Northwestern University · Department of English (Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences); School of Professional Studies

MFA in Prose and Poetry

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Prose and PoetryPartial funding

Overview

A part-time, 15-course MFA offered fully online through live Zoom workshops, with specializations in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, dual-genre, or publishing and professional development, ending in a creative thesis. Tuition for 2026-2027 is listed at $4,000 per course.

Official program name: MFA in Prose and Poetry
Awarded degree: Master of Fine Arts in Prose and Poetry
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
School: Northwestern University — Department of English (Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences); School of Professional Studies
Source: catalogs.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Location: Evanston, ILThe administering school's location. Study is online; this is not a residence requirement.
Delivery / residency: Fully online
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Study intensity: Part-time
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Duration: Not verified
Required credits: Not verified
Teaching language: English (not separately stated)
Start: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Why this degree is listed

MFA with an unusual title whose official text establishes a dedicated creative writing degree (workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry; creative thesis).

Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We list dedicated creative writing degrees only. Eligibility rules

Online study

All coursework is completed online and the school does not require in-person attendance.

Residency schedule and attendance rules: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

Published state-authorization restrictions: not verified. Ask the school whether students in your state can enroll.

Curriculum, genres and faculty

Genres

Fiction Creative Nonfiction Poetry

Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Concentrations and tracks

Fiction
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Nonfiction
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Poetry
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Dual-genre
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Publishing & professional development
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Workshops

15-course curriculum with workshops in a concentration, electives and two thesis courses.
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Thesis / dissertation

Creative thesis supervised by a faculty mentor and a second reader.
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Other

Not asynchronous: live class attendance is mandatory.
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Literary journal opportunities

Opportunity to edit an international literary magazine with peers.
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Teaching opportunities

Training to teach creative writing, with internships (practica) in teaching and publishing.
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Faculty listed by the program

Christine Sneed — Faculty Director, fiction
Paula Carter
Leland Cheuk
Gioia Diliberto
Gina Frangello

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: sps.northwestern.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”.

Prior degree: RequiredU.S. bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution or foreign equivalent
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Statement of purpose: RequiredStatement of purpose, 300 to 550 words
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Recommendation letters: Required2 letters — Two recommenders
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
CV / résumé: RequiredResume
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Application fee: Required$75 — $75 non-refundable application fee
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Transcripts: RequiredOfficial transcripts
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Critical / academic writing sample: RequiredBrief analytical paper (5 to 10 pages)
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Writing portfolio

Genre	Length	Requirement as published
Any / all genres	—	About 20 typed, double-spaced pages of prose, 15 to 20 pages of poetry, or the equivalent in published workFormatting: typed, double-spacedSource: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Tests

TOEFL iBT: Required — minimum 5International applicants without a qualifying degree; band scale from January 21, 2026 (100 on 0-120 scale for earlier tests).
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
IELTS Academic: Optional — minimum 7Alternative to TOEFL
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

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

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 — Per coursePublished for fully online study	$4,000	(basis not stated by the school) · 2026-2027Includes feesSource: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026
All students — Estimated program total including technology fees (15 courses)Published for fully online study	$60,000	entire program · 2026-2027Includes feesSource: sps.northwestern.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 fundingPolicy year: 2026-2027

Tuition coverage: Full tuition remission for the fifteenth course for students in good academic standing (total $56,000).
Source: sps.northwestern.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Sources and verification

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

catalogs.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/arts-sciences/english/creative-writing-major/ — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 9, 2026
sps.northwestern.edu/masters/admission.html — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
sps.northwestern.edu/masters/prose-and-poetry/faculty.html — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
sps.northwestern.edu/masters/prose-and-poetry/index.html — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026

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