The MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing is designed for students who want to work on long-form projects such as a novel, a memoir, or a poetry or story collection during their time at DePaul. Study across genres and develop and revise your work under the mentorship of acclaimed authors and poets. Flexible admissions and genre guidelines let students design their perfect MFA, culminating in a required master’s thesis of a publishable quality.
While you find your voice as a writer, hone your skills and build your resume in either publishing or teaching through courses in Copyediting, Book Publicity, Book Design, Teaching Creative Writing, or Teaching English. Gain hands-on instruction in editorial work and desktop publishing with Big Shoulders Books, Poetry East, Crook & Folly, or Slag Glass City, including technical instruction in InDesign and the Chicago Manual of Style.
Because the MFA is a terminal degree qualifying graduates to teach at most colleges or universities, students interested in teaching should plan to take pedagogy courses to prepare for working in the classroom. Professional internships in DePaul classrooms offer excellent experience and preparation within the MFA program.
Additional graduate certificates are available in
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
- Teaching English in Two-Year Colleges
- Digital Humanities
Courses are offered weekday evenings on the Lincoln Park Campus and online. Check with the program director or www.english-exlibris.com for online course offerings. The program may be completed in as little as two years. Part-time options are available for working students.
MFA Admission Requirements
Students with a bachelor's degree in any field will be considered simultaneously for admission to the MA and MFA. MA in Writing and Publishing students can be considered for admission to the MFA if they have at least one remaining quarter of graduate study. Courses taken in the MA in Writing and Publishing can count toward the MFA as long as the student has not already graduated.
For admission, a student must also present the following:
- A strong record of previous academic achievement.
-
Relevant course work in creative writing or experience with creative writing gained on the job or through endeavors such as publishing original work and/or participating in a writers' circle or group.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Degree Requirements | 48 |
| Total hours required | 48 |
Students will be able to:
- Create original works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that demonstrate appropriate skills of narrative and lyric writing, such as the use of description, exposition, and research.
- Offer constructive criticism on works in progress that illustrates understanding of forms (the prose poem, the short story cycle, the lyric essay, etc.), and/or elements of voice, structure, and idea development.
- Apply the knowledge, vocabulary, and tools of writing craft in professional contexts, such as teaching, presenting conference papers, producing creative and multimedia content, and editing.\\n
- Demonstrate an understanding of literary production across diverse contexts, cultures, structures, systems, and traditions.
- Develop and sustain a substantial excerpt of a book-length work of literature that demonstrates the skills of narrative and/or lyric writing.
MFA Course Requirements
Writing Workshop
- All workshops, except for ENG 480, ENG 487, ENG 490, ENG 491, and ENG 497, are reserved for graduate students in the Department of English
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose six courses from the following list: | 24 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING | ||
| WRITING WORKSHOP TOPICS | ||
| TRAVEL WRITING | ||
| WRITING FOR MAGAZINES | ||
| SCIENCE WRITING | ||
| WRITING FICTION | ||
| WRITING POETRY | ||
| NOVELS I | ||
| NOVELS II | ||
| WRITING THE LITERATURE OF FACT | ||
Literature
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one course from the following list: | 4 | |
| CHAUCER | ||
| STUDIES IN ARTHURIAN LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERARY FORMS | ||
| TOPICS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE PROSE | ||
| STUDIES IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA | ||
| THE ESSAY: HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE | ||
| MILTON | ||
| STUDIES IN SHAKESPEARE | ||
| TOPICS IN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY NOVEL | ||
| STUDIES IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DRAMA | ||
| STUDIES IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AUTHORS | ||
| TOPICS IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN ENGLISH ROMANTIC PROSE | ||
| STUDIES IN ENGLISH ROMANTIC POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN VICTORIAN PROSE | ||
| STUDIES IN VICTORIAN POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH FICTION | ||
| NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRISH LITERATURE | ||
| TOPICS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN THE MODERN BRITISH NOVEL | ||
| STUDIES IN MODERN BRITISH POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN MODERN DRAMA | ||
| MODERN IRISH LITERATURE | ||
| CONTEMPORARY IRISH LITERATURE | ||
| TOPICS IN MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN AMERICAN AUTHORS | ||
| STUDIES IN THE MODERN AMERICAN NOVEL | ||
| STUDIES IN MODERN AMERICAN POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN AMERICAN DRAMA | ||
| TOPICS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| LITERARY THEORY | ||
| TOPICS IN LITERATURE | ||
| TOPICS IN GENRE AND FORM | ||
Electives in Language, Literature, Publishing and Teaching
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose two courses from the following list: | 8 | |
| STRUCTURE OF MODERN ENGLISH | ||
| HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE | ||
| LANGUAGE AND STYLE FOR WRITERS | ||
| STYLISTICS | ||
| THE ESSAY: HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE | ||
| TEACHING CREATIVE WRITING | ||
| TEACHING LITERATURE | ||
| TOPICS IN GENRE AND FORM | ||
| TOPICS IN PUBLISHING | ||
| TOPICS IN TEACHING | ||
| TOPICS IN EDITING | ||
Any courses in literature if not used to satisfy the Literature category requirement, above | ||
Courses from other programs may be substituted only with approval of program director. | ||
Open Electives
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose two courses from the following list: | 8 | |
| INDEPENDENT STUDY | ||
| INTERNSHIP | ||
Any graduate-level courses in writing, literature, criticism, publishing, and teaching offered by the English department and not used to satisfy other requirements, above | ||
Up to two graduate level courses offered by the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse. | ||
Courses from other programs may be substituted only with approval of program director. | ||
Note: No more than two courses from outside of the English Department may count toward Open Electives. | ||
Thesis Requirement
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Near the end of your second year, you will be required to register for ENG 501 THESIS RESEARCH. You will need to choose a thesis director and a second reader for your final thesis. | ||
| ENG 501 | THESIS RESEARCH | 4 |
Online Degree Option
The MFA/MA program is committed to offering at least 3 online and/or remote-enabled courses every regular academic quarter. Yearly offerings will include 4-5 workshops, 2 publishing courses, 1-2 literature courses, and a variety of electives. Online summer session and December intercession courses can also count toward your degree. Check with the program director or www.english-exlibris.com for online course offerings.