Detailed Program Requirements
Admission: An applicant is accepted
for graduate work upon the recommendation of the creative writing faculty and
sub- sequent admission to the Graduate School. Students must hold a bachelor's
degree and must possess clearly demonstrated skills in a creative writing genre.
Graduate Record Examination scores, undergraduate transcripts, and three letters
of recommendation should be submitted. All applicants must identify the genre in
which they plan to specialize and submit a portfolio of their writing in that
genre (a play, a film script, two short stories or a novel of comparable length,
or ten poems).
Requirements: In addition to the requirements of the Graduate
School, the following must be met:
1. Completion of
at least 45 hours of drama and communications and English courses, 18 hours of
which must be in residence.
2. Fifteen hours
of 6000-level course work in creative writing workshops, at least 12 of which
will be in the thesis genre area, and 9 hours of which must be in residence.
These required courses are: for fiction writing, English 6171, or 6191; for
poetry writing, English 6172, or 6193; for Nonfiction writing, English 6174 or
6194; for playwriting, Drama and Communications 6207, or 6209; for
screenwriting, Drama and Communications 6257, or 6259.
Catalog course
descriptions:
ENGL; DRCM
3. Three hours in Form and Idea,
Drama and Communications 6020; 3 hours in Non-Fiction Writing,
English 6174, or 6194. For students whose thesis genre is nonfiction, a sixth
workshop course is required in a genre other than nonfiction.
4. Nine hours in background courses
a) Fiction and
poetry writing students will be required to take this in the literature of
their genre.
b) Screenwriting and playwriting students will be required to take six hours of
techniques courses and a three-hour history course in their genre
area.
5. A grade of B
or better in all required course work.
6. Nine hours of
electives, chosen in consultation with the director of creative writing, these
elective hours will be expected to conform to a cohesive program of
study.
7. An overall GPA
of 3.0 in elective courses.
8. A creative
thesis for which the student may receive six hours of preparation credit. The
creative writing thesis will be prepared under the supervision of a committee
approved by the dean of the Graduate School. This committee will ordinarily
consist of three members of the graduate faculties of the departments of Drama
and Communications and English.
9. A
comprehensive exam in the student's genre area that will be prepared,
administered, and graded by the thesis committee. It will concern itself with
the literature of the student's genre area.
Students who hold master's
degrees from other institutions or from other UNO programs may apply for
admission, but upon acceptance they must meet all requirements for the M.F.A.
degree listed above and must complete 36 hours of resident or non-resident
work at UNO, including all 15 hours in writing workshop
courses.
If you wish to enroll in courses, apply for the program, or simply contact us to learn more about our low residency MFA, click here.
Low Residency MFA | International Programs |
Requirements | Curriculum Workshops | Information | Contact/Application
|