Brigham Young University

Utah, United States

Residential program

The BYU Creative Writing MFA is a two-year program requiring 26 hours of coursework and 6 thesis hours. An annual retreat at Capitol Reef National Park and an internship in the teaching of introductory creative writing, plus a weekly visiting writers series, enhance students' experiences in the program and prepare them for lifelong writing and teaching. BYU's English Department devotes all of its graduate resources to master's students, combining reasonable tuition with significant financial support. In addition to Creative Writing, graduate faculty provide depth in British and American literature and rhetoric and composition.

Most English master's students are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the university's sponsoring institution, and come from the United States and Canada. We encourage applicants from a variety of undergraduate majors and institutions.

Admissions decisions are based on the strength of an applicant's writing sample, personal statement, recommendations, and GRE scores. Consideration is given to the perceived fit between student interest and faculty expertise.


Contact Information

Department of English
4138 JFSB
Provo
Utah, United States
84602
Phone: (801) 422-3054
Email: heather_hammond@byu.edu
Fax: 8014228673
english.byu.edu



DEGREE PROGRAMS

Undergraduate Program Director

Spencer Hyde
Department of English
4138 JFSB
Provo
Utah, United States
84602
Email: spencer_hyde@byu.edu
Largest Class Size: 35
Smallest Class Size: 10
Genres: Fiction, Writing for Children, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry
Duration of Study: 4 years
Unit of Measure: Hours

Undergraduate Program Director

Spencer Hyde
Department of English
4138 JFSB
Provo
Utah, United States
84602
Email: spencer_hyde@byu.edu
Largest Class Size: 25
Smallest Class Size: 7
Genres: Fiction, Writing for Children, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry
Duration of Study: 4 years
Unit of Measure: Hours

Graduate Program Director

Brian Roberts
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of English
4138 JFSB
Provo
Utah, United States
84602
Email: mfa@byu.edu

The BYU Creative Writing MFA is a two-year program requiring 26 hours of coursework and 6 thesis hours. An annual retreat at Capitol Reef National Park and an internship in the teaching of introductory creative writing, plus a weekly visiting writers series, enhance students' experiences in the program and prepare them for lifelong writing and teaching. BYU's English Department devotes all of its graduate resources to master's students, combining reasonable tuition with significant financial support. In addition to Creative Writing, graduate faculty provide depth in British and American literature and rhetoric and composition.

Most English master's students are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the university's sponsoring institution, and come from the United States and Canada. We encourage applicants from a variety of undergraduate majors and institutions.

Admissions decisions are based on the strength of an applicant's writing sample, personal statement, recommendations, and GRE scores. Consideration is given to the perceived fit between student interest and faculty expertise.

Type of Program: Research/Theory/Studio
Largest Class Size: 15
Smallest Class Size: 7
Genres: Fiction, Writing for Children, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry
Duration of Study: 2 years
Unit of Measure: Hours
Criticism and Theory: 3
Workshop: 9
Literature: 9
Other: 6
Thesis: 6
Total Units for Degree: 32
Other Requirements: Oral examination of coursework; thesis defense.
Application Deadline Fall: 01/15/2017
Application Requirements: Transcripts, Writing Sample, Application Form, Letters of Recommendation, GRE, Cover Letter




FACULTY

John Bennion

John Bennion writes fiction and essays about the arid lands of Utah. Breeding Leah and other Stories (1991) and Falling Toward Heaven (2000) were both published by Signature Books. He has published in Southwestern Review, Hotel Amerika, AWP Chronicle, English Journal, and others.


Chris Crowe

Chris Crowe writes fiction and nonfiction for young adults. His most recent novel is Death Coming Up The Hill (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2014).


Joey Franklin


Kimberly Johnson

Kimberly Johnson is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Uncommon Prayer. Other publications include books of poetry in translation from Latin and Ancient Greek and a scholarly study of 17th-century poetry. She has edited an anthology of devotional poetry, Before the Door of God, and a collection of essays on Renaissance literature.


Lance Larsen


Michael Lavers

Michael Lavers' poems have appeared in Best New Poets 2015, Arts & Letters, West Branch, 32 Poems, The Hudson Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere. He is the winner of the 2016 University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's International Poetry Prize.


Patrick Madden

Patrick Madden is the author of two essay collections, Sublime Physick and Quotidiana, and co-editor of After Montaigne. Winner of fellowships from the Howard and Fulbright foundations, he curates www.quotidiana.org and, with David Lazar, edits the 21st Century Essays series at Ohio State University Press.


John Talbot

John Talbot is the author of two volumes of poetry, The Well-Tempered Tantrum and Rough Translation. His poems and translations appear in leading journals and in anthologies (from Norton, Yale, and others). He writes about poetry, ancient and modern, in The New Criterion, Yale Review, The Weekly Standard, and elsewhere.


Stephen Tuttle

Stephen Tuttle completed his PhD in literature and creative writing at the University of Utah in 2006 and joined the English faculty of Brigham Young University that same year. He teaches fiction writing and literature courses, focusing on the short story.


Spencer Hyde


Ann Dee Ellis





COMMUNITY

BYU English Reading Series (ers.byu.edu)