1 Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) 2005 Calendar, 42, 270 and 556 (04)UC/05 MFA (Creative Writing)/1 Section A 1. Purpose of proposal To create a new Masters of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) degree (CUAP Category1). This endorsed degree is differentiated from the MFA and will allow students to complete a substantial original work in English (Creative Writing). 2. Justification Currently the University of Canterbury has no Masters degree in the area of creative writing. The traditional MA degree at Canterbury is a research degree and as such cannot encompass original writing. The proposed MFA (Creative Writing) degree will enable students who have studied courses in creative writing at undergraduate and postgraduate level to progress to postgraduate study. Some students may wish to complete both a Masters degree in creative writing and a separate Masters degree in a project involving traditional scholarship and research. The degree is also intended to attract professional writers who may be interested in gaining a formal qualification in their field. Masters degrees in Creative Writing are offered at a number of Australian Universities (under various titles) and, within New Zealand, at Victoria University (MA in Creative Writing) and Auckland (Masters in Creative Writing). It is proposed at Canterbury to create an endorsed MFA degree, as the MFA is recognised as marking the terminal achievement in creative writing programmes in North American university and college culture. Establishing this degree will benchmark the University of Canterbury s creative writing programme, making it more attractive to overseas students who wish to complete their creative writing course in New Zealand, as well as contextualising it for local students who wish to gain a degree that is recognised overseas. 3. Acceptability See Appendix 2: Consultation 4. Goals of the programme The proposed MFA (Creative Writing) has been devised to enhance the Masters-level offerings of the School of Culture, Literature and Society, and in particular to provide a terminal degree that is widely recognised overseas for students who have completed the
2 creative writing pathway the school is now in the final stages of establishing. This pathway will begin with ENGL114, a course that introduces creative writing students to the fundamentals of manuscript preparation and presentation, and proceeds to undergraduate creative writing papers in poetry (ENGL 231), short fiction (ENGL 220, ENGL 350), writing for stage and screen (ENGL 233, ENGL 234), and a fiction masterclass with a visiting writer (ENGL350), then to related papers within the Honours programme on poetics, prosody and dramatic theory. Candidates for the MFA (Creative Writing) will be expected to have completed papers at each level or, in the case of external or overseas applicants, their equivalents. Entry into the MFA (Creative Writing) degree will be limited to eight students at any one time (see Appendix 1). Students will be required to complete under supervision a single artistic project to a level considered suitable for publication or presentation, for example a collection of short stories, a novel or novella, a volume of poetry or a play. It is intended that students who complete the School s creative writing pathway with the MFA (Creative Writing) degree will have acquired knowledge of the technical and professional disciplines of manuscript preparation and publication, understanding of the origins and management of creative processes, awareness of generic literary forms and traditions, a substantial body of reading experience in the genre or genres in which they specialise, and, through the currently proposed degree, the practical experience of conceiving, sustaining and completing a significant work of art. Coherence and teaching standards will be maintained by team-teaching as currently practised in the undergraduate creative writing programme, and by the School s standard procedures of team assessment. 5. Graduate profile We aim to graduate students with an MFA (Creative Writing) who: will have studied, evaluated and understood current theories of artistic creativity in imaginative writing will have studied, evaluated and demonstrated understanding of methodologies of construction and conclusion in current practice will have studied, evaluated and understood the nature of problems generally acknowledged to impede and deflect creative construction and expression will have demonstrated their ability to confront and solve these problems in practical work will have demonstrated their mastery of these skills and disciplines in completing an extended writing project to professional standards will have gained practical experience in editing and professional correspondence by working on the English Programme s new literary journal.
3 6. Proposed regulations and prescriptions See Appendix 1. 7. Proposed teaching/delivery methods The proposed programme would have a 1.0 weighting. As in current Masters thesis programmes, independent work would be encouraged, under the guidance of two supervisors appointed from within the programme. As is standard in the English programme presently, regular submission, reading and discussion of work-in-progress will occur between student and supervisors. Public presentation of creative work may be a requirement of the programme. 8. Assessment Assessment of completed projects will be entirely by the project s supervisors as examiners and appropriate external examiners, either creative writing teachers in similar tertiary programmes or writers in creative practice. 9. Plans for monitoring programme quality The following practices presently maintained in the existing creative writing programme will be continued within the new MFA (Creative Writing) programme: Annual STU testing of student response to teaching/supervision. Annual benchmarking of student writing with external peer institution (to date, this has been supplied by Owen Marshall at Aoraki Polytech). Annual report to Programme Head reviewing outcomes and need for adjustment or supplementation of regulations. Graduating Year Review: The proposed MFA (Creative Writing) degree will provide the last step on the creative writing pathway being set up in the School of Culture, Literature and Society. 10. Resources The proposed degree programme is intended to be taught and administered by staff currently employed in the School of Culture, Literature and Society. These include teachers who have published poetry, short stories, novels and plays, and who have wide experience and training in the teaching of creative writing. Masters supervision requires no teaching room, as individual tuition occurs in supervisors offices. No special equipment is required beyond the shared office space and IT equipment currently offered to postgraduate students in the School. Existing library resources are expected to be adequate.
4 11. Statement regarding Section B Section B has been prepared and will be made available to CUAP on request. Duration of the Programme Tuition/Teaching (Full time equivalent) weeks 1-2 years Vacation/Recess weeks Teaching Hours per week 2 Work Experience Hours per week n.a. Self Directed Learning hours per week EFTS value Is distance learning available? 1 per annum per student No Progression of Proposal Date Faculty Visual and Performing Arts 9 June 2005 Academic Programmes Committee 11 July & 8 August 2005 Academic Board 17 August 2005 Council 31 August 2005 CUAP 1 September 2005
5 Appendix 1 Course regulations and prescriptions Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) Limitation of Entry Regulations: Schedule 2005 Calendar page 42 Degree Regulations 2005 Calendar page 270 For admission to the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Limitation of Entry regulations, under English, add: ENGL 692 8 Special condition: Selection will be made on the basis of the student s prior submission of a folio of work and a research proposal to be approved by the Board of Studies. ENGL693 8 Special condition: Selection will be made on the basis of the student s prior submission of a folio of work and a research proposal to be approved by the Board of Studies. Insert after the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and before Graduate Diploma in Art Curatorship (GradDipArtCuratorship) For the degree Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (see also General Course and Examination Regulations) 1. Qualifications Required to Enrol in the Degree Every candidate for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) before enrolling in a course of study for the degree, shall have: (a) either (i) a BA(Hons) in English or another subject approved by the Board of Studies, or (ii) have completed a Bachelors degree in an appropriate area and provided evidence of substantial professional experience in the area, or (iii) have been admitted under the regulations for admission ad eundem statum as entitled to enrol for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing); and (b) have submitted a portfolio of original work and a research proposal approved by the Board of Studies, and (c) been accepted as a candidate for the Degree by the Board of Studies and by the Dean of Visual and Performing Arts. 2. Structure of the Degree To qualify for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) a candidate must produce a substantial piece of original work in English, a 5000-7000 word supplementary essay and formally present their work as part of an oral
6 examination. If the piece of original work is unsatisfactory at its first presentation the examiners may, with approval of the Dean of Visual and Performing Arts, permit the candidate to revise their work and re-submit by a specified date. 3. Part Time Study and Time Limits (a) With the approval of the Academic Board a candidate may be enrolled as a part time candidate. A part time candidate is one who, because of employment, health, family or other reasons is unable to devote their full time to creative writing. (b) Enrolment for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) shall be for one year full-time study or two years parttime study. (c) After the commencement of work towards the Degree, a candidate may, with the permission of the Academic Board transfer from full time to part time status or vice versa. In granting such permission the Board shall determine the time limits allowed and may impose other conditions. (d) Candidates for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) shall not concurrently enrol in undergraduate or graduate courses except with the permission of the Dean of Visual and Performing Arts. 4. Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with Distinction and Merit The Degree of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing) may be awarded with Distinction or Merit. The award of Distinction is equivalent to First Class Honours; the award of Merit is equivalent to Second Class Honours Division I. Prescriptions 2005 Calendar page 556 ENGL 692 Creative Writing Thesis P: subject to the approval of the Board of Studies ENGL 693 Creative Writing Thesis (part-time) P: subject to the approval of the Board of Studies
7 Appendix 2: Consultation A single-page outline of the proposed programme was sent to selected creative writing programmes in North America, Australia and elsewhere in New Zealand. Responses are printed below: Dear Patrick, I write to commend the course as proposed for an MFA at Canterbury. It covers a wide range of writing, which is important. It can take working at several genres before one discovers what one is best at (for example, for a long time I thought I wanted to be a novelist before I realised that what I was best at was dialogue and that I wasn't good at description). Furthermore, writing for one genre can illuminate others. At the very least, there is nothing like writing a short story, poems, a play or film script, to gain a keen appreciation of the work of established writers. The staff teaching the courses are experienced exponents of their craft, and together make a formidable team. I can see this course attracting students of all ages and I think it will be a major asset for Canterbury University. Roger Hall From: Kevin Prufer [mailto:kdp8106@cmsu2.cmsu.edu] Sent: Fri 25/03/2005 8:06 a.m. To: Claire Hero Cc: Subject: Re: a wee favor Hi Claire-- Yes, what's described in that letter sounds pretty close to the requirements for an MFA over here. (Of course, I'm making this judgment without a clear description of the exact course requirements, which I'm sure is elsewhere in your proposal.) And, yes, I agree that MFA is the proper term. In the US, it's used universally to describe the terminal degree in creative writing (as opposed to the MA, which is either a much less arduous degree or functions as a step toward a terminal degree). Good luck with the proposal! Kevin Pleiades & Pleiades Press Department of English and Philosophy Central Missouri State University Warrensburg, MO 64093 Phone (660) 543-8106 Fax (660) 543-8544 www.cmsu.edu/englphil/pleiades.html
8.. Dear Patrick, You asked me to make comment on your proposal to extend the creative writing programme at Canterbury to Masters level. Thanks for the outline of your submission, and I'm happy to respond with the following general points: 1 - For the creative writing programme to prosper long term, I think it necessary that a clear pathway of papers be available from stage one to masters level. Not only is this an indication of the status given to the subject within the university, but it encourages the initial involvement of students because they can see a means of progressing within the programme if they enjoy the experience and have a serious interest in writing. 2 - While providing the pathway mentioned above, the proposal would not at all affect the present ability, or inclination, of people - often mature students - to take just one or two papers from the programme. 3 - The tertiary sector in New Zealand has an increasing number of creative writing programmes, and in this situation of greater choice I assume those institutions offering a high quality, comprehensive and integrated programme to MFA level will be preferred. You will see that I am certainly in favour of the move, but you ask also for critical advice and I offer the following thoughts 1 - There is a danger as a programme grows `Topsy like' in the way that is naturally occurring here, that the individual papers lack cohesive integration within the programme. Some papers have been going for some years, others are just coming on stream. It is important that the connection amongst them is established clearly in terms of content, level, assessment, methodology. There is not space to go into detail here, but, as one example, there needs to be agreement as to what is done and to what level in the various prose fiction papers. Failure in that may result both in lacunas, and their opposite - repetitious and boring overlap. The devising of the masters papers should proceed simultaneously with a general survey and integration of the programme as a whole. 2 - Selection (especially for the more advanced papers) becomes of even greater importance. Firstly, because the MFA will be the flag bearer of the Canterbury programme and must achieve credibility from the quality of its graduates. Secondly, in the rather subjective assessment environment of a writing programme it is best I think to maintain a high threshold rather than face the embarrassment of too many failing students. So rigorous scrutiny and evaluation of candidates' work before acceptance are necessary. 3 - Both of the above point to the need to have at least a few semiformal meetings of staff involved. Boringly administrative, but part of the price of an expanding programme. I wish you well in your project and fully support it.
9 Regards, Owen Marshall. Hi Patrick Your proposal sounds interesting and I am sure it will be a valuable addition to the M.F.A. Thank you for letting us know about your plans. Once you have gone through faculty and are developing the proposal for CUAP, it would be good to be able to give some more feedback then. Otherwise, I hope your proposal goes well, and I wish you the best of luck with the development of the new programme. Kind regards, Kathryn Kathryn Salm Postgraduate Support and Education Coordinator University of Canterbury Students' Association (UCSA) 90 Ilam Road PO Box 31-311 Christchurch NEW ZEALAND Phone: 3642987 x 3910 Email: postgrad@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz education@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz Website: www.ucsa.org.nz Dear Patrick, About your creative writing course: hope I can help. I can see why you're going the MFA route, which we considered too. There's lots to recommend it, not least the legibility of the MFA designation for North American students, as you say. In the end though, we got CW postgraduate work in under what we call the normal RHD (Research Higher Degree) structure, just because it was less work administratively. (This was also following a similar move at U of Queensland.) It has the advantage of allowing students to qualify to apply for RHD scholarships (university and national ones). The other separate structure we have is fee-paying coursework (only) MAs, which at the moment are only for Journalism and Media Studies (and are only 'Faculty of Arts' degrees). We wanted to keep the CW options firmly within the academic core of English, if you see what I mean. Like you also, we're introducing Honours CW units, including CW options within what are actually non-cw Honours offerings in themselves (My Fictocriticism unit for example: http://www.utas.edu.au/english/honours/elective_units_2005.html#fictocriticism.) That way, we can have an MA in English (which is generic and a university-wide degree) in CW. So students will just get an MA, whether it's CW or not. Then the question is whether to go the route of a DCA (Doctorate of Creative Arts) which a number of Australian universities have introduced, or just stick with the RHD modality and offer strictly limited places in the Ph.D program for CW projects. Still making up our minds about this one.
10 The actual requirements of your MFA in CW, including supervision arrangements, are very much in line with our MA program although there are two important points I would mention: 1) increasingly the MA/MFA is being seen as a three-semester that is, 18-month degree. I think it's probably better to state it as that with the option of extension (which is pretty usually taken up). A year or two's duration sounds a bit vague. 2) more importantly, and this relates to the examination, especially if you want to run it along the lines of your MA procedures, I think you'll find most postgraduate CW courses, degrees etc in Australia have a two-part structure with some division of creative work and critical exegesis. With examiners from Australia, for instance - I've marked probably 6/7 CW MAs and one or two PhDs here - you'll find them struggling with something which is comprised entirely or exclusively of creative work. The balance varies, sometimes 50% of each, creative and critical exegesis, sometimes more in favour of the creative where it isn't 50/50 (obviously). This may be the issue where you have to decide between the North American MFA model and the Australian one. Good luck with it all, and please let me know if there's anything else I can help with, or explain further. Warmest wishes, Philip -- School of English, Journalism & European Languages University of Tasmania Private Bag 82 Hobart TAS 7001 Australia (03) 6226 2352 (tel) (03) 6226 7631 (fax) http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/efgj/staff/e_pmead.htm