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What are the criteria for admission to the
program? Your writing portfolio (sample of your
creative writing) is the most important part of your application. Letters of recommendation and your
statement of purpose are also important.
Although academic transcripts and GRE scores are less important, we do
consider them and prefer that students have an undergraduate 3.0 GPA
(especially in the last 60 hours of enrollment) and 500 or better score in
the GRE verbal section. When should I apply? As early as possible, but probably in November
or December (no later than February 1 if you wish to be considered for an
assistantship). What should I include in my writing portfolio? You should focus on work in your thesis genre.
Poets may submit 15-20 poems, and prose writers or scriptwriters may submit
25-50 pages of typed, double-spaced work What about that GRE? You should visit the GRE website (http://www.gre.org) for
information about scheduling and taking the test in your area. The GRE website also provides information
about the test and how to apply for a fee waiver. For our program, you only need to take the
general test. GCSU’s
school code for the GRE is 5252 (be careful not to confuse with Where do I send my application materials? Where do I get an application? You can apply on-line with most major credit
cards (www.gcsu.edu/graduate/apply.html)
or you can request an application packet from the MFA program (email is mfa@gcsu.edu). The application fee is $25. When will I find out if I’ve been accepted? Because we are a selective program (22 first-
and second-year students in 2005-2006), we must first assign Teaching
Fellowships and Graduate Assistantship awards before we can complete our
acceptance process. Around in
February, we begin to screen applications and try to finish by early
March. If you have not heard from us
before April 1, please contact the MFA program coordinator. If you do not wish to be considered for an
assistantship, do let us know, as that may allow us to act more quickly on
your application. What kind of graduate assistantships do you
offer? We assign three types of awards: Graduate
Assistants divide time between working as Writing Consultants in the What’s the stipend? Graduate Assistants and Teaching Fellows earn
$7,600 ($3,800 each fall and spring semester). All assistantships include tuition waivers
worth in 2005-2006 over $16,000 for out-of-state students (about $4,000 for
in-state students). Waivers do not
cover student fees (in 2005-2006, $394 per semester). Is there any other funding available? GCSU students are eligible to apply for alumni
scholarships, which can be worth several hundred to several thousand
dollars. The MFA program also awards
several scholarships of $1,400 each.
Scholarships are primarily available only to students in their second
year (application deadline is the first Friday in February for the following
academic year). Several of our
students this year have earned such scholarships and will be awarded close to
or more than $9,000 in 2005-2006. What about loans? See the Financial Aid office about applying
for student loans and other related information (go to http://al.gcsu.edu/aidmfa.htm for
more information). What about summers? Some summer assistantships and tuition waivers
are available (although these are smaller than regular semester awards, and
students must be registered for at least 6 hours of academic credit). There are also some opportunities to earn
money working in summer workshops and programs with Continuing
Education. However, the MFA program is
designed for students and faculty to have time to write, travel, and pursue
other experiences over the summer. I’m accepted and now I need a place to stay. What about housing? Most of our students live in apartments near
campus. Since GCSU is in the heart of
historic Milledgeville, there are many houses and apartments within a
15-minute walk (and many less than 5 minutes away), as well as apartment complexes
further away from campus and on What about course requirements outside
creative writing? Most of your courses at GCSU will be with the Creative
Writing Faculty, including seminars in Poetry & Poetics and Prose Form
& Theory (which are both writing classes, but more directed than regular
workshops), and Teaching Creative Writing (required because, even though many
of our students do not want to pursue full-time teaching careers, the MFA
degree is the terminal degree for college and university teachers in Creative
Writing). However, we believe that
great writers are great readers, and so we expect our students to take
courses in literature, criticism, theory of composition and literature,
linguistics, and other courses in English that are essential to anyone’s
education. Most students take four
such courses (some take only three). What about the Modern Foreign Language
requirement? At GCSU, we also believe that writers live in
a global community, and that all writers should be familiar with at least one
other Modern Foreign Language. Many of
our applicants have already fulfilled this requirement at other institutions,
and the basic requirement is what GCSU’s undergraduate students must fulfill: the 2002 level
course in French, Spanish, German, Japanese, or Russian (another Modern
Foreign Language from another institution could be acceptable). MFA students may either take the 2002
course (or preliminary courses leading up to 2002), or they may take a basic
translation exam administered by the Modern Foreign Languages Department
(dictionaries are allowed and texts are selected relevant to a student’s
course of study). Who will my thesis advisor be? We try to allow students to make their own
choices, but please understand that any MFA program must make such
assignments based on an equitable number of students per thesis advisor. However, even if your thesis advisor is not
your first choice, ALL faculty work with our
students and are available for consultations.
If a faculty writer is not your thesis advisor, she or he may very
well be on your thesis committee. If I have other questions, whom should I talk
to? You may always contact the coordinator (Martin
Lammon) at 478-445-3508 or by email (martin.lammon@gcsu.edu). You may also wish to talk to current MFA
students directly. You can contact our
students at (478) 445-3509 or by email at mfa@gcsu.edu. |
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GCSU is a member of
and Writing Programs
One of only 20 member
colleges nationwide |
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Creative
Writing Program Campus
English
Office: (478) 445-4581 MFA
Office: (478) 445-3509 |
