The creative writing MFA curriculum is 36 credits or 12 3-credit courses:
Creative Writing, 6 courses
- 4 courses in (repeatable) CRWR workshops
- 1 course in a CRWR craft course
- 1 course in CRWR elective: workshop or craft literature,
- 3 courses, ENGL 200-level program elective,
- 1 course, craft, literature, or professional seminar, as offered
- MFA Project, 2 courses, in a student’s final two terms
[For more information on courses and a listing of current and upcoming course offerings, contact the Director.]
Taking three classes a term, a student would complete the curriculum in two years. Typically, students take either 2 or three classes and either matriculate for a fifth term or complete their requirements with Summer session classes.
Fellowships for Continuing Students
At the close of their second semester, students are invited to apply for a limited number of professional fellowships supported by the program. These include Peer Teaching Fellowships and one of more Publishing Fellowships. Fellowships offer valuable professional and classroom experience. In addition, the fellowships carry a tuition remission of at least $2,000.
[By longstanding University policy, Hofstra does not employ “graduate assistants” (GAs, TAs) as classroom instructors. For this reason, Master of Fine Arts students are not offered undergraduate teaching as part of their program.]
Outside the Classroom
Hofstra and the New York metropolitan area are the perfect place to grow as a writer. The Hofstra campus ius a major cultural hub on Long Island, and the campus welcomes frequent guests as diverse as Ralph Nader and Salman Rushdie.
Even closer to home, the English Department annually hosts the Great Writers, Great Readings series. Some of the world-class writers who have come to read and talk to our students include Jhumpa Lahiri, Jennifer Egan, W. S. Merwin, Louise Gluck, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jean Valentine, John McPhee, Jonathan Franzen, Anne Beattie, Philip Levine, Lori Moore, Karen Russell, Gerald Stern, Frank Bidart, Emily St. John Mandel, Terrance Hayes, Mark Strand, Tom Sleigh, Annie Baker, Richard Greenberg, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Ruhl, Susan Orlean, and many more. The series is designed to give students exposure to a variety of voices and processes and career trajectories in order to demystify the writer’s life as well as the publication process. Attendance at all readings and events organized by the program is considered a degree requirement.