http://www.as.miami.edu/english/creativewriting/
Master of Fine Arts in Fiction and Poetry
The University of Miami’s MFA Program in Creative Writing offers a fully funded, two-year course of study in the writing of poetry, fiction, or cross-genre literature while providing substantial training in the teaching of creative writing and composition. Students may apply to receive a third year of funding, during which graduate students focus on professional development and publication as they continue to teach undergraduate writing courses. The program features a broad multilingual focus in a vibrant, multicultural city unlike any other. Enrollment is kept deliberately small to maximize student-teacher interaction, and faculty at UM are supportive of the linguistic and cultural differences that writers bring to their art.
Full Funding
The James Michener Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships support all our graduate students. Awards include a full tuition waiver and an annual stipend. MFA candidates teach one section of Introduction to Creative Writing per semester during their second year in the program or one section each of Creative Writing and Composition.
The Third Year
Students who proceed into a third year will teach Creative Writing and Composition, with additional professional development options in literary magazine editing and communications/public outreach. They will receive faculty mentorship towards professional development.
Graduates of the MFA in Creative Writing have gone on to publish award-winning novels, books of poetry, and creative nonfiction; have been awarded Stegner Fellowships and other residencies; and have gone on to find employment in teaching and publishing.
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Workshop Requirement | ||
| Students must take 12 credits of workshop in the genre they were admitted to. | 12 | |
| Creative Writing: Fiction III | ||
| Creative Writing: Poetry II | ||
| Form Requirement | ||
| Students must take 12 credits of forms in the genre they were admitted to. | 12 | |
| Form in Poetry | ||
| Form in Fiction | ||
| Thesis Requirement | ||
| ENG 810 | Master's Thesis | 6 |
| Required Electives 2 | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
- 1
Third Year Option:
ENG 820 is required for third year students. Students make take up to 6 credits in electives during their third year.
- 2
Required electives must be literature or forms courses, or other graduate courses at the university.
Sample Plan of Study
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credit Hours | |
| ENG 601 or 602 | Creative Writing: Fiction III or Creative Writing: Poetry II | 3 |
| ENG 604 or 605 | Form in Poetry or Form in Fiction | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| ENG 691 | TAs Only | 0 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| ENG 601 or 602 | Creative Writing: Fiction III or Creative Writing: Poetry II | 3 |
| ENG 604 or 605 | Form in Poetry or Form in Fiction | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Creative Writing (TAs Only) | ||
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Year Two | ||
| First Semester | ||
| ENG 601 or 602 | Creative Writing: Fiction III or Creative Writing: Poetry II | 3 |
| ENG 604 or 605 | Form in Poetry or Form in Fiction | 3 |
| ENG 810 | Master's Thesis | 3 |
ENG 105 | TAs Only | |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| ENG 601 or 602 | Creative Writing: Fiction III or Creative Writing: Poetry II | 3 |
| ENG 604 or 605 | Form in Poetry or Form in Fiction | 3 |
| ENG 810 | Master's Thesis | 3 |
| Creative Writing (TAs Only) | ||
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
Mission
The MFA in Creative Writing Program provides its students with a thorough understanding of how to write publishable novels, collections of stories, and books of poetry in order to contribute to the global literary canon; a range of critical and craft-based strategies in order to attain their creative and artistic vision; the skills needed to establish their own expertise, voice and style within the literary genre of their choice; the necessary preparation for careers in the production of contemporary literatures and arts administration within and outside of the academy; and training to teaching in two- and four-year colleges and in research universities. In addition to guiding our students in the writing and revision of their creative theses, we work to assist them in publishing their books, developing a forum for the reading of these works, and obtaining appropriate employment.
Goals
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to write publishable novels, collections of short stories and books of poetry in order to contribute to the global literary cannon.
- Students will master a range of critical and craft-based strategies in order to attain their creative and artistic vision and demonstrating the skills needed to establish their own expertise, voice and style within the literary genre of their choice by submitting a final portfolio and by participating in the Closing Conversation.
- Students will cultivate the necessary skills for careers in the production of contemporary literatures and arts administration.
