Creative Writing Programs :: NewPages Guide

Oklahoma State University

BA, MFA, PhD in Creative Writing

205 Morrill

Stillwater, OK  74078-4068

Website: http://english.okstate.edu/creative/

Program director: Lisa Lewis

Program contact: Lisa Lewis

Phone: 405-744-9473

Email: lisa.lewis@okstate.edu

Degrees offered: BA, MFA, PhD

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction

Type of program: Residency

Length of program: MFA: 3-years, PhD: 5-years

Enrollment: 45

Total credits required: MFA: 42, PhD: 60

Application deadlines: Spring: January 15, Fall: October 5

Scholarships available: yes

Core faculty: Lisa Lewis, Toni Graham, Jon Billman, Angie Estes, J.C. Hallman

Assistantships: yes

Publishing/editing courses: no

Literary magazine: yes, Cimarron Review

Reading series: yes

Recent visiting writers: Stephanie Brown, Antonya Nelson, Mary Karr, Stanley Plumly

Program description: Founded in 1975, our creative writing program is an integral part of an English department committed to diversity in its offerings. The BA, MFA, and PhD programs in creative writing focus on the vital relationship between fictional and poetic coursework in both writing and literary study. Concentrations in poetry writing and fiction writing are available, as are teaching assistantships, fellowships, and tuition waivers. The Cummings and Burris fellowships are awarded to entering graduate students and are renewable on a competitive basis.

Our MFA curriculum, a more recent addition to our program offerings, is designed to allow students a greater emphasis on writing time and more flexibility in coursework, and after a review of each student's progress in her or his second year, a public reading takes the place of exams as the capstone of the degree.

Doctoral students in creative writing submit original creative works prefaced by a critical introduction rather than a scholarly thesis or dissertation. They also have the option of testing in the Practical Poetics and Fictional Rhetoric comprehensive examination area. This area is designed to assess knowledge of close reading and craft. Our creative writing PhD program is unique in including this focus on literary technique at the comprehensive examination level, allowing our graduate students to integrate their work as writers into their overall academic approach.