English: English MA; Field: Creative Writing

MA Program; Field: Creative Writing

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of English's additional admission requirements stated below.

  • A minimum of 7 full-year undergraduate courses in English or the equivalent in half-year courses (i.e., 14), or any combination of full- and half-year courses that add up to the equivalent of 7 full-year courses in English.

  • An appropriate bachelor's degree (i.e., a four-year undergraduate degree) or its equivalent (preferably in English) with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of B+ or better and evidence of first-class work in English. The department favours a broad training in the major genres and all periods of English literary history.

  • Recommendations from two referees.

  • A statement of purpose.

  • A portfolio consisting of 20 to 25 pages of prose (drama, fiction, or creative non-fiction) and/or poetry. See details about the format of creative writing portfolio submissions.

  • Applicants whose primary language is not English and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English are required to write the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Minimum scores required are:

    • 600 on the paper-based test and 5 on the Test of Written English (TWE)

    • 100/120 on the Internet-based test, with at least 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections

  • Admissions are selective; possession of minimum qualifications does not guarantee admission.

Completion Requirements

  • Coursework. Students must successfully complete a total of 3.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:

    • ENG6950Y Workshop in Creative Writing: all students must complete the Workshop in Creative Writing in Year 1 of their program

    • ENG6960H Advanced Creative Writing Workshop: all students must complete the Advanced Creative Writing Workshop in Year 2 of their program

    • 2.0 approved graduate FCEs in English

  • Students must attain a minimum B standing in each graduate course.

  • Supervised Writing Project (the equivalent of a thesis). In Year 2 of their program, students undertake a book-length Writing Project in a genre of their choice: poetry, drama, fiction, or creative non-fiction. Each student is assigned a faculty member or adjunct faculty member with whom to consult on a regular basis about the project. All advisors are published writers.

  • The MA in English in the field of Creative Writing program cannot be taken on a part-time basis.

Mode of Delivery: In person
Program Length: 5 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: FWS-FW)
Time Limit: 3 years full-time

 

English