Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

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Patrick J. Crerand, Ph.D., M.F.A. Program Director
Associate Professor, English
610.282.1100 x 1688
patrick.crerand@desales.edu

Mission Statement

The low-residency MFA in Creative Writing at DeSales University welcomes aspiring and committed writers into an intellectual and artistic community established in the spirit of the guiding mission statement of DeSales University. Indeed, as St. Francis DeSales is both the patron saint of writers and this university, we believe there exists no graduate degree more at home here than a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Through its two intensive annual residencies and year-round exchanges among highly accomplished mentors and their students, the MFA provides a demanding yet mutually-supportive learning environment focused on mastery of craft, embrace of the writing life, and an introduction to opportunities in professional writing fields. Through its unique positioning at the intersection of creative writing and the spiritual life, the program also offers traditional and non-traditional age students a crucial vision of wholistic centeredness that will complement and enrich their artistic pursuits. As the program’s capstone, the book-length thesis completes the MFA experience, reflecting that mastery and vision.

Following the model of the Catholic intellectual tradition established through long centuries, the DeSales MFA in Creative Writing will graduate not only highly-trained writers capable of embracing market opportunities, but also informed and committed citizens who will seek out ways to enhance the lives of their communities through the skills they will have mastered in pursuit of this, the terminal creative writing degree in the academy. Moreover, in all their endeavors toward the accomplishing of the degree, they will be conscious of their citizenship within the greater global artistic community.

Learning Outcomes

The University specifies that its graduate programs will enable its students to demonstrate:

• specialized competence in a field of study, so that graduates will provide leadership and make significant contributions to their fields,
• the skills necessary for advanced research/application in their specialized fields,
• an enhanced formation of a Christian conscience as it applies to the ethical problems in their fields of interest.

Graduates of the MFA program in Writing at DeSales University will demonstrate:

• an awareness of the spiritual dimension of creative writing and contemplative silence
• knowledge of writers, literary-historical periods, movements and writing styles in the English language
• knowledge of the craft of writing and the ability to assess that craft in other writers
• competence in the production of creative works of fiction, poetry and narrative non-fiction by utilizing their knowledge of craft
• knowledge of the publishing industry in all its variations

Admissions Requirements

Option One: The five semester MFA

The DeSales five-semester MFA program option is designed for working professionals who have earned a bachelor’s degree and:

1. desire focused time to write and publishing their own creative writing.
2. seek employment at publishing companies as editors, editorial staff members, copy-editors and proof-readers.
3. want to teach full- or part-time in college or community college creative writing programs.
4. aspire to work in a university setting as professors, adjuncts, visiting writers, or administrators.
5. desire to pursue advanced studies simply as an enrichment experience.

External students may enter the program at either the summer 1 session or the wintermester residency. Students who plan to enter the program for the summer must have completed all paperwork and submissions by April 15. Students who are applying to begin in January must have completed all paperwork and submissions by November 15. A complete application to the program will include:

• A completed Application for Admission
• Official transcripts of all college work, undergraduate and graduate
• A 1- to 2-page personal statement consisting of the answer to three questions: 1. What writers or writing experiences have led you to this degree? 2. Why do you want to enroll in this MFA program at DeSales? 3. What kind of book-length project do you intend on writing while in the program?
• A writing sample of either 20 pages of prose or 10 pages of poetry. The prose writing sample may consist of a short story or stories or a chapter from a novel or creative nonfiction essays or an excerpt from a memoir. For the poetry writing sample, each poem should be single-spaced using a new page for each poem.

Please note the program is mostly online and asynchronously, other than the in-person residencies, so those students studying in the United States on an F-1 visa are not eligible to apply.  Please contact Leslie Bartholomew, Executive Director of Admissions and Designated School Official at gradadmissions@desales.edu with any questions.

Option Two: The five-year BA/BS to MFA

Two types of undergraduate students can apply to this program:

1. High school seniors accepted to DeSales University with an SAT score of 1150 or higher (ACT of 23 or higher). Applicants must demonstrate serious interest in writing during their high school years, such as work on the school newspaper, the yearbook, the literary magazine, attendance at and submission to our Poetry Festival, etc. They must submit a ten-page writing sample in applying to the MFA program. If they are accepted, their position will be held and they will enter the program during the summer residency preceding their undergraduate senior year.
2. Fall semester juniors at DeSales University who have maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA and who have evinced serious interest in writing throughout the undergraduate years. This may include staff work on the university newspaper, literary magazine, or creative writing honor society. All undergraduate students entering this program must complete a minor in Creative Writing, so students who show interest in the MFA will be advised to begin that minor in their sophomore year. All candidates must also submit a ten-page writing sample. If they are accepted, they will enter the program during the summer residency preceding their undergraduate senior year.

Academic Schedule

MFA students will spend five semesters in the program, attending two on campus residencies and two off campus residencies. Their fifth semester will be the preparation of their thesis, their reading and defense, which will take place on the DeSales University campus.

The Academic Year of the MFA program consists of the following sessions:

Student Status

The MFA in Creative Writing program follows a prescribed curriculum, meaning that students are encouraged to follow the defined plan of study for the BA/BS to MFA and Five-Semester MFA options.

A student will be deemed inactive after twelve months of non-enrollment. The student must reapply to be reinstated to continue in the program.

Application Procedure

Acceptance into the program is determined by the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Committee for Admissions, Academic Standards, and Policies. Applications are considered at regular committee meetings throughout the year. Application information and information about admission can be obtained online or by contacting the director of the MFA program at patrick.crerand@desales.edu.

Transfer Policy and Prior Learning Assessment

Transfer credits are not accepted into the MFA in Creative Writing program.

Registration

Registration for classes normally begins eight weeks before the first class. The University reserves the right to limit enrollment, or cancel a course if registration is insufficient. Once a student has been accepted to the MFA, registration will be completed through the department. New students will need to contact the program director or program administrator, heather.craft@desales.edu for registration information.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees are available at www.desales.edu.

Refund Amount

Residency Courses:

• No refund is made after winter residency has begun.
• Student who must withdraw from summer residency will forfeit a $500 travel deposit.

All Other MFA Courses:

• Withdrawal during the add/drop period: 100% of tuition refunded.
• Withdrawal after the 1st class after the close of the add/drop period: 80% of tuition refunded.
• Withdrawal after the 2nd class after the close of the add/drop period: 65% of tuition refunded
• Withdrawal after the 3rd class after the close of the add/drop period: 50% of tuition refunded
• Withdrawal after the 4th class after the close of the add/drop period: 25% of tuition refunded
• Withdrawal after the 5th class after the close of the add/drop period: No refund

Graduation Requirements

Students must complete the following degree requirements:

• Four in-person Residencies: two at DeSales and two off-campus.
• Four on-line Mentor Workshops.
• Two on-line Reading in Place and Spirit courses.
• Two on-line Topics in Form, Theory, and Technique courses.
• One on-line Literary Editing and Publishing course, which can be taken twice for credit.
• One on-line Thesis course on-line to produce, complete, and refine an original creative manuscript of poetry or prose.
• A defense of the creative manuscript with the thesis review committee as well as a public reading.

Program of Study

The MFA in Creative Writing consists of the following groupings of courses:

The Five-Year BA/BS to MFA

Internal students will enter the program during the Summer 1 session, enrolling in the on-line EN570: Reading in Place & Spirit course in preparation for the international residency at the end of their junior year. Their second residency will take place over Christmas break during their senior year. They will have completed two semesters of the five-semester program by the time they complete their undergraduate work. Two more residency semesters will follow, one domestic, one international, each followed by the other on-line courses as prescribed above. Their final semester, which does not include a residency, will be completion and finalization of the thesis, and the defense. They will graduate with a terminal degree.

Manuscript and Defense

In the final semester of the program, students must complete a thesis, a book-length collection of either poetry or prose (essays or memoir, short fiction, or a novel). Poetry manuscripts must be 48-64 pages. Prose manuscripts should be between 150-400 pages, depending on format. All thesis manuscripts must follow the program’s formatting guide provided by the Director of the MFA Program.

Students will confer with their mentor on the thesis manuscript. These conferences will begin as early as the first semester and will continue throughout the program. By the fifth semester, students should already have produced significant material toward a complete draft of the thesis. The thesis semester will consist of intensive review and editorial work, individually and in conjunction with the mentor. When the thesis is complete, the following protocol will occur:

• The mentor will inform the Director in writing that the thesis is ready for review and defense.
• The Director will review the manuscript and approve. If it is not approved, it will be returned to the student for revision.
• Once the Director has approved the manuscript for defense, the defense is scheduled. All members of the committee and the student’s mentor will attend the defense, during which the student will present the work, discussing its intent, its appropriateness within the student’s chosen literary tradition, and the process that went into the creation of the work.
• Following the successful defense, the student will present a public reading from the manuscript.
• The student will submit the final thesis to the program administrator who will send the manuscript out for binding. The student will be billed for one bound copy of the manuscript to be catalogued in the library. The student may opt to order personal copies as well.
• Five-year MFA students who have already published a full-length book with a reputable publisher may have the option of waiving the final thesis semester and completing the thesis in the fourth semester. This option will be exercised only on the recommendation of the mentor and the approval of the director. This option will not apply to self-published works.

Programs

• Creative Writing (MFA)

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