About the Graduate MFA in Creative Writing Program

About the MFA in Creative Writing

The Master of Fine Arts program at Wichita State University is the twelfth oldest in the nation and one that has earned widespread respect by producing graduates who are not only well-trained writers but also well-prepared teachers of writing and literature possessing skills in editing and other related fields.

The program, now in its 44th year, is a 48-hour, studio-academic program with students in full-time residence for three years developing their skills in fiction or poetry writing. Over those three years, students take a core of workshops and tutorials as well as additional coursework in English, which leads to a final writing project -- a collection of fiction or poetry, a novel or some appropriate work. Flexibility is provided in academic coursework to allow for a variety of possible interests.

Almost all of the program’s Master of Fine Arts students are funded for three years either through graduate teaching assistant positions (GTAs) or through a fellowship. In fall 2017, three fiction students and three poetry students entered the program. Of those six new MFA students, all were offered Graduate Teaching Assistantships receiving tuition remission and a stipend.

Apply to the MFA Program Why WSU? Requirements Financial Support FAQ MFA Handbook PDF

Why WSU?

What makes Wichita State University's MFA program different?

Wichita State University students are able to hone their craft for a full three years.
All of our students are able to receive the same amount of funding so they don't have to compete with their classmates.
Our students are able to teach their first year. Many of our students graduate having taught three or four different classes.
Our students are eligible for multiple awards like the Barr Fellowship and the MFA Fellowship in Creative Writing.
Our students are entered into Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) awards and various school-wide and national scholarships.
Our Graduate Teaching Assistants lead classes in rhetoric and composition, basic and advanced skills for ESL students, and business writing.
Our students have the opportunity to pair up with alumni to receive one-on-one mentoring about post-MFA opportunities.
Unlike other programs, students in the MFA program at Wichita State University are encouraged to take classes in the "other" genre (poets can take fiction and nonfiction classes and fiction students can take poetry and nonfiction classes).
We keep our MFA class sizes small, so there are opportunities for one-on-one mentorship.
Our students are able to take one-on-one tutorials with visiting distinguished writers.
All of our students have opportunity to attend our Writing Now Reading Now reading series. Recently, we've had readings by Nick Lantz, Gregory Orr, Ed Skoog, Kevin Brockmeier, Alice McDermott and Peter Behrens.

Visiting Distinguished Writers and Faculty

Every year our Master of Fine Arts students have the chance to take a one-on-one tutorial with a visiting distinguished fiction writer and poet. MFA student conversing with faculty member The visiting writers are in residence for a month in Wichita and offer a reading during that time.

Learn more

Mikrokosmos and mojo

Wichita State University is the home to Mikrokosmos and mojo, a literary journal that recently celebrated its 60th anniversary issue. Mikrokosmos has published poets like William Stafford, William S. Burroughs and Charles Plymell. Graduate students can work on everything from reading submissions to website design. Our journal features poetry, fiction, nonfiction and art. Feel free to look at our website at www.mikrokosmosjournal.com for more information.

Life After Wichita State University

Our graduates have gone on to become leaders, authors and business people. Some of our graduates work as creative writing program directors, chairs of creative writing programs, professors of composition, doctoral students at top creative writing programs, high school teachers, editors-in-chief of magazines, middle school teachers, tenured faculty and creators of MFA programs.

Academic Requirements

To receive the Masters of Fine Arts degree in creative writing, a student must complete a three-year program in residence at Wichita State University that includes:

12 hours of writing courses (workshop based)
6 hours of Final Writing Project (completing a fiction or poetry final project)
3 hours in literary research course
24 hours of courses in literature and tutorials with visiting writers
3 hours of “enrichment,” a graduate level course outside of English

Students also take a comprehensive examination in their last semester. This is a three-part essay exam over books chosen from a master list in consultation with the student’s final project director.

MFA Final Project

Students in both genres work during their last year with one of the faculty on completing an original body of work. For poetry students, this is at least 24 pages of publishable work; for fiction writers, this is at least 100 pages of publishable work.

Financial Support

Most of our MFA students are GTAs who teach two composition classes each semester to WSU undergraduates and work one hour a week in the English Department’s Writing Center. They pay no tuition, receive $4,250 each semester and may buy discounted health insurance. The MFA program also awards two $12,500 fellowships each year, one in fiction writing and one in poetry, and it awards the Stephen F. Barr Fellowship, worth about $600.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the application deadline?

Our priority application deadline is February 1.

Do I need a personal statement?

No! What we care about here is the quality of your writing sample.

What do I write on Line 12 of the Graduate School application?

Write G13E, the code for the MFA in Creative Writing degree.

Where can I read more about the Graduate School?

Visit the Graduate School’s website and its FAQs.

What do GTAs teach?

GTAs usually teach English 101 their first semester. By the time they leave most have other courses to list on their CVs, including English 102, English as a Second Language, and business, professional, and technical writing.

Do I need to submit GRE scores?

No.

Do I need recommendation letters to get into the MFA program?

No, but you need recommendation letters to apply for a position as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, which is important because that position covers your tuition and gives a stipend. Your best chance for being awarded a GTA position, where you would be teaching two sections of composition each semester, the recommendations should address teaching ability or your potential teaching ability. Also, letters which address reliability and maturity are valuable.

Do I need recommendation letters to get a GTA position?

Yes. In addition, as a part of the hiring process at WSU, all graduate assistants are required to submit to a criminal background check before employment commences. Your best chance for being awarded a GTA position, where you would be teaching two sections of composition each semester, the recommendations should address teaching ability or your potential teaching ability. Also, letters which address reliability and maturity are valuable.

Can I mail the GTA recommendation letters to Wichita State?

No. Have your references mail the letters to the below address or use a service like Interfolio which, for a fee, will keep a file of your materials and mail it out to the offices that need them.

GTA Application for MFA Program
Department of English, Box 14
Wichita State University
Wichita, KS 67260-0014

What are the requirements to be accepted into the MFA program?

You need to have a B.A. Applicants must meet the general requirements of the Graduate School, with the additional requirement of a 3.00 grade point average in their previous coursework in English. Since this is a studio-academic program, students should have 24 hours of undergraduate English courses, excluding such courses as communications and journalism. The most important part of the application is the poetry or fiction manuscript that is sent.

Must I have majored in English?

No. But we do like our MFA students to have 24 credit hours in English. If you have fewer, you can still be accepted. The creative writing program director evaluates the applicant’s transcript and prescribes additional undergraduate hours for those who have fewer than 24 credits of acceptable coursework in English. Courses in freshman composition, grammar, teaching methods, journalism, speech, etc. may not be included in the required 24 hours.

Is it possible to transfer credit hours?

Yes. But no more than 24 hours of credit may be counted toward the degree from other graduate work taken at Wichita State or at another school.

What are the requirements to be a GTA?

Once you’ve been admitted by the Graduate School and the MFA program, you need three (3) recommendation letters and an expository writing sample to demonstrate your writing skills.

I'm an international student, can I be admitted to the MFA program?

Yes. The Office of International Education will help. (Wichita.edu/international) If you have earned your degree in a country where English is not the native language, you must score at least 600 paper-based, 25-computer-based, or 100 Internet-based on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an overall band score of 7.5 on the IELTS before you may be admitted to the program.

Can I submit a creative writing sample that's neither fiction or poetry?

Can I submit a screenplay, creative nonfiction, journalism or an academic essay? No, on all counts. Submit a writing sample in the genre in which you intend to study. We offer a program in fiction or a program in poetry

Can I study screenwriting at Wichita State?

Yes, you can but in a limited way. We offer a course which teaches playwriting and screenwriting. It is taught through the Theatre Department. It's not possible, though, to write an MFA Final Project in these genres because we don't offer regular workshops in them.

Can I study creative nonfiction writing at Wichita State?

A little. We do not offer a degree in creative nonfiction; however, we offer a course in it fairly often.

Can I commute long distance and get my MFA at Wichita State?

No. You have to live close enough to attend classes which are scheduled Monday through Thursday every week.

Who should I ask to write me a recommendation to be a GTA?

Ask a professor who you’ve studied with. Ask someone who supervised you at work. Above all, ask someone whose own writing represents YOU well.

How much is tuition at Wichita State?

For the 2018-2019 academic year, the tuition rate for graduate students per credit hour is $301.94 for in-state and $741.55 for out-of state. A student who is a GTA does not pay tuition; however, the GTA does have to pay fees. Activity fees are levied in tiers according to the number of credit hours the student is taking. The typical load for a graduate student is 9 credit hours each semester. (Note that MFA students have usually earned enough credits by their third year that they do not have to take 9 credit hours in the last academic year.) Fees are the same for out-of-state and in-state students. Fees for a 9-credit hour semester are $734.68. (A few smaller fees are assessed for technology, infrastructure and transportation as well.)

Here are the tuition and fees costs for 2018-2019 academic year.

In-state $6,904.28
Out-of-state $14,817.26

Since almost all of our MFA students are GTAs a better way to plan expenses is to know that, in addition to books, the GTA will pay $1,469 per year in fees. Since the stipend is now $8,500, a better way to figure the cost is to realize the GTA stipend is, effectively, $7,031 for MFA students enrolled in 9 hours in the fall and 9 hours in the spring.

View detailed information on tuition and fees

What's the cost of living in Wichita?

Average monthly cost of a one bedroom apartment is $500.

If I'm a GTA, do I get an office?

Yes. You share it with two other GTAs.

Do I get help teaching writing to undergraduates as a GTA?

Yes. You have faculty mentors who meet with you regularly and help you in the classroom. You also are required to take English 780 Theory and Practice of Composition and English 681 Editing American English, both 3-credit courses.

Can I teach creative writing here?

A little. We are currently developing a program that allows our GTAs to teach creative writing in our Community Education program.

Do I have to write a thesis?

Yes. We call it a final writing project. Fiction writers write a minimum 100-page work of fiction and poets write a minimum of 24 pages.

Do I get faculty help writing my final project?

Yes. You meet one-on-one with your final writing project director over the course of two semesters to finish your work.

Do I take a comprehensive exam?

Yes. You write a three-essay exam usually at the end of your last year. It covers a list of 30 books you and your final project director have chosen from a central list.

What writing faculty do I study with?

You study with the MFA faculty and with our visiting distinguished writer or visiting distinguished poet. We invite a fiction writer and a poet each year to stay on campus for a month and offer one-on-one tutorials to our MFA students. These tutorials are regular courses and count for three (3) credits toward your MFA degree. Learn more about the Visiting Distinguished Writers program.

What would a typical three years in the MFA program look like?

First Year: 9 hours each semester of course work

First year GTAs are required to attend a two week training session immediately preceding the start of the Fall semester, so in the first two weeks of August. They are paid for this.

Fall: