Semester Description | Master of Fine Arts in Writing
Pre-Residency
- Worksheets: Submit four poems, no more than 10 pages in all, or a prose piece of up to 4000 words for faculty and peer review.
- Peer Review: Prepare detailed comments on all manuscripts in workshop group.
- Study Proposal: Submit a semester study proposal that includes writing goals, areas of interest, and a tentative reading list.
January & June: 10-Day Residency
- Workshops: Receive close critique and participate in critique for others.
- Presentations and Readings: Attend lectures, classes, presentations, readings, and discussions by writers and degree candidates.
- Advisor Conferences: Participate in strategy sessions with advisor to design an individualized semester study plan.
- Study Plan: Refine initial study proposal and define goals, reading list, projects, and deadlines for the guided study.
- Residency Review: Submit required responses to craft talks, classes, roundtable discussions, and lectures.
Guided Study
- Workload: Devote 20-25 hours per week to implement study plans and projects.
- Creative Project: Develop a body of carefully edited work (20-30 pages prose, 10-15 poems).
- Exchanges/Packets: Submit work to advisor (5-6 exchanges, approximately every 3 weeks).
- Reading: Complete assigned readings (20 works per semester).
- Reading Responses: During the first two semesters, write commentaries on 10-15 of the assigned readings. During the last two semesters, create an annotated bibliography for the assigned readings.
- Log: Keep record of exchanges with advisor.
- Midterm Assessment: Assess progress toward goals in study plan.
- Semester Assessment: Evaluate semester progress.