The MFA Program at George Mason University
Started in 1980, the Graduate Creative Writing Program at George Mason University has a national reputation. The core faculty comprises internationally recognized writers, and our graduates have published with both major and small presses and in national commercial and literary magazines.
The M.F.A. requires 48 semester hours of writing workshops and literature courses. Twelve to eighteen hours are in writing seminars in the chosen genre and include a course in the historic forms of the genre. At least 12 hours are in literature. A minimum of three hours are in a genre other than the concentration. Six hours are in thesis. The remaining hours are in electives.
Students in fiction and nonfiction must also pass a written examination based on a comprehensive reading list they develop; students in fiction must either pass a written examination based on a reading list or conduct an independent project such as editing an anthology or writing a volume of critical essays.
The faculty of the George Mason Creative Writing Program stress that the M.F.A. is a studio degree; that the process of reading and writing is the greatest help to a person who wants to develop writing talent; and that this reading and writing must be done over a significant course of time. Earning an M.F.A. at George Mason takes at least four semesters.
Finally, the Writing faculty believe that getting an MFA is not the end of the development of craft but rather a major step along the way.
Literary Journals of the GMU Community
Phoebe, George Mason's literary magazine, publishes fiction and poetry, and sometimes nonfiction from Mason students and writers across the country. It also offers practical experience in the work of publishing to those interested in being editors or staff members of the journal. Submissions are accepted year-round and the magazine is published quarterly.
George Mason University also has feminist literary magazine, So To Speak that publishes poetry and fiction with a feminist theme, and which also publishes both the work of Mason students and writers from across the country. Submissions are accepted year-round and the magazine is published quarterly. MFA students with an interest in feminist literature are encouraged to work for the magazine and, perhaps, to take a turn as editor
The George Mason Review is a journal of exemplary writings authored by Mason undergraduates. Submissions are accepted in essay, fiction and poetry. M.F.A. Students serve as editors for this publications which is published on a semi-annual basis.