2003-2005 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

138 The University of AlabamaAdmission RequirementsApplicants to the M.F.A. program in creative writing must submit either the generalportion of the Graduate Record Examination or the Miller Analogies Test in support oftheir applications for admission. They must apply to the Graduate School for admissionto the Department of English, and must submit portfolios of their writing and three lettersof recommendation directly to the following address: Director, Program in CreativeWriting, De part ment of English, Box 870244, Uni ver si ty of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL35487-0244.Portfolios should include 30 pages of prose, or 10– 20 pages of poetry, or a substantialsampling of work in several forms. Writing that incorporates hypertextual linking mayalso be submitted as — or as a part of — the portfolio.Degree RequirementsCandidates for the M.F.A. degree are required to spend a minimum of two semestersin residence and to complete 48 hours of graduate-level coursework, divided as follows(half of all coursework must be at the 600 level):• 15 hours in graduate-level writing workshops, at least 3 hours of which must be in asecond genre (workshops include EN 501 Fiction Writing, EN 503 Poetry Writing,EN 509 Writing for Film, EN 510 Writing Professional Nonfi ction, EN 511 Writing:Special Topics, EN 601 Fiction Workshop, EN 603 Poetry Workshop, and EN 605Writing Workshop: Special Topics)• 9 hours in EN 608 Forms (Sample topics: Prosody, The Long Poem, Char ac ter -iza tion Across Genre, Short Short Fiction and the Prose Poem, Autobiography, TheVisual Book)• 3 hours in EN 609: Writers at Work: Form. Theory. Practice. (Sample topics for thisone-hour course: Profession of Authorship, Teaching Creative Writing, Writing Internship,Publishing: A Brief History, Poetry and Dance, Episodic Form: Don Quixote)• 12 hours in literature, criticism, or linguistics courses in the Department of Englishat the 500 or 600 level• 3 hours in any elective course at the 500 or 600 level (in English, a foreign languageor literature, the program in book arts, women’s studies, American studies, or otherdepartments)• 6 hours in EN 699 (thesis preparation)Workshops may be repeated for credit.The M.F.A. thesis — and its oral defense — are required of all degree candidates. Thisfinal project is typically a substantial and carefully conceived book-length manuscript. Projectsthat are not print-based may also be submitted. Thesis projects are prepared under directionof a thesis adviser, usually a member of the resident creative writing faculty. Candidatesfor the M.F.A. are examined on their final projects by a committee of five faculty members(including the thesis adviser): four total from the Department of English and one graduatefaculty member from outside the department. Two semesters in advance of their anticipatedgraduation, students apply to the director of creative writing for approval of thesis projectand director. Students form their examination committees and meet all Graduate Schooldeadlines for filing required paperwork. Thesis defenses must be scheduled for dates atleast two weeks prior to the Graduate School deadline for thesis submission.Students in the program in creative writing give a presentation of a significant portion of theirown written work produced while in residence. In this 45-minute public reading/performance,the student demonstrates the wide array of his or her work before an audience of peers,faculty, and the general public and fulfills the comprehensive exam requirement.Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in EnglishIn addition to the Graduate School’s general requirements for the Ph.D. degree, theDe part ment of English has the following specifi c requirements:Admission. Applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program in English are required