The Litowitz MFA+MA Program in Creative Writing and English
These requirements apply to students matriculating at Northwestern for Fall 2027 or later. Students matriculating before that date can also choose to opt into these requirements if desired. Students are not allowed to mix and match old and new program requirements.
The requirements page for the program prior to Fall 2027 can be found HERE.
The Litowitz MFA+MA Program in Creative Writing offers intimate classes, the opportunity to pursue both creative and critical writing, close mentorship by renowned faculty in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and two fully supported years in which to grow as writers and complete a book-length creative project. The Litowitz MFA+MA curriculum gives students time to deepen both their creative writing and their study of literature. Students will receive full financial support for two academic years and two summers. Both degrees—the MFA in Creative Writing and the MA in English—are awarded simultaneously at graduation.
Drawing on innovative scholarship, deep immersion in process, and cross-pollination between critical and creative texts, Litowitz students will complete a Capstone project and a book-length creative thesis of their own design, either within one genre or across genres. The MFA+MA program's small size and attentive faculty will develop students' sense of literary context, the possibilities of genre, and their creative practice, while encouraging them to pursue the individual distinctiveness of their projects.
The Litowitz MFA+MA program provides significant exposure to a second genre in addition to the genre in which a student has been admitted. Students must take at least one out-of-genre workshop and have the option of taking more.
Over two years of coursework students will take:
| English 410: Introduction to Graduate Study | Seminar focusing on principles, techniques, and consequences of representative modes of literary inquiry exemplified in works of contemporary scholarship and criticism. |
| English 496, 497, 498: Creative Writing Workshop (Poetry; Fiction; Creative Nonfiction, respectively) | Four workshops in the home-genre One workshop in a different genre One workshop in any genre |
| Graduate-level seminars | Two English seminars focusing on pre-1800 literature Two English seminars focusing on post-1800 literature Four further graduate seminars, one of which can be taken outside of the English department |
| English 571: Teaching Creative Writing | A seminar on designing and teaching undergraduate creative writing courses. |
| English 491: Editorial Practicum | During the summer after the first year, each student will register for this practicum, which consists of participating in the editing of TriQuarterly.org. |
In spring quarter of the second year, with advising and mentoring by the faculty, each student will complete the MA Capstone Essay.
Most students will complete their MFA thesis manuscript by the end of their second year; others will wish to take more time. The Graduate School permits students to submit the culminating project for the MFA at the end of full-time enrollment, or afterward.
In both years, students will be mentored by the faculty in the practice of their writing, the design of their projects, and regarding artistic and intellectual resources for their work. In the teaching of creative writing and, through summer editorial work at TriQuarterly.org, students will get first-hand experience in editing a literary journal.
Visiting writers will bring new perspectives to artistic practice, the three genres, and cross-genre or multi-genre work.
Admissions Cycle
Each year, the MFA+MA program admits in all three genres. Information on the application process can be found here.