Creative Writing (M.F.A.)
About Our Program
Our three-year M.F.A. degree offers tracks in Poetry and Fiction, and all students are fully and equally funded via GTA-ships of more than $20,000 per year. We encourage cross-genre experimentation, offer additional courses in creative nonfiction, playwriting, new media creative writing, and literary editing, and all students have the opportunity to teach creative writing and composition, as well as serve as editors of our literary journal, The New River Journal.
Campuses:
Virginia Tech Blacksburg Campus
Type of Instruction:
Residential/On Campus
Curriculum
What You'll Study
The M.F.A. in Creative Writing is designed to be completed in three years. Students may specialize in Fiction or Poetry. A minimum of 49 hours is required for this terminal degree. A series of creative writing workshops, courses in form and theory, new media writing, composition pedagogy, and literature and theory electives are designed for students wishing to pursue careers as writers or writer/scholars at the college level. Students also have the opportunity to work as editors on The New River: a Journal of Digital Writing and Art. A creative thesis, a written final exam, and an oral defense are required.
The 49 hours required for the degree must be distributed as follows:
- Creative Writing Workshops: 15 hours (6704/Fiction, 6714/Poetry, 6724/Playwriting, 6734/Creative Nonfiction, 6744/New Media Writing); at least 9 hours must be in the designated specialty; students are encouraged to explore other genres in 6 hours of workshops.
- Form and Theory Courses: 6 hours (5734/Form and Theory of Fiction, 5744/Form and Theory of Poetry).
- GTA Training and Composition Pedagogy: 3 hours.
- Creative Writing Pedagogy and Practicum: 3 hours.
- Editing a Literary Journal (5774): 6 hours
- Research & Thesis (5994): 6 hours; a book-length creative thesis (a collection of poetry; a collection of short stories, or a novel)
- Graduate English courses: 9 hours; students may use an independent study in Editing a Digital Journal to help fulfill this requirement.
Why choose this program?
- Our three-year M.F.A. degree offers tracks in Poetry and Fiction, and all students are fully and equally funded via GTA-ships of more than $20,000 per year. We encourage cross-genre experimentation, offer additional courses in creative nonfiction, playwriting, new media creative writing, and literary editing, and all students have the opportunity to teach creative writing and composition, as well as serve as editors of our literary journal, The New River Journal.
- In the years since the program started, we’ve been consistently ranked among the top 30 programs in the country by Poets & Writers in their M.F.A. rankings.
- The faculty members in our creative writing program at Virginia Tech are accomplished, prize-winning, innovative, and diverse: Ed Falco, Evan Lavender-Smith, Khadijah Queen, Lucinda Roy, Sophia Terazawa, and Matthew Vollmer.
- Our program is small—we admit 4–5 students a year in each genre—and we pride ourselves on the diversity and rigor of our program, our respect for our students’ voices, our financial support for our students, the individual attention students receive from faculty, and our robust Visiting Writers Series.
- Our students and alumni are exceptional; they have published books, received prestigious awards and fellowships for their writing, and gone on to further success as writers, teachers, and professionals.
- All students have the opportunity to to hold editorial positions and gain publishing experience working on the digital journal, The New River Journal.
- Emily Morrison Prizes in Fiction and Poetry, and other M.F.A. writing awards offered each year.
Admissions and Tuition
Admissions Requirements
- Minimum GPA 3.0 (4 Scale)
- TOEFL/ IELTS score required (if applicable)
Application Deadline
January 21, 2025.
Current Students
Tuition
Funding Opportunities
The Department of English has a limited number of graduate assistantships and fellowships available for students applying for full time study on the Blacksburg Campus. Entering students can apply for such funding as part of their admissions application. No separate application required.
- All students equally and fully funded through Graduate Teaching Assistantships.
- GTA-ships include tuition remission, health insurance, and stipends of more than $20,000 per year for all three years of the program
Find out what loans are available as a graduate student and other opportunities.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the M.F.A. Program, please contact:
Marie Trimmer
Graduate Programs Coodinator
310 Shanks Hall
540-231-4659
mtrimmer@vt.edu
Matthew Vollmer
431 Shanks Hall
540-231-8322l
vollmer@vt.edu
Faculty In Creative Writing
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