How It Works

Program Structure

Prospective students apply to Western as traditional undergraduate students and choose either an Environment and Sustainability major (which leads into the Nature Writing MFA concentration) or an English major (which leads into the Genre Fiction, Screenwriting, Poetry, or Nature Writing MFA concentrations).

• For the first three years, students take courses to earn their B.A. and complete prerequisite courses for admittance to the Graduate Program in Creative Writing.
• Before the end of their third year, students apply to be admitted provisionally into the Graduate Program in Creative Writing.
• During their fourth year, students take a combination of undergraduate and graduate courses.
• At the end of the fourth year, students earn their B.A. in either English or Environment and Sustainability and are considered fully admitted to the Graduate Program in Creative Writing.
• During their fifth year, students continue their graduate-level coursework and a thesis project.
• In the summer of their fifth year, students complete their coursework, submit their thesis project, and earn their MFA in Creative Writing.

Students in each concentration will follow slightly different course paths. Click below to see the major maps for each concentration.

English Track ENVS Track