Graduate and Professional Degrees
The MFA in English allows students to specialize in one of three areas of concentration in creative writing: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The degree also integrates courses in literature and literary history.
Requirements for the MFA
General Requirements. The MFA requires 36 credit hours with a minimum grade point average of 3.0, plus the completion of a final manuscript in the student’s major area of concentration. Requirements vary according to the concentration, but the degree requires a combination of writing workshops, graduate-level readings courses, and English courses outside the Writing Program (in Composition & Rhetoric, Literature, or Film). Further information about requirements for each MFA genre can be found in the English Department’s graduate handbook. There are no language requirements for MFA students.
The Final Manuscript. The final manuscript is equivalent to the MA comprehensive examination. It consists of a book-length manuscript of the student’s best work in the area of major interest - 150 pages (typed, double-spaced, standard format) for fiction and nonfiction, and 50 pages for poetry. The manuscript shall be submitted to a committee of three English graduate faculty members, at least two of which must be writing graduate faculty. There is an option to have a fourth, external member, either from another department at the University of Pittsburgh or at another University. The student chooses their committee members, but the writing program director has final approval of committee composition.
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