Admission Requirements

Applicants for the M.F.A. program in English/Writing must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Because the program stresses the importance of writing in all areas of contemporary society, it welcomes applications from candidates whose undergraduate degrees were taken in areas other than English.

Admission to the program is based on the evaluation of a portfolio of the applicant's writing, made in conjunction with a review of the candidate's entire academic record. The portfolio may include works in any genre, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or scriptwriting. Manuscripts must be legibly typed and will be returned only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Candidates will also be asked to send two letters of recommendation with their applications.

The Graduate Record Examination results may be submitted but are not required for admission to the program.

Transfer Credits

The M.F.A. program in English/ Writing permits the transfer of six hours of credit in suitable graduate work done elsewhere that resulted in a grade of B or better. Students wishing to obtain transfer credit must submit a record of their previous course work to the program director within one year of admission to the program.

Time Limits for the Completion of the Degree

Students are required to complete their degrees within six years of enrolling in the program. One-year extensions may be granted by petition to the director of the program.

Semesters

The College offers graduate courses in English and Writing in its two regular, fifteen- week fall and spring semesters. It also offers a full range of graduate courses during its two six-week summer sessions. Summer session courses satisfy the same requirements and require the same number of credit hours of teaching as do regular semester courses. During the fall and spring semesters students may take up to 15 credits. Students taking courses during summer sessions may take no more than 9 credits per session.

Teaching Assistantships

Second-year students who have completed 15 credits toward the degree, including English 501, Introduction to Graduate Writing, English 502, The Writers Lecture Series, and English 503, How to Teach Writing, are eligible to apply for one of a limited number of teaching assistantships in the College's undergraduate program. Teaching assistants teach one class per semester, in return for which one-half of their tuition for that semester is remitted. Teaching assistants will normally continue their course work toward the completion of the degree in any semester in which they are also teaching but because of the demands of their teaching responsibilities, no teaching assistant will be allowed to register for more than12 credits in a regular semester or 6 credits in a summer session. For the purposes of awarding Merit Fellowships, each three credits of teaching done under an assistantship shall be deemed to be equivalent to three credits of course work. Applications for teaching assistantships should be made to the program director.

Teaching assistants will work under the guidance of senior instructors in English and Writing in order to preserve the Southampton Graduate Campus tradition that provides undergraduates at all levels of instruction close contact with full-time faculty members.

Teaching Assistantships and Merit Fellowships in Writing may be combined, but in no case will the total amount of the award in any semester exceed the cost of full tuition for that semester.

The Writing Program also offers its students extensive opportunities to work as well-paid tutors in the College's Learning Center.