Master of Fine Arts in
Creative Writing

Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Gregory Spatz, Program Director
400 Catalyst 
509.828.1310

The Master of Fine Arts Program is an intensive, two-year, pre-professional course of study with an emphasis on the practice of literature as a fine art. The program includes coursework in the study of literature from the vantage point of its composition and history, but the student’s principal work is done in advanced workshops and in the writing of a book-length thesis of publishable quality in fiction or poetry. The MFA is a terminal degree program.

Students who earn an MFA in Creative Writing should be able to do the following, at a level of proficiency sufficient for entry into the profession:

• analyze works of literature using the technical language of the craft pertinent to their chosen genre of study (literary fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry);
• demonstrate an understanding of the contemporary literary landscape;
• produce texts that conform to the conventions specific to the genre being studied (literary fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry);
• provide constructive criticism of written works in progress;
• synthesize an understanding of the publishing process.