Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing

University of Marylands M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing is nationally ranked and our graduates are the recipients of many distinguished awards and fellowships. Each fall, it welcomes a new cohort of poets and fiction writers into the MFA Program, a fine arts program aligned with the English department commitment to antiracism, social justice, and the amplification of BIPOC voices, and devoted to the development and mentoring of the next generation of poets and fiction writers. While the program foundation is studio-based, our MFA also offers professionalization and practicum courses focused on creative writing pedagogy and the life of the writer outside of institutions like the academy. Additionally, graduate coursework in literature (seminar and readings courses) contributes to the writers education on the larger spectrum of literary studies. Its main attention, however, is to your original writing and to you, the writer. Our aim is to help you become the writer you envision. You will spend two to three years taking workshops, literature courses, and creative forms courses, meeting one-on-one with our faculty, and gaining valuable experience teaching undergraduate workshops, academic writing, and literature courses.

In addition to fulfilling Graduate School requirements, applicants to the M.F.A. degree program should present a 3.0 GPA. Admission is for the Fall semester only. All application materials must be submitted electronically. Unofficial transcripts of your entire college/university record (undergraduate and graduate), including records of any advanced work done at another institution. Electronic copies of these unofficial transcripts must be uploaded along with your online application. Official transcripts will be required after an applicant is admitted to the program. Three Letters of Recommendation. In your online application, please complete the information requested for your recommenders and ask them to submit their letters electronically. The strongest letters of recommendation are written by individuals who are familiar with your fiction or poetry and can speak about you as a writer. Statement of Purpose. The statement, which should not exceed 1000 words, should address your creative interests, relevant aspects of your educational experience, and your reasons for applying to our program.