Creative Writing and Literature Degree Requirements

• HUMA 101 Proseminar: Elements of the Writer’s Craft
• 1 advanced fiction writing course
• 3 creative writing courses
• 1 creative writing and literature elective
• 2 literature courses
  • EXPO 42a Writing in the Humanities is a literature option
• On-campus summer writers’ residency

Learn how to search and register for courses.

The thesis is a 9-month independent research project where you work one-on-one in a tutorial setting with a thesis director.

The thesis track includes the following additional courses:

• CREA E-487 Crafting the Thesis Proposal in Creative Writing and Literature Tutorial
• ALM Thesis in Creative Writing (8 credits)

Recent Thesis Topics:

• Back Where We Belong: a novel that explores the complex ties between identities, communities, and home countries
• Fireborn: a YA fantasy novel with a female protagonist; inspired by folklore and mythology from Asia
• The Birdbath: an exploration of memory and the past, grief and the imagination, and the possibilities and limitations of making amends

The capstone track includes the following additional courses:

• 1 literature course
• Precapstone: Building the World of the Book (fiction and nonfiction options)
• Capstone: Developing a Manuscript (fiction and nonfiction options)

In the precapstone, with support from your instructor and peers, you’ll engage in a series of structured writing exercises that make it possible to delve deeply into your characters—what they look like, what they want and need, and how they interact with the world in which they live—as you structure the world of your fiction or nonfiction.

In the capstone, with ongoing community support, you continue your work of in the precapstone and write two additional chapters or stories, or approximately 30 pages of new work. The capstone project in total should be about 50-60 pages — the equivalent of a thesis.

You enroll in the precapstone and capstone courses in back-to-back semesters (fall/spring) and in your final academic year. The capstone must be taken alone as your sole remaining degree requirement.

Recent Capstone Topics:

• Beauty (Whatever That Is) and the Beast (Me): a short story collection for girls with body dysmorphia
• Against the Wave: a contemporary fabulist novella inspired by an Irish folktale

To meet the on-campus requirement, you choose the One-Week Writers’ Residency with pre and post on-campus sessions to study with us for the full three weeks here in Cambridge. You can easily request an I-20 for the F-1 student visa through Harvard Summer School. For more details, see International Student Study Options for important visa information.

Come to Cambridge for Convocation (fall) to celebrate your hard-earned admission, Harvard career fairs offered throughout the year, HES alumni networking events (here at Harvard and around the world), and, of course, Harvard University Commencement (May).

• Prior to enrolling in any degree-applicable courses, you must possess a 4-year regionally accredited US bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent. Foreign bachelor’s degrees must be evaluated for equivalency.
• If English is your second language, you’ll need to prove English proficiency before registering for a course. We have multiple proficiency options.

To begin the admission process, you simply register — no application required — for the following two, four-credit, graduate-level degree courses (available online).

These prerequisite courses count toward your degree once you’re admitted; they are not additional courses. They are investments in your studies and help ensure success in the program.

• HUMA 101 Proseminar: Elements of the Writer’s Craft
  • Before registering, you’ll need to pass our online test of critical reading and writing skills or earn a B or higher in EXPO 42a Writing in the Humanities.
  • You have two attempts to earn the minimum grade of B in the proseminar (a withdrawal grade counts as an attempt). The proseminar cannot be more than two years old at the time of application.
• Advanced Fiction Writing

While the two courses don’t need to be taken in a particular order or in the same semester, we recommend that you start with the proseminar. The 2 courses must be completed with a grade of B or higher, without letting your overall Harvard cumulative GPA dip below 3.0.

Learn how to search and register for courses.

During the semester of your second degree course, submit the official application to the program.

Don’t delay! You must prioritize the two degree courses for admission and apply before completing subsequent courses. By doing so, you’ll:

• Avoid the loss of credit due to expired course work or changes to admission and degree requirements.
• Ensure your enrollment in critical and timely degree-candidate-only courses.
• Avoid the delayed application fee.
• Gain access to exclusive benefits.

Eligible students who submit a complete and timely application will have 10 more courses after admission to earn the degree. Applicants can register for courses in the upcoming semester before they receive their grades and while they await their admission decision.

Prospective ALM students can expect acceptance into the program by meeting all the eligibility and academic requirements detailed on this page, submitting a complete application, and having no academic standing or conduct concerns.

GPA. You need to earn a B or higher in each of the two degree courses required for admission and a B– or higher in each of the subsequent courses. In addition, your cumulative GPA cannot dip below 3.0.

Withdrawal Grades. You are allowed to receive 2 withdrawal (WD) grades without them affecting your GPA. Any additional WD grades count as zero in your cumulative GPA. Please note that a WD grade from a two-credit course will count as 1 of your 2 allowed WD grades. See Academic Standing.

Repeat Courses. We advise you to review the ALM program’s strict policies about repeating courses. Generally speaking, you may not repeat a course to improve your GPA or to fulfill a degree requirement (if the minimum grade was not initially achieved). Nor can you repeat a course for graduate credit that you’ve previously completed at Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School at the undergraduate level.

Courses over five years old at the point of admission will not count toward the degree. As stated above, the proseminar cannot be more than two years old at the time of application.

Further, you have five years to complete your degree requirements. The five-year timeline begins at the end of the term in which you complete any two degree-applicable courses, regardless of whether or not you have been admitted to a degree program.

Potential degree candidates must plan accordingly and submit their applications to comply with the five-year course expiration policy or they risk losing degree credit for completed course work. Additionally, admission eligibility will be jeopardized if, at the point of application to the program, the five-year degree completion policy cannot be satisfied (i.e., too many courses to complete in the time remaining).

When you have fulfilled all degree requirements, you will earn your Harvard University degree: Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: Creative Writing and Literature. Degrees are awarded in November, February, and May, with the annual Harvard Commencement ceremony in May.

When you become an officially admitted degree candidate, you have access to a rich variety of exclusive benefits to support your academic journey. To learn more, visit degree candidate academic opportunities and privileges.