IX. Graduate Programs
Creative Writing
Courses
For courses without a semester designation the student should consult the graduate co-ordinator.
| CRWR*6000 Plenary Course: Writers on Writing F [0.50] |
| This required plenary course addresses important historical and contemporary perspectives on creative writing as an art, a
practice, and a profession. Readings, discussion and visits from writers and other literary professionals will help students
to articulate effectively their own literary aesthetic and to develop professional skills.
|
| Restriction(s): |
MFA.CW students only |
| CRWR*6100 Poetry Workshop F-W [0.50] |
| The Poetry Workshop engages students in a reading and writing intensive program of work. The workshops will be strongly focused
on writing and on responding to the work of students in the course with productive, constructive criticism. Students will
have the opporutnity to work closely with a nationally recognized poet to develop their own skills as poets and editors. Students
are expected to read widely and to develop their understanding of the technical aspects of their craft.
|
| Restriction(s): |
MFA.CW students only |
| CRWR*6200 Fiction Workshop F-W [0.50] |
| The Fiction Workshop engages students in a reading and writing intensive program of work. The workshops will be strongly focused
on writing and on responding to the work of students in the course with productive, constructive criticism. Students will
have the opporutnity to work closely with a nationally recognized author to develop their skills as writers and editors. Students
are expected to read widely and to develop their understanding of the technical aspects of their craft.
|
| Restriction(s): |
MFA.CW students only |
| CRWR*6300 Drama Workshop U [0.50] |
| The Drama workshop is writing- and reading-intensive. Students will produce a substantial amount of dramatic writing and will
also provide constructive criticism of the work of other workshop participants. Required reading will cover a wide range of
dramatic literature and the study of dramatic forms and techniques.
|
| Restriction(s): |
MFA.CW students only |
| CRWR*6400 Practicum in Creative Writing U [0.50] |
| In this course of guided study, the student will work on a creative project with a mentor who is a recognized member of the
professional writing community.
|
| Restriction(s): |
MFA.CW students only |
| CRWR*6500 Non-Fiction Workshop U [0.50] |
| The Non-Fiction Workshop engages students in a reading- and writing-intensive program of creative non-fiction. The workshops
will be strongly focused on writing and will involve the creation and revision of a substantial body of new work in the genre,
as well as critiquing the work of other students in the course. The reading component will focus on texts from a varied social
and cultural range (e.g. family memoir, travel narrative, cultural memoir, themed mediation).
|
| Restriction(s): |
MFA.CW students only |
Workshops
Students are required to take three workshops over the course of the program; the genres in which workshops will be offered
are fiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting, and creative non-fiction. Students are also required to ensure through their selection
of workshops that they work in a minimum of two separate genres and are strongly encouraged to take workshops that include
work in at least three genres. The workshops will be strongly focused on writing, but each will also incorporate a substantial
reading component.
Plenary Courses
Plenary courses will be offered each year in the fall semester, and students are required to take two. These courses are intended
in part to provide a forum for visiting writers and other literary professionals. Each course will also have a substantial
component addressing practical matters associated with the progress of a writer’s career.
The individual study course, required in the third (summer) semester of the program, pairs each student with a mentor. It
is intended to install within the curriculum a critical opportunity to address the variable learning needs of individual students.
For some students, it will be primarily a reading course, with practice in writing in relation to particular models. For the
majority of students, however, it is likely to be an intensive writing course that will allow for additional work in the genre
that interests them most, or to explore the possibilities of another genre.
Thesis
The thesis is the single most important component of the MFA Program. The thesis may be a novel, a book-length manuscript
of poems, a collection of short stories, a full-length play or screenplay, or a memoir. The standard to be applied is that
the thesis should be of publishable quality in the estimation of the examiners.
