Creative Writing Program of Study

Chatham University's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a broad program of study (39 credit hours) designed to prepare students for careers as writers or other positions requiring similar professional skills, such as editing, publishing, and content development for the web; to enable students to improve their writing in more than one genre through interaction with our faculty and with other writing students; and to become experienced critics of literary works. Our focus on nature, environmental, and travel writing provides students unique opportunities to explore the world and travel as part of their degree program. Most full-time students will be able to complete the program in two years. All students must complete the program within six years of entrance into the program. (That is, a student beginning as an MFA student in fall 2006 would need to graduate no later than fall 2012.)

In order to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, candidates must:

  • Take a least one Field Seminar. Students travel with faculty members to parts of the United States and other countries, respond to the culture and natural world of another locale and write about their experiences.
  • Complete 39 hours of course work
  • Write a Creative Thesis and pass an oral thesis defense

Curriculum (39 hours):
  • One craft course in student’s primary genre , i.e., Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Screenwriting,Writing for Children (3 cr)
  • Three advanced creative writing workshops in primary genre (9 cr)
  • One field seminar (3 cr)
  • Travel Writing, Nature and Environmental Writing or Writing About Environmental Science. (3 cr)
  • Four content courses. Most of these will be graduate English courses, including literature and literary publishing courses, but other courses are acceptable with permission of the program director. Two of these courses must be literature courses (12 cr)
  • One elective. Any course from the MFA program (3 cr)
  • Thesis Seminar (3 cr)
  • Final Creative Thesis (3 cr)
Additional Options
By taking one craft course and two additional writing workshops in their secondary genre, students may attain their MFA with a dual concentration. Thus, students choosing this option will spend 12 hours working in their primary genre and 9 hours in a secondary genre. The Thesis Project for Dual Concentration students may be composed of work in either genre or a combination of both.

We also offer several certificates for students wishing to specialize in a certain area. Students wishing to earn a certificate take 9 hours of courses in one of the following areas (details can be found on our website):
  • Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing
  • Certificate in Travel Writing
  • Certificate in Literary Publishing
  • Certificate in Nature and Environmental Writing
A Selection of Past and Future Field Seminars
  • Turkey: Istanbul and the Gallipoli Peninsula (2011)
  • Literary London and Countryside (2011)
  • Spain: Land of Eden (2010)
  • The Maritime Provinces: Atlantic Canada (2010)
  • Amazonian Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands (2008)
  • Myths of Germany (2008)
  • Nature's Imagination: Costa Rica (2007)
  • Writing New Zealand (2006)
  • They're Trying to Wash Us Away: New Orleans and the Cajun Prairies (2006)
  • Revisioning Myth: Greece (2005)
  • The Majestic Ganges: India (2005)