San Jose State University

MFA Program

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
2001
Location: 
San Jose, CA
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residency: 
Full
Duration: 
2-3 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
19
Application Deadline: 
February 1, 2024
Application Fee: 
$70
Contact E-mail: 
Contact Name: 
Alan Soldofsky
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: J. Michael Martinez, Alan Soldofsky
Fiction: Selena Anderson, Keenen Norris, Nick Taylor
Nonfiction: Brook McClurg, Thomas Moriarty, Keenan Norris
Playwriting/Screenwriting: Kirsten Brandt, Matthew Spangler

Recent Lurie Distinguished Authors-in-Residence include Faith Adiele, Ellen Bass, Cristina Garcia, Don George, Andrew Sean Greer, Jean Guerrero, ZZ Packer, and Vendela Vida. In 2024: Marcelo Hernandez Castillo.

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers partial funding. Up to six Graduate Fellowships are offered to first-year students (with admission), covering the cost of one-year's California resident tuition. The program offers 5-8 teaching associate positions to selected students in the second year of the program, as well as departmental and Graduate College scholarships, fellowships, and internships. 

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 
Other Features: 

The program also offers a degree in playwriting/screenwriting.

The program requires students to study in two genres, with workshops and seminars offered in the late afternoon and evenings. The program also hosts readings, conversations, the Lurie Author-in-Residence program, and master classes in collaboration with the Center for Literary Arts. The program also offers internship and professional development courses in composition pedagogy, literary editing, and publishing. Finally, editorial team positions on the award-winning Reed Magazine are available for course credit. 

Graduates: 

Daniel Arnold, Sally Ashton, Darrell Dela Cruz, Carmen Gimenez, Erica Goss, Lara Gularte, Sheree Harvey, Mark Heinlein, Dave Kern, Samantha Lé, Vinnie Lopez, Peter Nathaniel Malae, Neli Moody, Anne Jennings Paris, Lan Phuong Pham, David Puma, C. J. Sage, Brian Wood, Marina Adair, Dina Ruiz, Sharon Simonson, Kym Cunningham, Lara Gularte, Jennifer Walieck.