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Master of Fine Arts Degree in English: Emphasis in Creative Writing

The Department of English at New Mexico State University offers the Master of Fine Arts Degree in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. Students electing this emphasis choose a major genre: poetry or fiction. Students must complete fifty-four hours of graduate-level course work, demonstrate a reading knowledge of a second language, submit a creative writing thesis, give a public reading from the thesis, and pass an oral examination. Admission to study in Creative Writing is contingent upon submission and approval of a portfolio (ten poems, 20-25 pages of fiction) of creative work to the Director of Graduate Studies of the English department. This portfolio will be read and assessed by faculty in creative writing. Admission is for Fall semester only each academic year. Applications are due by February 1.

Faculty

Robert Boswell, Fiction
Rus Bradburd, Nonfiction
Carmen Gimenez Smith, Poetry
Connie Voisine, Poetry
Shelia Black, Poetry, Visiting Professor
Craig Holden, Fiction, Visiting Professor

Degree Requirements
Any variation from these requirements must be approved by the Department Head. Requests should be submitted in writing to the Graduate Studies Committee through the adviser.

Course Work (54 Semester Hours)

12 hours of workshop courses in the major genre (poetry, fiction).
3 hours of workshop in a second genre.
6 hours of form and technique courses in the major genre.
12 hours of literature courses in the Department of English.
3-12 hours of English 599, required thesis work.
3 hours of Master Workshop in the major genre. The Master Workshop, which will be offered once a year to MFA students, must be taken in the fifth semester of the program. Faculty and students examine the full-length book projects of each student in the Master Workshop.
6-12 hours of elective courses. Graduate assistants must take 3 hours of English 571, Composition Pedagogy and Practicum, during their first semester as assistants.

Second Language

Second Language proficiency must be demonstrated by one of the following:

achieving a minimum score of 62 for French, 63 for German, or 66 for Spanish on the CLEP foreign language exam (College Level Examination Program)
successfully completing one hour of 449 in a chosen language through the Department of Languages and Linguistics
completing an upper-division literature course in a chosen language with a grade of at least a B (typically, as an undergraduate student)
completing the final course of a four-semester sequence of one language with a grade of at least a B (typically, as an undergraduate student)
petitioning the Graduate Studies Committee. Students who have current multilingual skills that can be verified by credentials other than the ETS score or the course described above may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to certify their second language proficiency. Normally this petition will be submitted before the end of the student's second semester in the M.F.A. program. The petition, a memorandum with supporting evidence, should be submitted through the student's adviser to the Graduate Studies Committee.

Thesis
Each creative writing student will:

submit a creative writing thesis (a collection of poems or stories, a novel) to the examining committee. The thesis will include an introductory essay in which the writer discusses her/his evolution as an artist and the evolution of the work. The committee consists of the thesis director, one other member of the graduate English faculty, and one member of the graduate faculty from outside the department.
give a public reading on campus from the thesis.

Examinations
MFA students must take an oral exam based on the thesis and coursework.

Graduate Assistantships
Each year a limited number of graduate assistantships are available for qualified students. To be eligible, students must have regular admission status certified by NMSU's Graduate School. The graduate stipend for 2008-2009 is $15,800 for the academic year for master’s students. An assistantship requires twenty hours of work per week; normally this includes teaching one course and performing additional duties such as working in the writing center, working on the department's publications, or other instructional assignments. For the first year, Graduate Assistants pay tuition at the in-state tuition rate. After the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for establishing New Mexico residency so that they can continue to pay tuition at the in-state rate. All new Graduate Assistants are required to attend a weeklong teaching orientation that begins the week before classes start. In addition, all new Graduate Assistants are required to enroll in English 571: Composition Pedagogy and Practicum during their first semester as assistants.

Application Procedures

Submit an application for admission to the Graduate School: http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/admit-form.html
Submit a completed Application for Study in English form: http://www.nmsu.edu/~english/apply/application.html
Arrange to have your undergraduate transcripts sent to the Graduate School. (Note: The Graduate School requires transcripts from all institutions attended, not just degree-granting institutions.)
Write a letter of application to the English Department indicating when you wish to be admitted and including a statement of your objectives for your graduate program. Include with this letter the completed application for financial support if you wish to apply for a graduate assistantship.
Submit a portfolio (ten poems; 20-25 pages of fiction) of creative work to the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English.
Have three persons submit letters of reference directly to the English Department. They may write on their own stationery; however, there is a standard letter of reference form available from the Department. Those writing letters of recommendation are customarily former or current professors of the student; however, people who know the candidate in other capacities are also appropriate. Students applying for an assistantship should consider asking someone who has observed their teaching (if this is possible) or someone who has supervised their work.

NOTE: Although the Graduate School and the English Department no longer require students to present scores on psychometric examinations (e.g., the Graduate Record Examination), applicants are encouraged to submit scores to the English Department if they have already taken these exams.

NOTE: An application cannot be considered until all items are received. We also encourage applicants to submit a FAFSA to the Graduate School. Applicants who wish to be competitive and who are applying for a graduate assistantship should complete the application procedure by February 1 for Fall admission.