Graduate Areas of Concentration

Fiction, poetry, nonfiction writing

Also available at OSU-Cascades.

The School of Writing, Literature, and Film offers the Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing (fiction, poetry, nonfiction writing) at the Corvallis campus and a Low-Residency MFA partner program on the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend, Oregon.

The MFA Program in Creative Writing on the OSU Corvallis campus is a two-year, high residency, studio/research program that interweaves literary artistic practice and literary scholarship. Tracks in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are supported by writing workshops led by nationally known writers, as well as by courses in form, craft, and theory. Intensive mentoring during the thesis year, training in creative writing pedagogy, professional internships, and opportunities for outreach and community engagement produce graduates who are both accomplished creative writers and advocates for the role of literary arts in American culture and society.

OSU-Cascades's Low-Residency MFA is a two-year program combining writing workshop with studies in craft, literature, and vocation. The program offers intensive 10-day residency sessions in June and November and individualized mentorships by nationally known writers throughout the year. The program's intensive low-residency format is designed to balance the modern writer's need for both solitude and community, for both self-reliance and responsibility—to give our students the freedom as well as the discipline to write. Our curriculum builds sustainable writing habits, develops skills needed to support a creative livelihood after graduation, and creates an environment for taking imaginative risks.

Major Code: 8920

• Conduct research or produce some other form of creative work.
• Demonstrate mastery of subject material.
• Conduct scholarly or professional activities in an ethical manner.
• Develop and employ methods of intensive revision.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the contemporary creative writing profession.
• Develop proficiency in teaching introductory creative writing courses.

 Cascades Low-Residency MFA Requirements

Corvallis MFA Requirements

Please refer to the MFA Handbook.

Major Code: 8920