Advising; Director of Creative Writing; Director of Graduate Studies
The Director of Creative Writing is the advisor for all MA-Creative Writing students. The Director of Creative Writing is Professor Jeffrey DeShell; he may be reached at Jeffrey.Deshell@colorado.edu or (303) 492-8952. For the Fall 2006 semester, Professor DeShell will be holding office hours beginning the week of August 23.
The Director of Graduate Studies is the general advisor for all graduate students in the department; you may contact her with questions about degree requirements, financial aid, etc. The Director of Graduate Studies is Professor Nan Goodman. She may be reached at Nan.Goodman@colorado.edu, or at (303) 492-8643.
Orientation
The English Department orientation for new MA-Creative Writing students will take place the week before classes begin. date and time TBA. This orientation is required.
During orientation, Professor Nan Goodman, Director of Graduate Studies, will provide you with details on the graduate curriculum and will familiarize you with department policies and procedures. The session will continue with a discussion of the Creative Writing program by Director of Creative Writing Jeffrey DeShell. Professor DeShell and the Lead Graduate Teacher will then conduct the semester’s first Creative Writing pedagogy workshop (see below), which is required for first-time teachers and recommended for all other new students.
Choosing Courses for the Fall 2006 Semester
A list of 2006-2007 English graduate courses is enclosed. Please note that there are some changes in this list since the version that was sent to you with your offer packet. The schedule for Fall 2006 courses is online at www.colorado.edu/plus. Course descriptions for Fall 2006 courses are online at: http://www.colorado.edu/English/courseinfo/crsinfo.shtml.
Registration in two courses will qualify you as a full time graduate student. You may also wish to enroll for a third 5000-level graduate course; a normal course load is two or three graduate courses per semester. The department strongly recommends that you not take more than three graduate courses. First-year MA students are not eligible for 7000-level courses in the English Department.
MA-Creative Writing students generally take at least one writing workshop in their first semester.
Language Requirement
The foreign language requirement for the MA-Creative Writing degree may be satisfied either before or after you enroll in the program, in one of the following ways:
(a) Completion of a fourth-semester college language course with a grade of C or better. This means you must complete a course that is the second semester of a sophomore-level foreign language. Courses may be taken at CU or at another institution (including community colleges, etc.). If you have completed or will complete this course work at another institution, we will need a record of that fact in your file. The transcript(s) you submitted when you applied for admission are already in your file; you will need to supply further evidence of such course work only if we are missing a relevant transcript.
(b) A GSFLT score of 560 (580 for German). This is the "Graduate Student Foreign Language Test," administered by Career Services Testing Office, located in Willard Hall 84. The Test is given by appointment at various times. The test fee is $35. You may retake it as often as you need to. For more information, see www.Colorado.EDU/careerservices/tests/gsflt.html.
(c) Presentation to the Director of Graduate Studies of other evidence of competence in a second language. In most cases, this other evidence consists of native or near-native fluency in a language; a written examination may be administered to confirm such fluency.
In addition to graduate courses in English, you may thus need to take undergraduate language courses to fulfill the language requirement for the MA. While you are not obliged to begin language coursework your first semester, you should get started early on the requirement if you have work left to do to complete it. The language requirement must be completed before you graduate. If you have questions about whether you have already fulfilled the language requirement, contact Professor Goodman.
Teacher training and teaching mentorship
All MA-Creative Writing students who have been awarded a TA-ship for 2006-07 are required to attend pedagogy training sessions throughout the school year, TBA (see above). These training sessions are also highly recommended for all other new students, since all new students who have completed the teacher training are eligible for TA appointments should additional positions open up.
First-time teachers are also strongly urged to attend the Graduate Teacher Fall Intensive Training Program on August 23-25. See www.colorado.edu/gtp for information and a schedule.
Professor Jeffrey DeShell is the teaching mentor in 2006-07 for all new Creative Writing TA’s; he and the new Lead Gradaute Teacher will be available to help you with your teaching.
Teaching assignments
If you have been assigned a TA-ship in Fall 2006, you will receive your course assignment and schedule during the summer. All first-time Creative Writing TAs teach ENGL 1191, Intro to Creative Writing. TAs for 1191 teach from a common reading list, and books will be ordered for your course in advance. If you have questions about your teaching assignment, please contact Professor Jeffrey DeShell.