The MFA in Writing is a terminal degree. The MFA is awarded upon the satisfactory completion of the following:
The minimum time required to complete the degree is two years of full-time study (6 quarters of registration); the maximum time allowed is three years (9 quarters). The academic year consists of Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. The MFA program goes on hiatus during the summer.
Full-time study is required. The student must enroll for a minimum of 12 units of pre-approved graduate seminars, guided independent study, or teaching apprenticeship each quarter.
| Requirement | Min. Units | Max. Units | Description |
| History and Theory | 8 | 8 |
LTTH 250 Writing and Theory |
| Graduate Seminars in Literature | 4 |
Graduate seminars in Literature outside of the Writing section or, with prior permission, upper-division courses or guided independent study in Literature. At least 4 units must be from a graduate seminar. |
|
| Graduate Seminars in an Art Practice or Theory | 4 |
Graduate level courses or guided independent study in an art practice or theory offered outside of Literature (this could be in Visual Arts, Music, or Theatre), or graduate seminars offered by the Literature Department in a language other than English. |
|
| Writing Workshop | 20 |
LTWR 215 Cross-Genre Workshop |
|
| Apprentice Teaching | 4 |
12 |
Guided teaching at UC San Diego. Teaching Assistantships carry 2-4 units of credit per quarter. Students may petition to apply up to 24 units of TAship credit to the degree or to substitute graduate seminar units for the teaching apprenticeship. |
| MFA Thesis | 8 | 12 |
Research guided by faculty, culminating in an acceptable manuscript of fiction or poetry. |
At the end of their first year in the MFA program students will do a public reading or performance of their year's work.
Students will complete a final project consisting of a manuscript of fiction (120 pages) or poetry (65 pages) or cross-genre that the student's MFA committee deems to be of high quality. The manuscript will be the culmination of two or three years of course work within the student’s chosen genre and will have undergone extensive editing and revision before submission for the final project.
There is no written final examination for the degree but great weight is given to the candidate’s final presentation and capstone discussion of the final project.
During the student's graduating quarter (typically Spring quarter of the second year), as the capstone event, the MFA student will make a public presentation of the final project, such as a reading of the completed manuscript, a screening, or a performance. The student will meet with his/her thesis committee after the public presentation for a discussion of the final project.
Application Period
Sep.1-Dec.1, 2012
Deadline to Apply
Dec. 1 @11:59pm Pacific Time
Applicants Notified
February 2013
Program Begins
September 2013
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