MFA in Writing
Overview
As part of the oldest creative writing program in the country, the MFA at Pitt continues to be one of the most prestigious. Ours is a three-year degree, providing students with the time and opportunity to produce a book-length final manuscript.
We are one of the oldest creative writing programs in the country and continue to be one of the most prestigious. Robinson Jeffers attended Pitt at the turn of the century, and our program has since produced diverse and successful alumni at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Among them are poets Gerald Stern, Li-Young Lee, Jan Beatty, Terrance Hayes, and Judith Vollmer; creative nonfiction writers Michael Rosenwald, Rebecca Skloot, and Lori Jakiela; and novelist and story writers Michael Chabon, Jane McCafferty, and Kellie Wells. During the past 20 years our students have won major book publication and literary prizes, including the Barnard Women Writers Award, the Nelson Algren Award, The Drue Heinz Literature Prize, and the Whiting and Tufts Awards for emerging writers. Also, we offer a wide variety of courses in multiple genres. Graduate and Undergraduate Creative Writing Courses Fall 2008
We were also the first and remain one of the few programs to offer a concentration in creative nonfiction. Our core writing faculty have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally through their publications and awards. They include poets Toi Derricotte, Lynn Emanuel, Ben Lerner, and Dawn Lundy Martin; fiction writers Fiona Cheong, Cathy Day, Chuck Kinder, Irina Reyn; and creative nonfiction writers Faith Adiele, and Jeanne Marie Laskas. And each year we also have a number of distinguished visiting faculty.
Faculty
To find out more about our core writing faculty, please follow the link on the right-hand side of this page.
Books by Our Students
Our students publish—well and often—and we’re very proud of their accomplishments. For a complete list, please follow the link for “Books by Pitt Graduates” on the right-hand side of this page.
Admissions
Every year we admit about 21 applicants, evenly divided among the three genres. Currently there are 61 active students enrolled in the program. For specific information about MFA application requirements, please follow the link for Application Requirements & Forms on the right-hand side of this page.
Financial Assistance
We are able to offer financial support to a few qualified entering students in the form of Teaching Assistantships and Graduate Student Assistantships. First-year and second-year teaching assistants teach composition courses with the support and supervision of Pitt's nationally recognized Composition Program. The thorough training our students receive in teaching has been an important factor for many of our graduates who have obtained teaching positions. After the second year, TAs may teach advanced composition and introductory creative writing classes.
Life After the MFA
Here is a look at what some of our recent graduates are doing now.
Sarah Harris...........Assistant Professor,
Albertus Magnus College
Carlos Delgado.........Assistant Professor, Biola U (La Marada, CA)
Brandon Som.................................................PhD program USC
Julie Wade.......................................PhD program, U of Louisville
Kate Donohue......................................PhD program, Temple U
Gail Giewont....................................PhD program, U of Nebraska
Zoe Guy...................................................Administrator, Duke U
Sten Carlson...............................Visiting Lecturer, U of Pittsburgh
Robin Clarke........................................Instructor, U of Pittsburgh
Sam MacDonald..........................Visiting Lecturer, U of Pittsburgh
Colin Orr.........................................Writer, First Advantage Corp
Robert Stevens......................................Farmer, Goodleigh Farm
Eugene Cross.................................Lecturer, Penn State Behrend
Karin Lin-Greenberg..........................Visiting Assistant Professor,
College of Wooster
David Griffith...................Assistant Professor, Sweet Briar College
Aubrey Hirsch..................Visiting Assistant Professor, Chatham U
Kara Hughes.............................Intern, City of Asylum, Pittsburgh
