Creative Writing, B.F.A.

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The BFA Program offers students the opportunity to work with faculty who are practicing writers in workshop-style classes to discover and develop their writing strengths in the genres of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and screenwriting. Small classes, an emphasis on individual conferencing, and the development of a writing portfolio allow students to see themselves as artists and refine their writing. In literature courses, students become more familiar with British and American literature, develop their abilities to read and interpret literary and cultural materials and consider other writers as models to emulate and engage with. They gain experience in the literary or publishing world through an apprenticeship and courses in professional writing and publishing.

Total Major Requirements 45 Credits

Introductory Course 3 Credits

ENG 150 - Creative Writing Credits: 3
or
ENG 152 - Creative Writing for Non-Majors Credits: 3
* can be substituted for ENG 150 if the student is coming into the program from the minor or later in her time at UMF.

Creative Writing Workshops 18 Credits

Four of the following beginning Creative Writing workshops:

ENG 210 - Fiction Writing Credits: 3
ENG 211 - Poetry Writing Credits: 3
ENG 212 - Creative Nonfiction Credits: 3
ENG 214 - Screenwriting Credits: 3
Two of the following:
ENG 310 - Advanced Fiction Writing Credits: 3
ENG 311 - Advanced Poetry Writing Credits: 3
ENG 312 - Advanced Nonfiction Writing Credits: 3
ENG 314 - Advanced Screenwriting Credits: 3

Literature Courses 15 Credits

ENG 181 - Literary Analysis and Interpretation Credits: 3
One 200-level literature course* Credits: 3

One 300-level literature course* Credits: 3

One course in contemporary literature* Credits: 3

One elective literature course* Credits: 3

*Of these four courses, at least one must focus on American literature, and at least one on British literature.

Professionalizing Courses: 6 Credits

ENG 200 - Writing for the Professions Credits: 3
or
ENG 203 - Essentials of Publishing Credits: 3
ENG 396 - Writing Apprenticeship Credits: 3

Senior Seminar Capstone 3 Credits

ENG 401 - Seminar in Writing Credits: 3

Other Requirements:

General Education Requirements

For specific information about general education requirements and expectations, see the General Education Requirements in the Academic Programs section of this catalog.

Graduation Requirements

Completion of at least 120 credits and all requirements for this specific program, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.000.

Minimum Total Credits for The Degree: 120

Learning Goals and Assessment

Learning Goals:

Students will be able to skillfully and gracefully compose creative writing in more than one genre, exhibiting command of craft elements on all levels.
Students will be able to recognize and draw upon literary models and traditions and to articulate the influence those models and traditions have had on their own creative development.
Students will be able to speak, write, and read at an intermediate level in a language other than English, thereby enriching their own writing in their native tongue.
Students will be able to communicate positively and productively with other writers in a workshop setting about issues related to craft and technique, as well as communicate with general audiences with whom they may share their work.
Students will be able to enter professional situations in writing-related fields or pursue further study in creative writing with a mature sense of the responsibilities and rewards therein.

Assessment Criteria:

Students will compose poems, literary essays and other forms of nonfiction, short stories, novel-length fiction, feature writing, journalism, and scripts for the stage or screen in a style that is more clear, graceful, and mature than when they entered the program. Their work will be assessed through the final portfolio, a collection of original work and critical essays compiled in the capstone course and reviewed and discussed by at least two professors during an Exit Interview.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of and engagement with representative texts from at least three standard periods in English literary history and a more detailed knowledge of contemporary literature in at least one genre. Students will complete twenty credits in literature, four of these in contemporary literature, and four credits of literature study at the advanced level. In the final portfolio, students will compose an Artist’s Statement and a Writer’s Assessment, in which they will demonstrate the ways in which their own creative development is connected with these literary models and traditions.
Students will demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a foreign language through successful completion of the equivalent of three semesters of language study.
Students will be able to develop oral presentation skills by reading their work aloud in creative writing classes, by discussing peer work in creative writing workshops, by introducing visiting writers, and by participating in the Senior Reading.
Students will be able to gain real world experience through the required Apprenticeship, taken for four credit hours in a wide variety of professional writing settings. They also will be able to submit their work for publication in the Senior Seminar.