Program Overview

Northwestern University's Master of Fine Arts in Prose and Poetry Program

The Master of Fine Arts in Prose and Poetry program at Northwestern University is a part-time program that requires the completion of 15 courses. The program provides students with the opportunity to grow as artists within the specializations of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A dual-genre specialization is also offered, as well as a publishing and professional development track that combines publishing industry-related instruction with the creative coursework of the writing workshops.

Curriculum

The curriculum for the Master of Fine Arts in Prose and Poetry program includes:

• Writing Workshops (5-8 units depending on specialization)
  • MCW 411-0/411-DL: Poetry Workshop
  • MCW 413-0/413-DL: Fiction Workshop
  • MCW 417-0/417-DL: Popular Fiction Workshop
  • MCW 461-0/461-DL: Creative Non-Fiction Workshop
• Teaching Writing (1 unit)
  • MCW 570-DL: Seminar on Teaching Creative Writing
• Graduate-level literature course taken from LIT, ENGLISH, COMP_LIT, or other departments of literary study (2-3 units depending on specialization)
• Electives (1 - 5 units depending on specialization)
  • MCW 479-0/479-DL: Poetry for Prose Writers
  • MCW 480-0: Prose for Poets
  • MCW 490-0/490-DL: Special Topics in Creative Writing
  • MCW 499-0: Independent Study
  • MCW 575-0/575-DL: Seminar on Journal Publishing
  • MCW 579-0: Practicum in Teaching Creative Writing
  • MCW 580-0: Practicum in Publishing
• Capstone Writing (2 units)
  • MCW 589-0: Capstone Preparation and Writing
  • MCW 590-0: Capstone Writing & Revision

About the Thesis

The final project of the MFA program is a creative thesis, an original work of high literary merit (judged on the basis of art as well as craft). Prose work should be at least 140 double-spaced pages and no more than 170 pages. Poetic work should be between 35-50 single-spaced pages, with each poem on separate pages. The creative thesis is structured and revised under the supervision of a faculty member (or faculty mentor) and a second reader. The project may be one long piece or a series of shorter pieces. It may include or be an expansion of work written during the student's course of study as long as it represents a culminating effort to shape stories, prose pieces, a long piece, or a group of poems into a coherent, self-sufficient work. This large-scale project supplements the smaller-scale study of craft with the invaluable experience of creating a larger work. And for students who plan to pursue book-length publication after graduation, the master's creative thesis may be the first version of a work in progress. (Note: Students may not take writing workshops alongside thesis.)