This distance-learning independent study comprises a semester’s work with a faculty mentor for the MFA program, focusing on writing plays, screenplays, and cross-genre work as well as work in dramatic and narrative structure. A schedule and program of study is developed by both the student and assigned faculty mentor, including approximately 100 pages of creative work as well as a list of books and supplemental readings, and ten pages of analysis and discussion of craft during the semester. Previously ENW 0451.
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)
Harness your passion for creative writing and take your expertise to the next level.
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Why Choose a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Fairfield?
Tailored Degree
Choose to concentrate in one genre, such as poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting, or have a dual concentration in two genres. You are encouraged to work outside your primary genre to enhance your creative portfolio.
Unique Opportunities
Fairfield University’s MFA in Creative Writing offers bi-annual residencies, bringing together a uniquely talented group of faculty, guest writers, students, editors, and agents. Benefit from working closely alongside participants developing relationships while practicing the basics and subtleties of writing and craft.
Career Ready
Students will have the opportunity to create a portfolio filled with quality real-world work samples among a network of inspired writers. Graduates gain access to The AfterEnders Association, a Fairfield-exclusive web-based community resource for sharing new work, opportunities, contacts, and inspiration.
Expert Faculty
Fairfield’s award-winning faculty are experienced and published authors themselves. Benefit from their firsthand insights, academic guidance, and individualized attention over your master’s in creative writing. Develop relationships and bonds that will carry on beyond the classroom.
Program Specifics
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Fairfield University is a two-year low-residency program that offers concentrations in four genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting. Students can also choose to pursue dual concentrations or incorporate one of four areas of study into their genre: editing and publishing, literary health and healing, social justice, or spiritual writing.
- Program Starts: Fall (September), Spring (January)
- For students seeking to begin the MFA program with residency:
- November 1 for winter residency and spring enrollment
- May 1 for summer residency and fall enrollment
- For students seeking to begin the MFA program with mentorship*:
- December 1 for spring enrollment
- August 1 for fall enrollment
- Schedule: Full-time
- Credits: 60
- Completion: 24 months
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing aims to give students the opportunities to further develop and hone their chosen craft in the creative writing space.
- The program provides you with the opportunity to develop your skills in multiple genres of creative writing: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting.
- Option to Incorporate one of the following areas of study into the genre in which they’re writing: editing and publishing, literary health and healing, social justice, or spiritual writing.
- Coursework prepares you to become creative writers who are able to develop their skills, publish their work, and use their writing to make a difference in the world through workshops, inspired writer series, residencies, and independent study courses.
Tuition is $47,400 ($790 per credit hour). There is also a residency fee of $1,270 per residency.
Creative Writing Certificate: $9,480 ($740 per credit hour)
Please see the Tuition and Financial Aid page for more information.
The MFA in Creative Writing program at Fairfield University is open to students with a bachelor’s degree in any discipline. An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is preferred but not required.
No GMAT/GRE required.
It’s easy to apply. Here are the steps:
- A completed online application.
- A non-refundable $65 application fee paid by credit card. (Application fee is waived for current Fairfield students and for anyone who attends an information session.)
- A professional resume. Applicants are required to submit a current resume that includes employment and education history.
- A portfolio of work consisting of a writing sample of 20-30 pages of fiction, non-fiction, or screenwriting, or 6-8 poems.
- A personal statement. Applicants should describe their interest in the program, aspirations for obtaining the degree, and why they want to attend Fairfield University.
- Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 is preferred. All foreign transcripts must be evaluated by an approved evaluating service.
- Two recommendation letters one of which, preferably, from a current employer or supervisor. Recommendations are completed online. At the time of application, candidates must provide the email addresses and names of their two recommenders.
- Interview.
Faculty Spotlight
Susan Muaddi Darraj, MA
Susan Muaddi Darraj is an award-winning fiction writer and author of The Inheritance of Exile and A Curious Land: Stories from Home. She is the recipient of an American Book Award, two Arab American Book Awards, and a USA Artists Ford Fellowship. She is also the two-time recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts. Darraj teaches creative writing at Fairfield University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harford Community College.
Phil Klay
Phil Klay is a veteran Marine Corps officer and award-winning author. His story collection Redeployment won the National Book Award for Fiction and the National Book Critics’ Circle John Leonard Prize for best debut work in any genre. His novel Missionaries was named one of the Wall Street Journal’s best 10 books of 2020. His journalism appears in major publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. At Fairfield, he directs the MFA program and founded the Veterans Writing Workshop.
Carol Ann Davis, MFA
Carol Ann Davis, Program Director of the MFA in Creative Writing, is an award-winning poet and essayist. Her collections include Psalm, Atlas Hour, and The Nail in the Tree. Professor Davis founded Poetry in Communities at Fairfield to bring writing workshops to communities affected by violence. An NEA Fellow, her work is published widely, including in The Atlantic and on PBS NewsHour.
Expand your industry expertise and boost your resume with a certificate that can be directly applied toward your master’s degree.
- Creative Writing Certificate – The Prologue
Creative Writing Certificate – The Prologue
The Prologue is a 1-year, intensive creative writing certificate program for writers interested in pursuing an MFA or MFA graduates working on a new project.
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Streamline your path to a degree by applying your certificate credits directly toward an MFA without repeating any courses.
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Receive individualized guidance from experienced MFA faculty members and authors who provide in-depth feedback to help develop and edit works in progress.
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This certificate is offered fully remote with opportunities to connect online throughout the semester.
Starts:
Fall or Spring
Schedule:
Full-Time
Completion:
12 Months
Cost:
$8,880 (12 credits x $740 per credit hour)
Degree Courses
Fiction
Credits – 6
The course is an intensive, ten-day program of study. Students must submit two creative pieces to their respective workshop faculty prior to the residency and attend daily workshops. Within the workshops, they must actively participate, both orally and by providing written comments on their peers’ work. Students must attend at least six afternoon seminars, lectures, or panel discussions presented by resident faculty and visiting experts. Preparation for each event involves students having completed a required reading list. After the seminar, a student must submit written critiques of what they learned. Finally, all students must attend evening readings by faculty. At the end of the residency, students work out a semester plan with their assigned mentor for the following semester. This plan must be approved and signed by the mentor and submitted to the MFA administration. Previously ENW 0444.
Fairfield Mission
Visionary by nature. Jesuit through mission. Transformative by design. The driving force of Fairfield is our mission — to impact the world. It prompts us to ask important questions, to embrace our social responsibilities, and to lead by example. And it’s what has made us a premier institution in the Northeast. Let the mission be part of your journey.
