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Welcome
to the information page for UNO's innovative Low
Residency MFA in Creative Writing, the first low residency MFA
program to combine distance learning with study-abroad. Since 1973,
when our Division of International Education was founded, almost
ten thousand students have participated in our study-abroad programs
in Europe, Africa, and Asia. And over the past decade more than
a thousand writers have participated in our workshops and literature
classes abroad. This comes as no surprise with faculty and guests
like Fredrick Barton, Joseph Boyden, Amanda Boyden, Steven Church, Moira Crone,
Alex Espinoza, John Gery, Lee Gutkind, Peter Gizzi, Jim Grimsley, Kristen Iversen, Rodger Kamenetz, Bill Lavender, Hank Lazer,
Deborah Meadows, Dinty W. Moore, Christine Pountney, Michael Winter,
John Gery, Kay Murphy, Susan Schultz -- just to mention a few of
the past and future faculty and guests in the San Miguel, Montpellier,
or Brunnenburg summer programs.
Program
Structure
The
low residency MFA in Creative Writing is based on our workshops
at our flagship program in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Montpellier,
France; and the poetry workshop at Ezra Pound's castle in Brunnenburg,
Italy. Three summer semesters abroad are combined with distance
(online) classes taken during the intervening fall and spring semesters
to create a curriculum that is engaging, challenging, and fun,
with a flexible schedule that can accommodate any aspiring writer,
from the traditional student just out of undergraduate school,
to the "non-traditional"
writer returning to graduate school after some time. Many of our
students work full time and appreciate the flexible weekly schedules
the online courses afford. Complete requirements and a sample curriculum
are listed at the bottom of this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A New Concept
in Low Residency Programs
Unlike
most low residency programs, in which you work with a single instructor
remotely over your entire course of study, with only brief summer
residencies on an American campus as your only opportunity to confer
with other faculty and students, UNO's program offers online workshops
with a maximum of interaction among faculty and students. The program
is organized in standard semesters, providing the benefit of several
different instructors in each genre over the course of your curriculum and rigorous interaction with your peers.
Residencies
are held in the summer semester each year, usually in the month
of July, at one of our famous summer programs in Europe, or at our flagship program in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Whether
you choose to attend The Writing Workshops in San Miguel,
or the poetry program the Ezra
Pound Center for Literature in Brunnenburg and Venice, you
are treated to a cultural and literary experience that will enrich
both your writing and your life.
What
programs or genres are available?
We offer
the low-residency MFA in Poetry Writing, Fiction Writing, Nonfiction
Writing, Playwriting, and Screenwriting.
How much
will it cost?
Our
program should be among the least expensive in the nation. The cost
for distance classes will be the University's normal tuition, which
for Fall 2009 would be $3,195.00 for two courses or 6 credit hours.
Fees for summer programs vary for each program.
How
do the online classes work? What
do I need for the distance learning classes?
You
will need a reliable, relatively late-model computer, with Internet
Explorer or Netscape Communicator version 5 or higher, and you
will need a fast, reliable internet connection. You will also need
an up-to-date word processing program, such as Microsoft Word.
The program will utilize the Blackboard web interface as well as
email and paper correspondence. Click
here to inspect the Blackboard interface.
What sort
of computer skills do I need?
You
don't need to be a programmer, but you do need a basic knowledge
of browser operation and email. You need to know how to send an
attachment to an email, and you need some familiarity with the
world wide web. These skills can be acquired easily from online
tutorials or other sources if you do not already have them.
What
if I want to go abroad but don't want a degree?
The
international reputation of our study-abroad programs often attracts
students who are currently enrolled in other universities and wish
to transfer credit, or who wish to attend on a non-credit basis.
Both can be accommodated. Transfer and non-credit students should
apply to the specific summer abroad program they wish to attend
(each program has its own application form). Here are links to
the specific program pages:
The Writing Workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Ezra
Pound Center for Literature in Brunnenburg, Italy
How
do I apply?
The
application process should be initiated now with the online form.
This link also contains detailed information about admission requirements,
deadlines, documentation requirements, etc.
Application
Form
Can
I talk to a human being about this program?
Certainly.
Feel free to email the Director of The Low-Residency MFA, Bill Lavender, at wlavende@uno.edu,
or the Coordinator of the Study Abroad Programs in Writing at jennifer.stewart@uno.edu. You may also call 504 280 7457 during business hours.
To receive printed
materials, use the information request form:
Request
written information on the Low Residency program and/or study-abroad.
Detailed
Program Requirements and Sample Curriculum
Admission:
An applicant is accepted for graduate work upon the recommendation
of the creative writing faculty and subsequent 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.
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. (Note: Drama and
Communications, DRCM, has now changed it's name to Film Theater
and Creative Arts, FTCA)
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.
Sample
Course of Study
Note: Students are free to take as many or as few courses as they
wish in any given semester. Most students take two classes per semester,
but many also take only one, and some have taken as many as five. Also,
students may begin the program in any semester. Thus, there are many
possible variants to the model presented below.
Summer
Abroad 1
Workshop
in Genre
Literature Course
Fall 1
Workshop,
Distance
Literature Course, distance
Spring
1
Workshop,
Distance
Literature Course, Background or Elective, distance
Summer Abroad
2
Workshop
in Genre, resident
Form and Idea, resident
Fall 2
Non-Fiction
(or non-genre) Workshop, distance
Literature Course, Background or Elective, distance (if needed)
Spring 2
Thesis
Preparation, remote monitored (6 hours)
Literature Course, Background or Elective, distance (if needed)
Summer Abroad
3
Workshop,
resident
Thesis Preparation, resident (6 hours)
Comprehensive Exam
Fall 3 (if
needed)
Thesis
Preparation, remote monitored OR
Thesis and graduation only (no tuition required.)
Click
Here to go to the Application Form
