Creative Writing MFA

The Temple MFA Program in Creative Writing awards a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, with a focus in either fiction or poetry. Our innovative curriculum immerses students in the study of creative writing and literature, with course offerings that range from special topics and craft classes in creative writing to graduate seminars in literature, the humanities and the arts. Through small workshops and one-on-one manuscript tutorials with our resident faculty, the curriculum supports students as they gain technique and self-confidence and prepare to hand in their MFA theses in their final semester. The supportive environment also helps our students move successfully from the MFA into the highly competitive world of submissions to journals and book publishers.

Download a packet of details (PDF) about the MFA in Creative Writing

Workshops are supplemented by individual consultations with visiting writers and a series of readings by prominent writers. For more information, please look at our Poets & Writers events page. Students also have the opportunity to work on our online literary journal, TINGE Magazine, which is graduate student–edited.

Read about the writers and poets who are currently teaching in the MFA program on our faculty page. Past faculty who have taught in the program include such noted writers and scholars as Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Samuel R. Delany, David Bradley, Toby Olson, Sonia Sanchez, and Susan Stewart.

Part-Time MFA Program

You have the option of attending part-time over three years (two three-credit classes per semester) or taking some classes as a non-matriculated student. If you’re interested in the latter option, inquire by emailing [click-for-email] at least two weeks before the start of the semester about specific classes. Check Temple’s course schedule (select the semester, then look under English, Graduate). If there’s space and the instructor is amenable, you’ll most likely be asked for a writing sample and other information for further consideration if you haven’t already sent in a formal application.

Visiting Writers Program

The Creative Writing Program invites a distinguished novelist (in the fall) and poet (in the spring) to be in residence for several days in order to work with MFA students. These guests read student manuscripts in their genre, meet with students individually in conference, give a reading, attend graduate workshops and spend informal time with the students over the course of their visit. During the two years of the master’s program, students have the opportunity to engage with four of these visitors and have conferences on their work with one or two of them (in their specific genre). The writers brought to Temple under this program are a distinctive and internationally recognized group.

In recent years, the Visiting Writers Program has hosted the following authors:

Jennifer Haigh
Alexander Chee
Susan Briante
Roberto Tejada
Brian Evenson
C. S. Giscombe
Jaimy Gordon
Bhanu Kapil
Katie Kitamura
Brenda Hillman
Dawn Lundy Martin
Jesse Ball

MFA Resources

Admission Requirements

Although not required, Temple prefers Creative Writing MFA program applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree in English or creative writing or to have taken a significant number of workshops or literature classes as an undergraduate. However, some students without this background have performed well in the program. Therefore, we consider the entire application package in our admission decisions.

A writing sample in the genre of your choice, a personal statement, a resume and two letters of reference are required for admission. The GRE is optional.

All materials should be submitted by February 15. If you would like to be considered for a teaching assistantship or fellowship, please submit your materials by December 15. Applications submitted after December 15 will still be considered for a teaching assistantship or fellowship, but those meeting the initial deadline will be prioritized.

Please visit the university’s Creative Writing MFA admissions page to learn more about graduate program requirements and instructions on how to apply.

Tuition and Fees

Temple University is relatively affordable in comparison to other programs. In the past, some students with no funding chose Temple instead of other programs that offered some funding because Temple was still more affordable for them. Also note that Pennsylvania residents receive reduced tuition at Temple (see the registrar’s residency page for eligibility). The MFA program requires 33 total credits. Check the Bursar’s Office for current tuition rates and fees.

Financial Aid Information for the MFA Program (pdf)

University Financial Support

View the most up-to-date information on additional financial support offered by the university.

Learn More

A Letter to Fiction Writers

Dear Fiction Writers:

We have three (sometimes four) faculty members who teach fiction in our program, and we have different specialties: literary fiction, experimental fiction, social realism. We believe it’s helpful for our students to encounter such varied approaches, aesthetics, and perspectives, since it leads to their finding their own voice, and we encourage our students to take a workshop with each of us during their time at Temple.

Our curriculum also includes a craft class in fiction, special topics courses that range from journal editing to nonfiction writing, and a tutorial in the second year, in which students work one-on-one with a resident faculty member.

A visiting fiction writer comes to campus every year, meeting in individual conferences with second-year students about their manuscripts, sitting in on workshops, and giving a reading. In addition, we usually have three other fiction writers reading each year in the program’s Poets and Writers series.

We’re often asked by applicants if we allow genre work in workshops. In general, our program leans toward literary fiction. We do not encourage the writing of pure genre fiction. However, students may write stories or books that play with and try to subvert or reinvent genre conventions. But we want them to do so with the ambition of meeting or exceeding the standards that we would expect in any piece of good writing, meaning that it pays attention to language and is well crafted and imbued with depth and nuance and texture.

Temple has several financial aid packages available to eligible candidates, including Teaching Assistantships and University Fellowships, which provide a stipend, health benefits, and full tuition remission. Students on TAships teach in Temple’s first-year writing program, and may also choose to teach introductory creative writing workshops in their third or fourth semester.

We are able to fund, on average, 40% of our students. The priority deadline for applications is December 15.

Cheers,
The Fiction Faculty

A Letter to Poets

Dear Poets:

Temple’s MFA program is located in the poetically lively city of Philadelphia and features faculty members with a particular interest in the tradition of innovation. Our two-year course of study combines creative and critical practices: students take a mix of writing workshops, arts and humanities classes, and literature seminars whose emphases on literary-historical traditions as well as innovative practices fuel students’ thesis projects. Augmented by one-on-one mentoring and thesis advising in the second year, the coursework provides a rich and challenging curriculum for any serious student of poetry.

Designed to dovetail with classroom studies, the program’s Poets and Writers reading series brings four poets to campus a year, including one who is in residence for several days in order to work with the students individually. Additionally, the annual DuPlessis Lecture in Poetry and Poetics brings a poet-critic to campus to speak about the intersection of critical and creative practices. Our program also draws on the resources of neighboring institutions, particularly the University of Pennsylvania and the Kelly Writers House, in addition to the vibrancy of Philadelphia’s many independent poetry communities.

Temple has several financial aid packages available to eligible candidates, including teaching assistantships, which cover full tuition, health benefits, and a stipend. Students on TAships teach in Temple’s first-year writing program, and may also choose to teach creative writing workshops in their final semester.

We encourage potential applicants to contact us if they are interested in what Temple’s poetry program has to offer. Feel free to email Jena at [click-for-email].

Many thanks,
Jena Osman

Program Contact

Director
Liz Moore
955 Mazur Hall
[click-for-email]

Assistant Director
Pattie McCarthy
1054 Mazur Hall
[click-for-email]

Manager of Administration
LaTasha Goodman
1041 Mazur Hall
[click-for-email]
(215) 204-8516