Creative Writing - Master's
Degree Details
Degree: Master of ArtsMajor: English
Concentration: Creative Writing
Department Information
College of Graduate StudiesDerryberry Hall 306
(931) 372-3233
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The M.A. concentration in Creative Writing helps students develop their writing as poets, fiction writers, and creative essayists beyond skills developed at the undergraduate level. Students in this concentration may be looking to develop their talents to the point where they can gain entrance to a prestigious M.F.A. or Ph.D. program in Creative Writing. They may be seeking space to study writing in the context of graduate literary study in English, working with professors who are themselves published authors. They may be refining their writing with the goal of publication, or just creating work of publication quality and honing their craft. We offer advanced courses in Poetry and Prose Writing with very small enrollment, facilitating one-on-one work with our creative writing faculty, as well as workshops where graduate students learn not just from professors but from fellow student writers, participating in the conversations that help build nuanced skills as creative artists.
We only offer a thesis option for the Creative Writing M.A.
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Admissions Requirements
Students seeking admission to the Master of Arts in English program are required to have:
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- Undergraduate GPA: at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
- Statement of Purpose: should be no longer than two pages and include the following:
- Description of skills and qualities the candidate brings to the program
- Candidate’s motivation for obtaining a Master of Arts in English
- Candidate’s long-term goals in seeking a Master of Arts in English
- How the Master of Arts in English contributes to the achievement of those goals
- If applying for a Teaching Assistantship as well, the candidate should use this statement to address the candidate’s teaching interests and how the teaching assistantship contributes to the applicant’s overall goals.
- Writing Sample: should be an eight-page minimum, critical essay appropriate for submission in an upper-division, undergraduate English class
Early application submissions are encouraged. Graduate teaching assistantships are limited in number and will be awarded on a competitive basis.
- » Evaluation Criteria
The Graduate Committee will evaluate each application using the following criteria ratings:
Transcript
Based on QPA in all ENGL courses at the 2000+ level (Classes included are ENGL, PC, and LING):
2.7-2.999 = 10 points
3.0-3.499 = 20 points
3.5-4.0 = 30 pointsStatement of Purpose
7 -8 = 5 points Learn
9-10 = 10 points
11-12 = 20 points
13-15 = 30 pointsStatement of purpose evaluation: Each statement will be read by three individuals, either members of the Graduate Committee or their designees (who themselves must be Graduate Faculty members).
Writing Sample Score
7-8 = 5 points
9-10 = 10 points
11-12 = 20 points
13-15 = 30 pointsThe Graduate Committee shall admit to the program those students whose applications (based on the evaluation criteria above) either: earn a minimum of 10 points each in the transcript, writing sample, and statement of purpose OR have a total score of 35 points or higher regardless of their distribution.
Students admitted to the program who possess an undergraduate degree (either major or minor) in English will be given Full Standing. Students who qualify for admission but who have no degree in the discipline will be given Provisional Standing in order to account for any deficiencies identified in their background. When the student is informed that he/she has been given Provisional Standing, he/she shall also be informed of the specific courses which he/she needs to take in order to qualify for Full Standing. Once these deficiencies have been rectified, that student must then apply to the Graduate Committee for a change to Full Standing.
A student with an undergraduate degree in English who does not meet the minimum points score but has reasonable chance of success based on the quality of his/her writing sample may be admitted with provisional status.
A student who is granted Provisional Standing will, upon completion of nine (9) hours of graduate study, be evaluated by the Graduate Committee in consultation with the faculty members who have taught him/her. At that point, the graduate committee will decide whether to grant the student Full Standing or to deny admission to further study
Departmental Degree Requirements by Concentration
The Master of Arts degree program in English has both thesis (30 credit hours) and non-thesis (33 credit hours) options. Details about the non-thesis requirements are listed with each concentration below.
All thesis-option students, regardless of concentration, are required to take 6 credit hours of ENGL 6990 and complete all thesis requirements, in addition to the specific course requirements for their respective concentrations. An oral defense is required for all concentrations, and thesis students in the Creative Writing or Professional and Technical Communication concentrations must also complete a written comprehensive exam.
