MFA in Creative Writing
The MFA in Creative Writing is a degree for writers and the University of Montana's program continues to be ranked among the top programs nationwide.
Our graduates have become high-profile and critically acclaimed authors and poets; many teach or work in publishing; an increasing number (including those who have completed both the MFA and the MA in Literature degrees at the University of Montana) proceed to interdisciplinary PhD programs.
In addition to providing students with workshops in which to develop their writing skills, our program requires that its students take classes in the study of literature, valuing as it does the idea that the writer is both an artist and a critical thinker; the cumulative effect of their coursework is to allow students to develop their creative work and expand their understanding of literary technique. The program also offers training appropriate to collegiate-level teaching of creative writing and sponsors the graduate literary magazine CutBank, now in its fourth decade of publishing works of poetry, prose and art.
Our highly competitive admissions process has 200-300 applicants each year. From that pool, 20-30 successful applicants are accepted into Fiction, Nonfiction or Poetry and begin a two-year course of study that culminates in a polished body of work and a public reading. During these years, students work closely with our internationally recognized faculty, as well as with the talented and highly-regarded visiting writers who fill the program's Hugo and Kittredge fellowships.
Applications are open from October 1st - January 6th. GRE Scores are not required.