English, MFA

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. 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 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, and chaired by a faculty member in the student’s primary genre. There is an option to have a fourth, external member, either from another department at the University of Pittsburgh or at another University. The chair of the manuscript committee is assigned to the student, but the student may choose the remaining members of their committee. The Writing Program  Director must approve the student’s committee composition.