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    Nov 27, 2024  
American University Catalog 2023-2024 
    
American University Catalog 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Creative Writing (MFA)


Offered by the Department of Literature , College of Arts and Sciences .

Admission to the Program


Applicants must meet the minimum university requirements for graduate study. Applications from candidates who have majored in any undergraduate field will be considered, though a major in literature is desirable. Admission is based on samples of previous writing (25 pages of prose or 15 pages of poetry), academic record, and two letters of recommendation.

Degree Requirements


  • 36 credit hours of approved graduate work
  • Capstone Experience: 3 credit hours of LIT-797 Master’s Thesis Seminar (1-6)  resulting in a book-length manuscript of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction approved by the creative writing faculty after an oral examination on its merits, characteristics, and relations to the works of others

Course Requirements


Writing Workshops (12 credit hours)


Complete 12 credit hours from the following:

Note: Students may concentrate on one genre or work in several.

Electives (9 credit hours)


Complete 9 credit hours from the following if not taken to fulfill Writing Workshop or Literature, with no more than 3 credit hours from LIT-700 , LIT-701 , or LIT-704 :

Thesis (3 credit hours)