The Master of Fine Arts in Writing is part of The Creative Writing Programs (CWP) at Hamline University. The MFA is a terminal degree for students who wish to pursue careers as writers and want to teach writing at the college level or seek professional work in the literary marketplace. Hamline’s MFA program, established in 1994, was the first MFA degree in Creative Writing in Minnesota.
The program, offered full- or part-time, allows students to develop the process and craft of writing in a rigorous, engaged, and supportive environment. Faculty who teach in the program are all accomplished, working writers. Our small class sizes provide an intimate setting in which students will establish trust and rapport with classmates and receive one-on-one advising and feedback from their professors. Students have the option of screening for, or serving as an assistant editor with Water~Stone Review and experiencing first-hand what it’s like to put together a national literary magazine. They also are able to work one-on-one with nationally known Visiting Writers who visit campus.
Many students will focus primarily on one genre in the advanced stage of the program as they move toward thesis. Students can choose from poetry, fiction (e.g, realistic, speculative, mystery, etc.), creative nonfiction (e.g., personal and lyric essay, memoir, biography, etc.), or any combination of genres. Elective courses are offered on topics such as composition theory & pedagogy, point of view in fiction, graphic novel, hybrid narratives, and shorts (fiction and CNF), to name a few.
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