Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Creative Writing at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)!

Here, you will find information on our course offerings, literary magazines, events, student and alumni accomplishments, and faculty bios. Whether you are looking to take an elective or more advanced courses in creative writing, you’ve come to the right place. New to UTRGV? Our ENGL 2316 Poetry Appreciation course fulfills the Creative Arts core curriculum requirement. Looking for an undergraduate introductory creative writing course? Consider ENGL 3351, Creative Writing I, where you will have the opportunity to write in multiple genres before moving on to more advanced creative writing courses in poetry, fiction, screenwriting, playwriting, creative nonfiction, and/or graphic literature. The Gallery Literary Magazine course provides opportunities for students to edit and produce the campus literary magazine, and our department also produces riverSedge, a national literary magazine edited by MFA faculty, students, graduates, and guest editors. We also host readings and events throughout the year featuring visiting writers, student writers, and faculty presentations.

Many students obtaining a B.A. in English opt to take the Creative Writing concentration. For other majors, we offer an 18-hour minor in Creative Writing and a 12-hour Certificate in Creative Writing. Other students opt to take a few Creative Writing electives and join the Creative Writing Club. Interested in applying to the MFA in Creative Writing Program? Our MFA is a 48-hour, terminal degree-granting program that offers writing workshops and form and theory/readings courses, preparing you for your culminating thesis project, a book-length manuscript with a critical introduction.

While the majority of our program’s course offerings are in English, we also offer a literary translation workshop and include Creative Writing and literature course options from the Department of Spanish in our degree plan. Students may choose to write their MFA thesis projects in either language or both. The department’s faculty and affiliate faculty can help guide you in writing your book-length work. We encourage MFA students to take courses and electives that align with their artistic goals and scholarly interests. As only two examples, with a little advance planning, students may seek to obtain a graduate certificate in Mexican American Studies and/or Gender and Women’s Studies while simultaneously pursuing the MFA in Creative Writing. This allows interested students the opportunity to engage critically with these intersecting fields of study as they write their work in the program, including their thesis project. For more information on these certificates, please visit their webpages and discuss your plans with the MFA program adviser.

Our faculty, students, and alumni are engaged in multiple literary communities—local, national, and international. We are proud of their book publications, honors, and fellowships, including an American Book Award, a National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship, and multiple book awards from the Texas Institute for Letters.

Please take a look at our alumni and student accomplishments pages on our website, review our newsletters, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Please reach out if you would like more information on any of our events or programs. We hope to see you at the events we host throughout the year.

Sincerely,
Emmy Pérez
Chair