Ball State University / English Department / Creative Writing / MA Checksheet

STEPS TOWARD GRADUATION 
 M.A. IN ENGLISH / CREATIVE WRITING  
 

RESOURCES:  
 

• When you are accepted into the M.A. in Creative Writing, you are assigned an advisor in the Creative Writing area for more specific advising on creative writing courses and degree progress. You should meet with this person every term before the registration period. Also, don’t hesitate to run questions by the Chair of the Creative Writing Area: Jill Christman, RB 295, 285-8574, jcchristman@bsu.edu
• The English Department Programs Office is also a good resource for M.A. in English candidates on general matters related to degree progress and programs: RB 295, 285-8415. Contact Shawna Sewell, Assistant to the Directors, to make an appointment with the current Assistant Chair of Programs: srsewell@bsu.edu
• The most up-to-date information on current schedules and course descriptions can be found on the bulletin board outside RB 295 and on the English Graduate Studies website: www.bsu.edu/shapps/english/graduate/gradcourses.htm
• Ball State University Graduate School Catalog on-line: www.bsu.edu/gradschool/catalog
• Judy Evans, Graduation Coordinator, Graduate School office, WQ 100, 285-1291
• The Graduate School webpage contains all of the most up-to-date information on graduation requirements, thesis formatting guidelines, deadlines, etc.—bookmark it and check it regularly: www.bsu.edu/gradschool  
• The deadlines (which change every year, of course) can be tricky to find—look here: http://cms.bsu.edu/en/Academics/CollegesandDepartments/GradSchool/DatesandDeadlines.aspx
• Creative Writing web pages contain creative writing news, announcements, specific information on courses, program requirements, etcetera: www.bsu.edu/english/creativewriting
• Creative Writing at Ball State is a member of the Poets & Writers academic association and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) and as such all students in our program receive a subscription to both Poets & Writers and The Writers Chronicle as well as access to all on-line services at AWP’s E-Link (including the AWP Job List). AWP maintains an excellent dossier service for its members—you might consider setting up a file with them as you approach graduation. Contact AWP awp@awpwriter.org or (703) 993-4301 or www.awpwriter.org. As a graduate student in an AWP-affiliated institution, you should receive an e-mail from AWP with a username and password—contact AWP if you have not.
• Creative Writing maintains a bulletin board on the wall across from the Writing Program’s office—check here regularly for Creative Writing news and events, upcoming visiting writers, publication opportunities, contest deadlines, and information on other graduate programs in creative writing.

DEGREE PROGRAM/COURSES

The Master of Arts in Creative Writing requires completion of 33 hours of course work that is divided into two categories: required and elective courses.

A sample program schedule might look something like this for a student with a focus in fiction:

LOGISTICS/REGISTRATION

As soon as you are informed by the English Graduate Studies Office that graduate course descriptions are available on-line, make an appointment with your advisor in Creative Writing. S/he will discuss requirements and options with you and then sign a registration permission form that you will return to the English Graduate Studies Office; Shawna Sewell will enter these permissions into the computer and then you can complete your registration on-line. Some graduate courses can fill up fast, so remember that bit about the early bird and the juicy worm. All writing workshops can be repeated for credit up to three times (i.e., 3-9 credits); i.e., you can fulfill your three-workshop requirement by taking two workshops in fiction and one in creative nonfiction, or two workshops in poetry and one in fiction, or one workshop each in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction—etcetera. Generally speaking, for planning purposes, the fiction workshop is offered in the fall, and both poetry and creative nonfiction are offered in the spring; 610 is offered in the fall (and all incoming MAs should enroll); 605 (CW Pedagogy) and 614 (Literary Editing) are offered in alternate spring semesters.  All coursework must be graded.

THESIS (THES 698: 6 credits)

The MA thesis in Creative Writing consists of a body of original work of publishable (or near publishable) quality. Thesis requirements are somewhat flexible in order to allow for a variety of interests and explorations in genre and form that we haven’t even thought of yet, but all projects must be discussed and approved by your committee. In general, we expect a poetry thesis to consist of a minimum of thirty two (32) pages and a prose manuscript (either fiction or creative nonfiction) to be at least eighty (80) pages; essentially, the manuscript must be of such a length as is appropriate to display the writer’s mastery of skills in the particular genre or genres. Candidates must preface their thesis with a short critical introduction (3-6 pp in which you articulate the techniques, goals, and influences of your artistic project).  The following front matter, then, is required before the body of your thesis:  official title page, abstract, acknowledgements, table of contents, and critical introduction. 

At the end of your first year, you should start thinking about your thesis. Before you can sign up for thesis hours (six hours—taken all in the same semester), you need to assemble a thesis committee, write a proposal for your thesis, and have that proposal approved by your committee. Your committee will be composed of a director (who must be chosen from the creative writing faculty) and two additional faculty members from any area of the English Department or possibly elsewhere in the university (discuss these choices with your thesis director). Your thesis director will meet with you regularly throughout your final semester; your second reader will see a complete draft midway through the final semester; and your third committee member will be saved as a fresh reader to see your thesis in its (nearly) final form.  The thesis proposal will be a formal, typed, concise document (1 pp single-spaced) in which you describe your vision of your final thesis: What do you plan to do? How will your project be built? In answering these questions you might discuss genre, structure, inspiration, influences, etcetera. Your proposal must include a timeline for your thesis project.

When all three committee members have approved your proposal, and signed your topic approval form (www.bsu.edu/gradschool/forms/) you may sign up for thesis hours; thesis hour registration does not necessarily have to be completed during the first open registration period, but you must be registered by the first week of term in which you intend to earn the credits (because individual courses need to be created, this will take a few days). If you would like to look at some examples, go to Bracken (or online) and check out some recent creative writing theses (e.g., Eric Higgins, Sarah Chavez, Ryan Millbern, Rachel Hartley-Smith). After you meet with your thesis director and other committee members for final approval, you will submit your thesis electronically to the Graduate School (prepared according to the guidelines on the Graduate School website—be sure to check the appropriate box so that your thesis is not available for general viewing:  this is not good for future publication!); turn in an additional copy (plain paper is fine) to Shawna Sewell in the Programs Office for our library.

GRADUATION

All forms are available on the Graduate School webpage: www.bsu.edu/gradschool/forms/. It is your responsibility to check the Graduate School website for information regarding deadlines for thesis submission, graduation applications, and commencement. Bookmark this site and refer to it often. Paperwork takes time and deadlines creep up on you earlier than you might expect; for example, in order to graduate in May, your graduation application must be submitted by the second week in February and final approval of your thesis must be filed in the Graduate School by the second week of April. Two deadlines to pay particular attention to include: 1) filing the Graduation application form in the Graduate School, and 2) Submitting your approved thesis to Graduate School (look on-line for formatting and other submission requirements); your thesis will be accompanied by a final approval form (signed by all members of your thesis committee); after your committee members sign, you will submit this form to Shawna Sewell in the English Programs office and she will obtain a final signature from either the Assistant Chair of Programs or the Department Chair and forward the completed form to the Graduate School. In addition to meeting these deadlines, in order to assure a smooth path to graduation, make sure that all of the following are taken care of: settle all financial obligations with the University, meet all department and Graduate School requirements, and make sure that all incomplete grades have been removed and replaced with a grade.

Happy Writing!!