Creative Writing, M.F.A.

English |View/Print PDF

The program course outline and graduation requirements for this catalog year are listed below.  The department website provides an overview of the program, including admission requirements, faculty biographies, learning outcomes, and careers: https://www.southernct.edu/academics/english/programs 

Program Sequence (Fiction) - 48 Credits


MFA in Creative Writing: Fiction

Four workshop classes in major genre (12 credits)
ENG 502 – Prose Fiction Writing I
ENG 503A – ENG 503G –Prose Fiction Writing II  
     Note: ENG 503 may be repeated up to 6 times, per course sequence

One workshop class in minor genre (3 Credits)
ENG 402 – Advanced Poetry Writing 
ENG 506 – The Writing of Poetry I 
ENG 507A - ENG 507G – The Writing of Poetry II
         Note: ENG 507 may be repeated up to 6 times, per course sequence

Five classes in literature or literary theory (15 credits) –
ENG 508 – Contemporary Critical Theory
ENG 509 – Contemporary Poetic Theory 
ENG 511 – Love and the Body in Medieval Consciousness 
ENG 512 – Literature of the Anglo-Saxons 
ENG 514 – English Medieval Literature 
ENG 515 – Writing the Novel I 
ENG 516 – Writing the Novel II 
ENG 517 – Research Methods 
ENG 521 – Feminist Theory and Literary Criticism
ENG 522 – Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
ENG 523 – Contemporary African American Literature 
ENG 524 – The Harlem Renaissance 
ENG 525 – 17th Century Poetry 
ENG 529 – African American Rhetorical Theory 
ENG 531 – Feminist Rhetorical Theory 
ENG 536 – Early Victorians: 1837-1870 
ENG 537 – Later Victorians: 1870-1914
ENG 538 – Victorian Novel 
ENG 540 – Classical Drama
ENG 542 – Shakespeare 
ENG 548 – Modern and Contemporary Drama 
ENG 552 – English Renaissance
ENG 555 – The 18th Century: Age of Satire 
ENG 557 – Romantic Period 
ENG 559 – 20th Century English Literature
ENG 560 – 20th Century American Drama 
ENG 562 – The American Novel Before 1850 
ENG 564 – Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville 
ENG 565 – Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman 
ENG 566 – 20th Century American Poets 
ENG 567 – Mark Twain, Howells, and James 
ENG 568 – American Novel: 1900-1945
ENG 569 – American Novel Since 1945 
ENG 570 – The Epic 
ENG 571 – Myth and the Contemporary Hero
ENG 572 – The Short Story
ENG 576 – Comparative Study of the 19th Century Novel 
ENG 578 – Comparative Study of the 20th Century Novel 
ENG 579 – Comparative Studies of the Essay 
ENG 580 – Chaucer 
ENG 581 – Medieval Women and Literature 
ENG 583 – Arthurian Legend
ENG 584 – Milton 
ENG 586 – Seminar in American Literature
ENG 587 – Seminar in British Literature 
ENG 588 – Seminar in Comparative Literature 
ENG 597 – Graduate Internship in Teaching Writing (may be repeated for credit) 
ENG 600 – Independent Study and Research (subject is literature and/or theory) 

Electives (12 Credits)
Minimum of 6 in the English Department 
(Note: all courses listed above may also satisfy this requirement) 
ENG 504 – The Teaching of Writing 
ENG 505 – Applied English Linguistics 
ENG 506 – The Writing of Poetry I
ENG 507A - ENG 507G – The Writing of Poetry II 
         Note: ENG 507 may be repeated up to 6 times, per course sequence
ENG 510 – History of the English Language 
ENG 518 – Philosophy of Composition 
ENG 519 – Teaching College Writing 
ENG 585 – Special Topics in Composition/Rhetoric 

Thesis: book-length manuscript of original fiction (6 Credits)
ENG 590: English Thesis 

Note: six credits of undergraduate courses in the 300- and 400-level (ENG 402 among them) may be applied to the MFA requirements.

Program Sequence (Poetry) - 48 Credits


MFA in Creative Writing: Poetry

Four workshop classes in major genre (12 credits)
ENG 506 – The Writing of Poetry I 
ENG 507A - ENG 507G – The Writing of Poetry II 
         Note: ENG 507 may be repeated up to 6 times, per course sequence

One workshop class in minor genre (3 Credits)
ENG 406 – Advanced Fiction Writing 
ENG 502 – Prose Fiction Writing I 
ENG 503A - ENG 503G – Prose Fiction Writing II 
         Note: ENG 503 may be repeated up to 6 times, per course sequence

Five classes in literature or literary theory (15 credits)
ENG 508 – Contemporary Critical Theory 
ENG 509 – Contemporary Poetic Theory
ENG 511 – Love and the Body in Medieval Consciousness 
ENG 512 – Literature of the Anglo-Saxons
ENG 514 – English Medieval Literature
ENG 515 – Writing the Novel I 
ENG 516 – Writing the Novel II 
ENG 517 – Research Methods 
ENG 521 – Feminist Theory and Literary Criticism
ENG 522 – Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
ENG 523 – Contemporary African American Literature 
ENG 524 – The Harlem Renaissance 
ENG 525 – 17th Century Poetry 
ENG 529 – African American Rhetorical Theory 
ENG 531 – Feminist Rhetorical Theory
ENG 536 – Early Victorians: 1837-1870
ENG 537 – Later Victorians: 1870-1914
ENG 538 – Victorian Novel 
ENG 540 – Classical Drama 
ENG 542 – Shakespeare
ENG 548 – Modern and Contemporary Drama
ENG 552 – English Renaissance 
ENG 555 – The 18th Century: Age of Satire 
ENG 557 – Romantic Period
ENG 559 – 20th Century English Literature
ENG 560 – 20th Century American Drama
ENG 562 – The American Novel Before 1850 
ENG 564 – Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville
ENG 565 – Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman 
ENG 566 – 20th Century American Poets 
ENG 567 – Mark Twain, Howells, and James 
ENG 568 – American Novel: 1900-1945 
ENG 569 – American Novel Since 1945 
ENG 570 – The Epic 
ENG 571 – Myth and the Contemporary Hero 
ENG 572 – The Short Story 
ENG 576 – Comparative Study of the 19th Century Novel 
ENG 578 – Comparative Study of the 20th Century Novel
ENG 579 – Comparative Studies of the Essay 
ENG 580 – Chaucer
ENG 581 – Medieval Women and Literature 
ENG 583 – Arthurian Legend 
ENG 584 – Milton 
ENG 586 – Seminar in American Literature
ENG 587 – Seminar in British Literature 
ENG 588 – Seminar in Comparative Literature 
ENG 597 – Graduate Internship in Teaching Writing (may be repeated for credit)
ENG 600 – Independent Study and Research (subject is literature and/or theory)

Electives (12 Credits)
Minimum of 6 in the English Department
(Note: all courses listed above, in addition to those listed immediately below, may be used as elective credits):
ENG 502 – Prose Fiction Writing I 
ENG 503A - ENG 503G – Prose Fiction Writing II
         Note: ENG 503 may be repeated up to 6 times, per course sequence
ENG 504 – The Teacher of Writing 
ENG 505 – Applied English Linguistics 
ENG 510 – History of the English Language
ENG 518 – Philosophy of Composition 
ENG 519 – Teaching College Writing 
ENG 585 – Special Topics in Composition/Rhetoric 

Thesis: book-length manuscript of original fiction (6 Credits)
ENG 590 – English Thesis 

Note: six credits of undergraduate courses in the 300- and 400-level (ENG 402 among them) may be applied to the MFA requirements.