Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Fiction: Jessica Handler, Soniah Kamal, Gray Stewart, John Williams

Creative Nonfiction/Memoir: Anjali Enjeti, Megan Volpert

Poetry: Donna Coffey Little, Laura Newbern, William Walsh, Will Wright

Scriptwriting/Playwriting: Michael Lucker, Scott Wilkerson

The Etowah Valley is a bridge between Atlanta and the Appalachian South, where nature meets culture. At Reinhardt University’s Etowah Valley Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program writers create a literature that is story-driven and grounded in the places where we live, whether rural or urban. Reinhardt is the only higher education institution in Georgia offering a low-residency MFA in Creative Writing. Our 60-hour low-residency MFA in Writing offers classes in poetry, fiction, creative-nonfiction/memoir, and scriptwriting (film, TV, and stage).

Over the course of two years, each student works one-on-one with published writers in their genre. They also take cross-genre classes that teach the craft elements and several online courses with other students during the residency. Each summer, students visit our beautiful campus in North Georgia for a 10-day intensive residency to be immerses in writing daily writing workshops, craft classes, experiential excursions into natural and urban environments, and nightly readings on campus from our visiting writers. A very important component is the one-on-one meetings with writing mentors to discuss in-depth each student’s creative work. Our tree-lined campus is nestled in the shadow of Pine Log Mountain for the perfect writing experience.

English and Language Arts teachers in Georgia middle and high schools can use Reinhardt University’s MFA to upgrade to a Level 6 Specialist Degree for the purposes of promotion and salary increases. Teachers need to have been previously certified in either English or middle grades language arts or have passed the GACE in English or Language Arts before completion of the degree. The program is listed in the Georgia Professional Standards Commission Certificate Upgrade Advisor under Specialist Level 6 for English and middle grades Language Arts.

Our students travel from all over the United States to attend the summer residency to learn from some of the finest writers. In doing so, they embody a unique mixture of cultural traditions and lifestyles. Amid the thriving Atlanta film scene and Southern environmentalism, we believe in the art of storytelling that develops voice and meaning to the individual artist.

What You’ll Learn at RU

With one-on-one instruction from award-winning professors, the creative writing student can begin at any level and work toward publishing a manuscript. From the beginning draft and planning, through revision and editing, students are guided through the professional process of writing and publishing.

By the time you graduate with an MFA, you will:

• Demonstrate mastery of structure and form in their chosen genre
• Demonstrate mastery of style, including diction, syntax and tone
• Demonstrate mastery of image in concrete description and figurative language
• Demonstrate mastery of character, point of view and voice
• Demonstrate the ability to analyze craft elements in literary works within their chosen genre
• Demonstrate the ability to constructively critique the work of their peers
• Demonstrate the ability to prepare and submit their work for publication and performance
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct and document scholarly research

MFA Classes You’ll Take

Here are just a few of the classes you will take while pursuing your degree:

• Writer’s Workshop: Poetry, Prose, or Script
• Reading Place
• Creative Writing I, II, and III
• Reading Story
• Reading Image
• Reading Voice
• Reading Dialogue
• Reading Criticism

Open Course Catalog