Creative Writing at Bowling Green State University--Road Map to Your MFA Degree

ROADMAP TO YOUR MFA DEGREE
Note: This is intended as a general guide. If you have specific questions not covered here, you should consult the Graduate Catalog; Mary Ann Sweeney at masween@bgsu.edu, 419-372-6864 (for deadlines and forms to file); or the Director of Creative Writing (for academic advising).
FIRST YEAR, FALL SEMESTER. Your first roadside stop!
During your orientation/GradStep week here, we'll get you registered for classes. Contact Mary Ann Sweeney for questions, masween@bgsu.edu, 419-372-6864.
You must take:
-Eng 6320, poetry or fiction workshop (4 hrs)
-Eng 6300, Technique of Poetry; or Eng 6310 Technique of Fiction (3 hrs)

Forest Road Through Redwoods, California
You may need to take:

-Eng 6020, Composition Instructors' Workshop (3 hrs)--You must take this if you have a teaching assistantship through GSW.

You may elect to take:

-Eng 6330, Creative Writing and Desktop Publishing (3). One semester of this course is required for the degree, and a good number of students enroll in it in fall of their first year.
-Eng 6890, Internship in English studies (3). If you are on an assistantship, you may want to take this course to reflect your work-experience.
-Any other graduate course that informs your writing or development as an artist. Think broadly--have some fun! In the past, students have enrolled in graduate courses in dance, French literature (taught in French), art history, and, of course, literature, critical theory, and other courses offered in the English Department. You should be able to defend your choice of the elective courses (you need 9 hours in total, about three courses) in your oral examination in your final semester. Contact the Program Director, who is your academic advisor, if you have questions.

Other important things to do:

-To keep your assistantship, you MUST register for at least 12 credit hours EACH and every fall and spring semester.
-In all fall and spring Eng 6320 workshops you must complete one review of a book of contemporary fiction or poetry, four (4) reviews total. All or some of these reviews can be used as part of the twenty-text annotated bibliography you must prepare for your oral examination you'll take in your final semester. See guidelines here.

FIRST YEAR, SPRING SEMESTER. Your next destination!

You must take:

-Eng 6320, Poetry or Fiction Workshop (4 hrs)
-Eng 6990. Thesis Research (1-3 hrs). You need to ASK a member of the graduate faculty to get you started on your thesis, a book-length manuscript of poetry or fiction.

You may need to take:

-Eng 6370, Pedagogy of Creative Writing (3). You MUST successfully complete this course (graded S/U) if you wish to teach a section of creative writing instead of composition in your second year.

You may elect to take:

-Eng 6330, Creative Writing and Desktop Publishing (3). One semester of this course is required for the degree, but if you take it a second time you may count it as one of your three required electives.
-Eng 6890, Internship in English studies (3). If you are on an assistantship, you may want to take this course to reflect your work-experience.
-Any other graduate course that informs your writing or development as an artist; you should be able to defend your choice of the elective courses (you need 9 hours total) in your oral examination.

Other important things to do:

-You MUST complete a Tentative Degree Plan (TDP) and submit it to Mary Ann Sweeney. She makes a copy for your file and sends it to the Graduate College. You can get the form here. When you fill it out, ONLY indicate the minimum courses you plan to take to get the degree--NOT electives you do not need or extra courses associated with teaching for GSW or teaching creative writing courses. Note in the TDP you download that many fields have been pre-filled for your convenience. Below are the only courses you should put on the TDP.

Required
Eng 6320, Writers' Workshop 16 semester hours
Eng 6300 / 6310, Techniques Course 3 semester hours
Eng 7820, Advanced Writer's Workshop 3 semester hours
Eng 6330, Editing Mid-American Review 3 semester hours
Eng 6990, Thesis Research Hours 6 semester hours
Electives, 9 semester hours

GRAND TOTAL: 40 semester hours

-It's a good idea to continue working on your annotated bibliography for your oral examination you'll take in your final semester. Remember? You'll need at least a twenty-text bibliography. See guidelines here.

FIRST YEAR, SUMMER TERM(S). Pull over, settle a bit, and write, or take some cool summer courses--and write, too!

There are no courses required in the summer terms. You may, however take them, and they may count toward your degree. Note: If Eng 6320, Fiction and/or Poetry Workshops are offered and you TAKE THE WORKSHOP CROSS-GENRE FROM YOUR SPECIALIZATION, you may count it as one of the three electives required for the degree. If you are a winner of a Devine Award, you will still need to take 9 credit hours in the summer. See the Director if you have questions about this. ALSO, this is a great time to do more work on your annotated bibliography for your oral examination you'll take in your final semester. Remember? Guidelines are here.

SECOND YEAR, FALL SEMESTER. Are we there yet? No, but you're getting there!

You must take:

-Eng 6320, poetry or fiction workshop (4 hrs)
-Eng 6990. Thesis Research (1-3 hrs). You need to ASK a member of the graduate faculty to work with you on your thesis, a book-length manuscript of poetry or fiction.

You may elect to take:

Other important things to do:

You must approach a graduate faculty member about chairing your thesis / oral examination committee for the upcoming Spring semester. You will also need a second graduate faculty member to serve as a second member of the committee.

SECOND YEAR, SPRING SEMESTER. Now, you're almost there!

You must take:

-Eng 6320, poetry or fiction workshop (4 hrs)
-Eng 6990. Thesis Research (1-3 hrs). Sign up for thesis hours with the graduate faculty member who agreed to chair your thesis. REMEMBER: You MUST have at least 6 hours to graduate. Make sure you have six hours by the end of the semester in which you intend to graduate.
-Eng 782, Advanced Poetry or Fiction Workshop (3 hrs). Typically offered in spring semester.

You may elect to take:

Other important things to do:

-Apply to graduate. Go to this page and MAKE SURE you do this very early in the semester in which you intend to graduate. Check here for IMPORTANT DEADLINES!
-Download the guidelines for formatting your thesis for submission to the Graduate College. Get the guidelines here.
-Download the Creative Writing Program's Thesis Defense and Oral Examination Guidelines and be sure you meet all the requirements. Get the requirements here.
-Schedule your thesis defense and oral examination. Contact your committee chair for this.
-Fill out ETD Form and take it to the defense. Get the form here.
-Upload an abstract of your thesis to Ohio Link. Get to the web site here.
-It is YOUR responsibility to file your completed, error-free thesis, along with the completed, signed ETD Form, with the Graduate College on or before their established filing deadlines for either spring or summer semester. Get the deadlines here. Whether graduating this semester or the summer semester, ALL MFA candidates must complete their defenses and examinations by the last day of class SPRING semester. You will need to complete it earlier than that if you intend to graduate spring semester--again, see the deadlines here.

SECOND YEAR, SUMMER TERM(S).

You may think the journey is over, but as the proverb goes, a journey of one-thousand miles must begin with one step. Your MFA is that first, big step. And in your second year, you may take another step by continuing on to take summer courses!

There are no courses required in the summer terms. You may, however take them, and they may count toward your degree. Note: If Eng 6320, Fiction and/or Poetry Workshops are offered and you TAKE THE WORKSHOP CROSS-GENRE FROM YOUR SPECIALIZATION, you may count it as one of the three electives required for the degree. If you are a winner of a Devine Award, a non-service fellowship, you will still need to take 9 credit hours in the summer. See the Director if you have questions about this. IF YOU TAKE SUMMER COURSES, BE SURE TO DELAY YOUR GRADUATION FOR SUMMER. You'll need to reapply to graduate here. You'll also need to sign up for 1 thesis hour minimum, polish your thesis a bit (based on direction from your thesis defense committee) and file it with the Graduate College by the SUMMER filing deadline.