MFA Creative Writing
APPLY NOW REQUEST INFO GRADUATE COLLEGEMission Statement
The MFA Program acquaints aspiring writers with literature from a craft perspective, helps them to assimilate the conventions and techniques of at least one literary genre, and trains them to apply literary standards to their own creative work-in-progress and that of fellow students.
Program Overview
The MFA in Creative Writing is a 42-hour program of advanced study and practice of literary craft. This studio/research program provides aspiring writers with the ongoing support and challenge of a workshop environment, along with individualized guidance by faculty members who are published authors themselves.
The objective of this degree program is to prepare students for careers as writers, teachers at the college or university level, editors, literary translators, and other related professional careers.
The program provides further training in the art of contemporary literary writing and publishing, the artistic inspiration of other writers as peers and mentors, and a deepened understanding and appreciation of literary traditions, including those of the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere. The program's small workshop sizes concentrate student energies, promote success, and encourage a sense of community.
The program offers concentrations in Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Literary Translation (Spanish/ English), Playwriting, Screenwriting, and Graphic Literature.
Course requirements include 12 hours of studio workshops, six hours in the scholarly study of literary form and theory, ENG 632 – Studies in Composition Techniques or ENG 6330 – Becoming a Creative Writing Professional, and nine hours of literature electives. Six hours of free electives will be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor. In their final year in the program, students will prepare a creative thesis (ENG 7300 and ENG 7301) consisting of a manuscript in their chosen genre along with a critical introduction.
ENG 6330 – Becoming a Creative Writing Professional, and nine hours of literature electives. Six hours of free electives will be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor. In their final year in the program, students will prepare a creative thesis (ENG 7300 and ENG 7301) consisting of a manuscript in their chosen genre along with a critical introduction.
Descripción General del Programa
La Maestría en Escritura Creativa (MFA) es un programa de 42 horas de es-tudio avanzado y práctica de la artesanía literaria. Este programa de estudio / investigación proporciona a los aspirantes a escritores un apoyo continuo, retándolos a desarrollarse en un ambiente de taller, junto con la orientación individualizada por parte de profesores que son a su vez autores publicados.
El objetivo de este programa de estudios es preparar a los estudiantes para distintas carreras, ya sea como escritores, profesores universitarios, edito-res, traductores literarios, y otras áreas profesionales relacionadas.
El programa proporciona una mayor capacitación en el arte de la escritura y publicación literaria contemporáneas, la inspiración artística de otros escrito-res como compañeros y mentores, y una comprensión y apreciación más profundas de las tradiciones literarias, entre ellas las del Valle del Río Grande y otros lugares. El tamaño pequeño de los talleres del programa con-centra las energías de los estudiantes, promoviendo el éxito, y fomentando el sentido de comunidad.
El programa ofrece concentraciones en Ficción, Poesía, No-Ficción, Traduc-ción Literaria (Español / Inglés), Dramaturgia, Guión de Cine y Literatura Gráfica.
Programa, Profesorado, y Premios Estudiantiles
Los graduados y estudiantes actuales de nuestro programa han publicado su trabajo en muchas revistas literarias, incluyendo Fourteen Hills, Denver Quarterly, Nimrod International Journal, The Literary Review, Boulevard, Salt Hill, Front Porch, Aethlon, Marlboro Review, BorderSenses, y Texas Poe-try Review.
El programa de Maestría en Escritura Creativa publica una revista literaria nacional, riverSedge, fundada en 1977.