To graduate with an MA in Creative Writing at EMU, a student must have thirty credit hours including three writing workshops, three LITR courses in contemporary studies, and three cognate courses. In addition all students must take ENGL 693 Master's Thesis and complete the thesis under the guidance of a faculty advisor as well as a cognate project also to be determined with the advisor.

As a student enters the final semester, the following should be completed to insure graduation:

___ Enroll in ENGL 693 Master's Thesis (Meet with your chosen faculty advisor to agree on a thesis and cognate project)

___ Complete the Program of Study form in conjunction with your advisor

___ Apply for graduation through the Graduate School (Deadlines are usually within the first two weeks of the semester)

All graduating MA students in creative writing are required to participate in a public performance/presentation of their work at the annual Creative Writing Showcase. Additionally students must complete both the Master's Thesis and Cognate Project and have them signed off on by the faculty advisor to graduate.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the requirements for the master's thesis in creative writing?

This is up to you and your advisor. The thesis can take numerous forms and be of varying lengths depending on the media and the project in question. Discuss the issue with your advisor. Students in the past have done installations, mixed media projects, interactive hypermedia works, graphic novels, CD-ROM-based sound poetry, performance work, short story collections, novels and novellas, and collections of poetry.

What is the cognate project?

The cognate project comes out of one or more of the cognate classes (courses outside of the English Department) you take for the MA. The idea is to show a relationship between the cognate courses and your creative work. This sometimes means that the cognate project is a part of the thesis. The cognate project also can take a number of forms which should be discussed with your advisor. The cognate options at EMU are wide open to you, and the faculty urges you to pursue your interests in whatever area they may take you. Two helpful examples of past cognate projects are: 1) A student whose cognates concentrated in metal work and jewelry making created an ornamental, metal chapbook to house her thesis 2) A student whose cognates concetrated in art and drawing did a literary graphic novel for his thesis 3) A student whose cognates concentrated in biology courses with a specific focus on grouse (game fowl), wrote a ten-page paper about how his study of grouse informed the collection of stories that made up his thesis and featured a father character who was a grouse hunter.

If you have any other questions about, contact one of the creative writing faculty advisors:

Christine Hume
Carla Harryman