Master's Candidacy
To earn a master’s degree at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of master’s degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Master’s Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 42
- Degree Length: Four semesters/two years
- Students are expected to be enrolled in 12 graduate credit units (6 of which consist of the graduate workshop in their chosen genre for 3 credits and a co-requisite independent study for the additional 3 credits) during each semester of their first year. Students are expected to be enrolled in 9 graduate credit units (6 of which consist of the graduate workshop in their chosen genre for 3 credits and a co-requisite independent study for the additional 3 credits) during each semester of their second year.
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
- Grade Requirement: A minimum grade of B is required for coursework to count toward the degree. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Required Courses
Each semester, Writing students are required to enroll in the Graduate Workshop for their genre.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
Mentored Experience Requirements
MFA in Writing students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a degree requirement for MFA in Writing students that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Eligible students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.
Thesis Requirements
The required work for the MFA culminates in a thesis, which may take different forms but is usually a volume (or most of a volume) of poems, stories, or essays; a novel (or most of a novel); or a memoir or other long-form creative nonfiction work (or most of one).
o A Title, Scope, & Procedure form for the master’s thesis must be signed by the thesis committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred.
o A Master’s Thesis Guide and a Thesis Template that give instructions regarding the format of the thesis are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of thesis preparation.
As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.
Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)
Philosophy of Teaching
Our MFA students learn through mentorship and teaching to gain valuable experience as instructors in the creative writing classroom. MER in the MFA Program of the English Department provides pedagogical training in creative writing workshops and best classroom practices, classroom observation, and in classroom experience. MFA students are required to have two Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT) engagements instructing a 2000-level creative writing workshop in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction, depending on the student’s particular track in the program.
Preparatory Engagement
Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.
- During the fall and spring of their first year, students will observe 2000-level courses in their genre taught by second-year MFA students.
- Students are required to take four pedagogy workshops in the spring of their first year in the MFA. These tend to take place after the last week of classes.
- Students are required to take a one-day pedagogy seminar in August, just before they begin their MIT in the fall of their second year.
Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)
Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT)
MIT is a semester-long experience for PhD students who engage as the primary instructor or co-instructor of a course under the mentorship of a faculty member as part of the MER. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MIT experience. To complete each MIT assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number (ASGS 8020) for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for more details.
MIT begins in the spring of the first year with a required one-week pedagogy workshop during which students will draft a syllabus, compile reading lists and exercises, learn about university policies and resources, and participate in mock-workshops, among other activities designed to help prepare to teach their own sections of a 2000-level undergraduate creative writing workshop both semesters during the second year. Students teach in their own genre. Classes meet twice a week for an hour and twenty minutes and enrollment is limited to 12. During the second year, students will receive mentorship and support for their teaching from faculty and the director.
Required Pathways for Completion
Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.
MFA in Writing students are required to take two MITs at 20 MER units each.
UG Spanish Seminar
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| ASGS 8020 |
Take two times |