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Creative Writing (MFA)

* A fully funded three-year program with a $20,000 stipend per year.

* Students have additional funding opportunities for research and travel via the departmental English Graduate Union, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, Confluence Center and the Arizona Institute for Resilience, among other organizations.

* Three genres: Poetry, fiction and nonfiction, with active encouragement to work across genres.

* The opportunity to apply to teach creative writing at the undergraduate level.

* Excellent student-teacher ratio.

* An active series of visiting writers and editors.

* A challenging, supportive and dynamic atmosphere in a culturally vibrant, progressive border city.

* An extremely active and critically acclaimed faculty.

* MFA thesis defense that may include outside readers. Past outside readers have included such writers as Jenny Boully, Brandon Shimoda, Gary Paul Nabhan, Steven Church, Luís Alberto Urrea, and Kim Stanley Robinson.

* The lushest desert in the world with mountains all around.

The M.F.A. in Creative writing

Since 1972, the University of Arizona has offered one of the preeminent MFA programs in the country for the study of creative writing. With workshops and craft seminars in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, we offer intensive instruction in literary craft and the study of literature from a writer’s perspective, as well as opportunities to strengthen professional skills and flourish as a writer. The program requires three years in residence, the completion of 42 academic units, including workshops and craft courses. A student’s studies culminate in the production of an aesthetic statement and a thesis manuscript. The program is fully funded at $20,000 a year, with teaching assistantships offered to all incoming MFA students and the opportunity to apply to teach creative writing. Assistantships include salary, health insurance and a complete tuition waiver.

A writer engages in the world. With this in mind, we invite students to develop a course of study parallel to the page, whether it is in the University, the city of Tucson, the Sonoran desert, or beyond. You have the chance to volunteer with and/or have a for-credit internship with such organizations as the UA Poetry Center, Sonora Review, Fairy Tale Review, Diagram, New Michigan Press, Edible Baja Arizona, terrain.org, Kore Press, and the poetry collective POG. The Field Studies in Writing program sends three students to write and research in residence at the UA-Mexico border.

The literary community here is strong. Please look into the offerings at the Poetry Center, our partner in many adventures. In addition to the Poetry Center Readings & Lectures Series, the creative writing faculty curates the UA Prose Series, which brings in four writers a year. MFA students run the Works-in-Progress (WIP) Reading Series. The University of Arizona is the home to the Sonora Review, one of the oldest student-run literary magazines in the country. Every year, the program sends out the Look Book to agents and editors, introducing them to our current graduating class’ work. For more information, please investigate our Student Guide, as well as Alumni News.

And perhaps the best advertisement for the program is the work of our recent graduates. The MFA Look Book, published by the program every two years, is sent to editors, agents, influential literary people, and friends of the program each year. But you can check it out for free here.

Campus Information

Main/Tucson

Intakes

Application Processing Time in Days: 20

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description	IELTS (1.0 -9.0)	TOEFL IBT (0-120)	TOEFL CBT (0-300)	PTE (10-90)
Expert	9	120	297-300	86-90
Very Good	8.5	115-119	280-293	83-86
Very Good	8	110-114	270-280	79-83
Good	7.5	102-109	253-267	73-79
Good	7	94-101	240-253	65-73
Competent	6.5	79-93	213-233	58-65
Competent	6	60-78	170-210	50-58
Modest	5.5	46-59	133-210	43-50
Modest	5	35-45	107-133	36-43
Limited	4	32-34	97-103	30-36
Extremely Limited	< 4	< 31	< 93	< 30

Job Opportunity Potential

Our mission at Student Engagement & Career Development (SECD) is to support you in your career journey. Your circumstances might require knowledge on specific programs and processes so make sure you meet with your coordinator in International Student Services as well as the International Student Career Coach.

Searching for employment in the United States can be especially challenging for international students, but developing a plan for your search can lead to success. Here are some tips and resources to help you along the way.

Start your career exploration and development early. LifeLab offers activities and trained staff to help you explore options. There are also opportunities for skill- building, and leadership development through our Design Thinking Challenge, Build the Skill, and Bluechip programs.
Use Handshake to find employment, events, and networking opportunities.
Recognize that networking will be very important to your search. Utilize your University of Arizona network through Handshake, Bear Down Network, and the alumni tool on LinkedIn.
Be prepared with professional looking documents. LifeLab is a great drop-in resource to get your resume started or reviewed. We can also help you with other career-related skills such as interviewing, job searching, online profiles and networking.
Look for internship opportunities early in your academic career. Not only will this help you build skills, but you’ll network in the process. Our Job Shadow Program is another great way to try out a career and network with a one-day job shadow.
The job or internship search is a process and takes time, planning, and the right information. The following resources provide information on potential sponsoring employers, occupational outlooks, and job opportunities. Plan out a strategy for your search and utilize as many resources as possible to create a list of employers to target in your search.

List of H1B Visa Reports – This list shows the top visa sponsors which can help you identify organizations that may be open to sponsorships. There is a job board as well as explanation of different types of work authorization & visas.

GoinGlobal – This site has career guides as well as job and internship postings all over the world. There is also an H1B database providing information on American employers interested in hiring international talent.

Inside Higher Ed – Job Tips for International Students – Article outlining advice for international students in the United States.

International Student – A variety of information from international student financial aid, visas & immigration, working in the U.S., international student blogs with discussion from other universities across the U.S, and more.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services – Site has a H-1B employer data hub listing employers who have employed temporary foreign workers.

Dreambridge Partners – Information on adapting to the U.S., job searching, academics and socializing as well as many links to professional and cultural associations, job websites, and networking.

United States Department of Labor – Answers to questions for workers & employers regarding certification and the Visa process.

Foreignborn – Overview of US Visa & Immigration including information on financial aid, how to send money abroad, work authorization and US Visa wait times and USCIS immigration processing times.

PSW Opportunity

3 years PSW

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Proof of English proficiency is required for international applicants who hold citizenship from a country where English is not the official language.

Please check our English Requirement list to verify your need to submit an English proficiency test.

Individual departments may require higher scores than the Graduate College and all tests must be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid. The University of Arizona's institution code for sending official electronic score reports from ETS is 4832.

Acceptable English Proficiency Credentials:
Test of English as a Foreign Language(link is external) (TOEFL) - minimum score of 79 iBT (or 60 on the revised PBT with no section score lower than 15). Individual MyBest scores must also be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid.
Note, for Master's programs, we also accept the TOEFL Essentials test with a minimum band score of 9.5. Individual programs may set higher English proficiency requirements, please contact your Graduate Program Coordinator if you have questions. The TOEFL Essentials Test is not an accepted test of English proficiency for doctoral programs.
International English Language Testing System(link is external) (IELTS) - minimum composite score of 7, with no subject area below a 6
Pearson PTE Academic(link is external) - minimum score of 60
Graduate English Language Endorsement(link is external) from the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL)
CEPT Full Academic test (link is external)- offered by our Center for English as a Second Language (CESL), minimum Total score of 110.

Special Requirements for Graduate Teaching Assistants
In order to be hired as a Graduate Teaching Assistant or Associate, an admitted student must meet a higher level of English proficiency than the minimum required for admission. International GTAs must meet at least the following requirements in order to serve in this capacity:

TOEFL IBT Speaking Section – score of 24
TOEFL PBT - those who took the revised test after 2017 will be asked to take a UA CESL test of speaking skills.
TOEFL Essentials Test Speaking Section - score of 11
IELTS -Speaking Section 7.5
CEPT - Speaking Section 44

The University of Arizona

Tucson , Arizona ,United States