Degree Requirements: 36 Credits (including thesis)

1. The following courses are required for the degree (6 Credits):

   English 501

   Introduction to Graduate Writing

   English 502

   The Writers Lecture Series

   English 503

   How to Teach Writing

   (Students who do not plan to apply for a teaching assistantship while enrolled in the M.F.A. in Writing program may petition the director of the Humanities Division for a waiver of the English 503 requirement. If a waiver is granted, the student will be required to substitute a course in writing or literature for English 503.)

   These courses introduce all students in the program to the profession and discipline of writing and the skills necessary to teach writing to others.

2. Three of the following courses are required (9 Credits):

   English 602

   Advanced Writing Workshop

   English 603

   Advanced Fiction Writing

   English 604

   Advanced Poetry Writing

   English 605

   Advanced Scriptwriting

   English 606

   Advanced Non-Fiction Writing

   English 607

   Advanced Business Writing

   English 608

   Advanced Writing about Science and Technology

   English 651

   Forms of Professional Writing

   These courses offer students intensive experience in fundamental genres of contemporary writing.

3. Two of the following courses are required (6 Credits):

   English 652

   Writing and Society

   English 661

   The Craft of Writing

   English 671

   Topics in English

   English 681

   Independent Study in English and Writing

   The topics of these seminars vary from semester to semester. Each is designed to focus closely on a type of or an issue in contemporary writing and provide a workshop for student development.

4. Three graduate-level courses in English literature or in an area connected with the student's writing interests are required.

   These may include English 661, The Craft of Writing, and English 671, Topics in English (9 Credits).

   In addition to taking courses in English literature offered by the program, students are encouraged to satisfy this requirement by enrolling in graduate-level courses in fields relating to their areas of interest. For instance, authors interested in scientific writing or advertising may use courses in biology or business.

5. An M.F.A. thesis (English 691) is required (6 Credits).

   The thesis is a publishable, book-length work. It may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or a script for the visual media. It may be a collection of short pieces. Its subject matter may be scientific or literary. It may be business-oriented or academic. The thesis is judged solely on the quality of its intelligence and its writing.

   Every student will, with the assistance of the program director, choose a thesis supervisor to provide guidance and criticism in the completion of the project. The finished thesis must be read and approved by the supervisor, one other member of the faculty in English and Writing, and one outside reader knowledgeable in the student's field of interest and chosen by the student and the thesis supervisor with the assistance of the program director. The final step in thesis approval is a public defense and discussion of the student's work.

The Thesis

1. What exactly is a thesis?
   As the catalogue says, the thesis is "a publishable, book-length work. It may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or a script for the visual media. It may be a collection of short pieces. Its subject matter may be scientific or literary. It may be business-oriented or academic." The Southampton MFA in Writing is designed to encourage good writing in any field, and consequently students have great latitude in choosing the subject matter and the form of the thesis.

2. When should I enroll to do the thesis?
   When you have finished all your other MFA requirements, or are just about to complete them, you should enroll for the thesis. Of course, you should begin thinking about your thesis project while you are taking your other courses, and any member of the English faculty will be happy to help you plan ahead.

3. Exactly how do I enroll for the thesis?
   For the purposes of bookkeeping and registration, the thesis is considered a single, six-credit tutorial, English 691. You enroll for it by filling out a tutorial form. Your thesis supervisor should be listed as the instructor, and on that part of the form which says, "My tutorial will cover," you should give a brief description of the project. The description can be typed on a separate sheet of paper and attached to the form. If you have any trouble finding the form or completing it, please stop by the Humanities Office, Fine Arts 9, and ask for help.

4. How many pages or words should the thesis contain?
   There is no set standard for the length of the thesis, other than that it be book- length. Some of the world's great books are very brief; others are very long. Your readers will be impressed if you write something comparable in status to The Communist Manifesto (short), just as they will be if you produce something of equal merit to War and Peace (long). Your thesis should be a sustained, substantial piece of writing. Do not worry about length for its own sake.

5. Is the thesis really a tutorial course?
   No. The thesis is listed as a tutorial because the college has to have some way of keeping track of the credits involved. In fact, the thesis is a writing project. It is not like a term paper that by definition has to be turned in at the end of a semester. Some students may find that the writing goes easily and that the thesis is completed quickly. It's just as likely, however, that the thesis will require more thought, revision, and writing than can or should fit into one academic semester, and students should not feel pressured by artificial deadlines to rush their work to a bad conclusion.

6. What will appear on my transcript if I don't finish the thesis during the semester in which I am enrolled to do it?
   As in the other graduate programs of Long Island University, and as in graduate programs across the country, if you don't finish the thesis within the artificial limits of a semester, your transcript will note that for English 691 you have an "NGR." NGR means "no grade recorded." This designation does not affect your grade point average, nor will anyone reading your transcript construe the NGR in a negative light. All it signifies is that you are still working on the thesis.

7. How do I find a thesis supervisor?
   Your thesis supervisor may be anyone on the English faculty of the college with whom you feel comfortable working and from whom you will accept advice about your writing. Frequently the supervisor will be someone with whom you have taken classes and who is already familiar with you and your work. You can ask the faculty member directly if he or she will be your thesis supervisor, or you can ask the division director of Humanities to help you choose an appropriate supervisor.

8. Once I've found a thesis supervisor, what next?
   You should prepare a brief outline of your thesis project, go over it with your supervisor, and once the two of you are agreed about what you're doing, you should start writing. You should show your supervisor your writing regularly and try to make good use of his or her suggestions as you revise and rewrite. When both you and your supervisor agree that the work is substantially complete and publishable, you will be ready to find a second reader.

9. Who or what is a second reader?
   The second reader will be another member of the college faculty chosen by you and your thesis supervisor. The second reader will normally be a faculty member with experience and knowledge in the field covered by the thesis. A collection of poetry might go to a published poet on the English faculty, while a critique of modern science might go to a faculty member in physics.

10. What exactly is the second reader supposed to do?
    Be helpful and objective. The student and the thesis supervisor will by this point be closely engaged with the writing. The second reader is a disinterested observer who may be able to make suggestions for improvement in the thesis that would not have occurred to either the author or the supervisor. You should carefully consider the remarks made by the second reader and see if it makes sense to revise your manuscript along the lines suggested.

11. Do I have to make all the corrections and changes recommended by my supervisor and my second reader?
    The thesis is your project and your writing. You are the final arbiter of what form it takes and what words it contains. In the world of real writers, however, you should be aware that virtually nothing is published or produced that has not been amended, revised, or corrected by someone other than the author. Taking advice and criticism is a fundamental part of being a writer; if you can't handle this aspect of the profession, you should seriously consider another course of study or another line of work. T.S. Eliot profited nicely from the editorial assistance of Ezra Pound; Thomas Wolfe would have been unpublishable without the assistance of Maxwell Perkins; and you will be in serious difficulties if you reject all the advice your readers give you. It would be odd if any writer agreed to all the suggestions made by his or her critics; it would be equally odd if the writer agreed to none of them. You have the right to reject all the recommendations made by your supervisor and your second reader. They have the right not to approve your thesis.

12. The catalogue mentions a third, outside reader. Who is this?
    The outside reader is an author in a field connected with the subject of the thesis who, like the second reader, gives a dispassionate and objective appraisal of the work. Normally, your supervisor won't recommend a third reader until he or she is satisfied that the thesis is a finished piece of writing that does full credit to the student. The supervisor and the Writing Program will help identify appropriate third readers and will welcome students' suggestions, with the understanding that the third reader should not be a close friend, relative, or associate of the student.

13. Doesn't all this take a lot of time?
    Yes. As mentioned before, the thesis is a writing project, not a regular class. To do their jobs properly, the supervisor, the second reader, and the outside reader must have time carefully to go through your manuscript and make notes. Time must also be set aside for you to consider revisions and rewrites. For those in the academic world, time will be at a premium in the final weeks of any semester when papers and final examinations come in, and you should plan accordingly. You should not expect to turn in your thesis in mid-December and expect readings from your supervisor and two other readers by New Year's Day. Remember, no blemish attaches to you or your transcript if the artificial grading deadlines of the final examination period are not met.

14. What if I finish the thesis and have to go away before I hear from the supervisor or the other readers?
    Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, the telephone, e-mail, and other modern technologies, we are able to keep in touch with our students wherever they may be. You do not have to be physically present in Southampton to work through the revisions of your thesis or to contact your readers.

15. Anything else?
    Yes. When all the readers are agreed that you have an acceptable thesis, a clean copy of your thesis should be handed to the College Library. Your advisor will then give you a grade for the project.
    
    

16. Are there any guidelines about how this library copy should be formatted and presented? What happens to it?
    In order to bind your thesis and place it in the college's permanent collection, the library requires a hard copy of the manuscript. It should meet these specifications:
    a. The manuscript should be a clean, laser-printed copy of the thesis.
    b. It should have a left-hand margin of an inch and a half.
    c. It should be properly paginated and collated.
    d. It should be prefaced by a page stating the full title of the work and the following statement:
    
    

    Presented in partial fulfillment
    of the Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Writing
    Humanities Division of Southampton Graduate Campus
    Long Island University
    (date)

17. So after all this, do I finally get to graduate?
    Yes. As soon as the public presentation is finished and you turn in the library copy of the thesis (presuming all your other requirements are completed), you will receive a grade for English 691. You have graduated.

18. Don't I have to take part in the graduation ceremony to get my degree?
    No. All schools and employers consider your transcript recording completion of the degree requirements as the only proof of graduation. If possible, however, you should attend the graduation ceremony as a visible affirmation of your achievement. In fact, many people who participate in the graduation ceremony have not completed all their degree requirements--they are close to finishing and want to celebrate the day even though final credits may not be posted for some weeks or months. The registrar's office will be happy to work with you if you fall a few credits short of graduation requirements but would like to participate in the ceremony.
    
    
19. Wait a minute. I have another question.
    I'm sorry. This computer disk is full. But you can speak to a human about your concerns. Please get in touch with your advisor or with Robert Reeves, the division director of Humanities, at 631-287-8420.

Students in the Writing Program at Southampton enjoy unparalleled access to authors and teachers who instruct them. Workshop classes have maximum enrollments of fifteen, and literature courses rarely exceed enrollments of twenty. Where class size permits, advanced and capable undergraduates are permitted to take certain graduate-level courses in writing, and because class sizes are small, all students receive close personal attention to their work.