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Welcome
Welcome to the University of Idaho M.F.A.
Program's web site.
First a little bit about the place: the
University of Idaho is the state's only comprehensive university, offering a
wide array of degrees at the masters and doctoral levels. It is home of
the state's only school of law, as well. UI's Department of English has a
long tradition of teaching writing and supporting writers. Poet Yvor
Winters taught at UI in the late 1920s; screenwriter Talbot Jennings (Mutiny
On the Bounty) took a degree in English that same decade.
Alumni include Buddy Levy, author of American Legend: The Real-Life
Adventures of Davy Crockett (Putnam, 2006); Jane Varley, author of the
memoir Flood Stage and Rising (Nebraska, 2005); Matt Vadnais, author of
All I Can Truly Deliver (del Sol Press, 2005); and Keith Morris, author
of The Best Seats In the House (Nevada, 2004).
The city of Moscow is a place where the arts matter. It was recently designated one of the
hundred best
small-town arts communities in the nation. You'll find art galleries and
live music in Moscow, as well as excellent theater productions. And UI is also the home of the
Lionel Hampton School of Music, which hosts the annual Hampton Jazz Festival,
among the finest jazz festivals in the world.
The climate is mild; summers are warm and dry,
and in the winter the temperature seldom drops below 20 degrees. The state
of Idaho is the home of the largest expanse of federally-designated wilderness
in the lower 48 states. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the
contiguous Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness together comprise an area
of nearly five million acres of wild lands. Trail heads are half a day's
drive from Moscow. The Salmon River, one of the world's premier whitewater
rivers is only a few hours south. Rafting,
wilderness hiking and camping, skiing, sailing, white-sand river beaches
are all within easy driving distance. Pullman, Washington, home of
Washington State University, is just six miles west of Moscow, thus the
two towns and their universities create a vibrant and energetic academic
community. Seattle is a five-hour drive; Portland is six.
Spokane, Washington, site of the
nearest international airport, is eighty-five miles north.
Many MFA
students work with Fugue,
the Pushcart Prize-winning literary magazine headquartered in the English Department.
Recent contributors to Fugue include Melanie Rae Thon, Stephen Dunn,
Philip Levine, Franz Wright, and Terrance
Hayes.
To learn more about the magazine,
click here:
http://www.uidaho.edu/Fugue.
The O.N.E.S. (or the Optimistic Nihilists Enological Society) is the
graduate creative writing students' club. The O.N.E.S. host receptions for
visiting writers, sponsor talks by visitors and alums on matters concerning
writing, publication, employment, money, and wine. To take a look at the
O.N.E.S. blog, click here.
Objectives
T he M.F.A. is the terminal degree for those
wishing to teach creative writing at the college or university level; it is also
among the credentials expected of those seeking employment in arts
administration, editing, advertising, public relations, and related fields.
UI's three-year curriculum
provides practical training in fiction, poetry, and/or creative
nonfiction, as well as the chance to work in editing and publishing.
The program is small by design; graduate workshops generally have 10 to 15
students enrolled.
That said, all prospective applicants should understand that the
program's principal aim is to teach aspiring writers their craft at the
highest possible level. We gladly speak to students about publishing
their work (many of our current students are having their work accepted and
published even now), or about teaching or editing, but our first, and their
first, concern is the craft of writing. While we require applicants to apply only in one genre, once they are admitted
we encourage them to "cross-pollinate": we like to see poets working
at, say, narrative pacing in a fiction or nonfiction class, and we like to see
the prose writers attentive to individual syllables in poetry. We encourage
students to experiment and to push themselves in new directions. We also
insist that they know where they fit in the continuum of writers, and that
they understand and can speak with conviction of where they might place
themselves in any of several literary traditions.
Among our most popular classes, beyond the traditional workshops, are our
"Techniques" courses. We offer, in rotating semesters, three
separate techniques classes in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. While all
MFA students are required to take at least one techniques course, most students
take more than one. Some have taken all three. (You will find a
button on the English Department's homepage that will take you to a listing of
current semester's course prospectuses.)
An integral part of the MFA program is the Distinguished
Visiting Writers Series. Each year the program hosts 3 to 5
writers of national significance to campus for a week-long
visit. DVWs teach an intensive, one-credit writing course and
give a reading during their stay. (For more information on the
DVW program, click here: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/english/CW/DVDprogram.htm.
All MFA student are required to take 3 credits in courses taught by
Distinguished Visiting Writers.
The MFA Program, via a partnership
with the literary organization PEN New England, hosts each year the winner
of the annual PEN Hemingway Award. The PEN Hemingway is given
annually to the author of a first work of fiction. Past winners
include Jhumpa Lahiri, Edward P. Jones, Chang-Rae Lee, and Marilynne
Robinson. So far, 2005 PEN Hemingway winner Chris Abani, and
2006 winner, Yiyun Li, have visited UI. For more information on the PEN Hemingway Award, click
here: http://www.pen-ne.org/awards/hemingway_award.html.
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Requirements
Of the minimum 54 credits required for the degree,
at least 15 are to be taken in graduate-level creative writing courses; 15
in graduate-level literature courses; 3 in a graduate-level "techniques" course; 3 in workshops taught by Distinguished Visiting Writers;
and 9
in thesis. The remaining nine credits are electives. A minimum of four semesters
in residence is required.
Students who enter the program with advanced
work in creative writing at the undergraduate level will ordinarily take
only 500-level courses in English, although all graduate students in English may
take up to six credits at the 400-level as well. By the time they are to receive their M.F.A., all students must have a
grade-point average of 3.0 or better in their courses. While a bachelor's degree
in English is the most common degree held by current and past students in the
program, that degree is not required. There is no language requirement for the M.F.A.
Thesis
The thesis will take the form of a collection of
poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, or a novel. Upon completion of the thesis in acceptable form, each
student will give an oral defense designed to test his or her ability to
articulately discuss the creative process, intellectual and
creative influences, chosen genre, aesthetic perspective, design, and
intent.
Support
The English Department has a number of teaching
assistantships available for outstanding applicants. TAs teach freshman
writing, as part of the Department's excellent composition program. Teaching assistant stipends change from year to year,
but current TAs are paid approximately $11,600 for the academic year, with a
remission of all non-resident fees. Most TAs will teach a 200-level
creative writing course as part of their load in the third year of
study. In addition, to students who hope to
teach, the Department will sometimes award Grace V. Nixon Scholarships
(usually $1,000 to $1,500), which are renewable throughout the candidate's
three-year course of study. For more information on graduate
scholarships, go to http://www.class.uidaho.edu/english/grad/scholarships.htm.
Scholarship applications should be sent directly to the MFA program, at the
English Department (see address below).
Applying
(Please note that the MFA program only admits students for entry in
the Fall semester of each year.)
Application deadline is February 1. This is the date
by which all materials must reach the Department of English for timely
consideration. The creative writing committee will begin
evaluating completed applications within a day or two of the
deadline. Applications still incomplete at that time will be at
a considerable disadvantage. Candidates should apply in
one genre only.
Application to the MFA program requires two
steps.
Step One:
All applicants must apply to the UI College of Graduate Studies.
The best way to go about this is to apply to on-line at http://www.students.uidaho.edu/gradadmissions.
The Graduate College documents your status as a graduate with at least
a baccalaureate degree. Please be advised that this process
takes some time. You will need to have official
transcripts from all institutions you have attended forwarded
to UI, and this too takes time. If all your application
materials are to be delivered to the creative writing committee by the
February 1 deadline, it is advised that you begin this part of the
application process no later than January 1. Before
the
turn of the new year is not at all too early. Give yourself
plenty of time. The COGS website URL is http://www.grad.uidaho.edu.
Step Two:
Send application materials to Graduate Admissions Office, University of
Idaho, PO Box 443019, Moscow, ID 83844-3019
Since all materials are processed through the office
of Graduate Admissions before they are sent to the Department, it is
advised that you have all materials to the Admissions office well in
advance of the February 1 deadline.
APPLICATION MATERIALS
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a writing sample (up to 25 pages of fiction or
nonfiction [please indicate on the title page whether the sample is fiction or
nonfiction; apply in one genre only]; or 10 to 15 pages of poetry); |
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a brief (1 to 3 pages) statement of purpose or
goals, explaining why you
want to study writing, and why you'd like to study it here; |
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a curriculum vita; |
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three
letters of recommendation (letters should speak of your creative and
academic abilities; if you are seeking a teaching assistantship,
they should also speak of you potential as a teacher of college
writing; NOTE: If your letters for admission to the program
speak of these matters, there is not other need for additional
letters, regarding the TA). There is no departmental form for
recommendations. Letterhead is preferable; if letters do not
come directly from the references themselves, recommendations should
be signed, by the reference writer, across the envelope flap. |
The MFA Program does not require applicants to have taken the GRE.
TEACHING ASSISTANT APPLICATIONS
An application for a teaching assistantship is not required.
If you don't want or need at TA, that's fine. On the other hand, if you
would like to be considered for a TA, send the following materials to MFA
Coordinator, Department of English, University of Idaho, PO Box 441102,
Moscow, ID 83844-1102.
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a brief statement of your teaching philosophy; |
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a recent sample of critical writing; |
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the departmental TA application form
(the letters you submit for admission to the MFA
program will suffice as these requested references, though they
should mention your teaching abilities or potential). |
(Access a TA application form at
www.class.uidaho.edu/english/grad/taships.htm.
The form may be sent either in hard copy (to the address above) or via email to
bschrand@uidaho.edu)
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
The English Department has a number of scholarships for incoming
graduate students. Scholarship information and forms may be accessed at
www.class.uidaho.edu/english/grad/scholarships.htm. Each of the
scholarships also requires a brief statement. Instructions are
on the downloadable form. Scholarship applications should be
sent to Director of Creative Writing, Department of English,
University of Idaho, PO Box 441102, Moscow, ID 83844-1102.
Application
deadline--for all materials--is February 1.
Further Information
For further information, please contact Brandon
Schrand, MFA Program Coordinator at
bschrand@uidaho.edu)
Last update:
June 01, 2009
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