Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts is a two-year program that offers study in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, and playwriting. The program is comprised of faculty from the Department of Creative Writing and the Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production.
Our program consists of workshops in a chosen genre, culminating in a final project (the master's thesis or manuscript) that showcases the writer's cultivated talents in the form of a poetry collection, novel, short story collection, memoir, essay collection, screenplay, or full-length play.
The MFA requires students to major in the genre they apply in, but encourages them to explore other genres as well, allowing for creative movement within disciplines. For example, structure and focus in screenwriting and playwriting can be applied to fiction and nonfiction and lyricism and metaphor in poetry can enhance description and dialogue in the other genres.
Students will also engage in supplemental coursework through seminars selected from other departments. Our students commonly take classes offered by such varied programs as comparative literature and foreign languages, English, Hispanic studies, and media and cultural studies, among others.

A bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, from an accredited institution. The degree must represent the completion of a program equivalent in subject matter and scholarship to that offered by the University of California.

A minimum of a 3.0 undergraduate GPA or B-equivalent (if GPA is not on a 4.0 scale). We recommend that you check with the graduate program as they may have a higher standard for their GPA requirements. If your GPA is below this, follow up with the graduate program you are interested. Applications are reviewed in their entirety and the program can look at your other components and advise you on potential admission.

All applications are initially reviewed by the graduate program before a recommendation is submitted to the Graduate Division for final approval.

We require transcripts with final grades or most recent grades (if degree is in progress) from all college-level institutions you have attended. We also require proof of any degree awarded to you. Confirmation of your degree can be a degree posting on a transcript or a copy of your degree certificate. If you have attended an institution located outside of the US.

IELTS - minimum acceptable overall score is 7 with no score less than 6 on any individual component. TOEFL - minimum acceptable scores are: 550 for the revised TOEFL paper-delivered test and 80 for the TOEFL iBT.