• 2 Years of PSW

Written English Proficiency Requirement

Level One

Statement of purpose (500–1500 words) and writing sample (15 to 20 pages of fiction or creative nonfiction, or 15 to 20 pages of literary translation, or a full-length stage play or two short plays, or 15 to 20 poems) scored 8.0 or higher on a scale of one to 10 based on the following criteria:

• fluency and precision of expression;
• ability to embody and illustrate ideas creatively; and
• appropriateness of the applicant’s interests, life experiences and goals to the program.

Level Two

Satisfactory completion of C W 893MFA on the following criteria: work deemed by two faculty readers to be publishable as a book and evaluated along the following criteria:

• ability to use the craft of the art form to illustrate ideas, vision, and imagination creatively, using fresh, precise language;
• ability to suggest, via the craft to the art form, a subtext and themes that display the writers’ complex relationship with her/his ideas, vision, imagination, and form (story, poem, dramatic monologue and/or play); and
• mastery of at least one genre form per the above.

Selected upper-division courses offered by the department may be used for the degree upon approval of a department advisor. Enrollment is not required in the semester of graduation.

To meet the minimum eligibility standards for graduate study at SF State, an applicant must: (1) hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, or shall have completed equivalent academic preparation as determined by appropriate campus authorities; (2) be in good academic standing at the last college or university attended; (3) have a 3.0 GPA in their earned undergraduate degree or last 60 semester (90 quarter) units completed, or have earned a post-baccalaureate degree; (4) satisfactorily meet the professional, personal, scholastic, and other standards for graduate study, including qualifying examinations, as appropriate campus authorities may prescribe. In unusual circumstances, a campus may make exceptions to these criteria.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT OUR PSA COUNSELOR