Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Our MFA program joins students who share a common passion and faculty members who provide critical support of their work. The faculty of the Department of Creative Writing view MFA students as colleagues-in-the-making. To help initiate them into the profession, we offer a series of panels and workshops designed to address practical issues that lie outside the scope of the writing workshop. The MFA at UNCW is a 48-hour apprenticeship, requiring a total of 21 hours of writing workshops, 21 hours of literature or other elective courses, and 6 thesis hours, leading to completion and defense of a substantial book-length manuscript of literary merit and publishable quality.

An applicant must have successfully completed an appropriate undergraduate degree (usually, but not necessarily, a B.A. in English or a B.F.A in creative writing), with at least a “B” average in the major field of study. Acceptable fulfillment of all the above constitutes the minimum requirements for, but does not guarantee, admission to the M.F.A. program.

Minimum Score Requirement – TOEFL: 79; IELTS: minimum of 6.5 for acceptance, 7.0 for TA consideration; Duolingo: minimum of 115.