Catalog main page Calendar Degrees From the Chancellor About UC Riverside Research Opportunities Undergraduate Admissions Finances & Registration Academic Regulations Student Services Undergraduate Studies Graduate Studies Faculty Regents & Officers Appendices Obtain a Print Catalog About this Catalog Previous UCR Catalogs E-mail site manager About Courses & Curricula Subject Abbreviations --Choose a Subject-- Anthropology Art Art History Asian Studies Biochemistry Biological Sciences Biology Biomed. Sci. Biomed. Sci. Grad. Prog. Botany & Plant Sci. Business Admin. Cell Biol. & Neurosci. Cell, Mol., & Devel. Biol. Chemical Engineering Chem. & Environ. Engin. Chemistry Chic. Biling.-Bicult. Stud. Compar. Lit. & For. Lang. Computer Engineering Computer Science Conservation Biology Creative Writing Creative Writ. Grad. Prog. Dance Earth Sciences Economics Education Education Abroad Prog. Electrical Engineer. Engineering English Entomology Environmental Engin. Environ. Sciences Environ. Sci. Grad. Prog. Environ. Toxicology Ethnic Studies Film & Visual Culture Genetics Hispanic Studies History Honors Program Human Development Human., Arts, & Soc. Sci. International Relations Journalism Latin American Studies Law & Society Lesbian, Gay, etc. Stud. Liberal Studies Management Marxist Studies Mathematics Mechanical Engineer. Microbiology Music Nematology Neurosci. Undergrad. Neurosci. Grad. Prog. Pest Management Philosophy Physical Education Physical Science Physics Plant Pathology Political Science Population Biology Psychobiology (Neur.) Psychology Religious Studies Social Relations Sociology Soil & Water Sciences Statistics Theatre Univ. Honors Program Urban Studies Washington Ctr. Prog. Western Amer. Studies Women's Studies Search the catalog (enter keyword and hit Return):

Creative Writing and Writing
for the Performing Arts

Faculty E-mails

Professors
D. Eric Barr, M.F.A. (Theatre)
Christopher Buckley, M.F.A. (Creative Writing)
Richard Hornby, Ph.D. (Theatre)
Maurya Simon, M.F.A. (Creative Writing)
Susan C. Straight, M.F.A. (Creative Writing)
Assistant Professors
Robin Russin, M.F.A. (Theatre)
Haibo Yu, M.F.A. (Theatre)
••
Lecturers
Judy Kronenfeld, Ph.D.
Marc Longlois, M.F.A.
Frances McConnel, Ph.D.
Derek Mckown, M.F.A.
Kevin Morrissey, M.F.A.
Dwight Yates, Ph.D.

GRADUATE PROGRAM

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts offers writers the ability to move fluidly within various arenas of creative writing, including the genres of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting, as well as in multimedia studies. The program integrates scholarly studies of narrative, style, voice, structure, and history of these writing disciplines with traditional workshop formats, forming writers who can actively direct the literature of the twenty-first century. The degree is a Plan I master's degree consisting of workshops in chosen genres, culminating in a final project (the master's thesis) which showcases the writer's cultivated talents, in the form of a poetry collection, novel, memoir, screenplay, or full-length play. Financial assistance includes teaching assistantships and fellowships, as well as fellowships for community projects through the Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts, and positions with the student-run literary magazine Mosaic.

The M.F.A. requires students to write in two genres, allowing for creative movement within disciplines. Structure and focus in screenwriting and playwriting can also be applied to fiction and nonfiction, and lyricism and metaphor in poetry can also enhance description and dialogue in the other genres, for example. Students engage in course work in varied areas of directing and acting, in film history and literature, in literary criticism and translation, with supplemental courses selected from the departments of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages, English, Hispanic Studies, and the Film and Visual Culture program. Students can gain practical aspects of filmmaking from courses in Studio Art and Theatre.

Admission Applicants to the program should demonstrate significant professional skill by submitting work in manuscript form one of the following: 10–15 pages of poetry, a maximum of 25 pages of fiction or nonfiction, or the first act or a maximum of 25 pages of a screenplay or play. Applicants must have a B.A. or B.S. degree from an accredited institution and must submit GRE scores, letters of recommendation, a self-statement, and a project proposal.

Foreign Language Requirement None

Requirements consist of 48 units of course work (12 courses) and 8 units of master's thesis project.

Course Work The core curriculum includes the following:

1. Five workshop courses in genre of choice
2. One workshop course in a cross-genre

In addition, students must complete the following:

3. Three graduate-level literature courses from English or Comparative Literature
4. Two graduate-level seminars from Theatre and/or Creative Writing
5. One course in literature in translation (upper-division or graduate level) from Hispanic Studies or Comparative Literature

or

One additional cross-genre course

6. Thesis courses

Thesis In the areas of playwriting and screenwriting, the final written project is a full-length play of two or three acts (90–120 pages) or screenplay or teleplay (approximately 120 pages). In the areas of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, the final written project is a poetry collection, novel, short story collection, or essay collection. Each student is paired with one or two faculty members who serve as the thesis advisor(s). Two faculty readers, in addition to the advisor(s), evaluate the thesis work.

Normative Time to Degree 6 quarters

GRADUATE COURSES

CRWT 201. The Writer's Life: Literary Strategies and Structures (4) Seminar, 3 hours; reading (extra), 1 hour; outside research, 1 hour; written work, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or consent of instructor. Explores the artistic, practical, and professional aspects of life as a working novelist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, or essayist. Topics include publishing, literary journals, commercial magazines, the film industry, the theatre industry, agents, and overviews of genre and art. Cross-listed with THEA 201.

CRWT 230. Creative Nonfiction (4) Workshop, 3 hours; outside writing and reading, 6 hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or consent of instructor. Intensive formal study of contemporary creative nonfiction, with emphasis on style, structure, and form. Primary focus is on the production of original work. Course is repeatable to a maximum of 20 units.

CRWT 251. Hollywood and the Novel: The Transformation of Fiction into Film. (4) Lecture, 2 hours; screening, 1 hour; reading (extra), 2 hours; outside research, 2 hours; written work, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Explores the transformation of novels into screenplays and films. Examines four novels and their corresponding screenplays and films. Focuses on differences in style, content, and format. Course is repeatable as content changes to a maximum of 8 units.

CRWT 262. Fiction (4) Workshop, 3 hours; extra writing and reading, 4 hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or consent of instructor. Intensive formal study of contemporary fiction, with emphasis on style, structure, and form. Primary focus is on production of original work. Course is repeatable to a maximum of 20 units.

CRWT 270. Poetry Workshop (4) Consultation, 1 hour; workshop, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or consent of instructor. Intensive formal study of contemporary poetry with emphasis on style, structure, and form. Primary focus is on production of original work. Course is repeatable.

CRWT 275. Modern American Poetry (4) Lecture, 3 hours; reading (extra), 2 hours; written work, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Focuses on various modern poets. Explores their contributions to the evolution of an American poetic tradition and aesthetic. May be taken Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) with consent of instructor and graduate advisor. Course is repeatable as content changes to a maximum of 8 units. Simon

CRWT 277. Poetry and the Sacred (4) Seminar, 2 hours; reading (extra), 2 hours; outside research, 2 hours; written work, 2 hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. An in-depth introduction to sacred poetic texts from antiquity to the present. May be taken Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) with consent of instructor and graduate advisor.

CRWT 278. Contemporary American Poetry (4) Workshop, 3 hours; reading (extra), 3 hours; written work, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Focuses on influential contemporary American poets. Discusses their styles and the evolution of poetry over the last fifty years. May be taken Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) with consent of instructor and graduate advisor. Course is repeatable as content changes to a maximum of 8 units.

CRWT 280. Writers' Colloquium (1) Colloquium, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Colloquia featuring writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting. Students who present a seminar receive a letter grade; other students receive a Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade. Course is repeatable to a maximum of 6 units. Cross-listed with THEA 280.

CRWT 290. Directed Studies (1-6) Outside research, 3-18 hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing; consent of instructor and graduate advisor. Literature studies, directed by a faculty member, on special topics. Course is repeatable.

CRWT 299. Research for Thesis (1-12) Thesis, 3-36 hours. Prerequisite(s): consent of thesis director. Research and preparation for the Master of Fine Arts thesis. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable.

PROFESSIONAL COURSES

CRWT 301. Directed Studies in the Teaching of Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts. (4) Lecture, 2 hours; practicum, 1 hour; outside research, 2 hours; written work, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): enrollment in the M.F.A. program. Prepares students for teaching introductory undergraduate Creative Writing courses by offering a flexible curriculum of meetings and conferences on effective pedagogical methodology. Students create course syllabi and lesson plans and discuss a range of practical teaching issues. Required of all TAs for at least one quarter. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable to a maximum of 8 units.

CRWT 302. Teaching Practicum (1-4) Practicum, 2-8 hours; consultation, 1-4 hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Supervised teaching in undergraduate Creative Writing courses. Credit is not applicable to graduate unit requirements. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable.