Creative Writing: Single-Genre, MFA

(64 credits)

• Additional Creative Writing Programs  

Program Description

The New England College Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program is more than a graduate degree program: it is transformative education for writers. The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program offers a rigorous graduate education in Creative Writing that is based on progressive pedagogy, individualized study, and academic/artistic mentorship. The program’s academic model is studio/research, integrating substantial work in the academic study and creative production of literary art. The Program’s academic format combines brief residential learning experiences on the New England College campus with individualized, home-based mentorship study. The Program’s educational model provides our students with an ideal structure for their academic coursework and individual development as writers-featuring an immersive, community-based educational experience in the residential setting, as well as independent home-based study that is supported by one-on-one faculty mentorship in a natural format for the writing life. The MFA Creative Writing Program’s progressive pedagogy and comprehensive curriculum guide students’ individual development in the study, process, practice, and profession of Creative Writing. Program graduates are well-prepared for the writing life and the pursuit of their individual goals and professional aspirations.

The Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program offers five primary areas of concentration for single-genre course of study: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Writing for Stage and Screen, and Interdisciplinary Literary Arts. The MFA also offers a dual-genre option for students who wish to study two individual genres.

The Master of Fine Arts is a terminal degree in the field of Creative Writing, and it requires at least two years (five campus residencies) of intensive full-time study and the completion of at least 64 credits for a single-genre degree or two and a half years (six campus residencies) of intensive full time study and the completion of at least 80 credits for a dual-genre degree.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program will:

• Produce and revise original works of literature through an exploratory process culminating in the completion of a substantial body of high‐quality literary work.
• Engage in rigorous critical discourse surrounding their own writing and the writing of others while developing an in-depth understanding of the writer’s craft and its use in the writing process..
• Locate their writing in historical, theoretical, and cultural contexts through an understanding of the movements that influence the writing, reading, and critical reception of literary works.
• Actively engage in academic, geographic, and cultural literary communities as they contribute to the advancement of the literary arts.
• Demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and discipline necessary for a successful postgraduate professional life in creative writing.

Genres

• Interdisciplinary Literary Arts
• Fiction
• Non-Fiction
• Poetry
• Writing for Stage and Screen