Career Outcomes
The professional connections you build during the MFA continue long after graduation. During your two years in the MFA program, you'll join a community of classmates, alumni, faculty, and literary professionals who continue to support one another long after graduation.
Graduates pursue careers in editing, publishing, communications, education, nonprofit organizations, advertising, grant writing, and other fields where strong writing matters.
What Careers Do Alumni Pursue?
- Editor
- Creative Writing Instructor
(high school and university) - Literary Agent
- Literary Publicist
- Journalist
- Director of Content
- Senior Writer
- Bookseller
- Marketing Associate
- PhD student in Creative Writing
Where Are Graduates Working?
- University of California
- UC Press
- Stanford
- San Francisco State University
- Tripadvisor
- Barnes & Noble
- Apple
Does USF Offer Resources For Finding Employment?
Yes. Our Career Services Center helps place current and admitted students in jobs that fit their skillsets. You can schedule an appointment with a career counselor on their myUSF website.
T.S. Leonard ’23
Right now I’m teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, talking about poetics with musicians and composers and engineers — and learning something new every day. I’m thrilled to be exploring the possibilities of collaboration between poetry and music.”
T.S. Leonard ’23
Curious where an MFA in Writing can take you?
Read our guide to explore what an MFA in Writing involves, and how this degree can shape your path as a writer.
Learn How to Get Published
Publishing your work requires more than strong writing—it requires knowledge of the literary landscape. Our Life After the MFA symposia help you navigate the public life of writing, including querying agents, submitting to literary magazines, finding reputable book contests, applying for residencies and fellowships, and approaching publishers.
Our alumni have published in:
- Random House
- Riverhead
- Bloomsbury
- Black Lawrence Press
- Omnidawn
- Fordham University Press
- Puerto de Sol
- Creative Nonfiction
- Missouri Review
- The Offing
“Those Who Don’t Quit Are the Ones Who Get Published”
MFA graduate Swetha Amit ’22 talks about exploring genres and persevering through challenges in her writing journey.
