Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program Brochure 

José Skinner, MFA in Creative Writing Program Coordinator
CoAS 226
956.381.3428
jskinner@utpa.edu

The MFA in English/Creative Writing is a 42-hour program of advanced study and practice of literary craft. This studio/research program provides aspiring writers with the ongoing support and challenge of a workshop environment, along with individualized guidance by faculty members who are published authors themselves. The objective of this degree program is to prepare students for careers as writers, teachers at the college or university level, editors, literary translators, and other related professional careers. The program provides further training in the art of contemporary literary writing and publishing, the artistic inspiration of other writers as peers and mentors, and a deepened understanding and appreciation of literary traditions, including those of the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere. The program's small workshop sizes concentrate student energies, promote success, and encourage a sense of community.

The program offers concentrations in Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Literary Translation (Spanish/English), and Playwriting and Screenwriting. Course requirements include 12 hours of studio workshops, six hours in the scholarly study of literary form and theory, ENG 6325-Studies in Composition Techniques, and nine hours of literature electives. Six hours of free electives will be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor. In their final year in the program, students will prepare a creative thesis (ENG 7300 and ENG 7301) consisting of a manuscript in their chosen genre along with a critical introduction.

Graduates and current students have had their work appear in many literary journals, including Fourteen Hills, Denver Quarterly, Nimrod International Journal, The Literary Review, Boulevard, Salt Hill, Front Porch, Aethlon, Marlboro Review, BorderSenses, and Texas Poetry Review.

  To join the "Friends of the MFA" list and receive periodic updates about what's going on with the program, go to http://listserv.utpa.edu, click on FO_MFA, then click on "Join or Leave the FO_MFA List" and follow instructions.