English: Creative Writing, MFA
Master's in Creative Writing
Curriculum
- Thesis: 12 credit hours max
- Workshops in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction: 12 credit hours
- Electives in creative writing, literature, teaching methodology, languages and cultural studies: nine credit hours
4FIELD-LEADING JOURNALS
are edited by our faculty and advanced graduate students—Milton Quarterly, American Indian Quarterly, Journal of Linguistic Geography, and The Cimarron Review.
Research and Faculty
Our award-winning faculty have mentored and advised hundreds of emerging writers who have gone on to publish in their fields and to acquire jobs teaching writing. Creative writing students and alumni have placed their work in such venues as The New Yorker, the New York Times and the annual Best New Poets anthology and published books with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, BOA, Sibling Rivalry Press and other distinguished presses.
Their accomplishments include the AWP Award Series Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction, the Gwendolyn Brooks Centennial Poetry Prize, the Gold Line Press Poetry Chapbook Competition, the Pushcart Prize, the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Oklahoma Book Award and selection as National Book Award finalist.
Admissions Requirements
- Transcripts
- B.A. or B.S. degree from an accredited institution of higher learning, typically in English with an option in creative writing and at least twelve hours of upper-division English courses (minimum GPA of 3.0)
- Other undergraduate majors may be eligible for admission depending on quality of writing sample
- Two letters of recommendation
- Written statement identifying specific program, reasons for undertaking graduate studies, relevant experience and future publication and/or work plans (approximately 250 words)
- Writing sample: fiction or creative nonfiction (approximately 25 pages) or 10 poems (maximum 20 pages in total length)
Test Scores:
- GRE not required
- International applicants who aren't native English speakers must submit one of the following:
- TOEFL iBT minimum scores of 26 for reading, 26 for writing, and 100 for total
- IELTS minimum scores of 7.0 on reading, writing, and total
* Please note that the Department of English's requirements for demonstration of English language proficiency are more stringent than those of the Graduate College.
* The Department of English requires standardized Academic English proficiency test scores for all graduate program applicants who are non-native speakers of English, regardless of whether they have received previous degrees from U.S. institutions or any other English-speaking country’s institutions.
Application Deadlines:
- January 1 (Priority for fall admission)
- March 1 (fall admission)
- October 15 (spring admission)
Learn more about our program requirements at:
Cost & Assistance
The Department of English employs a large number of graduate teaching assistants each year. They instruct their own courses, work in the OSU Writing Center, and receive mentoring and pedagogical training. Click here for more information. Assistantships and tuition waivers are available to the majority of our graduate students. Travel funding opportunities are available on a competitive basis to support conference presentations and archival research. Scholarships are also available to recognize outstanding work.
Applications received prior to the fall admission priority placement deadline of Jan. 1 are given first consideration for assistantships and financial incentives. Students admitted in spring are typically not eligible for departmental funding, including assistantships, until the following fall semester.