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Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
with an Emphasis in Prose
(a minimum of 11 semester course credits)
The basic curricular components of this program consist of four writing workshops, 4 literature credits, two electives and the thesis credit:
- one of the 4 literature credits must be graduate (200) level only (can be met with craft)
- two of the 4 literature credits may be upper-division undergraduate (100) level
- one of the 4 literature credits may be taken through Independent Study (ENG 295)
- craft and graduate (200) level only requirements may not be satisfied through Independent Study (ENG 295)
Writing Workshops: At least three of your four required writing workshops must be in your primary genre, in this case prose. Both fiction and creative nonfiction workshops count toward workshops in your genre. Each semester we offer at least one workshop in short fiction, one workshop in the novel, and one in creative nonfiction. We also offer a graduate workshop in writing for magazines in the fall semester (please note that this class, ENG 269, can be taken for workshop credit only once) and a graduate workshop in fiction for children and young adults in the spring. Some students have found it useful to explore other genres (i.e., poetry) as well. We do recommend that you work with several different instructors, as exposure to varied perspectives is crucial to your development as a prose writer. Registration for workshops is facilitated through the graduate coordinator’s office, which places students in workshops based upon student requests and availability of seats. You’ll be notified of your workshop placement prior to the beginning of online registration, and will then register for that course along with your other selected courses. Please note that we can only guarantee each student one workshop in the primary area of her/his specialization per semester. Students are welcome to take more than one workshop per semester on a space-available basis.
Literature Classes: Literature, theory, and craft courses may be taken to fulfill the literature requirement. Literature classes focus on the study of a literature from a particular period, genre, theme, or author. Craft classes are for MFA students only, and they are literature courses taught from the perspective of practicing writers. You must take at least one craft class, but no more than two craft classes may be taken for literature credit. At least one of your craft classes should be in your genre. If you’d like to take more than two craft classes, they can be taken for elective credit.
Literature courses ofered through the Ethnic Studies Department, as well as courses in English in the Modern Languages and Literatures programs, may be included. If you are unsure whether a class counts towards your literature requirement, please check with your advisor.
Electives: For your two electives, you can take craft classes, literature classes, pedagogy classes,* and creative writing workshops in the English Department as well as classes offered through the Modern Languages and Literatures programs, the Ethnic Studies Department, and the Book Art Program. Language courses taken through the Modern Languages and Literatures programs can be particularly useful if you intend to pursue a PhD in either creative writing or literature. You may also take classes outside of the department in programs across the college (check with individual departments for registration restrictions).
Thesis Credit: ENG 250 is the course for thesis credit, typically completed in the second year. The course does not have an assigned class period, but it does require regular meetings between the student and the thesis director (thesis directors are selected in the third semester). You register for the thesis course during your second year, using the section number that corresponds with your thesis director.
*If you are interested in teaching composition in the future or in working as a teaching assistant (TA) at Mills, you may also want to consider taking Theories and Strategies of Teaching Writing (ENG 272) as an elective. If you become a TA, either in the Writing Center or in the ENG 001 classroom, ENG 272 is required. In addition, if you are interested in teaching creative writing, you may want to consider taking Theories of Creativity and the Teaching of Creative Writing (ENG 271) as an elective.
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