Creative Writing 4 + 1

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Undergraduate students at Wilkes University or at our partner institutions hoping to attend a graduate program in creative writing after graduation may “double count” 9 credits of undergraduate and graduate instruction as a way of saving one semester’s tuition in the Wilkes MA program. Qualified students would take [[CW-501]] R, the introductory residency, in person, followed by any two of the following online Foundations courses (3 credits each) during their senior year:

Degree Requirements

Undergraduates at Wilkes or at our partner institutions hoping to attend a graduate program in creative writing after graduation may “double count” 9 credits of undergraduate and graduate instruction as a way of saving one semester’s tuition in the Wilkes MA program. Qualified students would take CW 501R, the introductory residency, in person, followed by any two of the following online Foundations courses during their senior year: CW 502: Writing Fiction; CW 503: Writing Poetry; CW 504: Writing Screenplays; CW 505: Writing Plays; CW 506: Writing Nonfiction (3 credits each). Upon completion of these courses the undergraduate may apply for admission into the Wilkes graduate program with one semester’s worth of transfer credit. Such students must meet all the same requirements as all other applicants in terms of demonstrated talent, ability, and dedication. Using the BA/MA (4+1) option, students will be able to complete the M.A. in a single year and the MFA (if qualified) in two years. Contact the program administrators at 570-458-4547 for further information.

Term = Weeklong Residency Followed by Semester Study

Our graduate creative writing program includes two components, Residencies and Project Semesters, outlined below. Specific credit requirements for the degrees follow this discussion.

Residencies are week-long on-campus courses that include workshops, faculty lectures, readings, performances, class discussions, and panel discussions. This is a time to plan project work and meet with instructors and the program director. The following courses are residencies: CW-501R, CW-510R, CW-516R, and the capstone, CW-525R. The M.F.A. requires one additional residency - CW-616R - and an addition two-day “final workshop,” CW-650. Residencies are held in early January and late June each year.

Weekender option: Students may opt to complete any of the winter MA residencies by receiving online instruction for two or three weekends immediately following the residency and responding to videorecorded panels and readings from the residency. Weekender students must notify the program administrators at least one month in advance of the residency of their intentions to attend the Weekender sessions in lieu of the residency. Weekender attendance is allowed without explanation every winter residency, but students must appeal to the director for permission to attend Weekender classes as a substitute for the summer residency

Semesters are four-month periods spent writing and reading, beginning with foundation courses in two genre areas and ending with the thesis semester. The following courses are project courses: CW-502, CW-503, CW-504, CW-505, CW-506, CW-512, CW-514, and [[CW- 520]]. All of these courses are delivered online. The Master of Fine Arts requires the following additional online courses - CW-612, CW-614, and CW-620.