Master of Fine Arts in Writing
San Francisco, USA
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
31 Jan 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
USD 19,920 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for living on campus and living in off-campus housing
Introduction
The Master of Fine Arts in Writing program offers graduate students an intimate, personalized learning experience while taking advantage of San Francisco’s vibrant, eclectic literary scene. Founded in 1986, the program is designed to instruct writers in creative techniques, nurture their individual development and vision, and help them thrive in the larger community of writers.
The two-year, 32-unit program begins each fall, with courses on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. On Tuesdays, workshops in each genre (fiction, poetry, and nonfiction) focus on student manuscripts in a peer setting of supportive critique. On Thursdays, literature seminars focus on traditions, styles, craft elements and developments, and literary models.
Admissions
Curriculum
Workshops (12 units)
Workshop courses can be taken more than once:
- MFA 602 - Fiction Workshop
- MFA 612 - Short Fiction Workshop
- MFA 622 - Long Fiction Workshop
- MFA 632 - Nonfiction Workshop
- MFA 642 - Poetry Workshop
Seminars (16 units)
Seminar topics change each semester and can be taken more than once:
- MFA 605 - Foundations of Writing
- MFA 645 - Developments in Writing
- MFA 650 - Word for Word
- MFA 651 - Developments in the Novel
- MFA 653 - Research for Writers
- MFA 654 - Contemporary American Poetry
- MFA 655 - Forms of Writing
- MFA 661 - Evolution of the Short Story
- MFA 662 - Contemporary Experiments in Fiction
- MFA 664 - Poetry International
- MFA 665 - Topics in Writing
- MFA 670 - Intention and Design in Prose
- MFA 671 - Techniques of Long Fiction
- MFA 672 - The Craft of Short Fiction
- MFA 673 - Truth, Ethics, and Memory
- MFA 674 - Prosody: Meaning and Poetic Form
- MFA 675 - Teaching Creative Writing
- MFA 680 - Style in Fiction
- MFA 681 - Blurred Boundaries
- MFA 682 - Nonfiction Theory & Technique
- MFA 683 - The History of Nonfiction
- MFA 684 - Contemporary Experiments in Nonfiction
- MFA 685 - Professional Development
- MFA 686 - Poetics
- MFA 687 - POV and Characterization
- MFA 688 - Finding Form
- MFA 690 - Special Topics
- MFA 692 - Contemporary Global Fiction
Thesis (4-8 units)
- MFA 689 - Thesis I (Elective, recommended for book-length projects)
- MFA 699 - Thesis II (Required for all students)
Program Outcome
- Articulate how linguistic, formal, and aesthetic choices create literary effects on the page.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the range of literary aesthetics, trends, and sensibilities-nationally and globally, past and present well as the political ramifications of craft choices.
- Practice critical analysis of their writing as a process, implementing drafting and revision plans for their creative projects.
- Cultivate professional practices that engage in the greater literary community and form a sustained writing life.
Scholarships and Funding
The MSCS program offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships to incoming and current graduate students, both domestic and international, on a competitive basis.
MSCS Admission Scholarship
Awarded to incoming MSCS applicants with outstanding applications from all backgrounds. Approximate awards range up to $5k over the first year of study.
MSCS Merit Scholarship
Awarded to incoming MSCS applicants with outstanding applications from all backgrounds, or current MSCS graduate students who demonstrate outstanding skills and leadership. Approximate awards range from $5–10k over one to two semesters.
The Dean's Scholarship
An award of up to $15,000 to use toward tuition, research, and conference travel. Connect with other Dean's Scholarship recipients and leaders across the College of Arts & Sciences. Serve as a program representative to USF donor initiatives to help transform the lives of other USF students. For more information please see the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Scholarships website.
Double Dons Scholarship
USF Alumni and current students can be awarded the USF Double Dons Scholarship upon admission. The scholarship covers 20% of the program tuition, and may not be stacked with other USF scholarship awards. Exceptions may apply.
Career Opportunities
We create as many opportunities as possible for our students to connect with literary culture in the city of San Francisco and beyond. Opportunities include internships at literary journals such as Zyzzyva and Zoetrope, at magazines such as Mother Jones and Wired, at publishing houses such as City Lights and Chronicle Books, and literacy organizations such as 826 Valencia and Streetside Stories. Students participate in literary and service organizations including Poets and Writers, Zoetrope, California Poets in the Schools, the Litquake literary festival, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, and the Bay Area Book Festival. A seminar on teaching writing is offered for those interested in pursuing the profession, with teaching assistantships available in undergraduate courses in English literature and creative writing.