University of North Carolina - Greensboro - MFA Creative Writing Posted on April 26th
The Master of Fine Arts in creative writing is a two-year residency program with an emphasis on providing students with studio time in which to study the writing of poetry or fiction. The program’s flexibility permits students to develop their particular talents through small classes in writing, literature, and the arts. As a community of writers, students read and comment on each other’s work under the guidance of resident and visiting faculty, who also meet with students in one-on-one tutorials.
the history
The MFA Writing Program at Greensboro is one of the oldest such programs in the country. During the early years, the University had among its faculty a number of noted writers, such as Allen Tate, Caroline Gordon, John Crowe Ransom, Hiram Haydn, Peter Taylor, and Randall Jarrell. They invited other distinguished writers to campus to read from their work and to meet with students; these writers included Robert Lowell, Robert Frost, Flannery O’Connor, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, and Saul Bellow. In 1965, under the leadership of Robert Watson, creative writing offerings were formalized. Since that time, enrollment has grown, but the faculty has intentionally kept the program small, enabling students to have individual conferences with faculty.
the degree
The MFA Writing Program is designed for full-time residential students. The degree requires thirty-six hours of course work. At least fifty-percent, or eighteen hours, of the course work must be above the 500 level.
core courses
Twelve to eighteen semester hours in writing courses are required, including workshop courses for poetry or fiction and tutorials in writing where students work one-on-one with a member of the faculty.
Candidates for the MFA degree in creative writing must take a minimum of four courses in a related academic field, including either The Structure of Fiction or the Structure of Verse. Students usually take their other academic courses in English or American literature. However, they may, with permission of the Director of the program, take graduate level courses offered by the College of Arts and Sciences, most often courses in history, translation, film, and art. The English Department’s sequence of editing courses allows students to develop skills in contemporary publishing.
Students may take internships for in-class teaching experience, and strong course offerings in rhetoric and composition afford further training in the teaching of writing.
thesis
Six semester hours toward the MFA degree are thesis hours. The thesis may be a novel, a collection of short stories, or a volume of poetry.
Terry Kennedy
MFA Writing Program
3302 HHRA Building
UNC Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27402
336.334.5459
