and poetry. The MFA program is a small program within a large and vibrant writing community. The program typically admits six new students each year.

The MFA program is the only program of its kind to have an "alternating genre" admissions policy. The program admits fiction writers in even-numbered years and poets in odd-numbered years. This alternating admissions schedule allows the program to provide a 2-to-1 student/teacher ratio and lets fiction instructors focus entirely on one group of fiction writers, and poetry instructors on one group of poets for the two-year instructional period.

Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online .

Details about the admissions process can be found  here .

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid.  Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

Prospective students should see the program website for funding information.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Major requirements.

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements , in addition to the program requirements listed below.

MODE OF INSTRUCTION

Mode of instruction definitions.

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.

Evening/Weekend: ​Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules.  Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.  Contact the program for more specific information.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online.  Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS

Required courses.

Students take 3 credits in each of the first, second and third semesters, then 6 thesis credits in the fourth semester. These are not courses—rather, they're the means by which the University gives MFAs credit for their independent writing.

15 credits of electives drawn from appropriate courses across the curriculum. While students are expected to focus on and produce book-length theses by the end of their two years here, they are also encouraged to pursue other intellectual interests via these electives. In the past, MFA students have fulfilled their elective requirements by enrolling in literature courses, studying foreign languages, pursuing other artistic interests such as dance, book-making, and classical guitar, augmenting research for historical novels by taking appropriate history classes. MFA students may also hone their writing skills in other genres by taking intermediate and advanced undergraduate workshops and graduate level workshops in genres outside the one for which they were admitted, as electives with the permission of the instructor. Students may also take up to 6 elective credits in the form of additional thesis hours in the second and third semesters.

Graduate School Policies

The  Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures  provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior coursework, graduate work from other institutions.

With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 12 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions. coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

UW–Madison Undergraduate

No credits from a UW–Madison undergraduate degree are allowed to count toward the degree.

UW–Madison University Special

With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 10 credits of coursework numbered 300 or above taken as a UW–Madison University Special student. coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

The MFA advisor (sometimes referred to as the MFA program director) will review student academic performance and conduct in all coursework to determine that students are making satisfactory progress toward the degree. If at any time the MFA advisor determines that a student’s academic performance and/or conduct has not been satisfactory, the MFA advisor, with the input and concurrence of the voting members of the Creative Writing Steering Committee, may place the student on probation or may dismiss the student from the program. The period of probation will be one semester in duration. Prior to the end of the probationary period the MFA advisor will review the student’s performance and conduct and decide, with the input and concurrence of the voting members of the Creative Writing Steering Committee, to reinstate or dismiss the student.

ADVISOR / COMMITTEE

The current MFA advisor (sometimes referred to as the MFA program director) advises all MFA students.

CREDITS PER TERM ALLOWED

Time constraints.

It is expected that the MFA thesis be completed in May of the second year in the program.

Master’s degree students who have been absent for five or more consecutive years lose all credits that they have earned before their absence. Individual programs may count the coursework students completed prior to their absence for meeting program requirements; that coursework may not count toward Graduate School credit requirements.

Grievances and appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting  
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Dean of Students Office (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances. They may also contact the L&S Academic Divisional Associate Deans, the L&S Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Administration, or the L&S Director of Human Resources.

Each student receives financial aid in the form of teaching assistantships, scholarships, tuition remission, and health benefits. Students may also receive prizes or fellowships.

Take advantage of the Graduate School's  professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

• Develop the creative and technical skills necessary to conceive, execute, and revise original literary work in a student's chosen genre (fiction or poetry).
• Demonstrate sensitivity to language and style on both the artistic and technical levels.
• Develop the critical, analytical, and editing skills necessary to evaluate literary works in progress, both in the student’s own work-in-progress, and in that of the student’s peers.
• Develop the ability to read literary works not only for their social, historical, intellectual, formal, and interpretive value, but for their capacity to inspire and generate new work, and to see in a finished work the process of its being made.
• Develop through study and practice the pedagogical skills necessary to teach creative writing courses to undergraduate students.
• Demonstrate understanding of professional and pedagogical practices and opportunities within and related to the field of creative writing.
• Recognize and apply principles of ethical conduct with respect to one's work.
• Engage with local communities of creative writers.

Faculty: Professors Amy Quan Barry, Amaud Jamaul Johnson, Beth Nguyen, and Porter Shreve

Staff: Faculty Associates Sean Bishop and Ron Kuka, Mendota Lecturers Leila Chatti and Dantiel W. Moniz

• Requirements
• Professional Development
• Learning Outcomes

Contact Information

English College of Letters & Science creativewriting.wisc.edu

Sean Bishop, MFA Program Administrator [email protected] 206-491-1505

Professor Martin Foys, Director of Graduate Studies [email protected]

Graduate School grad.wisc.edu

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Information for Enrolled MFAs in Creative Writing

Financial support.

If you do not hold a Kemper-Knapp Fellowship, an Advanced Opportunity Fellowship (AOF), or a Martha Meier Renk Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, then your total annual funding will be $25,000 and will come in two forms: (1) a TAship (delivered bi-weekly through payroll, with taxes taken out), and (2) three annual scholarships delivered in September, February, and May, through the bursar and e-refund system. Though the total funding will always be $25,000, exact TAship and scholarship amounts vary from year to year. In 2022-23, MFAs will receive a 40% TAship totaling $16,400, a $3,000 scholarship in September, another $3,000 scholarship in February, and a $2,600 scholarship in May.

Kemper-Knapp, AOF, and Renk fellows should refer to their offer letters for more detailed information about funding, but these fellows will not receive less than $25,000 in total support. Typically these fellows receive reduced scholarship disbursements because their fellowship funding surpasses TA funding.

Satisfactory Progress

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s MFA in Creative Writing is designed to enable students to develop professional excellence in their chosen genre of creative writing, through substantial literary study and concentrated training and practice in various types of literary expression, over a two-year period devoted to the writing, reading, and teaching of contemporary literature.  Reflecting the English Department’s mission statement, the MFA will enable the most talented new writers in the country to explore, with complexity and intensity, the production and interpretation of literature and culture.

To qualify for the MFA degree, a student must complete 42 credits of course work over four consecutive semesters in residence at Madison, culminating in the completion of a book-length thesis. Up to six credits of graduate work done elsewhere may be counted toward the elective requirement for the degree, subject to the approval of the Creative Writing Steering Committee. The three workshop courses, and the pedagogy course, must be completed in residence.

The MFA degree is awarded on the basis of the student’s total performance in graduate work, as outlined below.

Grade-Point Expectations

As representatives of UW’s Department of English, MFA candidates in creative writing are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or above. In addition to coursework, each candidate is also expected to pursue an independent schedule of reading and writing in consultation with their professors and thesis advisors. Any MFA who receives a grade lower than a B in any course (whether workshop, pedagogy, or elective) will be placed on informal academic probation by the MFA Director, in consultation with the Creative Writing Steering Committee. A cumulative GPA that dips below 3.5 will be brought to the attention of the Director of Graduate Studies, and may be determined to constitute “unsatisfactory progress” toward the degree, which may in turn result in a student’s scholarships, tuition remission, and/or TAship being revoked. A GPA of 3.0 or below, however, will certainly be considered “unsatisfactory progress” and disciplinary measures will be taken accordingly.

An MFA candidate may not have more than two incompletes on his or her record at any one time. Incompletes will be allowed only in extraordinary circumstances, and they must be removed within eight weeks of the following semester of registration.  If an incomplete is not removed within that time, the grade will revert to a failure unless special dispensation is granted by the Director of the MFA Program.

Credit Requirements

Each MFA must complete 42 credit-hours to graduate, and cannot take more than 6 thesis hours per semester.

• 9 credit-hours of workshop in the candidate’s primary genre (fiction or poetry, ENGL 781 or 782) during the first, second and third semesters.
• 3 credit-hours of Creative Writing Pedagogy (ENGL 783) during the first semester, or the third semester for Kemper Knapp Fellows.
• At least 15 credit-hours of thesis work (3 in each of the first, second, and third semesters, and 6 in the final semester), through course number ENGL 785.
• At least 9 credit-hours of electives (usually divided evenly among the second, third, and fourth semesters). Electives must be approved by the MFA Director. They should be graduate-level courses, or undergraduate courses numbered 300 or above.
• 6 additional credit-hours of electives or thesis hours.

Teaching Requirements

In addition to the course work, MFA students (with the exception of AOF Fellows, Kemper Knapp Fellows, or Martha Meier Renk Fellows) will teach one course in creative writing or composition in each of their four semesters in residence. AOF, Kemper Knapp, and Renk fellows will teach one course in each of two semesters during their first or second year, as indicated in the offer letter.  Successful teaching, as determined by student and faculty evaluations of classes, is a requirement for satisfactory progress toward the MFA degree.

Thesis Requirements

The capstone project for the MFA degree is the completion of a thesis, a book-length manuscript of poetry or fiction. The thesis is the single most important requirement of the MFA, and will be an outgrowth of work done for the writing workshops and in conjunction with individual conferences. There is no oral or written examination per se, but each candidate will confer periodically with a thesis advisor during each of the semesters in residence, and will discuss the thesis with the advisor and a second reader (the advisor and said reader constituting the student’s thesis committee) before the end of the fourth semester in residence. The committee will affirm that the successful thesis represents an ambitious project of publishable quality.

Creative Writing Program Marks Three Decades of Growth, Diversity

By Luisa A. Igloria

2024: a milestone year which marks the 30 th  anniversary of Old Dominion University’s MFA Creative Writing Program. Its origins can be said to go back to April 1978, when the English Department’s (now Professor Emeritus, retired) Phil Raisor organized the first “Poetry Jam,” in collaboration with Pulitzer prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass (then a visiting poet at ODU). Raisor describes this period as “ a heady time .” Not many realize that from 1978 to 1994, ODU was also the home of AWP (the Association of Writers and Writing Programs) until it moved to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The two-day celebration that was “Poetry Jam” has evolved into the annual ODU Literary Festival, a week-long affair at the beginning of October bringing writers of local, national, and international reputation to campus. The ODU Literary Festival is among the longest continuously running literary festivals nationwide. It has featured Rita Dove, Maxine Hong Kingston, Susan Sontag, Edward Albee, John McPhee, Tim O’Brien, Joy Harjo, Dorothy Allison, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sabina Murray, Jane Hirshfield, Brian Turner, S.A. Cosby, Nicole Sealey, Franny Choi, Ross Gay, Adrian Matejka, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Ilya Kaminsky, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Jose Olivarez, and Ocean Vuong, among a roster of other luminaries. MFA alumni who have gone on to publish books have also regularly been invited to read.

From an initial cohort of 12 students and three creative writing professors, ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program has grown to anywhere between 25 to 33 talented students per year. Currently they work with a five-member core faculty (Kent Wascom, John McManus, and Jane Alberdeston in fiction; and Luisa A. Igloria and Marianne L. Chan in poetry). Award-winning writers who made up part of original teaching faculty along with Raisor (but are now also either retired or relocated) are legends in their own right—Toi Derricotte, Tony Ardizzone, Janet Peery, Scott Cairns, Sheri Reynolds, Tim Seibles, and Michael Pearson. Other faculty that ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program was privileged to briefly have in its ranks include Molly McCully Brown and Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley.

"What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here." — Luisa A. Igloria, Louis I. Jaffe Endowed Professor & University Professor of English and Creative Writing at Old Dominion University

Our student body is diverse — from all over the country as well as from closer by. Over the last ten years, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of international students who are drawn to what our program has to offer: an exciting three-year curriculum of workshops, literature, literary publishing, and critical studies; as well as opportunities to teach in the classroom, tutor in the University’s Writing Center, coordinate the student reading series and the Writers in Community outreach program, and produce the student-led literary journal  Barely South Review . The third year gives our students more time to immerse themselves in the completion of a book-ready creative thesis. And our students’ successes have been nothing but amazing. They’ve published with some of the best (many while still in the program), won important prizes, moved into tenured academic positions, and been published in global languages. What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here.

Our themed studio workshops are now offered as hybrid/cross genre experiences. My colleagues teach workshops in horror, speculative and experimental fiction, poetry of place, poetry and the archive — these give our students so many more options for honing their skills. And we continue to explore ways to collaborate with other programs and units of the university. One of my cornerstone projects during my term as 20 th  Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth was the creation of a Virginia Poets Database, which is not only supported by the University through the Perry Library’s Digital Commons, but also by the MFA Program in the form of an assistantship for one of our students. With the awareness of ODU’s new integration with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and its impact on other programs, I was inspired to design and pilot a new 700-level seminar on “Writing the Body Fantastic: Exploring Metaphors of Human Corporeality.” In the fall of 2024, I look forward to a themed graduate workshop on “Writing (in) the Anthropocene,” where my students and I will explore the subject of climate precarity and how we can respond in our own work.

Even as the University and wider community go through shifts and change through time, the MFA program has grown with resilience and grace. Once, during the six years (2009-15) that I directed the MFA Program, a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) university-wide review amended the guidelines for what kind of graduate student would be allowed to teach classes (only those who had  already  earned 18 or more graduate credits). Thus, two of our first-year MFA students at that time had to be given another assignment for their Teaching Assistantships. I thought of  AWP’s hallmarks of an effective MFA program , which lists the provision of editorial and publishing experience to its students through an affiliated magazine or press — and immediately sought department and upper administration support for creating a literary journal. This is what led to the creation of our biannual  Barely South Review  in 2009.

In 2010,  HuffPost  and  Poets & Writers  listed us among “ The Top 25 Underrated Creative Writing MFA Programs ” (better underrated than overrated, right?) — and while our MFA Creative Writing Program might be smaller than others, we do grow good writers here. When I joined the faculty in 1998, I was excited by the high caliber of both faculty and students. Twenty-five years later, I remain just as if not more excited, and look forward to all the that awaits us in our continued growth.

This essay was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of Barely South Review , ODU’s student-led literary journal. The University’s growing MFA in Creative Writing program connects students with a seven-member creative writing faculty in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

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