Creative Writing (CRWR)

Abstract

The MFA in Creative Writing provides a professional course of study for graduate students seeking to perfect their ability to compose poems, stories, and novels. While primarily affording students intensive studio or practical work within their chosen genre, the MFA in Creative Writing requires that students incorporate such work with a traditional study of literature. The goal of the MFA in Creative Writing is to provide an atmosphere in which students can both hone their skills as writers and gain a theoretical and historical understanding of their craft.

Admissions Information

In addition to fulfilling Graduate School requirements, applicants to the M.F.A. degree program should present a 3.0 GPA. Applicants should submit a writing sample, for fiction, 30-50 pages, or for poetry, 10-15 poems, to the Office of the Creative Writing Program. Applications must be received by January 15. Admission is for the Fall semester only.

Application Deadlines

Fall

Spring

Domestic Applicants:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Domestic Applicant Deadlines

Applications must be received by January 15 .

This program does not accept applications for this semester.

International Applicants:
Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials

IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.

Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas

February 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1

June 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants

May 1
If Domestic Deadline is after May 1

October 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials

May 15
If Domestic Deadline is after May 15

October 31
If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Application Requirements

GRE General recommended
3 Letters of Recommendation
Writing Sample

	Fall	Spring
Domestic Applicants: U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
Domestic Applicant Deadlines	Applications must be received by January 15 .	This program does not accept applications for this semester.

International Applicants: Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.
Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas	February 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1	June 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants	May 1 If Domestic Deadline is after May 1	October 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials	May 15 If Domestic Deadline is after May 15	October 31 If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Degree Requirements

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

The M.F.A. degree program requires 36 credit hours of graduate work. The program balances courses in literature with writing workshops (30 hours), and requires a creative thesis (six hours). It offers concentrations in fiction and in poetry.

Facilities and Special Resources

Resources for research in the College Park and Washington, D.C. area are unsurpassed. The university's libraries hold over 2,000,000 volumes. In addition to the outstanding holdings of the Library of Congress, the area also offers the specialized resources of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Dumbarton Oaks, the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Center for the Study of the Visual Arts.

UMCP is a member of the Consortium of Institutions in the Washington area, which permits graduate students at College Park to enroll in courses at other universities for graduate credit at UMCP. Graduate students in English also may take courses for graduate credit at the Folger Institute of Renaissance and Eighteenth-Century Studies, which runs a series of seminars by distinguished scholars each year.

Financial Assistance

The Graduate School awards a small number of fellowships to candidates nominated by the various departments. In conjunction with the Graduate School, the English Department also awards teaching assistantships, the primary form of financial aid. Currently, about 85 teaching assistantships are awarded each year, and about 25 of these go to incoming students or to enrolled students who have not previously held them.

Contact Information

Additional information on admission, degree requirements, and financial aid can be obtained from:

Lindsay Bernal, Academic Coordinator
Creative Writing Program, 2116D Tawes Hall, Department of English, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740
MD 20740
Telephone: 301-405-3820
Fax: 301-314-7539
lbernal@umd.edu

http://www.english.umd.edu/creativewriting