Creative Writing MFA
Program Purpose
The M.F.A. in Creative Writing program is devoted to the development of writing abilities derived from studying and producing literary texts in English. Graduate students study and write these works in aesthetic, historical, religious, and other contexts, including the theoretical and creative contexts the faculty bring to the courses they teach. The M.F.A. program is designed for students who plan to enter careers in teaching, editing, and writing as well as for those advanced writers who wish to continue hone their skills for personal satisfaction.
Curricular Structure
Thirty-two hours, including:
- ENGL 600, Introduction to Graduate Studies (2 hours) (Introduction to trends in postgraduate curricula, ideology, pedagogy, and professional publication in English studies and to current scholarly interests and projects of graduate faculty)
- Three graduate-level writing workshops
- English 617 (Creative Writing Theory)
- One additional workshop or course in related field
- Three graduate-level seminars in English (literature or rhetoric)
- Six hours of English 699R: thesis hours designed to facilitate the completion of a creative thesis (a substantial work of creative writing demonstrating knowledge and skill in the area of interest) which includes a critical introduction.
- Oral examination of the creative thesis, an approved reading list of writers and related topics from the student's graduate coursework
Learning Outcomes
Effective Presentation and Publication
Creative Writing MFA graduates produce work suitable for public presentation, publication, and other forms of creative expression that fit their post-graduate plans.
Creative Writing MFA graduates produce and defend a thesis-length creative document that is characterized by its originality and excellence of expression and informed by its critical introduction and/or afterword.
Creative Writing MFA graduates will persuasively defend, in the oral examination, the coherence of their plan of study and their mastery of a discrete area of the discipline.
Creative Writing M.F.A. graduates who teach composition or assist faculty in teaching courses in the English major will exemplify pedagogical understanding and practice that qualifies them to teach similar courses at other colleges and universities.
Evidence of Learning
Direct Measures
1. Each graduate seminar will acquaint students with the performance requirements of its creative and/or scholarly environment and assess student learning through discussion, oral reports, submission of creative work and/or scholarly work, exams, and other assignments.
2. Each graduate seminar will prepare students to present and/or publish their seminar work in professional venues available locally, regionally, and nationally.
3. Each graduate seminar will feature course evaluations which will measure, in part, student perception of their learning, especially through additional course-specific questions.
4. Each graduate seminar will feature on-going professor-student conferences and other written responses to student work and progress.
5. Each course that graduate students teach will feature course evaluations of its own, measuring student perception of their instructor's teaching expertise.
Indirect Measures
1. In coordination with University and College alumni surveys, the graduate program will conduct on-going surveys of its graduates.
2. Each graduate student who teaches in the composition program will be evaluated regularly on teaching through classroom visits and other means as administered by the composition coordinators.
Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement
The Graduate Advisory Council serves as a curriculum committee for the graduate program. They track admissions, advisement, class scheduling and enrollments, time-to-completion rates, etc., to assess the effectiveness of the program.
- The Graduate Advisory Council evaluates the program on a continuing basis.
- Recommendations for improvement are typically proposed by the Graduate Advisory Council to the Department Executive Committee. Substantial revisions of the program are subject to discussion and a vote by the full department faculty. Implementation and evaluation of changes are the responsibility of the graduate coordinator and the Graduate Advisory Committee.
- Proposals for curriculum change are submitted to the college curriculum committee.