Tell your story in long-form

DePaul’s MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing will prepare and empower you to write a novel or memoir, or a collection of poetry or stories while at DePaul. You’ll work across genres under the mentorship of distinguished authors and poets. With courses in Copyediting, Book Publicity, Book Design, Teaching Creative Writing, and Teaching English you’ll have the choice of a career in publishing or teaching. The Creative Writing and Publishing MFA culminates with a required master’s thesis of publishable quality.

You may also earn a graduate certificate in

• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Teaching English in Two-Year Colleges
• Digital Humanities

Courses are offered weekday evenings on the Lincoln Park Campus or online.  You can earn the degree in as little as two years.

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Tap into a creative community

You’ll have the chance to get editorial and publishing experience with publications like Big Shoulders Books, Poetry East, Crook & Folly and Slag Glass City. Internship opportunities exist at Chicago-area community colleges as well.

Application Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, though we encourage you to submit your application materials 10 to 12 weeks prior to the quarter in which you wish to enroll.

Admission Requirements

Submit an online application, official transcripts, current résumé, a 500–750-word reflective essay, letters of recommendation and writing portfolio.

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Required Courses

You’ll take six workshop courses, one topic course, four electives, and complete a thesis.

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93%

of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences graduates were employed, continuing their education or pursuing other goals within six months of graduation.

Alumni Network

With a network of 8,900 fellow College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences master’s-level graduates in Chicago and beyond, you have a variety of opportunities to grow your professional and academic connections.

Scholarships & Aid

Graduate school is an investment in your future. Learn more about the financial aid and scholarship opportunities available to you.

Admission Requirements

??For both the MFA and MA, a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution is required. For admission, a student should have:

• A strong record of previous academic achievement.
• Relevant course work in creative writing or experience such as publishing original work and/or participating in a writers’ group that has resulted in a body of creative writing.

Students apply to both the MA and the MFA simultaneously. MA students may apply to the MFA after two quarters of graduate study with the recommendation of the faculty and an updated writing sample.

To apply, please submit the following:

• A completed online application.
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended.
• A résumé that summarizes your education and relevant experience.
• A reflective essay, from 500 to 750 words long, describing your objectives in applying to DePaul’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing and Publishing and your plans for the future. Please also discuss any long-form projects you are planning to write while a student at DePaul (e.g. novel, collection of short stories, memoir, etc.). In addition, please identify a faculty member within the Creative Writing and Publishing program with whom you would like to study. The admission committee takes this statement seriously, so please be as specific as possible about how and why this program would help you reach your creative and professional goals.
• A portfolio (approximately 25 pages, double-spaced) of representative creative writing. You may submit creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, or a combination. If you are submitting poetry, please ensure that at least half of your portfolio contains samples of your prose writing. 
• Two letters of recommendation.
• Students applying for graduate assistantships must submit two letters of recommendation attesting to the candidate's ability to succeed in graduate study.?

Students educated outside of the U.S. must provide a credit evaluation and proof of English proficiency by submitting a TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo score. Visit go.depaul.edu/lasinternational for more information.

How to Apply

Online applications can be submitted at go.depaul.edu/apply. Application credentials can be submitted through the online application or by email to graddepaul@depaul.edu. Additionally, official electronic transcripts can be emailed to gradtranscripts@depaul.edu directly by the issuing institution. Please make sure your name is on all documents.  Letters of recommendation must be emailed directly from the recommender as an attached pdf document on letterhead with the recommender's signature.????

Transcripts and other required credentials also can be mailed to:

The Office of Graduate Admission
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
DePaul University
2400 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago, IL 60614

Application Deadlines

We accept applications all year round, and students may begin their studies in any academic term. We strongly suggest that students submit their applications 10 to 12 weeks prior to the quarter in which they wish to begin their studies (i.e., June for fall entry, late October for winter entry, early January for spring entry).

Learn more about Graduate Admission.

Degree Requirements

MFA Course Requirements

Writing Workshop

• All workshops, except for ENG 480, ENG 487, ENG 490, ENG 491, and ENG 497, are reserved for graduate students in the Department of English

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
Choose six courses from the following list:		24
ENG 480	INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING
ENG 484	WRITING WORKSHOP TOPICS
ENG 487	TRAVEL WRITING
ENG 490	WRITING FOR MAGAZINES
ENG 491	SCIENCE WRITING
ENG 492	WRITING FICTION
ENG 493	WRITING POETRY
ENG 497	WRITING THE LITERATURE OF FACT

Literature

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
Choose one course from the following list:		4
ENG 411	CHAUCER
ENG 412	STUDIES IN ARTHURIAN LITERATURE
ENG 413	STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERARY FORMS
ENG 419	TOPICS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
ENG 421	STUDIES IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE PROSE
ENG 422	STUDIES IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE POETRY
ENG 423	STUDIES IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA
ENG 426	THE ESSAY: HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE
ENG 427	MILTON
ENG 428	STUDIES IN SHAKESPEARE
ENG 429	TOPICS IN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
ENG 431	STUDIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY NOVEL
ENG 432	STUDIES IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DRAMA
ENG 434	STUDIES IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AUTHORS
ENG 439	TOPICS IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE
ENG 441	STUDIES IN ENGLISH ROMANTIC PROSE
ENG 442	STUDIES IN ENGLISH ROMANTIC POETRY
ENG 443	STUDIES IN VICTORIAN PROSE
ENG 444	STUDIES IN VICTORIAN POETRY
ENG 445	STUDIES IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH FICTION
ENG 446	NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRISH LITERATURE
ENG 449	TOPICS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE
ENG 451	STUDIES IN THE MODERN BRITISH NOVEL
ENG 452	STUDIES IN MODERN BRITISH POETRY
ENG 453	STUDIES IN MODERN DRAMA
ENG 455	MODERN IRISH LITERATURE
ENG 456	CONTEMPORARY IRISH LITERATURE
ENG 459	TOPICS IN MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE
ENG 464	STUDIES IN AMERICAN AUTHORS
ENG 465	STUDIES IN THE MODERN AMERICAN NOVEL
ENG 466	STUDIES IN MODERN AMERICAN POETRY
ENG 467	STUDIES IN AMERICAN DRAMA
ENG 469	TOPICS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
ENG 472	LITERARY THEORY
ENG 475	TOPICS IN LITERATURE
ENG 476	TOPICS IN GENRE AND FORM

Electives in Language, Literature, Publishing and Teaching

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
Choose two courses from the following list:		8
ENG 400	STRUCTURE OF MODERN ENGLISH
ENG 401	HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ENG 407	LANGUAGE AND STYLE FOR WRITERS
ENG 408	STYLISTICS
ENG 426	THE ESSAY: HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE
ENG 473	TEACHING CREATIVE WRITING
ENG 474	TEACHING LITERATURE
ENG 476	TOPICS IN GENRE AND FORM
ENG 477	TOPICS IN PUBLISHING
ENG 478	TOPICS IN TEACHING
ENG 496	TOPICS IN EDITING
Any courses in literature if not used to satisfy the Literature category requirement, above
Courses from other programs may be substituted only with approval of program director.

Open Electives

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
Choose two courses from the following list:		8
ENG 500	INDEPENDENT STUDY
ENG 509	INTERNSHIP
Any graduate-level courses in writing, literature, criticism, publishing, and teaching offered by the English department and not used to satisfy other requirements, above
Up to two graduate level courses offered by the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse.
Courses from other programs may be substituted only with approval of program director.
Note: No more than two courses from outside of the English Department may count toward Open Electives.

Thesis Requirement

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
Near the end of your second year, you will be required to register for ENG 501 THESIS RESEARCH. You will need to choose a thesis director and a second reader for your final thesis.
ENG 501	THESIS RESEARCH	4

Online Degree Option

The MFA/MA program is committed to offering at least 3 online and/or remote-enabled courses every regular academic quarter. Yearly offerings will include 4-5 workshops, 2 publishing courses, 1-2 literature courses, and a variety of electives. Online summer session and December intercession courses can also count toward your degree. Check with the program director or www.english-exlibris.com for online course offerings. 

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