Dual Urban Sustainability MA and MFA Creative Writing

Introduction

As the world’s only MFA program specifically devoted to literature and the pursuit of social justice, this dual degree combines the curriculum of our MFA in Creative Writing and the Urban Sustainability MA. By pairing these two degrees you’ll explore communication skills while applying creative and complex solutions to the challenges of our time. Learn the art of articulation and the nuances of social justice to become an influencer in the global community’s conversation about climate change and inequality.

This degree is offered by AU Los Angeles.

Program Overview

Graduates earn both an Urban Sustainability Masters of Arts (USMA) and an MFA in Creative Writing within a three-year period, reducing the time and cost of completing these degrees separately. Ideally, students begin working toward their USMA first, adding in components of the creative writing program in parallel with intensive capstone work as urban problem solvers.

Designed as a six-semester endeavor, specializations are offered in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and/or writing for young people–creating pathways to effectively communicate issues and empower individuals and communities to solve them.

Degree Requirements

• First three semesters are in the USMA program and the final three are in the MFA program
• Fieldwork takes place in the second semester and the Capstone in the third semester
• MFA coursework begins during the fourth semester, with advanced standing, after designing a project period proposal under the guidance of an MFA mentor
• Learn through experiential methods that matter, such as our Big Question Lab, an intensive engagement with a strategic community organization around an important sustainability question
• Fieldwork done in USMA fulfills the MFA field study requirement and the capstone fulfills the critical paper requirement
• Hybrid program with residencies at the beginning of each semester, a 20+ week semester of online/remote coursework, and a concluding residency for graduating student presentations