{"id":754,"date":"2012-09-10T20:03:54","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T20:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad1213\/sas\/programs\/master-of-fine-arts-in-professional-writing\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T11:29:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T15:29:45","slug":"master-of-fine-arts-in-professional-writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/sas\/programs\/master-of-fine-arts-in-professional-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN CREATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING"},"content":{"rendered":"

Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing (Online with Residencies)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Anthony D’Aries, Graduate Coordinator, HI 219A<\/td>\nPhone: (203) 837-3252<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ndariesa@wcsu.edu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFax: (203) 837-3953<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Krista Brooks, Department Secretary, HI 201<\/td>\nPhone: (203) 837-9166<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nbrooksk@wcsu.edu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFax: (636) 246-7589<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faculty:\u00a0 <\/em><\/td>\nB. Clements; A. D’Aries, O. De Los Santos; J. Roche.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Creative and Professional Writing Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative and Professional Writing is a terminal degree program founded on the belief that writers who can work in multiple genres are best equipped for professional careers and that writing across genres has both practical and systemic benefits for the writer. The low-residency structure of the program offers a convenient course of study for traditional students coming directly out of undergraduate programs as well as for nontraditional students who have decided to return to school after a short or long hiatus due to family, career, or other commitments. All coursework is online. Students are required to attend four residencies as part of the degree. These are offered on-campus twice a year.<\/p>\n

Program Goals <\/strong><\/p>\n

The MFA in Creative and Professional Writing seeks to provide writers with the skills they need to maintain professional writing careers.<\/p>\n

Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students in the MFA in Creative and Professional Writing program will:<\/p>\n

1. Acquire the ability to produce publishable-quality writing,<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Engage in experiential learning in the fields of writing, publishing, or teaching, and<\/p>\n

3. Acquire familiarity with professional expectations of flexible and adaptive career writers. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Learning Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Students will demonstrate ongoing competence in one creative and one pratical genre.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Students will produce publishable work in one creative and one practical genre.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Students will demonstrate either proficiency to teach writing or practical knowledge of a professional application in the writing world.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Students will demonstrate awareness of traditions, conventions, and innovations in one creative and one practical genre.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Admission Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n

A student who wishes to obtain an M.F.A. in Creative and Professional Writing must hold a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education. The program welcomes students from diverse educational backgrounds; no degree in English or in any humanities field is required.<\/p>\n

In addition to the application, each prospective student must\u00a0submit two writing samples: a 20 to 50 page portfolio of previous writing and a brief essay. The portfolio may consist of writing in any genre, but the department prefers a combination of creative and practical writing samples, if possible.<\/p>\n

Graduate Application<\/a><\/p>\n

MFA Additional Admission Documentation<\/a><\/p>\n

MFA Genre and Schedule Questionnaire<\/a><\/p>\n

Essay Form<\/a><\/p>\n

All materials should be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies, Western Connecticut State University, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810 or sent as an attachment to graduateadmissions@wcsu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Degree Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n

The student will select one creative genre (such as fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or drama) and one practical genre (such as public relations\/marketing, technical writing, or magazine feature writing). The student will designate one of those genres as the primary genre and the other as a secondary genre. Additionally, the student will work in a multigenre workshop each semester, which will involve reading, critiquing, and possibly writing in disciplines other than the two specializations. All course work other than the online multigenre workshop follows the mentorship model, where each course consists of one-on-one consultation between one mentor and one student.<\/p>\n

The student may opt for a two, three, or four year plan for completion of the degree. In the three and four year options, the student will declare at the outset of the program the residencies and corresponding semesters in which s\/he plans to enroll. The student will attend four residencies over the course of the program. Three in-person, weeklong residency options are offered each year.<\/p>\n

Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nCourse Rotation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 543 Online Multi-Genre Workshop I<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 536 Reading for Writers I (Primary Genre)<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 539 Genre History, Criticism, and Theory<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 542 Writing in the Primary Genre I<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Second Semester<\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 579 Online Multi-Genre Workshop II<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 537 Reading for Writers II (Second Genre)<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 576 Writing in the Primary Genre II<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 578 Writing in the Second Genre<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Third Semester<\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 582 Online Multi-Genre Workshop III<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 569 Internship or Teaching Practicum<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 571 The Individual Aesthetic and Process<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 577 Writing in the Primary Genre III<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fourth Semester<\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 583 Online Multi-Genre Workshop IV<\/td>\n4 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WRT 584 Thesis\/PDE<\/td>\n8 SH<\/td>\nEvery Fall and Spring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Additionally, the student will be required to complete an enrichment project that complements the course of study. Such a project might involve starting a new publication, volunteering at a nonprofit literary center, working as a contract writer, or learning a foreign language.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing (Online with Residencies) Anthony D’Aries, Graduate Coordinator, HI 219A Phone: (203) 837-3252 dariesa@wcsu.edu Fax: (203) 837-3953 Krista Brooks, Department Secretary, HI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":747,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-754","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/grad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}