Texas: new online MFA bilingual writing program

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Creative Writing of the Americas

MFA ONLINE


We are pleased to announce the establishment of an Online MFA at the
University of Texas El Paso.  This new option will allow students to take
coursework no matter where they are located--in Texas, other states within
the United States, Latin America, or anywhere else.

The Online MFA at UTEP offers a course of study in such genres as fiction,
poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, and non-fiction. The MFA degree
consists of 48 hours of study.   The program can be completed entirely in
English, entirely in Spanish, or bilingually. We will regularly offer
courses in all three formats, depending on student demand.  Not every
language is offered every semester, but we do try to keep all options
regularly in rotation.  Admissions are made on a rolling basis by our
admission committee.  Applications consists of a writing sample, three
letters of recommendation, transcripts from a completed baccalaureate or
licenciatura, and the application form required by the Graduate School.

At present, we are phasing in the Online MFA, beginning with a single
screenwriting course in the spring.  A playwriting course will be offered
in the summer, followed by courses next year.  Students currently can
expect from 1-2 courses per semester, which we hoped to expand as
enrollment steadily grows.

Unlike the many low-residency programs across the nation, we require no
residency.  You will receive mentoring, advising, and teaching equivalent
to that of students in our on-campus residency, but without having to
relocate.

However, those students who are interested and able may petition to take
up to 3 courses on campus.  Also, students can take up to three courses
propsectively, before applying to the program (in this case, we do require
a writing sample and departmental approval).   If you wish to enroll in a
single course, please contact us, upon which we will ask you to send a
writing sample as an attachment.

Our MFA students come from all over Latin America and the United States.
Recent graduates have won major prizes: the highly prestigious 2006 Premio
Clarn de Novela, the 2005 Premio Nacional de Cuento de Colombia, the 2005
Chicano-Latino Literary Award given by UC Irvine, the 2004 Concurso
Nacional de Novela Jven de Mexico (National Mexican Prize for Young
Novelists), the 2004 Premio Nacional de Poesa Joven Elias Nandino
(National Prize for Young Poets), the Premio Bienal Cop de Poesa (Per
2002) and the 2004 Andrs Montoya Poetry Prize.


Minimum requirements for admission include:

 A Bachelors degree or Licenciatura in any field of study

 A writing sample:

 8-10 poems or

 20 pages of fiction, play, screenplay, or essay

 An official transcript of undergraduate studies

 Three letters of recommendation

 Please specify whether you are applying for the online MFA program.

 All materials may be sent to the Graduate School.  Once the application
is complete, they will be forwarded to the department.  First, students
must fill out a graduate school application, which is also sent directly
to the Graduate School, and must pay an application fee. The link to that
is on the left-hand side of this web page, under "Graduate School" on this
same website.  Once you are inside, go to "Online application."


Admissions are made on a rolling basis.

INFO: mfa at utep.edu

Courses offered by the Online MFA on a periodic basis are:



5366 Advanced Fiction Writing (3-0)

Intensive study and practice in the various forms and approaches of
fiction writing, including workshop discussion and individual student
manuscripts. Prerequisite: Department approval.

5367 Advanced Poetry Writing (3-0)

Intensive study and practice in the various forms and approaches within
the writing of poetry, including workshop discussion of individual student
poems. Prerequisite: Department approval.

5368 Variable Topics in Creative Writing (3-0)

Genres and forms not normally covered in the MFA curriculum, e.g., the
short novel, libretti, the dramatic monologue. Writing consists of both
criticism particular to the course focus, and writing representative of
the form or genre itself. May be taken once as a workshop course and once
as a literature course.

5369 Advanced Playwriting (3-0)

Intensive study and practice in the various forms and approaches of
playwriting, including workshop discussion of individual student
playwriting.

5372 Advanced Screenwriting (3-0)

Intensive study and practice in various forms and approaches of
screenwriting, including workshop discussion of individual student
screenwriting.

5373 Advanced Creative Non-Fiction (3-0)

Intensive study and practice in the various forms and approaches of
creative non-fiction including workshop discussion of individual student
creative non-fiction.


5381 Literary Translation (3-0)

Theoretical consideration, reading and practice in various forms and
approaches to literary translation, including individual projects.

5382 Studies in Form (3-0)

Advanced literary and critical focus on a single author, movement, or
period within a single major form, e.g. novel, drama, poetry, essay,
screenplay.



5383 Teaching Creative Writing (3-0)

5384 The Literary Marketplace(3-0)

5385 Publishing an Online Literary Magazine (3-0)

Links

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University of Texas at El Paso 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79968