English Department at UNLV

Degree Requirements

The Master of Fine Arts in creative writing requires 54 credit hours of course work:

• 12 credits of creative writing. Students are required to take 9 hours in their primary genre (poetry or fiction) and 3 in the other.
• 9 credits of Forms of Poetry or Fiction. Students are required to take 6 hours in their primary genre (poetry or fiction) and 3 in the other
• 9 credits in other graduate courses offered by the Department of English
• 6 credits must be earned abroad to fulfill the international component of the program
• 1 Translation (3 credits) taken as an independent study (ENG 739)
• 1 Critical Essay (3 credits), taken as an independent study (ENG 749)
• 1 Thesis Manuscript (12 credits for thesis hours). Candidates work independently to complete a book-length thesis in either fiction or poetry, while under the direction of members of the creative writing faculty

English 791

English 791, Teaching College Language and Literature, is a required course for all MFA candidates awarded a graduate assistantship. However, this course does not count toward the credits needed for the MFA degree.

Thesis Manuscript

All candidates for the MFA degree are required to complete a thesis manuscript in either poetry or fiction. The thesis must be a book-length manuscript that conforms to all Graduate College guidelines and will only be passed when it is judged to be a substantial creative work of high literary merit in the opinion of the thesis committee. An oral exam will be given at the end of the student’s study, at which time the student will defend the manuscript completed during his or her course of study.

International Emphasis

UNLV’s MFA program provides the opportunity to study the creative process across traditional borders of language and culture, giving students a more global and contemporary perspective on their craft. Students are required to spend at least one semester abroad in a non-English-speaking country. Six credits towards the degree must be earned by enrolling in a college or university abroad or by an independent study monitored by a member of the creative writing faculty. Students are encouraged to structure their time abroad in whatever way will most support the development of their writing. Those applicants with significant foreign language skills and demonstrable residency in a non-English-speaking country may be granted credit for the study abroad requirement, at the discretion of the creative writing faculty, when admitted.

Master's International/Peace Corps Program

The UNLV Creative Writing Program's Peace Corps track is an innovative and unique way for young poets and fiction writers to meet the international obligations of our program, become bilingual, and serve the current needs of the third world. For more information about the Peace Corps track, visit the program description page.

More information

Questions about the degree requirements should be addressed to the creative writing program coordinator, 702-895-4366.