Application Deadline January 1. Please review “How to Apply” in the navigation for more information.
The MFA in Creative Writing is a supportive and vibrant community for writers. Ours is a 2-year program (36 credits) with a creative thesis. Our award-winning faculty are dedicated to the growth of each writer in the program. We have between 30-40 students in the program, and we admit 15-20 new students each year. We believe that a diverse group of students creates the best learning environment. Hence, we encourage applications from marginalized groups–including people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and LGBTQ people.
We accept applications in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and we welcome applications in hybrid and experimental/new forms.
Our innovative curriculum includes courses in professional development, workshops, editing and publishing, and a variety of craft-focused courses. We encourage students to experiment and push boundaries in their work. We offer specializations in creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and hybrid forms. In their second year, students work one-on-one with one faculty member on a creative thesis worthy of publication.
Focus Areas
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Experimental Forms
Experiences
The Florida Review, The Cypress Dome, Creative Writing Pedagogy, Professional Development, Literary Citizenship, Internships, Department of English Symposium, Parcels, Writers in the Sun, The Literary Arts Partnership, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Retreats, Conferences, Rollins College: Winter With the Writers, Burrow Press, Page 15, The Drunken Odyssey: A Podcast About the Writing Life, The Jack Kerouac Project
Our students and alumni actively publish in top journals—Passages North, Fourth Genre, Quarterly West, The Rumpus, PANK, New Yorker, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction to name just a few—and have won prestigious prizes such as the AWP Intro Award and the NEA Fellowship. Graduates of our program go on to become teachers, editors, publishers, freelance writers, lawyers, marketing professionals, nonprofit managers, and much more. Our students support each other and thrive in the literary arts activities both on and off campus.
On campus, our students are members of their own student organization, the Graduate Writers Association (GWA), which brings two visiting writers to campus each year, hosts several social and professional events, including PARCELS a monthly reading featuring MFA students, faculty, and alumni. Writers in the Sun, another reading series supported by the department, brings 2-5 nationally known writers to campus. Students are involved with The Florida Review as well as Aquifer: The Florida Review Online, UCF’s prestigious literary journal, or can volunteer with The Cypress Dome (CD), our undergraduate-run student literary magazine. Additionally, The Literary Arts Partnership trains and supports students who lead creative writing workshops for marginalized groups. We are partners with UCF’s Florida Prison Education Project.
Orlando, also called Litlando, is home to a number of literary arts activities, including Burrow Press, The Drunken Odyssey: A Podcast About the Writing Life, The Writer’s Atelier, Page 15, Loose Lips Reading Series, The Jack Kerouac Project, and many other literary arts organizations and events. We have several funding opportunities for incoming and returning students. We’d love to see your application. Here’s how to apply. If you have questions, please contact us at EnglishGrad@ucf.edu or call at 407-823-5329. If you are interested in taking our MFA courses as a non-degree seeking student or as a UCF undergraduate please visit the FAQ page.
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