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Program of Study
Chatham University's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a broad
program of study (39 credit hours) designed to prepare students for careers
as writers or other positions requiring similar professional skills, such as
editing, publishing, and content development for the web; to enable students
to improve their writing in more than one genre through interaction with our
faculty and with other writing students; and to become experienced critics
of literary works. Our focus on nature, environmental, and travel writing
provides students unique opportunities to explore the world and travel as
part of
their degree program.
Most full-time students will be able to complete the program in two years.
All students must complete the program within six years of entrance into the
program. (That is, a student beginning as an MFA student in fall 2006 would
need to graduate no later than fall 2012.)
In order to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, candidates must:
- Take a least one Field Seminar. Students travel with faculty members to
parts of the United States and other countries, respond to the culture and
natural world of another locale and write about their experiences.
- Complete 39 hours of course work which includes 6 credits of Final Project.
- Write a Creative Thesis and pass a Final Examination (oral thesis defense)
Curriculum (39 hours):
- Three advanced creative writing workshops in primary genre, i.e., Poetry,
Fiction, Nonfiction, Writing for Children (9 cr)
- One field seminar (3 cr)
- Two craft courses, one in primary genre, and one in either Travel Writing or
Nature and Environmental Writing. (6 cr)
- Four content courses. Most of these will be graduate English courses,
including literature and literary publishing courses, but other courses are
acceptable with permission of the program director. Two of these courses
must be literature courses (12 cr)
- One elective. Any course from the MFA program (3 cr)
- Final Creative Thesis (6 cr)
Additional Options
By taking one craft course and two additional writing workshops in their
secondary genre, students may attain their MFA with a dual concentration.
Thus, students choosing this option will spend 12 hours working in their
primary genre and 9 hours in a secondary genre. The Thesis Project for Dual
Concentration students may be composed of work in either genre or a
combination of both.
We also offer several certificates for students wishing to specialize in a
certain area. Students wishing to earn a certificate take 9 hours of courses
in one of the following areas (details can be found on our website):
- Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing
- Certificate in Travel Writing
- Certificate in Literary Publishing
Past and Future Field Seminars
- Amazonian Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands (2008)
- Myths of Germany (2008)
- Appalachian Trails (2008)
- Nature's Imagination: Costa Rica
- Writing New Zealand
- They're Trying to Wash Us Away: New Orleans and the Cajun Prairies
- A Sense of Where We Are: Pittsburgh
- Revisioning Myth: Greece
- The Majestic Ganges: India
- Voices from the Massachusetts Mountains
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