2008 Woodie Awards
Creative writing MFA not in the works
By: Susan Tobin
Issue date: 5/7/08 Section: News
The reports of a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing at California State University, Stanislaus "have been greatly exaggerated."
As Mark Twain's famous words indicate, the rumor circulating the CSU Stanislaus campus about the addition of an MFA in English in the very near future is more fiction than fact.
"There is no proposed MFA program in English," Deborah Covino, associate professor of English, currently teaching the Introduction to Creative Writing course, said.
The graduate school office confirmed that they have no information on any proposed program in creative writing.
"Graduate offerings in CRW have been put on the back burner, while we develop our offerings at the undergraduate level," Covino said.
Scott Davis, associate professor of English, said recent state budget cuts played no part in delaying development of an MFA program.
"There has been documented student interest for years in further possibilities in the field of creative writing; the department is seeking the best way to respond to that interest," Davis said.
The second item on the list of the English Department's "Action Strategy and Budget Priorities: 2007-2009" is to "develop programs in professional and creative writing and an undergraduate component in rhetoric and teaching writing."
Davis noted that instituting any degree program, but especially a graduate degree, is a lengthy and expensive process. Considerable time and effort is required to even begin the planning stages he said.
For now, would-be-poets and writers at CSU, Stanislaus will have only undergraduate classes from which to choose. Three creative writing-based courses are being offered next fall; English 3010, Creative Writing Workshop; English 4012, Fiction Writing; and English 4014, Creative Nonfiction.
The English Department offers master of arts degrees in three concentrations: the literature of Britain and the United States (MA-Lit); rhetoric and teaching writing (MA-RTW); and teaching English to speakers of other languages (MA-TESOL).
As Mark Twain's famous words indicate, the rumor circulating the CSU Stanislaus campus about the addition of an MFA in English in the very near future is more fiction than fact.
"There is no proposed MFA program in English," Deborah Covino, associate professor of English, currently teaching the Introduction to Creative Writing course, said.
The graduate school office confirmed that they have no information on any proposed program in creative writing.
"Graduate offerings in CRW have been put on the back burner, while we develop our offerings at the undergraduate level," Covino said.
Scott Davis, associate professor of English, said recent state budget cuts played no part in delaying development of an MFA program.
"There has been documented student interest for years in further possibilities in the field of creative writing; the department is seeking the best way to respond to that interest," Davis said.
The second item on the list of the English Department's "Action Strategy and Budget Priorities: 2007-2009" is to "develop programs in professional and creative writing and an undergraduate component in rhetoric and teaching writing."
Davis noted that instituting any degree program, but especially a graduate degree, is a lengthy and expensive process. Considerable time and effort is required to even begin the planning stages he said.
For now, would-be-poets and writers at CSU, Stanislaus will have only undergraduate classes from which to choose. Three creative writing-based courses are being offered next fall; English 3010, Creative Writing Workshop; English 4012, Fiction Writing; and English 4014, Creative Nonfiction.
The English Department offers master of arts degrees in three concentrations: the literature of Britain and the United States (MA-Lit); rhetoric and teaching writing (MA-RTW); and teaching English to speakers of other languages (MA-TESOL).
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