English and Comparative Literature

MFA - Creative Writing

Requirements for Admission to Classified Standing

In addition to meeting minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate Division outlined in this catalog, an applicant must have:

A minimum of 24 semester hours of acceptable undergraduate course work in the major beyond freshman composition;

A 3.0 grade point average in major courses;

Approval by the departmental MFA in Creative Writing Committee;

For a foreign student, TOEFL score of 610 or higher.

Requirements for Admission to Conditionally Classified Standing

Students who do not qualify for classified standing but who meet university requirements for graduate admission and whose past performance gives promise of satisfactory completion of requirements for admission to classified graduate standing may, with the approval of the departmental MFA in Creative Writing Committee, be admitted as conditionally classified in the MFA program.

Requirements for Admission to Candidacy for the MFA in English

Admission to candidacy for the Master of Fine Arts degree in English requires favorable action by the departmental MFA in Creative Writing Committee. Applicants will observe the stipulations relative to such items as transfer credit, time limit, completion of the core requirement and scholarship stated in this catalog.

All candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, are required to:

• Complete an approved 48 unit program with a grade point average of 3.0 or better. At least 36 of these units must be graduate-level (i.e., 200-numbered) courses. Any upper division courses to be applied to the MFA must be approved in advance by the Creative Writing Director.
• Demonstrate competency in the theory and practice of literary production and scholarship by passing ENGL 201C.
• Demonstrate reading proficiency in a second language by passing a language examination. (This requirement is waived for students whose first language is not English or who have, within five years of achieving candidacy, earned a grade of "B" or better in the fourth semester of an acceptable foreign language course).
• Write a substantial work, with critical introduction, in one of the four program emphases, Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, or Script Writing.
• Pass the MFA Comprehensive Examination.