Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

The University of Tampa’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program is a two-year, four-term course of individualized study designed to help poets, fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers advance their command of craft through exposure to literature from a writerly perspective and with supportive critique and mentoring. The program also encourages the rich interplay of participation in an extended literary community, and it seeks to deepen the understanding of writing as an ongoing engagement with discovery and transformation.

Mission Statement

The College of Arts and Letters (CAL) seeks to cultivate in students the inner recourses for the truly creative life: physical and emotional discipline, moral imagination, aesthetic receptivity, practiced memory, broad sympathy and intellectual courage. An education in the arts and letters is an engagement with the rigors and powers of devising forms and grasping the shapes of meaning. A deepening of this engagement is an undertaking to which CAL faculty are passionately dedicated. Students are immersed in their chosen fields of study not merely as learners but as practitioners of their respective disciplines.

 

Graduate Retention Standards

To remain in good academic standing, students must receive a satisfactory narrative evaluation from their assigned mentor and an award of credit for the most recent term of study. A student receiving a “U” grade (Unsatisfactory) is automatically placed on academic probation.  Two successive “U” grades will result in dismissal from the program.

A student may receive an “I” grade (Incomplete) at the discretion of the instructor and program director. The deadline for filing an “I” grade (Incomplete) is March 15th for the January term, September 15th for the June term. Students must satisfactorily complete the “I” term before they are permitted to enroll in a subsequent term.

The deadline for receiving a “W” grade (Withdrawal) is March 15th for the January term, September 15th for the June term.

If a student is unable to continue with the plan of study in a given term, the student may apply through the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies for “enrollment maintenance” (EM). With the approval of the program director, the EM student’s plan of study is revised to allow for completion of the outstanding contracted work over the course of the succeeding term.

To return to regular student status in the program after an EM period, students must have completed the outstanding requirements of their plan of study for the term in which they applied for enrollment maintenance. Unless given special permission, students may remain on enrollment maintenance for one term only. Students returning to the program after an EM period may be assigned to a subsequent student cohort.

The entire program must be completed within seven years.

Advising

Each student will be assigned to the program director for advising purposes pertaining to academic guidance. For matters related to registration, withdrawal and other administrative issues, students are assigned an advisor in the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Faculty

Residency participants and mentoring faculty are distinguished practitioners and accomplished instructors from the on-campus faculty of The University of Tampa and from around the world. (Visit www.ut.edu/mfacw/faculty for the roster of current faulty and distinguished guests.)

MFA Admission

Students wishing to be considered for admission to the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program must provide the following:

• Completed application.
• Application fee.
• Official transcripts of all previous college work (received directly from each institution). Undergraduates who are in the process of completing degrees may apply for admission, with full acceptance contingent upon completion of a baccalaureate degree.
• Personal statement articulating education experience not evident in your official transcripts. The personal statement should consist of three typed, double-spaced pages and address these topics: the role writing has played in your life; your aspirations as a writer and how you see this MFA program helping you meet your goals; and evidence of your ability to work well independently. Include your name and contact information on the upper right corner of each page. If the sample is submitted digitally, the file should be in PDF format and labeled: lastnamefirstnamePersonal_Statement.pdf.
• Sample of your creative writing in the genre in which you seek admission (10 pages of poetry, 20 pages of fiction or 20 pages of creative nonfiction). These samples should be typed (using a 12-pt. font) and double-spaced. Include your name and contact information on the upper right corner of each page. If the sample is submitted digitally, the file should be in PDF format and labeled: lastnamefirstnameCreative_Sample.pdf.
• Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can comment on your writing and your ability to work independently.
• Résumé.

Please send required documents to:

Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies

The University of Tampa

401 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Box 102F

Tampa, FL 33606-1490

For admission assistance, contact an admission counselor in the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies at or [phone]. For program-specific information, contact the program director’s office at [e-mail] or [phone].

Transfer and Transient Credit Policy

Effective with January 2013 admissions, students who have qualified for admission to the program may transfer the equivalent of one term's worth of credit (12 credit hours) from another graduate English or creative writing program when approved by the program director and the MFA Committee. Only credits earned with grades of "B" or better will be considered. Coursework completed more than seven years prior to admission is ineligible for transfer consideration. Transfer credit requests are reviewed by the MFA Committee on a case-by-case basis.

Program and Course Requirements

Satisfactory completion of the MFA program requires a minimum of 52 credit hours of graduate work (12 credit hours per term over four terms, and four credit hours for the fifth culminating residency). Partial credit is not awarded. At the conclusion of each term, each student receives a narrative evaluation from the faculty mentor and the award of credit/no credit for completion of the work. Students must attend the entire residency and complete all contracted tutorial period work to the faculty mentor’s satisfaction. Mentor responses to tutorial period submissions, as well as final evaluations, are a matter of record and will be maintained in each student’s file.

Students may begin the program with either the January or June residency.

Residency and tutorial periods

Term One — 12 Credits (WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction: WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

A 10-day residency initiates term one, with program faculty delivering formal talks on elements of craft, as well as seminars on aesthetic issues and works from the literary canon. Students participate in faculty-guided genre and mentee workshops, and discussion sessions. They also attend readings and lectures by guest faculty and visiting writers and talks by editors and publishers. Assigned readings focus on principles of craft and techniques appropriate to the genre, providing the opportunity for deeper analysis from a writer’s point of view and a broader understanding of literary traditions.

The residency is followed by a five-month tutorial period with four submissions, at prescribed intervals, of original creative writing and annotations on readings. These submissions are critiqued by the faculty mentor. The nature and direction of the reading and writing projects during the tutorial period are planned and agreed upon during the residency through individual conferences with the faculty mentor, and are tailored to the specific needs of the student.

Term Two — 12 Credits (WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction; WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

Term two extends the student’s accomplishments in term one and begins with a 10-day residency. In plenary sessions and smaller group settings, program faculty offer presentations on elements of craft, as well as seminars on aesthetic issues and works from the literary canon, often involving pertinent concerns across genres. Students participate in faculty-guided genre workshops, small group sessions with mentors, individual conferences and more general discussion sessions. They also attend readings and lectures by guest faculty and visiting writers and talks by editors and publishers. As in term one, assigned readings focus on principles of craft and techniques appropriate to the genre and the development of the writing life, providing the opportunity for deeper analysis of works from a writer’s point of view and a broader understanding of literary traditions. Each term two student also assumes a more central role in seminars by serving as respondent in at least one session.

The term two residency is followed by a five-month tutorial period with four submissions, at prescribed intervals, of original creative writing and annotations on readings. These submissions are critiqued by the faculty mentor. The nature and direction of the reading and writing projects during the tutorial period are determined by a plan of study worked out by the student and faculty mentor during the residency. Each plan is tailored to build upon work thus far accomplished, as well as to address the specific needs and interests of the student.

Term Three — 12 Credits (WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction; WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

Term three begins with a 10-day residency, with activities similar to those outlined above. But in addition to the residency program, and a leadership role as an advanced respondent in a workshop or presentation, students attend a seminar on writing critical essays in preparation for the subsequent tutorial period focused on the writing of an extended critical essay (25 pages). With his or her faculty mentor, each student agrees upon an appropriate topic for the critical paper, as well as supporting readings and a schedule of draft submissions that will occur during the tutorial period. The completed critical paper is due at the end of the tutorial period. The student also submits drafts of original work and annotations in accordance with the negotiated plan of study.

Term Four — 12 Credits (WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction; WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

Term four starts with a 10-day residency, with activities similar to those outlined above. Each student takes on additional responsibilities as senior respondent in a residency session, but special emphasis is placed on preparation for teaching a graduating student seminar during the culminating residency and on completing the graduate thesis manuscript. Part of the tutorial period plan of study includes approval and signing of a thesis plan with a thesis director and a second faculty reader, as well as approval of the student’s culminating residency seminar topic. Term four students attend a pedagogy workshop to aid them in the preparation of the seminar each will conduct during the culminating residency.

Capstone Residency—4 credits (WRI 800 MFA Thesis and Capstone)

Upon completion of their fourth term, students are required to attend a fifth, capstone residency at which they present a graduate seminar, present their thesis (a minimum of 125 pages of fiction or nonfiction, 55 pages of poetry) and their annotated bibliography, give a public reading of original work and complete all required program documentation. After approval by the program director, graduating students are required to submit an electronic version of their thesis to the Macdonald-Kelce Library for inclusion in the digital repository.

Graduation Requirements

All students must satisfactorily complete the four-term, five-residency program and all requirements as articulated above.