Low Residency MFA Program

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We have tried to give, here, a succinct list of the most important and immediately useful weblinks for students. There are many more pages that you will need to visit, of course, but these form the basic core of services available.

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Sign up for Online Classes (Fall and Spring Semesters). Click here to see the classes which are available next semester.

Current Student Resources. Moodle, Webstar, UCC Help Desk, Email, Important Dates: it's all here.

Program Requirements:

1. Completion of at least 45 hours of FTCA 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, FTCA 6207, or 6209; for screenwriting, FTCA 6257, or 6259.

3. Three hours in Form and Idea, FTCA 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 Film, Theatre & 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.