tutorials_helpMaster of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)

The MAPW program has been designed for a variety of graduate students including teachers, aspiring authors, communication specialists, editors, publishers, and others. It allows students to concentrate in one genre of writing, but also to study in at least one, but perhaps both, of the other genres.

The MAPW program offers:

  • The choice of a specialization and minor from three areas - applied writing, creative writing, or composition and rhetoric. Broadly-speaking, applied writing includes writing for businesses and for the web; comp/rhetoric focuses on the teaching of writing in schools and universities; and creative writing encompasses writing fiction, poems, TV or film scripts, plays, and creative non-fiction.
  • The opportunity to work with writers and writing educators in the Kennesaw Mountain National Writing Project
  • Challenging opportunities for internships at Kennesaw State and throughout metro Atlanta
  • Evening classes scheduled one night a week for sixteen weeks from 6:30p.m.-9:15p.m. in Fall and Spring semesters. Summer semester classes are scheduled one night a week for eight weeks from 6:00p.m.-11:00p.m.
  • Graduate Research Assistantships in Fall and Spring semesters which include tuition waivers and stipends. GRA positions are only open to the Master's degree students. Graduate Certificate students are not eligible. For more information visit www.kennesaw.edu/graduate/research.html.You must have had a 3.0 in Undergraduate studies and maintain a 3.0 as a Graduate student.


Course Requirements

Students may enroll in one course each semester, and many - especially working professionals - often do. But other students enroll in two or three courses each semester.

After taking ten courses (30 semester hours), students complete a capstone project for 6 semester hours of credit.

All requirements for a master's degree must be completed within six years. Extension of time may be granted only on conditions beyond the student's control. Only courses for which credit has been earned within six years of the date of graduation will be counted for degree credit.


Beyond the Graduate Degree

Because creative writing demands continuous and intensive practice, students who hold the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from Kennesaw State University or students who hold an MAPW degree with a concentration or support area in creative writing may want to continue to enroll in the advanced workshop in the appropriate genre (PRWR 7500), repeatable for an unlimited number of times.

Students who hold a graduate degree in creative writing from another university who wish to continue workshopping might likewise enroll in PRWR 7500, contingent upon acceptance into the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing program.


Application Process

For a graduate catalogue and application form, contact Kennesaw State University's Office of Graduate Admissions at 770-420-4377. An application for admission is also available online. Application materials should be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

Office of Graduate Admissions
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Rd #9109
Kennesaw GA 30144