The M.A.
The M.A. in creative writing is a two-year program providing training and guidance in
poetry and/or fiction writing.
Graduates of the program are prepared to take jobs in publishing, to teach
part-time at the university level, and to enter Ph.D. programs in English and Creative
Writing. It's important for prospective students to realize that people pursue an
education in creative writing out of passion. For those who intend on becoming professional
writers, a graduate degree is one of the first steps, not the last.
Like the undergraduate courses,
graduate workshops and seminars in creative writing are small and intensive,
with an average of 8-11 students in each, allowing
for much more student-teacher contact than other, larger programs can provide.
Graduate students enjoy not only the benefits of personalized instruction but also
the opportunity to work closely with distinguished contemporary writers.
Creative Writing faculty with graduate status
take turns teaching the courses to allow for a variety of genre, content, and teaching style.
In addition to the workshop, graduate students in the program participate in hosting
writers for The Creighton Reading Series.
They also are mainly responsible for the publication of The
Creighton
Review, an on-line magazine of poetry and fiction. Those interested in preparing
themselves for a career in teaching can shadow a faculty member teaching an undergraduate
workshop in creative writing. And on- and off-campus opportunities exist for those
interested in experience and training in editing, proofreading, and other publishing
skills.
Graduate Courses
ENG 640: Graduate Workshop in Creative Writing
The core of the program, English 640 is a small workshop in which students discuss
each other's writing under the guidance of a creative writing faculty member with
graduate status. Graduate students take English 640 every term they're enrolled in the program.
English 683: Supervised Practicum in the Teaching of Creative Writing
Students shadow a full-time creative writing faculty member in an undergraduate creative writing
workshop (English 300). The teacher mentors the student in the principles and methods of teaching creative writing.
ENG 798: Master’s Thesis
Working closely with the thesis advisor in a one-on-one setting, the student carries out the final writing and editing of a
publishable book-length novel, work of creative non-fiction, or collection of stories or poems, the culmination of work the student
has done in the program. Details on length and scope will be worked out with the faculty advisor,
falling within the current standards set by publishers.
Creative Writing Program
Department of English
Creighton University
Omaha, NE 68178
Phone: (402) 280-5768
Fax: (402) 280-2143
mhs@creighton.edu
