Detailed Information
Programs of Study
The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in creative writing at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) is a studio-academic program designed to assist talented students in developing their skills as poets or fiction writers. While the M.F.A. is the accepted credential for teachers of creative writing, the program gives primary emphasis to the development of students as writers. The fundamental elements of the program are writing workshops, in which students read and critique the writing of their peers under the guidance of a faculty writer, intensive tutorial work with the thesis director on the student’s writing, and the study of the traditions, forms, and theories of literature from a writer’s stance. The faculty members (3 poets and 3 fiction writers) work closely with the students and ensure that each student has exposure to a variety of styles and personalities from traditional to experimental. The small program size provides an excellent student-teacher ratio and encourages both formal and informal apprenticeship and tutorial relationships. While no academic program can promise to create writers, the M.F.A. program strives to provide committed, talented writers the guidance, instruction, support, and community that help them produce their best work. The M.F.A. in creative writing program requires satisfactory completion of 48 semester hours. M.F.A. students may elect to focus their studies in fiction or poetry or in a combination of the two genres.
Research Facilities
SIUC’s Morris Library contains more than 2.5 million volumes, 3 million microfilms, and more than 12,000 current serial subscriptions. Library users have electronic access to a statewide automated catalog system and nearly 600 electronic data files and CD-ROM products via workstations located throughout the building. The library’s special collections are extensive in areas pertinent to graduate students and research and include papers, manuscripts, letters, and research materials in American and British expatriate literature; twentieth-century philosophy, especially John Dewey and the Open Court press; the Irish literary renaissance; literary modernism, with an especially strong collection of James Joyce materials; and proletariat theater. The Humanities Library is particularly rich in both traditional and contemporary monographs and periodicals.
Financial Aid
SIUC offers a number of competitive fellowships to full-time graduate students. Awards are made by the Graduate School on the recommendation of the Graduate Studies Committee. For further information, students should contact the Graduate School. The deadline for applicants for fellowships is usually one month earlier than the deadline for graduate assistantships. Almost all M.F.A. students hold graduate assistantships that provide stipends for the academic year and full remission of tuition. The application deadline for admission with assistantship support is early February, with student notification before April 1.
Cost of Study
In-state graduate tuition is $328 per credit hour in 2009–10. Out-of-state tuition is 2.5 times the in-state tuition rate ($820 per credit hour). Graduate students with at least a 25 percent appointment as a graduate assistant receive a tuition scholarship. Fees vary from $589.03 (1 credit hour) to $1557.50 (12 credit hours). Students with a graduate assistantship receive a 50 percent reduction in the primary care medical fee. New graduate students from Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee qualify for the alternate tuition rate, which is equivalent to the in-state graduate tuition rate.
Living and Housing Costs
For married couples, students with families, and single graduate students, the University has 690 efficiency and one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments that rent for $499 to $720 per month in 2009–10. Residence halls for single graduate students are also available, as are accessible residence hall rooms and apartments for students with disabilities.
Student Group
University enrollment exceeds 21,000, including more than 4,000 graduate students. Men and women come from all fifty states and more than 100 other countries. About 53 percent of the graduate students are women, 23 percent are international, and 13 percent are members of American minority groups.
Location
SIUC is 350 miles south of Chicago and 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. Nestled in rolling hills bordered by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and enhanced by a mild climate, the area has state parks, national forests and wildlife refuges, and large lakes for outdoor recreation. Cultural offerings include theater, opera, concerts, art exhibits, and cinema. Educational facilities for the families of students are excellent.
The University
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a comprehensive public university with a variety of general and professional education programs. The University offers bachelor’s, associate, master’s, and doctoral degrees; the J.D. degree; and the M.D. degree. The University is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Graduate School has an essential role in the development and coordination of graduate instruction and research programs. The Graduate Council has academic responsibility for determining graduate standards, recommending new graduate programs and research centers, and establishing policies to facilitate the research effort. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a state-funded university founded in 1869.
Applying
Applicants to the M.F.A. program must complete all forms in the application package, including a separate application for admission to the Graduate School, a nonrefundable processing fee of $40, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample. International students must submit TOEFL scores and a statement showing sufficient financial support at the time of application. The minimum GPA for admission to SIUC’s Graduate School is 2.7 (out of 4.0). Application materials for admission, including graduate assistantship support, are available from the Department of English. Application material is also available online at the Departmental Web site. Separate application forms for fellowships are available from the Graduate School.
The Faculty and Their Research
- Kent Haruf, Professor Emeritus; M.F.A., Iowa, 1973. Fiction writing.
- Rodney Jones, Professor; M.F.A., North Carolina at Greensboro, 1973. Poetry writing.
- Judy Jordan, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Utah, 2000. Creative writing, poetry.
- Allison E. Joseph, Associate Professor; M.F.A., Indiana, 1992. Poetry writing.
- E. Beth Lordan, Professor and Assistant to the Chair; M.F.A., Cornell, 1987. Fiction writing.
- Michael Magnuson, Associate Professor and Director of Creative Writing; M.F.A., Florida, 1997. Fiction writing.
Correspondence and Information
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
M.F.A. in Creative Writing Program
Department of English
Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4503
Telephone:
618-453-6894
Email:
gradengl@siu.edu
