American University · Department of Literature

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Creative WritingPartial funding

Overview

A two-year, 36-credit MFA with graduate workshops in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, plus courses in literary journalism and translation. Students may study full-time or part-time, and the degree ends with a book-length thesis manuscript.

Official program name: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Awarded degree: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
School: American University — Department of Literature
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Location: Washington, DC
Delivery / residency: Campus-based
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Study intensity: Full-time, Part-time
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Duration: Most students complete the degree in 2 years
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Required credits: 36 credit hours
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Teaching language: English (not separately stated)

Why this degree is listed

The program page names the degree as a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We list dedicated creative writing degrees only. Eligibility rules

Curriculum, genres and faculty

Genres

Fiction Creative Nonfiction Poetry

Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Workshops

LIT-700 Advanced Fiction Workshop, a graduate workshop in which students produce and critique original fiction.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Craft courses

LIT-705 Seminar on Translation, a workshop course in translation and adaptation.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Thesis / dissertation

Required thesis: an original, book-length manuscript.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Teaching opportunities

LIT-730 Teaching Composition, typically offered each fall and recommended for the second year.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Internships

Internship opportunities with Washington, DC institutions.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Other

Virtual and in-person career bootcamps open to current students and alumni.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Faculty listed by the program

Rhonda Zimlich — MFA Director, Professorial Lecturer
Andrew Bertaina — Professorial Lecturer
Kyle Dargan — Associate Professor
David Keplinger — Professor
Patricia Park — Associate Professor
Dolen Perkins-Valdez — Associate Professor
Rachel Louise Snyder — Professor

As listed on the program's official page on October 9, 2026. Listing does not mean a faculty member is teaching or supervising new students in a given year.

Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Admissions

Required, optional, waived and not-required items are shown exactly as the school states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Admission requirements: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

Writing portfolio

Genre	Length	Requirement as published
Poetry	up to 15 pages	No more than 12 poems or 15 pagesFormatting: no more than one new or continuing poem per pageSource: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Fiction	15–25 pages	Fiction or nonfiction: 15-25 pagesSource: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Creative Nonfiction	15–25 pages	Fiction or nonfiction: 15-25 pagesSource: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Tests

GRE and English-language test policy: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate competitiveness: programs rarely publish comparable figures.

Deadlines

Dates are shown with the admissions cycle the school printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Funding / priority deadline
February 1 (merit award consideration; later applications still considered)
The school does not print a year with this date.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Year not printed

Tuition and fees

Each amount keeps its applicant category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-year and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other.

Category	Amount	Basis and year
All students — Graduate students, per credit hour (on-campus and most online programs)From the school's rate table for this level	$2,163	per credit · 2026-2027Calculated$77,868 total = 36 credits × $2,163 per credit. Excludes mandatory fees, residency or travel costs, and any rate change during the program.Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Funding

Some scholarships, assistantships or awards exist for some students; full funding is not stated. “Fully funded” never means every personal expense is covered. How we classify funding

Partial funding

Tuition coverage: Merit awards may be partial tuition scholarships or partial tuition with a graduate assistantship stipend.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Separate application: All applicants are automatically considered for a merit award; no separate application.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Named scholarships, fellowships and assistantships

Starr Family Scholarship Fund scholarship
$5,000 annually
Eligibility: Returning MA/MFA students in the Department of Literature, on the basis of merit
How to apply: Selection is made by the department; no application process.
Source: www-cdn.american.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 9, 2026.

www-cdn.american.edu/cas/admissions/finance.cfm — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
www-cdn.american.edu/cas/literature/mfa/ — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
www-cdn.american.edu/cas/literature/mfa/courses.cfm — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 9, 2026
www-cdn.american.edu/cas/literature/mfa/faculty.cfm — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
www-cdn.american.edu/finance/studentaccounts/tuition-and-fees-information.cfm — Official tuition and fees page, verified October 9, 2026

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Creative Writing Programs is independent and not affiliated with American University. Information is collected from official pages and can change; confirm requirements, costs and deadlines with the school.