MFA is a higher credential than the MLitt, and is the internationally recognized standard for teachers of Creative Writing in secondary and tertiary higher education; most consider the MFA the qualification required to teach creative writing in North America and Europe.

St Andrews is one of the first universities in the UK to confer an MFA degree. Within the programme, students will be able to focus on producing a substantial piece of creative work under the supervision of a world-class writing faculty, and on preparing themselves as teachers of writing in a variety of instructional contexts.

The MFA in Creative Writing has two separate streams: Poetry and Prose, and prospective students should apply for one stream only. For their final submission, students on the prose track will submit a thesis of publishable quality of around 40,000 words; for poetry, a thesis of about 40 pages of verse.

Career

The benefits of postgraduate study at St Andrews stretch far beyond graduation. As well as joining a long line of notable alumni and academics, postgraduate students are supported in their next steps by both the Careers Centre and the University alumni relations team.