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Creative WritingPrograms

McNeese State University · MFA Program in Creative Writing, College of Liberal Arts

MFA in Creative Writing

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Creative WritingCompetitive full funding

Overview

A three-year, 60-credit, in-person MFA in fiction or poetry built around workshops, Form and Theory craft courses and literature courses, ending in a book-length creative thesis. Students may earn a concurrent MA in English without additional hours, and most are offered teaching assistantships with a tuition waiver and stipend.

Official program name
MFA in Creative Writing
Awarded degree
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
School
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Location
Lake Charles, LA
Delivery / residency
Campus-basedClasses and workshops meet in person on campus throughout the program.
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Study intensity
Not verified
Duration
3 years
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Required credits
60 credit hours
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Teaching language
English (not separately stated)
Why this degree is listed

The program page lists the degree as Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing, with fiction and poetry tracks.

Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We list dedicated creative writing degrees only. Eligibility rules

Curriculum, genres and faculty

Genres

FictionPoetry

Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Workshops

Craft courses

Thesis / dissertation

Teaching opportunities

  • First-year tutoring and embedded tutoring; own composition sections in years two and three
    Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Literary journal opportunities

Other

  • Option of a concurrent MA in English without additional hours or cost
    Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Community and outreach

  • AWP membership for all MFA students and partial funding to attend the AWP conference
    Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Faculty listed by the program

  • Michael Horner — MFA Program Director, fiction
  • Vallie Lynn Watson — fiction
  • Michael Robins — poetry
  • Kevin Thomason — poetry

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: mcneese.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”.
Personal statement
RequiredOne-page letter of intent covering goals, interest in McNeese and interest in teaching freshman-level English
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Other requirement
RequiredAdmitted students then complete a Graduate School application; university admission alone does not grant MFA admission
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Writing portfolio

GenreLengthRequirement as published
Fictionup to 20 pagesUp to 20 pages of fiction via SubmittableSource: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Poetryup to 10 pagesUp to 10 pages of poetry via SubmittableSource: mcneese.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.

  • Application deadline

    February 21 (priority deadline; applications accepted from October 15) · for Fall 2027

    The school does not print a year with this date.

    Source: mcneese.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.

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

Funding

Full funding (tuition and stipend) is available to selected students only. Admission does not guarantee it. “Fully funded” never means every personal expense is covered. How we classify funding

Competitive full funding

Funding guarantee
Most MFA students are offered teaching assistantships with a tuition waiver and a stipend
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Mandatory fees
Students typically pay less than $200 per semester after the waiver and stipend
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Other
Students without teaching assistantships may seek other campus graduate assistantships with hourly pay and a half-tuition waiver
Source: mcneese.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 9, 2026.
  1. mcneese.edu/academics/graduate/creative-writing/ — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026

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Similar programs

Same degree level, nearby or in the same format. Listed for discovery, not ranked.

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College logo

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

MFA Program in Creative Writing

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Format: Campus-basedClasses and workshops meet in person on campus throughout the program.
Genres: Fiction · Poetry · Creative Nonfiction · Playwriting · Screenwriting · Cross-Genre / Interdisciplinary
Duration: Three years (must be completed within five years)
Funding: Fully funded (all admitted)$23,000 stipend (academic year, paid monthly)
Tuition: Tuition not published
Deadline: January 15, 2027 · Fall 2027
View programSelected in: Best MFA Creative Writing Programs

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