Guest Column
UTEP to Offer Online Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
- UTEP to Offer Online Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
- New program prepares bilingual writers for careers in publishing and more
The Department of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso will offer an online bilingual Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program beginning in spring 2007.
Like the traditional bilingual MFA in Creative Writing program at UTEP, this unique Web-based course of study will prepare students for writing, editing and teaching careers in the United States and Latin America. Students will log in to courses via the University of Texas System’s UT TeleCampus.
Students are trained at a professional level in reading and writing of various genres of fiction and non-fiction. Courses include advanced poetry writing, playwriting, screenwriting and online publishing. The degree plan consists of 42 hours of coursework, followed by six hours of thesis work.
Courses will be offered in three formats throughout the year, entirely in English or Spanish, or bilingually. Students are not required to be bilingual to participate in bilingual courses, but a minimal skill level of the language is necessary.
UTEP’s bilingual creative writing program has drawn students from Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay. Others have come from many different parts of the United States.
“This program is the only one of its kind in the country. And we have had a string of literary-prize successes among our recent MFA graduates,” said Johnny Payne, MFA program advisor and chair of the Department of Creative Writing.
Recent graduates have won major prizes, such as the 2005 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize presented by the University of Notre Dame, the 2005 Chicano-Latino Literary Award given by the University of California at Irvine, the 2004 Concurso Nacional de Novela Joven de Mexico (National Mexican Prize for Young Novelists) and the 2004 Premio Nacional de Poesía Joven Elias Nandino (National Prize for Young Poets).
Applications for the program are currently being accepted. Deadline is Feb. 1, 2007.
- For information about the UTEP Department of Creative Writing, call 915/747-5713 or visit www.utep.edu/cw
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- The University of Texas System TeleCampus offers distance education and online degrees from the UT System and its 15 member institutions. Students have full access to everything they need to participate in academic courses and programs, including admission applications, registration information, virtual classrooms and academic resources such as a Digital Library. All credits and degrees are awarded by the UT System universities, which are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
- For more information on this or other online courses and degrees offered by the UT Telecampus, visit www.telecampus.utsystem.edu.
- kamiller2@utep.edu
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