georgia college mfa creative writing

Graduate Catalog 2022-2023

Graduate Catalog 2022-2023 > College of Arts and Sciences > Creative Writing M.F.A.

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Dr. Kerry Neville, Coordinator Shordae Carswell, Administrative Assistant

Department E-mail: [email protected]

The MFA degree prepares artists—in this case, short story writers, novelists, poets, and other writers—to study their craft seriously and create publishable works in their respective genres. Although students in the program will typically focus on one genre, they are required and encouraged to explore at least one other genre. To this end, the program will prepare resourceful and open-minded writers rather than specialists. Because great writers are also great readers, the program will also expect students to study literature and other graduate courses in linguistics, criticism, and pedagogy in the Department of English. In this way, the program prepares talented writers by taking advantage of complementary, current departmental talents and strengths. Creative Writing courses will emphasize studio work (peer workshops and mentoring from distinguished, publishing writers) that will be complemented by studies in literature, poetics, prose forms, the pedagogy and practice of teaching writing, and other special topics related to the aesthetics of creative writing. The program enhances a student’s curricular experience with superior extracurricular experiences not only in creative writing but also in editing, publishing, arts programming, education, and community service. Finally, the MFA Program in Creative Writing is designed to fulfill the University’s institutional mission—to be the state’s designated public liberal arts university—a mission ideally suited to creative writing. The writer more than any other artist is a student of all the liberal arts, ranging among the humanities, the social sciences, the fine arts, and the sciences, a student whose work is both in the classroom and in the world at large.  Although MFA graduates will pursue positions in teaching, editing, publishing, marketing, arts-programming, and related fields, the program's primary goal is focused on helping talented writers improve, refine, and develop their careers as writers .

Regular Admission Requirements

Admission to the MFA in Creative Writing Program is competitive and based primarily (but not exclusively) on the candidate’s Writing Portfolio. Students regularly admitted to the program will successfully meet the following criteria.

• Writing Portfolio.  A writing sample in your thesis genre (please label as fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction). Submission should indicate the genre to which you are applying: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Submit up to 10 pages of poems (typed, single-spaced, no more than 1 poem per page); or submit up to 20 pages of prose, one or two short stories or creative nonfiction essays/memoir excerpt (typed and double- spaced).
• Statement of Purpose. Submit a 500-word essay (typed, double-spaced) in which you discuss expectations and goals for your writing, as well as any other relevant points you may wish to make regarding your studies in the MFA program.
• Submit three letters of recommendation from teachers or other references able to comment on your creative writing and your potential for successful graduate study. 
• Resume or CV.
• Submit one copy of official transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate studies (including institutions where you only took courses but did not complete a degree). An appropriate four-year degree is required for admission. Transcripts should reflect prior coursework in both intuitive and discursive writing as well as critical reading. Student transcripts should demonstrate a 3.0 GPA (based on a 4.0 scale) in the final 60 hours of undergraduate work and in all prior graduate-level work; however, the 3.0 GPA is not a requirement, but only a measure of what most of our students have achieved in their academic work (most have had even higher GPA's in prior academic work).

Please submit your writing portfolio, resume, and statement of purpose directly to the MFA Program Coordinator via [email protected] . Submit three letters of recommendation directly to the Graduate Admissions Office via the online Graduate Application portal or [email protected] .

Provisional Admission

Students who do not meet regular admission criteria may be admitted provisionally. After completing nine hours of coursework (at least one course should be in literature) with at least a “B” in each course, the student may be granted regular admission status. Students enrolled with provisional status are not eligible for graduate assistantships.

Academic Dismissal

Only grades of "B" or higher in graduate courses will count towards the MFA degree. Students who receive more than one grade of "C" or lower in a graduate course, or whose GPA at any time falls below a 3.0, will be dropped from the program.

Degree Requirements

Basic Requirements:

• All students complete 42 hours (34 hours coursework and 8 thesis hours). See below for specific requirements relating to coursework and thesis work.
• Only grades of “B” or higher in graduate courses will count towards the MFA degree. Students who receive more than one grade of “C” or lower in a graduate course, or whose GPA at any time falls below a 3.0, will be dropped from the program.
• No more than six hours of coursework may be transferred from another M.A. in English or MFA program (if approved by the program director), and no hours may be transferred in a student’s major writing genre. Only courses in which the student earned a “B” or higher will be considered for transfer credit.
• The MFA program of study is designed to be completed in three years and must be completed in no more than four years. All degree work (with the exception of accepted transfer credits), including the thesis, must be completed in residence.

Program of Study

All students take 34 hours of coursework: ENGL-MFA 4-semester credit hour courses (28 hours); ENGL 3-semester credit hour courses (6 hours):

12 hours: 5000-level and 6000-level courses in the student's major writing genre (3 courses): ENGL 5021 , ENGL 6021 and ENGL 6025 (poetry genre); ENGL 5012 , ENGL 6012 and ENGL 6026  (creative nonfiction genre); ENGL 5022 , ENGL 6022 and ENGL 6026 (fiction genre).

4 hours: Course in non-thesis genre workshop (1 course); ENGL 5011 , ENGL 5012 , ENGL 5021 , or ENGL 5022 . Note that 5000-level workshops in a genre are the prerequisite for 6000-level seminars in a genre (see electives section below).

12 hours: Electives chosen from ENGL 5011 , ENGL 5012 , ENGL 5021 , ENGL 5022 , ENGL 6012 , ENGL 6021 , ENGL 6022 , ENGL 6024 , ENGL 6025 , ENGL 6026 (these courses are repeatable; some have prerequisites; approved ENGL 5950 MFA Special Topics may also be chosen. 

6 hours: Non-MFA ENGL 5000 -6000 level courses (at least one course at the 6000 level).

All students also complete the MFA Thesis (8 hours). See below for more details about the thesis and thesis defense.

For a list of all ENGL graduate courses, visit the  ENGL courses page in the graduate catalog.

Total Credits required: 42

Other Requirements

Thesis and Thesis Defense. Students typically devote two years (four semesters) to their thesis work. With the thesis director (selected near the end of the student’s first year), the student will establish a timetable and proposal for completing the thesis in a timely manner. In the second (or early in the third) year the student and thesis director will establish a committee of two other departmental graduate faculty members and one outside reader (optional) proficient in that student’s major genre who will also read the final draft of the thesis. The student’s thesis will be a full-length creative work of superior literary quality (for example a novel, a collection of short stories, a collection of poems, a collection of essays or book-length work of creative nonfiction). Students must enroll for at least one thesis hour and defend their thesis in the semester in which they graduate. If a student does not complete the thesis in the Spring semester of the third year, the student must register for at least one thesis hour in the semester in which the student defends the thesis and graduates. The thesis defense will include a presentation to the thesis committee of aesthetic and other issues related to the student’s work, as well as questions and comments from the thesis committee. Students also participate in a short reading from the thesis and any other curricular or extra-curricular questions related to the student’s progress.  Students are required to submit to the library electronic copies of the thesis at a cost determined by the Ina Dillard Russell Library.

The general advisor of all students working towards the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree is the Coordinator of the MFA Program. However, students should work closely with their thesis advisors in preparation for a specific thesis project.

Graduate Assistants: Teaching Fellows

Students selected for MFA graduate assistantships may apply to teach (typically in their second and third years); teaching Fellows must meet certain eligibility requirements (including the completion of 18 hours of graduate ENGL credit) in order to teach.  Teaching Fellows will also be required to take additional pedagogy course work (beyond their degree course work) and participate in training, orientation, and other supervisory requirements as determined by the Department of English. 

Please contact the Department of English for more details about the application process.

Further Information

Please visit the Creative Writing Web site for more details about the program, courses offered, and the creative writing community at GC. Inquiries about the program, graduate assistantships, and other forms of financial assistance should be directed to the MFA Program, Department of English, CBX 44, Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA 31061. Telephone: 478-445-3509. Fax: 478-445-5961. E-mail: [email protected] .

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MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN CREATIVE WRITING

Martin Lammon, Coordinator E-mail: [email protected]

The MFA degree prepares artists—in this case, short story writers, playwrights, novelists, poets, and other writers—to study their craft seriously and create publishable works in their respective genres. Although students in the program will typically focus on one genre, they are required and encouraged to explore at least one other genre. To this end, the program will prepare resourceful and open-minded writers rather than specialists. Because great writers are also great readers, the program will also expect students to study literature and other graduate courses in linguistics, criticism, and pedagogy in the Department of English and Rhetoric. In this way, the program prepares talented writers by taking advantage of complementary, current departmental talents and strengths. Creative Writing courses will emphasize studio work (peer workshops and mentoring from distinguished, publishing writers) that will be complemented by studies in literature, poetics, prose forms, and the teaching of creative writing. The program enhances a student’s curricular experience with superior extracurricular experiences not only in creative writing but also in editing, publishing, arts management, education, and community service. Finally, the MFA Program in Creative Writing is designed to fulfill the University’s institutional mission—to be the state’s designated public liberal arts university—a mission ideally suited to creative writing. The writer more than any other artist is a student of all the liberal arts, ranging among the humanities, the social sciences, the fine arts, and the sciences, a student whose work is both in the classroom and in the world at large.

REGULAR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Admission to the MFA in Creative Writing Program is competitive and based primarily (but not exclusively) on the candidate’s Writing Portfolio. Students regularly admitted to the program will successfully meet the following criteria.

• Writing Portfolio. Submit 10 poems (typed, single-spaced); OR submit two short stories or creative nonfiction essays (about 10-20 pages each, typed and double-spaced) and no more than 50 pages (typed, double-spaced) if submitting chapters from a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction; OR one act of a full-length play. Note: Plays may be typed in a standard dramatic format.
• Statement of Purpose. Submit a 500-word essay (typed, double-spaced) in which you discuss expectations and goals for your writing, as well as any other relevant points you may wish to make regarding your studies in the MFA program.
• Submit three letters of recommendation from teachers or other references able to comment on your creative writing and your potential for successful graduate study.
• Submit one copy of official transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate studies (including institutions where you only took courses but did not complete a degree). An appropriate four-year degree is required for admission. Transcripts should reflect prior coursework in both intuitive and discursive writing as well as critical reading. Student transcripts should demonstrate a 3.0 GPA (based on a 4.0 scale) in the final 60 hours of undergraduate work and in all prior graduate-level work; however, the 3.0 GPA is not a requirement, but only a measure of what (most of our students have achieved in their academic work (most have had even higher GPA's in prior academic work).
• Submit one copy of official test scores in the general test of the GRE or the MAT. Acceptable scores are usually in the 50th percentile or higher.

NOTE: Please submit your Writing Portfolio and Statement of Purpose directly to the MFA Program Coordinator. ALL other materials need to be sent directly to the Graduate Admissions Office. Please see the MFA Web site for complete application details.

PROVISIONAL ADMISSION

Students who do not meet regular admission criteria may be admitted provisionally. After completing nine hours of coursework (at least one course should be in literature) with at least a “B” in each course, the student may be granted regular admission status. Students enrolled with provisional status are not eligible for graduate assistantships.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL

Only grades of "B" or higher in graduate courses will count towards the M.F.A. degree. Students who receive more than one grade of "C" or lower in a graduate course, or whose GPA at any time falls below a 3.0, will be dropped from the program.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Basic Requirements:

• All students complete 42 hours (33 hours coursework and 9 thesis hours). See below for specific requirements relating to coursework and thesis work.
• Only grades of “B” or higher in graduate courses will count towards the MFA degree. Students who receive more than one grade of “C” or lower in a graduate course will be dropped from the program.
• No more than six hours of coursework may be transferred from another M.A. in English or MFA program, and no hours may be transferred in a student’s major writing genre. Only courses in which the student earned a “B” or higher will be considered for transfer credit.
• The MFA degree is designed to be completed in three years and must be completed in no more than four years. All degree work (with the exception of accepted transfer credits), including the thesis, must be completed in residence.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

Most students take 33 hours of coursework:

8-12 hours: 5000-level and 6000-level courses in the student's major writing genre (2-3 courses)

4-8 hours: Course(s) in at least one other writing genre (1-2 courses)

4 hours: Teaching Creative Writing Seminar (6024)

4 hours: Poetry & Poetics (6025), or Prose Forms (6026)

9 hours: Non-Creative Writing courses (at least one at the 6000-level)

All students also complete the MFA Thesis (9 hours). See below for more details about the thesis and thesis defense.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Foreign Language. Students are expected to achieve the fourth level of study in a modern foreign language. If students did not meet this requirement in their prior undergraduate or graduate work, they must demonstrate proficiency in a modern foreign language. Students either must achieve this requirement by passing the fourth-level language course GC (2002)or must pass a translation exam usually administered in the student's second year of study.

Thesis and Thesis Defense. Students typically devote two years (four semesters) to their thesis work. With the thesis director, the student will establish a timetable and proposal for completing the thesis in a timely manner. In the second year, the student and thesis director will establish a committee of two other departmental graduate faculty members and one outside reader (optional) proficient in that student’s major genre who will also read the final draft of the thesis. The student and thesis director will then establish a timetable and proposal for the thesis. The student’s thesis will be a full-length creative work of superior literary quality (for example a novel, a collection of short stories, a collection of poems, a full-length play, a collection of essays or book-length work of creative nonfiction). Students may take no more than six thesis hours in any one semester. Students must enroll for at least one thesis hours and defend their thesis in the semester in which they graduate. If a student does not complete the thesis in the Spring semester of the third year, the student must register for at least one thesis hour in subsequent Fall and/or Spring semesters until the thesis is successfully defended (as per other degree requirements, this should be no later than Spring semester of the student's fourth year). The thesis will include a presentation of aesthetic and other issues related to the student’s work, as well as questions and comments from the thesis committee and others in attendance. Students also participate in a short reading from the thesis.

The general advisor of all students working towards the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree is the Coordinator of the MFA Program. However, students should work closely with their thesis advisors in preparation for a specific thesis project.

GRADUATE TEACHING FELLOWS

Graduate Teaching Fellowships are awarded selectively to students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing in order to provide such students with an educationally and professionally valuable opportunity to gain experience as college-level classroom instructors in a supervised, evaluated setting. The policies and procedures for the awarding of Graduate Teaching Fellowships, and for supervising and evaluating the success of individual Teaching Fellows, are as follows:

Eligibility:

Students enrolled in the MFA Program in Creative Writing are eligible for Graduate Teaching Fellowships through either:

• Holding an M.A. degree from an accredited institution in either English or a closely related area, in which case the student must have passed 18 graduate hours or more of courses in English or courses which are demonstrably similar to those he or she would have taken in English (e.g., a course in composition instruction or pedagogical theory offered by a school of education rather than an English department); OR
• Passing 18 graduate hours in English at GC, or other accredited institutions (or a combination of hours at both GC and other institutions, at least 9 hours of which must be passed at GC) with grades of B or better in all courses. Teaching Fellows are also required to take the graduate seminar “Theories of Composition and Literature” before or during their first semester of teaching).

NOTE: All students eligible for Teaching Fellows appointments must also take Theories of Composition and Literature (ENGL 6112), unless they have had a similar course in their previous degree program (as determined by the MFA Program Coordinator). First year students on assistantship but not eligible for a Teaching Fellowships will serve as consultants in the University Writing Center and in other departmental capacities.

Eligibility does not guarantee that a student will receive a Graduate Teaching Fellowship. However, most students on assistantship will be assigned teaching duties in their second and third years (in composition, literature, and creative writing).

Selection of Graduate Teaching Fellows:

Selection of Graduate Teaching Fellows is competitive on the basis of grades, faculty evaluations from external recommendations and from GC faculty, and other considerations such as evaluation of a students’ suitability for classroom teaching by the Coordinator of the MFA Program, the Department Teaching Fellows Coordinator. In every case, students are selected and assigned courses contingent upon program needs and availability of courses.

Training of Graduate Teaching Fellows:

Graduate Teaching Fellows who do not already hold an appropriate graduate degree, and who have not already taken a similar pedagogy course (as determined by the MFA Program and Composition coordinators), will be required to take ENGL 6112 , Theories of Composition and Literature. Also, all Graduate Teaching Fellows will be required to attend various training and orientation sessions, led by the Teaching Fellows Coordinator, in order to receive instruction in practical pedagogical strategies. In addition, all Graduate Teaching Fellows will be required to attend regularly scheduled discussion sessions, led by the Teaching Fellows Coordinator, concerning their progress and the challenges they have faced in the classroom.

Supervision of Graduate Teaching Fellows:

Graduate Teaching Fellows are under the general supervision of the Coordinator of the MFA Program, the Teaching Fellows Coordinator, and the Department Chair. Graduate Teaching Fellows will be assigned courses in consultation with the MFA Program Coordinator and the Department Chair. The Teaching Fellows Coordinator serves as primary faculty mentor, who assists Teaching Fellows with the conduct of these courses and any problems that might arise. Other faculty members in the Department of English and Rhetoric also assist in mentoring Teaching Fellows.

Graduate Teaching Fellows will be expected to consult regularly (several times per semester) with the Teaching Fellows Coordinator and other faculty mentors who will make themselves available to assist Graduate Teaching Fellows in conducting their courses; however, at all times the Graduate Teaching Fellow is fully responsible for the actual conduct and instruction of such courses.

Evaluation of Graduate Teaching Fellows:

All Graduate Teaching Fellows will be evaluated both through normal University and departmental faculty course evaluation procedures, as well as through procedures intended specifically for them:

• All Graduate Teaching Fellows will administer Student Opinion Surveys for every course they teach
• As soon as practicable, the Teaching Fellows Coordinator will meet with each Graduate Teaching Fellow to discuss the student evaluations.
• At least once each semester, the Teaching Fellows Coordinator or other faculty member will meet with the Graduate Teaching Fellow to provide constructive feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of the meeting observed.

None of these procedures is intended to preclude more extensive evaluation and support of Graduate Teaching Fellows where appropriate.

Courses Available for Graduate Teaching Fellows, Teaching Loads, and Summer Teaching:

Graduate Teaching Fellows will usually teach ENGL 1101, English Composition I; ENGL 1102, English Composition II; and ENGL 2208, Introduction to Creative Writing, although other courses may be assigned in exceptional circumstances. Teaching Fellows may also be assigned as “mentors” to undergraduate majors completing Senior Capstone Thesis or studying in the special topics courses connected to The Peacock's Feet or the Early College Writing the Schools projects, as assigned by the MFA Program Coordinator on a case-by-case basis. Generally, Graduate Teaching Fellows usually teach two courses per semester (a total of four per academic year). Exceptions to the 2/2 load occur usually when a Teaching Fellow is assigned other instructional or program duties (for example, working in the offices of the program's professional journals). Graduate Teaching Fellows are eligible for summer teaching when it is available.

CAREER INFORMATION

The MFA degree program is foremost about preparing writers to publish their works. Here, you will be immersed in writing and reading, preparing your book of short stories or poems, your novel, script, or memoir, getting ready to send your manuscript to agents or publishers. While your writing life comes first, the program also helps to prepare students for work as teachers, editors, arts administrators, and other positions in fields related to writing, reading, and the arts. All students take “Teaching Creative Writing,” and also have opportunities to work with the faculty on editing and arts programming projects, acquiring skills useful to future job searches after graduation.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please visit the Creative Writing Web site for more details about the program, courses offered, and the creative writing community at GC. Inquiries about the program, graduate assistantships, and other forms of financial assistance should be directed to the MFA Program Coordinator, CBX 44, Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA 31061. Telephone: (478) 445-4581. Fax: (478) 445-5961. E-mail: [email protected] .

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The Creative Writing Program

The PhD in English Literature with Creative Dissertation at the University of Georgia is for writers who wish to advance their expertise and sophistication as scholars. Our students are accomplished poets, fiction writers, essayists, translators, and interdisciplinary artists who are ready to move beyond the studio focus of the MFA to a more intensive program of literary study. Over the course of the five-year program our students develop research specialties that complement their writing practice and prepare them professionally for a teaching career at the university or college level.

Our creative writing faculty are nationally and internationally recognized writers and translators with academic specializations in a variety of literary and theoretical fields, including Genre Theory, Poetics, Global Literature, Native American Literature, African American Literature, Postcolonial Literature, and Translation Studies. Our program fosters serious conversations among our students about aesthetics and criticism, experience and culture, and politics and history—not only in the classroom but through public readings and lectures. Our faculty and students play an active role in the cultural life of Athens, both as artists and organizers.

Program Overview

During the first two years of study our Ph.D. candidates select from course offerings in the English Department, seminars that signal both our faculty’s recognition of intellectual and disciplinary change and our abiding commitment to traditional literary history. Each student takes at least one Creative Writing course a year in addition to courses in various literary specialties. A list of our department’s recent graduate course offerings can be found here .  Prior to beginning their third year, students prepare reading lists for comprehensive exams in three academic research fields of their choosing. Every CWP student chooses “Forms and Craft” as one of their exam areas. This reading list serves as a research field unique to each writer’s approach to their particular genre. Some of the “Forms and Craft” lists designed recently by CWP students include, “The Midwestern Novel”; “Occult and Visionary Poetics”; “History of Surrealism”; “Monstrosity in Epic Poetry”; and “Literary Translation: Theory and Practice.” The two other exam fields should complement and expand the student’s areas of expertise beyond craft in order to broaden their historical and theoretical understanding of literature. In recent years, CWP students have elected to take exams in fields such as, “A Global History of the Novel,” ”Modernism and the Historical Avant-Garde,” “Aesthetic Theory,” ”African American Literature,” “Latinx Literature,” “Ecopoetics,” “The Southern Novel,” “Lyric Theory,” and “Science Fiction.”

Typically the exam committee is headed by a member of the creative writing faculty and two other professors from the department at large, experts in the respective exam areas. During the third year students read in preparation for written and oral exams. Each written exam takes the form of a twenty-page written exhibit in which the student answers a directive question formulated in conjunction with the exam area’s director. This exhibit should demonstrate the student’s grasp of the field as a whole and serves as a demonstration of their ability to teach in this area at the undergraduate level. Once the student has passed written exams, they are admitted to an oral exam overseen by the exam committee as a whole. Once the student passes both oral and written exams, they are admitted officially to candidacy for the PhD and begin working on their dissertation.

During their fourth and fifth years CWP students complete a creative dissertation with a critical introduction. The dissertation typically is a full-length work in a single genre—a work of fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry. The introduction is the author’s scholarly address to their audience. In the past students have used the introduction as a scholarly analysis of the state of the genre, a critical meditation on process informed by literary history, or a theoretical tracing of literary influence.

CWP Faculty

[email protected] | 706-542-1261

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Georgia College & State University

Georgia, united states.

A good MFA program is hard to find, but we believe the MFA Program at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia offers unique opportunities for MFA students dedicated to the craft and purpose of creative writing. GCSU’s famous alumna, Flannery O’Connor, lived in Milledgeville on her farm, Andalusia, and of our beautiful, Southern town, she wrote "When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville." Our MFA students certainly get a lot done in their three years in Milledgeville.

What makes us unique? We take pride in the fact that the MFA Program at Georgia College is a fully-funded, full-residency 3-year MFA program. All students admitted to our MFA program receive a Graduate Assistantship for all 3 years that includes a stipend and tuition remission. Self-funded students are accepted in special circumstances. We offer everything you could find at flagship state universities, but because we are part of a small, public Liberal Arts university, our students are immediately welcomed into a close-knit, creative community. We sponsor a Visiting Writers series, bringing nationally-renowned writers to campus each semester, as well as a graduate student reading series. Our award-winning faculty work closely with students not only as workshop teachers, but as professional mentors.

The MFA Program offers workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and because we believe in expanding creative possibility and passions for our students, we require students to take cross-genre workshops. Students may write their thesis in fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction. In addition to workshops, students take creative writing seminars in Poetry & Poetics or Prose Forms, pedagogy classes on the teaching of writing, and courses on literature and special topics.

Additionally, we offer courses in journal design and editing, so students get hand-on publishing and graphic design experience. Students are able to put their practical skills to creative and purposeful good use while serving as members of the editorial staff of Arts & Letters, our national literary journal, and one of the premier journals of the Southeast.

We are fully-funded: all students receive full tuition remission as well as a Graduate Assistantship. As part of this assistantship, students gain real-world teaching experience, and work at our Writing Center as tutors, teach undergraduate Composition and Introduction to Creative Writing Courses, and teach in our Early College Program which is modeled on the Writers in the Schools Program. This real world teaching experience is essential for those students who hope to continue with teaching careers and/or community service careers. We also participate in the Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program which offers assistantships to Peace Corps volunteers.

Faculty and graduate students alike all practice what we preach and teach at GCSU.

Our 42-hour program is designed to be a three-year program (although other options may be possible for those students that already have an MA Degree) and most students follow a plan that emphasizes course work in the first year and thesis work in the second and third years.

We welcome you to learn more about our admission application process and opportunities for graduate assistantships and other financial aid.

Find complete information at our website

Contact Information

231 W Hancock St. Campus Box 44, Creative Writing Milledgeville Georgia, United States 31061 Phone: (478) 445-3176 Email: [email protected] https://www.gcsu.edu/artsandsciences/english/mfa

Bachelor of Arts in English/Creative Writing Concentration +

Undergraduate program director.

The English major with a concentration in Creative Writing offers students the opportunity to combine advanced studies in literature and creative writing courses. Students take Introduction to Creative Writing and Intermediate Creative Writing (multi-genre courses) before taking advanced workshops (fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, creative nonfiction writing). Finally, students enroll in "Creative Writing Seminar" (usually taken in the second semester of the senior year) and complete a senior capstone that typically emphasizes engaged learning (Journal Editing; Teaching Writing in the Schools; Poetry Translation; Study Abroad Project; or Interdisciplinary Studies Project). GCSU is the University System of Georgia's designated Public Liberal Arts University and a member of the national Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). In keeping with that mission, the program encourages students to be active participants in the arts and sciences. The Peacock's Feet is the annual undergraduate student-edited journal featuring both written and graphic works. Students also participate in the monthly Red Earth Reading Series at the campus coffeehouse. Senior seminar students are eligible to compete in AWP's national Intro Awards competition. Each year, undergraduate students are eligible for a $50 Academy of American Poets prize, endowed by the distinguished author and Georgia native Frances Mayes. Each year, one or two students are selected by the faculty as "Outstanding Majors in Creative Writing," and receive a $100 award. Undergraduate students also meet and work with a wide range of visiting writers each year who give readings, visit classes, and teach special workshops.

Minor / Concentration in Creative Writing +

See "LITERATURE" for ENGL Major with CRWR concentration.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing +

Graduate program director.

Georgia College & State University offers a unique opportunity for students serious about achieving their goals as writers. The program limits enrollments to ensure that students receive individual attention, yet extracurricular activities (readings, festivals, a national literary journal, etc.) provide exciting cultural opportunities usually associated with larger programs. Milledgeville, Georgia, is an historic location for writers, home to Flannery O'Connor (who attended college here). The town was the state capital from 1803-1867 and features many restored buildings and homes. Campus and downtown coffee houses, restaurants, and taverns offer attractive places to meet and relax.

The MFA program is designed to provide small classes and one-on-one mentoring with MFA faculty, yet students will meet and work with a wide range of distinguished visiting writers (10-12 each year). In addition to classes devoted to nurturing their writing, students will gain significant experience also in teaching, editing, arts programming, and other activities useful to their future careers as working writers. Our graduates have published in many of the nation's most distinguished literary journals, have won prestigious national awards (including the $15,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation), and have been hired in full-time teaching positions at schools such as UNC-Chapel Hill, Indiana Wesleyan, NC State, West Virginia University-Parkersburg, St. John's University (NY), Penn-State-The Behrend College, Tusculum College (TN), and many other schools.

MFA students have opportunities for graduate assistantships with Arts & Letters Journal of Contemporary Culture, the Flannery O'Connor Review, the GC&SU Writing Center, and the Creative Writing Program's other programs. In addition, students who enter the program holding an MA in English (or related degree) may be eligible in their first year for "Teaching Fellow" positions. All students on assistantship teach in their second and third years. In addition to their stipends, Graduate assistants and Teaching Fellows also receive tuition waivers. GCSU's MFA in Creative Writing Program is the only such program in the nation to offer "Peace Corps Fellowships" to returning Peace Corps volunteers.

Also, each year, students may also apply for the Flannery O'Connor Alumni Scholarship as well as other university scholarships. (about 16 or more students receive scholarships each year). GC&SU is a member of AWP, and our students are eligible to compete for AWP's national Intro Awards (our students have won awards in 1999 and 2001). Students also participate at the national AWP conference (most years, about 20-25 students and faculty attend the national conference).

Martin Lammon

Martin Lammon (Faculty Emeritus) has won awards for both his poetry and creative nonfiction. His collection of poems, News from Where I Live, won the Arkansas Poetry Award, and his poems and essays have appeared in such journals as The Gettysburg Review, Hotel America, The Iowa Review, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Poets and Writers, and The Southern Review. Poems published in Nimrod were awarded a Pablo Neruda Prize. His essays about living in Costa Rica have been published in The Iowa Review (runner-up for the Iowa Literary Nonfiction award), Zone 3 (named a “notable essay” in Best American Essays 2009), and The Chattahoochee Review (winner of the Lamar York Prize for Creative Nonfiction). In 1997, he was named the Fuller E. Callaway endowed Flannery O'Connor Chair in Creative Writing. In 2007, he was selected for GCSU’s Distinguished Professor Award.

http://www.gcsu.edu/creativewriting/senior_faculty.htm

Laura Newbern

Laura Newbern's collection of poems, Love and the Eye, won the 2010 First Book Award from Kore Press. She’s also received a prestigious Writer's Award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, which recognizes outstanding emerging women writers and includes a monetary award of $25,000. She teaches poetry workshops, poetics, and other courses. Laura is also the Poetry Editor of Arts & Letters, a biannual journal of creative writing published by Georgia College. Her poems have been published in such journals as The Atlantic, Poetry, TriQuarterly, and others. Newbern also expresses her creative interests through black and white photography.

http://www.lauranewbern.net/

Peter Selgin

Peter Selgin is the author of Drowning Lessons (University of Georgia Press, 2008), winner of the 2007 Flannery O’Connor Award for Fiction; Life Goes to the Movies, a novel; and several children’s books. His memoir, Confessions of a Left-Handed Man: An Artist’s Memoir (University of Iowa Press, 2011), was short-listed for the 2012 William Saroyan International Prize; the title essay was selected for Best American Essays 2006. His is also the author of the memoir, "The Inventors," and the craft books: "by Cunning & Craft," "179 Ways to Save a Novel," and "Your First Page."

www.peterselgin.com

Kerry Neville

Kerry Neville received her PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, her BA from Colgate University, and was most recently an Assistant Professor of English at Allegheny College. She is the author of the short fiction collection, Remember To Forget Me, and of the award-winning short fiction collection, Necessary Lies. She is also a contributor to The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and The Fix. Her essays and stories have been named Notables in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays. She has twice received the Dallas Museum of Art Prize for Fiction, and has also been awarded The John Guyon Prize in Literary Nonfiction,The Texas Institute of Letters/Kay Cattarulla Prize for the Short Story, and the Short Story Book of the Year Prize from Independent Publisher Magazine. She is faculty for the FrankMcCourt/University of Limerick Summer Writing School. She was a 2018 Fulbright Scholar and taught in the M.A. Creative Writing Program at University of Limerick in Ireland

www.kerry-neville.com

Chika Unigwe

Dr. Chika Unigwe is the author of Better Never than Late, De Zwarte Messias, Night Dancer, On Black Sisters Street, De Feniks, Meulenhoff-Manteau, and two children's Readers, Ije at School and A Rainbow for Dinner. Her short stories have appeared in different anthologies including in Watchlist, New Daughters of Africa, and Lagos Noir. Her fellowships include but are not limited to a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at the Bellagio Centre, Italy , a UNESCO-Aschberg Fellow at the Civitella Ranieri Centre in Umbertide, Italy, a SYLT Fellow in Germany and a writing fellow at Cove Park, Scotland. She was a special guest lecturer at Tubingen University, Germany, and a Bonderman Assistant Professor of Practice at Brown University. She has won a BBC short story competition, a commonwealth short story prize, has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing and awarded a 2016 Pushcart Prize Special Mention. In 2012, she won the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, Africa's most important literary prize. She has judged literary prizes including the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.

www.chikaunigwe.com/

Kerry James Evans

Dr. Kerry James Evans is the author of the poetry collection, Bangalore, a Lannan Literary Selection. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship from Sewanee Writers' Conference, and he has taught poetry workshops, poetic forms and theory, and other courses at Florida State University and at Tuskegee University where he was an Assistant Professor. His poems have appeared in Agni, Narrative, Ploughshares, and other journals.

www.kerryjamesevans.com/

Publications & Presses +

Arts & Letters

Flannery O'Connor Review

Visiting Writers Program +

A half dozen or more visiting writers come to campus each year. See the MFA web site for complete information about the current year's calendar and information about recent past visiting writers (http://mfa.gcsu.edu).

Recent visiting writers include National Book Award winner Jaimy Gordon (fiction), Pulitizer Prize-winning poet Stephen Dunn, and two-time National Book Critics Circle Award winner Albert Goldbarth (poetry); best-selling authors Tayari Jones, Bret Lott and Jayne Anne Phillips; Jericho Brown, Faith Adiele, Carol Frost, and many others.

Reading Series +

Visiting Writers Series ( https://www.gcsu.edu/artsandsciences/english/visiting-writers )

The Martin Lammon Reading Series ( https://www.facebook.com/mfageorgiacollege/ )

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Well over ten thousand poets and writers maintain listings in this essential resource for writers interested in connecting with their peers, as well as editors, agents, and reading series coordinators looking for authors. Apply today to join the growing community of writers who stay in touch and informed using the Poets & Writers Directory.

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Georgia College & State University

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MFA Program

Poetry: Kerry James Evans, Laura Newbern Fiction and Nonfiction: Kerry Neville, Peter Selgin, Chika Unigwe

The program offers full funding (tuition waiver and teaching assistantship with stipend) for at least seven students each year. Self-funded students are accepted under special circumstances. Additional scholarships are given to these students during their second and third years in the program. The program also offers teaching fellowships, graduate assistantships, summer assistantships, Writing Center assistantships, and creative writing assistantships for Peace Corps Fellows.

Arts & Letters, Flannery O’Connor Review

The program hosts a visiting writers series, which brings in six writers to give readings and meet with students each year. Other features include a student reading series and the Writers in the Schools program with Georgia College Early College.

The application deadline to be considered for an MFA assistantship is February 1.

Danny Bauer, Ashlee Crews, Janet Dale, Emily Lake Hansen, Kristie Johnson, Steve Lavender, Michael McClelland, Miller Oberman, Shawn Parkinson, Daniel Plunkett, Monica Prince, TJ Sandella, Wayne Thomas, Seth Tomko, William Torgerson, Gwendolyn Turnbull, Christopher Varn

• Georgia College and State University

• MFA in Creative Writing

Contact Information:

Mailing address:.

• Campus Box 44
• Milledgevile
• Program Director: Dr. Kerry Neville
• Program Contact: Nancy Fullilove
• Phone Number: (478) 445-3509
• Website: www.gcsu.edu/artsandsciences/english/mfa
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: Facebook
• Twitter: Twitter

Program Information:

• Degree: MFA
• Type: residency
• Length of Program: 3 years
• Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
• Enrollment: 25
• Total Credits Required: 42
• Application Deadlines: February 1
• Scholarships: yes (see website)
• Assistantships: yes (see website)
• Core Faculty: Dr. Kerry James Evans, Laura Newburn, Dr. Kerry Neville, Peter Selgin, Dr. Chika Unigwe
• Publishing/Editing Courses: yes (see website)
• Reading Series: Visiting Writers Series
• Literary Magazine: Arts and Letters
• Recent Visiting Writers: Pam Houston, Antonya Nelson, Peter Ho Davies, ZZ Packer, Paul Lisicky, Cecilia Woloch

Program description : A Good MFA Program is Hard to Find

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program offers workshops with award-winning faculty in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry; students may write their thesis in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Unlike some MFA programs, we not only encourage students to work in other genres, we require our students to take at least one workshop in a genre other than their thesis genre. In addition to workshops, students take creative writing seminars in Poetry & Poetics or Prose Forms, pedagogy classes on the teaching of writing, journal design, and courses on literature and special topics.

We are a fully-funded program. MFA-sponsored graduate assistants are assigned hours as “writing consultants” in the university Writing Center. Teaching Fellowships in Composition and in Creative Writing require a secondary application process, and students are eligible once they have completed the necessary credits and courses, which is usually after their first year. MFA G.A.s also divide their hours between the MFA/Arts and Letters office, the Flannery O’Connor Review office, or our teaching writing in the schools Early College project. MFA-sponsored graduate assistantships include a stipend and full-tuition remission (but does not include mandatory student fees and, unless eligible to be waived, mandatory student insurance).

Our 42-hour program is designed to be a three-year program. Most students follow a plan that emphasizes course work in the first year and thesis work in the second and third years.

How to Become a Writer in Georgia with a BFA, MFA or Similar Creative Writing Degree

Created by CreativeWritingEDU.org Contributor

There’s something unique about Georgia; how it disproportionately contributes to the literary and creative scenes of American cultural life.

Georgia is a place that inspires creative expression, even if not always for the right reasons. from the Civil War as the setting of Atlanta-native Margaret Mitchell’s all-time classic Gone with the Wind , the Civil Rights era and birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. who published some of the most impactful pieces on racial equality, to the present day as the home state of award-winning crime writer Karin Slaughter whose work has been adapted to the Netflix series Pieces of Her .

Maybe there’s something special about the combination of the Atlantic breeze, the anonymity offered by a sprawling city like Atlanta, the smell of fertile earth, and the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As yet, the mystery behind Georgia’s secret sauce for inspiring creative writers remains elusive.

MLK Jr. – A Person of Many Talents, Including Creative Writing

But MLK Jr. also deserves credit for his exemplary skill in creative writing. Indeed, one of the reasons he was a successful Civil Rights leader was because of his writing prowess, combined with a unique talent for oratory.

In his most famous “I Have a Dream” speech given from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights movement, MLK Jr. changed the course of history in less than 1,700 words. In that short bit of inspired prose he encapsulated huge concepts, capturing the zeitgeist of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation, Constitutional and Biblical principles, and archetypal human values, combining them all in a rhetorical masterpiece.

King’s skill as a writer didn’t just emerge overnight. After skipping a grade and entering high school in Atlanta’s Washington Park neighborhood, King chose English as a main focus and went on to enroll in college by the time he was 15 years old. He earned a doctoral degree at 26.

Other inspired pieces by Dr. King include, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” “A Time to Break Silence,” and, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”

Whether it’s themes of equal rights and freedom, de-industrialization, bucolic romanticism, Southern Gothic, or even true crime, Georgian writers have a larger-than-life footprint that shapes the cultural direction of our country.

Georgia’s local bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, and college campuses have long been fertile incubators for the state’s literary minds. Atlanta, Savannah, Columbus, Augusta, and Macon are all hubs of opportunity where you can connect with your fellow aspiring writers and rub elbows with the pros.

Eventually you’ll want to break out of doing more than just writing on the side and move up to the big leagues, which is when it’s time to start considering a BFA or MFA in creative writing.

Georgia’s Creative Writing Classes, Courses, and Workshops Can Prepare You for a Creative Writing Degree

Every published author will tell you there’s no prescriptive path towards becoming a writer and unlocking your inner creativity.

Savannah-native Flannery O’Conner, widely known for her short stories in the Southern Gothic style which won her the US National Book Award for Fiction, bemused that most people think they know what a story is, “until they sit down to write one.”

The art of creative writing has a unique meaning for each person. For some it’s a process of self-discovery. For others it’s the opposite: escapism. Or it could be something entirely different: observational, or cathartic.

In whatever way you choose to develop your writing talents, you’ll find it helpful to cross pollinate your thoughts with like-minded creatives.

The Atlanta Writers Club (AWC) has roots stretching back over 100 years and is a prime example of a well-established organization that strives to support local writers, foster quality craftsmanship, and promote reading in general. The AWC is the group behind the twice-a-year Atlanta Writers Conference where members can gain feedback on their work from established literary artists and publishers.

Naturally the AWC also hosts an annual writing contest, serves as a hub for writers looking to establish groups online and in the Atlanta metro area, and publishes a monthly newsletter.

Workshops, events, and building a general community of camaraderie among writers are all on the menu at the Georgia Writers Association (GWA), a non-profit organization open to all aspiring writers and based in Kennesaw. GWA was founded in 1994 by a poet, a prize-winning author, and a literary agent. It provides resources for writers at all stages of development with the goal of promoting diverse works and authors.

These are just some of the writing groups meeting in any of a dozen cities at any given time throughout Georgia. You can also stay connected to your local literary scene through circulars like the Sand Hills literary magazine.

Printed every spring and published by Augusta University, submissions are accepted for creative non-fiction, creative fiction, and poetry. Sand Hills is proud to be a place where submissions from new writers are published alongside those from established award-winning authors.

Local literary journals are also recruiting grounds for professionals looking for new talent. Peachtree  Publishers, University of Georgia Press, and Top Shelf Productions are all publishing houses based in Atlanta.

Writing Colleges in Georgia Offering Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Creative Writing Provide a Path to Becoming a Writer

Creative writers are stereotypically disorganized, pictured near a writing desk in the middle of the night, flanked by cats, next to a coffee cup and binders overflowing with scrap-paper notes. And even though the popular image of a writer at work doesn’t hold true for everyone, there’s no denying that a formal education in creative writing does help to bring order to chaos.

Years of writing groups, active reading, open mic nights, and offering up favorite lines with your buddies over a glass can all be tied together with professional residencies and academic discipline. There’s ultimately a difference between lifelong hobby writers and those who cross the Rubicon to the world of professional storytellers.

There’s no time like the present to up the professional ante and find the creative writing BFA or MFA program that’s right for you!

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Other Bachelor’s Degrees in Creative Writing in Georgia

Agnes scott college.

Accreditation: SACSCOC

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

• English Literature-Creative Writing

Berry College

EVANS SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

• Creative Writing

Emory University

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

• English and Creative Writing

Georgia College and State University

Public School

• English-Creative Writing concentration

Georgia State University

• English-Creative Writing

Mercer University

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

Piedmont University

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Reinhardt University

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Degree: Bachelor – BFA

Young Harris College

DIVISION OF HUMANITIES

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Other Master’s Degrees in Creative Writing in Georgia

Degree:  Master – MFA

Degree:  Master – MFA

Low-Residency MFA—Narrative Media Writing

Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Narrative Media Writing

In just two years, write a marketable screenplay or a publishable nonfiction manuscript and earn your MFA from the  Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication , home of the Peabody Awards and one of the top journalism schools in the country. This two-year low-residency program is designed to train writers who will be published and produced. The program offers students an unparalleled opportunity to develop narrative journalism and screenwriting skills that will equip them for long and varied careers. The program features a committed and diverse roster of accomplished authors, screenwriters, literary agents and other industry professionals who work closely with students to inspire and support each writer’s emerging craft and voice. 

Students may choose to concentrate in one of two focused genres.

Learn more about the  MFA concentration in Narrative Nonfiction .

Learn more about the  MFA concentration in Screenwriting .

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If you have any questions please email us at [email protected] ..

Return to:  3220 Department of English    

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 the program will be dropped from the M.F.A. program.

The M.F.A. student must complete satisfactorily a minimum of 36 hours of graduate coursework (12 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), 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 Credit Hours
• ENGL 8030 - Fiction Writing 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 8201 - Contemporary Poetry 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 8202 - Contemporary Fiction Craft 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 8160 - Form and Theory of Literary Craft 3 Credit Hours
• Creative Writing, M.F.A., Fiction Concentration  
• Creative Writing, M.F.A., Poetry Concentration  

Shortly before, or directly after completing all required Creative Writing coursework, and no later than the semester before a student plans to graduate, the student must submit to the thesis director, and to the Director of Creative Writing, a written proposal that describes the thesis project. The M.F.A. thesis must be a minimum of 50 pages of creative writing for a manuscript of poems or a minimum of 150 pages of creative writing for a manuscript of prose fiction. In addition, M.F.A. theses must include an introduction or an afterword that discusses the student’s approaches, styles, methods, and influences. 

• School of Arts & Letters

• Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing

Starting Fall 2023

Middle Georgia State University is pleased to offer a new Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing.

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing offers a fully online, 15-hour credential to prepare writers to use their talents in the professional world. 

This certificate supports writers already working in a creative field, students honing their craft before navigating the publishing world or film industry, and those pursuing a personally enriching goal in parallel to their current career. Whether writing is your career or your passion, this certificate will prepare you for success.

• Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing Curriculum

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing is:

• Fully online
• Taught in 8-week sessions. Students can complete this program in a calendar year.
• Designed to develop skills in multiple genres -- fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and narrative journalism -- as well as introduce writer to practical aspects of publishing
• Taught by published authors and master teachers

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing is a stand-alone degree. But students in MGA’s Master of Arts in Technical and Professional Writing (or who wish to pursue that degree) can count as up to two of your electives for the MATPW.

• A bachelor’s degree from an institutionally accredited college or university
• 2.50 undergraduate GPA
• Letter of application that states the applicant's interest in and goals for the program
• Evidence of aptitude for graduate study
• For residents of Georgia, documentation of lawful residence

To apply, go to the application page for the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing .

What classes would I take?

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing is a 15-credit hour program made up of these courses:

• CRWR 5040: Fiction Writing
• CRWR 5050: Poetry Writing
• CRWR 5440: Screenwriting
• CRWR 5700: Narrative Journalism
• CRWR 5900: Publishing and the Creative Writer

How long would it take to complete this program?

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing can be completed in a calendar year. Two courses will be taught in the Fall Semester (one in each 8-week session), two in the Spring Semester (one in each 8-week session), and one in the Summer Semester.

Does the program start only in the Fall Semester?

Not so. Admitted students may begin this graduate certificate program in fall, spring, or summer semester.

Can I combine this program with other MGA Graduate Programs, especially the MA in Technical and Professional Writing?

MGA’s School of Arts and Letters offers “stackable” graduate programs. In this case, any two of these courses can count as electives in MGA’s Master of Arts in Technical and Professional Writing. See Graduate Technical Writing Programs for more.

Completion of this graduate certificate qualifies applicants for expedited admission to the Master of Arts in Technical and Professional Writing.

If you are an MATPW student or graduate and have taken graduate CRWR classes as electives, those classes will count toward your Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing. You may take additional classes either during or after completion of your MATPW to add this graduate certificate as an additional credential. Please contact the graduate coordinator for further details.

Any testing requirements for admission?

We do not require admissions exams for acceptance into the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing

Financial aid available?

Federal financial aid is not currently available for this graduate certificate. However, we do offer Graduate Certificate students other financing options such as Nelnet payment plans , alternative loans , tuition assistance programs (TAP), and third-party scholarships.

Are letters of recommendation required?

Letters of recommendation are not required for the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing.

What is “evidence of aptitude for success in graduate-level studies”?

A graduate admissions committee determines aptitude for success by reviewing applicants’ official transcript(s) and statement of interest. No additional materials beyond those indicated in the application instructions are required.

Do I need to live in Georgia or near Macon?

Not at all. Both programs are fully online. MGA’s graduate writing programs have students from across Georgia, but also students from as far away as Pennsylvania, Texas, and Oregon.

Are there application deadlines?

Our admissions committee will make all efforts to review all complete applications before the start date of each semester, even those that come in after any deadline. Also, students whose applications are not complete before the 1 st session of a semester can be admitted for the 2 nd session. For admission deadline information for other graduate programs, select the program here:  https://www.mga.edu/graduate-admissions/programs/index.php  

How do I apply?

Fill out the application and prepare required documents as listed on the application page here .

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Dr. Monica Miller

Coordinator of Graduate Technical Writing Programs

Department of English 100 University Parkway Macon, GA 31206

Phone: 478.471.5799

Creative Writing @ Georgia State

February 15, 2024 is the deadline for graduate applications for those wishing to enter the PhD or MFA in fall 2024. We do not admit new PhD or MFA students in spring.

Georgia State University Creative Writing Program students enjoy the benefits of working with our award-winning faculty while living and writing in Atlanta, an international city with vibrant literary, art, music, and food cultures.

We award the PhD in English, Concentration in Creative Writing (one of the top 15 in the US, as ranked by Poets & Writers ), the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and the BA in English, Concentration in Creative Writing. You can explore the details of these degree programs in the Graduate Catalog and the Undergraduate Catalog . (The catalog system is annoying to navigate, sorry. Please feel free to ask for clarification.)

We offer a number of financial aid opportunities for graduate students, including the Paul Bowles Fellowship in Fiction, the Virginia Spencer Carr Fellowship in Prose, teaching assistantships, and editorial assistantships at the literary magazine Five Points .

Our students come from all over—Idaho, Ohio, Nigeria, California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and even Georgia. Those students publish with Catapult, Atria Books, Amistad/HarperCollins, University of Georgia Press, Random House, Texas Review Press, Seagull Press,  Algonquin Books, Jacar Press, Kelsay Books, St. Martin’s, University of North Texas Press, Alice James Books, Bloomsbury, Big Lucks, Anhinga Press, Scribner, Louisiana State University Press, 7.13 Books, Unbridled Books, Press 53, C&R Press, Woodhall Press, and elsewhere, and in Poetry , One Story , Conjunctions , Missouri Review , DIAGRAM , AGNI , American Short Fiction , Hobart , Gettysburg Review , Georgia Review , McSweeney’s , Gulf Coast , Carolina Quarterly , and many others. They win important prizes, fellowships, and contests, including the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, the AWP Award Series for Creative Nonfiction, the Colorado Book Award, the Vassar Miller Prize, the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, the Clay Reynolds Novella Prize, the Poets & Writers Writers Exchange Contest, the Hurston/Wright Award, the Walter E. Dakin Fellowship from The Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, and The World’s Best Short Short Story Contest. Recently a story collection by an alum was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner.

Our graduate faculty includes Danielle Cadena Deulen (poetry & creative nonfiction), Beth Gylys (poetry), John Holman (fiction), Sheri Joseph (fiction), and Josh Russell (fiction & creative nonfiction). Our undergraduate faculty includes Andrea Jurjevic (poetry & translation) and Megan Sexton (poetry & literary publishing). Every member of the Creative Writing Program faculty has published with top commercial, independent, or university presses a book or books that have received significant critical attention, and each faculty member has received major awards, honors, or fellowships, including the Whiting Writer’s Award, The Grub Street National Book Prize, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

The Creative Writing Program’s Events Series brings to campus nationally and internationally known writers who give public readings and lectures and meet with students for workshops and Q&A sessions. Recent visitors have included Ander Monson, Amaud Jamaul Johnson, Lauren Groff, David Shields, Natasha Trethewey, Lydia Davis, Dana Spiota, Sindiwe Magona, and Edward Hirsch.

Information about how to apply to the PhD and the MFA can be found here . (Go ahead and click “Apply Now” over on the left, even if you’re not ready to apply when you click the button. That click leads to the College of Arts & Science’s Graduate Admissions page, which has links to several other useful pages.) For more details, consult also the Graduate Catalog, which can be found here .

Information about the BA in English, Concentration in Creative Writing, can be found here . For more details, consult also the Undergraduate Catalog, which can be found  here .

If you’re interested in the PhD, note that applicants to the PhD program are generally expected to have completed a MFA in creative writing, or a master’s degree in English, creative writing, or a closely related discipline in the arts or humanities (history, philosophy, art, theater, art history, modern or classical languages, folklore, etc.) from an accredited college or university.

If you’re interested in the MFA, note that applicants to the MFA program are generally expected to have completed a bachelor’s degree with a major in English or its equivalent from an accredited college or university with at least a B average (3.0) in the undergraduate major. 

If you have any other questions about the Georgia State University Creative Writing Program’s degree programs (PhD, MFA, BA), courses, or events, please contact Professor Josh Russell , Director of Creative Writing.

More information about the GSU Creative Writing Program and Department of English can be found at the Department of English website .

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