Applying with a MFA?...

[LudditeStreak]

Hello everyone.

 

Another newcomer-but-longtime-lurker here, with a question I've been picking over for a while. (Thanks in advance for taking the time!)

 

I recently graduated with a MFA in creative writing and was wondering how it might effect my PhD in Literature applications. I've heard everything from "don't mention it" to "mention it, but don't dwell on it" - the general feeling being that the degree might signal to adcoms and professors that I'm less committed to critical work. Does that sound true to you all, given your experiences/impressions?

 

The MFA was at a top-10 English Dept., with a fellowship, literary journal editorship, and a GTA spot. Basically, it's pretty much all I have going for my academic record so far - my BA being from a relatively unknown SLAC, and my only non-creative pubs being book reviews. I guess I'm wondering if mentioning my creative writing in my SOP would be a bad idea. Is there any way I could present it to my advantage? For what it's worth, my genre (poetry) is also the field of my critical research.

 

Also! I see on some applications where they ask you to list your previous publications. I'm guessing poetry publications (even in solid journals) would look silly there?

 

Thanks so much for your help, and good luck with all your applications.

 

L

[Dr. Old Bill]

Also! I see on some applications where they ask you to list your previous publications. I'm guessing poetry publications (even in solid journals) would look silly there?

 

Thanks so much for your help, and good luck with all your applications.

 

 

 

I can't speak to the rest (though I seem to recall coming across this question in past threads), but I will say that I didn't list my poetry publications in the "previous publications" fields, even though I have several in high-profile journals. Even at the schools where there isn't a lot of disconnect between creative writing and academic study (Yale, for instance), I suspect they're more interested in your academic publications. I did list most of my print publications on my C.V., however, and made reference to a few in my SOP. If it's an integral part of who you are, then it's worth mentioning somehow / somewhere.

[Put a cat on it]

I'm also finishing up my MFA and applying to PhD lit programs. I think including all of your publications on your CV is a good idea (I'm certainly going to), but probably making sure your SOP is tailored to why you want to study literature now. I did explain, though, how my MFA gives me edge in terms of studying literature in my SOP. I know there are others on this forum who have gone from an MFA to a Lit PhD who may also have some advice, though.

 

Personally, I feel like an MFA makes you a more interesting candidate than someone straight out of undergrad, simply because you've shown that you are capable of graduate-level work already while also studying the other side of literature, so to speak. (This may make zero sense, as I'm not totally awake yet this morning.)