Students in the MFA in Writing program choose 45 credit hours of coursework from the MFA curriculum. Additionally, all students enroll in the 3-credit* graduate Thesis class at the end of their program, for a total of 48 credit hours. (*The thesis will become a 6-credit class starting with the Fall 2022 cohort.)

The MFA program offers workshop classes, literature classes, and craft classes in a wide variety of genres and focus areas. Students may choose to take coursework on-campus or fully online, or through a combination of both delivery methods. 

Classes are offered intermittently on a rotating schedule.

For students who entered the program before 2022: For students who do not declare an emphasis, there are no required classes (other than the 3-credit thesis) and no class prerequisites; students may choose the coursework that works best for them. 

Students who choose to declare an emphasis in Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, or Young Adult/ Middle Grade must take at least 27 credit hours in the emphasis area, including at least one Foundational course in that genre, and their final Thesis must focus primarily on that genre. 

For students who entered the program in 2022 and beyond: Requirements are IMF 50000 (Orientation), a Foundations course (regardless of if you declare an emphasis or not), and the 6-credit thesis, the rest of the coursework are electives unless you have chosen to do an emphasis. 

• Catalog Course Descriptions
• Faculty Bios

INSTRUCTOR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

To supplement the catalog descriptions with more details for our students, our instructors have also provided personalized descriptions for the classes they teach. Click the class titles linked below to view course descriptions, class types, and textbook information. Classes without info links will be offered in future terms.