Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Low-residency) - Creative nonfiction

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing builds upon and moves beyond the BA/BFA level in English, allowing students the opportunity to earn an advanced degree, thereby furthering their careers in writing, editing and publishing. This low residency, two-year program requires two 10-day residencies in which students will choose a focus track of Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction or Writing for Children and Young Adults (WCYA). The residency periods will expose students to renowned writers, speakers, editors and publishers. Students will also be expected to attend conferences, public readings, workshops and other events that will lead to an enhanced relationship with the community both locally and in a broader context. This supports the UNR institutional commitment to produce students who are scholars of and contributors to society, while encouraging cultural and educational sustainability through life-long learning.

Students who graduate with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing will:
write to a professional standard in a variety of modes and genres both creatively and critically with attention to the processes of writing, revision and presentation, both written and oral, of their work,
experiment with different approaches to writing using various literary techniques and forms across genres while mastering one specific genre, challenging the established boundaries of that genre, and adding their voice to an ongoing dialectic of artistic creation,
recognize, discuss and analyze the history, literary movements, traditions, subgenres, innovations, and contemporary practice of their genre of specialization,
demonstrate excellence in craft and aesthetic technique in their genre of specialization in successively higher levels each academic year,

Applicants to the MFA program in creative writing must have a Bachelor's degree or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from an accredited university, school, or college and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Applicants need not have received their previous degree in English, but all applicants must demonstrate readiness to engage in graduate-level scholarship in English.

TOEFL: 550 (paper) or 79 (iBT) or 8.5 (Essentials)
IELTS: 6.5 (academic version)