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Master of Fine Arts In English
There are advantages to earning a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree that are difficult or time-consuming to achieve without the degree. In fact, one of the most important advantages to the M.F.A. is time — time to focus on your craft, and time saved by learning about writing, writing opportunities and the writing world on your own.
Our faculty are all well-known, respected authors and sought-after for readings, anthologies and awards. Our association with Southern Illinois University Press and our long-standing tradition of hosting various literary festivals and readings make our home community an active part of the greater writing community — and that means expanded opportunities for our graduate students.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships
Most of our graduate assistants teach in our first-year writing program. You’ll have full responsibility for two sections of composition each semester. An extensive series of pre-semester workshops, a semester-long seminar in the teaching of college composition, and a mentor system will help you become an effective, confident teacher.
Other teaching opportunities include Core Curriculum literature courses, and English 119, Introduction to Creative Writing.
You may work in the Writing Center, which our whole campus community may access.
Our Format
First, the workshops. As is fairly standard in many writing programs, you’ll read your work and critique your peers work in a collegial environment led by our faculty.
You’ll also work one-on-one with our writing faculty. And you’ll produce a thesis of original work, for which you will work closely with your advisor.
You should expect to work in a variety of forms — in both poetry or fiction as your chosen focus. We introduce our writing students to a variety of styles and personalities, from traditional to experimental and even including new technology and non-traditional venues for publication and storytelling.
Our small program size provides an excellent student-teacher ratio, and encourages both formal and informal apprenticeship and tutorial relationships. While no academic program can promise to create writers, our M.F.A. program strives to provide committed, talented writers the guidance, instruction, support, and community that will help them produce their best work.
View the requirements for each of these concentrations or view all English courses.
Digital Humanities Lab
Our fiction program focuses on professionalization regardless of subject matter or genre. Our fiction writers have found success in literary journals and at literary publishing houses, as well as at large commercial houses, with literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy fiction, slipstream fiction, horror fiction, and crime fiction.
The fiction program also supports podcasting, audiobook creation, game narrative, virtual reality narrative, 360-degree video-making, Twitter fiction, subreddit fiction, and other forms of technological narrative. You need not be versed in these new approaches to storytelling, but you'll need to be open-minded, given the wide opportunities available with these novel venues.
How to apply
The application deadline is January 1 for prospective students wanting the concentration of literary studies and rhetoric and composition. There is no deadline for applications for the English Studies concentration. However, to ensure full consideration for summer or fall admission, applicants should complete the Graduate School’s application by April 20. To ensure full consideration for spring admission, applicants should complete the application by November 15.
The application will ask you to submit a CV, statement of purpose, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation, in addition to transcripts and other basic academic information. Please consult the following documents for advice on application materials, statements of purpose, and writing samples.
GRE scores (general or subject tests) are not required for admission to the MA, MFA, or PhD programs. The minimum GPA for admission to SIU Carbondale’s Graduate School is 2.7 (of 4.0).
Contact Information
Ryan Netzley
Director of Graduate Studies
Faner 2276
1000 Faner Dr
Carbondale, IL 62901
618-453-6845
rnetzley@siu.edu
