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Purdue Creative Writing Program
Welcome to the Purdue MFA in Creative Writing homepage. We have an ongoing admissions policy and begin reading applications in late Fall for the following Fall semester. We appreciate receiving applications by January 1, though the official deadline for Teaching Assistantship applications is January 15. Please look around and if you have any questions feel free to contact us.
Overview
Established in 1987, the English Department's graduate program in creative writing gives poets and fiction writers the opportunity to develop their work in a supportive atmosphere which values originality and a vital literary tradition. The three-year program is small and flexible, allowing writers to design study plans according to their specific needs. With full funding for all and one of the best student to faculty ratios (3.5 to 1) in the country, the program ensures personal attention and a friendly writing community. Workshops and classes are completed in the first two years; the third year is dedicated to work on the thesis--a novel or a book-length collection of poetry or fiction--through individual tutorials with a writer chosen from our award-winning M.F.A. faculty.
Teaching assistantships include composition and creative writing courses and feature excellent mentoring. Many students also hold editorial positions with Sycamore Review, a nationally recognized literary journal, and some earn additional compensation beyond the Teaching assistantship, as administrators or editors.
Coursework
Craft and theory of fiction or poetry (3 hours), four workshops in fiction or poetry (12 hours), and five other departmental and university electives including an optional course in another art form (15 hours).
Thesis
A novel or a book-length collection of poetry or fiction (12 hours).
Financial Support
Teaching assistantships in any of the composition programs, including creative writing, provide a base stipend of approximately $13,000 for ten months, remission of tuition and most fees, plus merit raises. The teaching load is usually one course per semester, and after the first year students also have the opportunity for additional teaching and pay above and beyond the base stipend. A few merit fellowships provide tax-free stipends of more than $18,000 for 12 months and remission of tuition and fees. In the November/December 2008 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine the Purdue MFA was cited as one of the top seven best funded programs in the country.
To Apply
Please refer to the English Department's graduate web site.