Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Graduate Studies Bulletin 
    
2017-2018 Graduate Studies Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

English (BA) and Creative Writing (MFA), Dual-degree Program


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Qualified undergraduate students may elect to enroll in a dual-degree program, combining their undergraduate bachelor’s degree in English with a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. The dual-degree program requires the successful completion of 148 semester hours, including at least 112 semester hours at the undergraduate level and 36 semester hours at the graduate level. The dual-degree program can be completed in five years. Students who are admitted to the BA portion of the dual-degree program may substitute a maximum of 12 semester hours of graduate-level course work for an equal number of semester hours of undergraduate course work toward the completion of their bachelor’s degree.

Direct admission to the dual-degree program (BA and MFA)


Incoming first-year students may apply for direct admission to this dual-degree program. For those who choose to submit a standardized test score, an 1170 or better on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT (or a 25 on the ACT) is recommended.  Applicants must have an overall high school GPA of 3.5 (or be in the top 15 percent of their high school graduating class) in order to be considered for admission.  Students admitted directly to the dual-degree program as incoming freshmen will be admitted automatically to the MFA program at the end of their junior year through the standard graduate admissions process, provided that they fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Attain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at the time of application to the MFA program and complete 75 semester hours of course work toward the BA in English.
  2. Maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA in the English major.
  3. Complete the first three years of the curriculum, outlined below.
  4. Submit a creative writing portfolio of no more than 30 pages of original work to be evaluated by creative writing faculty.
  5. Submit letters of recommendation, upon request.
  6. Submit a personal statement describing the student’s rationale for applying, as well as the student’s interests and literary influences.

Admission requirements for currently enrolled Hofstra students


Qualified Hofstra students majoring in English may apply, through the Office of Graduate Admission, to the dual-degree program. In order to qualify for admission to the dual-degree program, a student must have maintained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at the time of application and a 3.5 in the English major. Students admitted to the dual-degree program should note that admission to the MFA portion of the dual-degree program requires the fulfillment of the following requirements:

  1. Completion of 75 credits with a 3.0 overall GPA.
  2. Completion of 15 credits in English with at least 3 s.h. at Hofstra and at least 3 s.h. in advanced creative writing workshops.
  3. Minimum GPA of 3.5 in the English major.
  4. Submission of a creative writing portfolio of no more than 30 pages of original work to be evaluated by creative writing faculty.
  5. Submission of letters of recommendation, upon request.
  6. Submission of a personal statement describing the student’s rationale for applying, as well as the student’s interests and literary influences.

NOTE


Students must complete the BA before being permitted to take more than 12 semester hours of graduate courses for the MFA program.

Undergraduate Program Requirements – Semester Hours: 39


39 credits in writing and literature, chosen under advisement, including:

1. Basic Workshops - Semester Hours: 6


6 credits chosen from the following:

  • CRWR 133 - (CP) General Creative Writing Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 134 - Poetry Writing Semester Hours: 3-4
  • CRWR 135 - Prose Writing Semester Hours: 3-4
  • CRWR 137 - (CP) Introductory Playwriting Semester Hours: 3-4

2. Advanced Creative Writing Workshops - Semester Hours: 6


6 credits in advanced creative writing workshops, chosen from the following:

  • CRWR 185 A-Z - Special Topics Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 186 A-Z - Special Topics Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 187 A-Z - Independent Studies in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 1-3
  • CRWR 188 A-Z - Independent Studies in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 1-3
  • CRWR 190 A-Z - Advanced Topics in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 191 A-Z - Advanced Topics in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 192 A-Z - Advanced Topics in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 199 - Honors Project Semester Hours: 3

3. Foundation Courses - Semester Hours: 6


  1. 3 credits to be chosen from ENGL 083 or 081
  2. 3 credits to be chosen from ENGL 060, 061, 081,082, 083, 070 or 071

4. Major Author - Semester Hours: 3


3 credits in major authors chosen from:

  • ENGL 107 - (LT) Canterbury Tales Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 115 - (LT) Shakespeare: The Earlier Plays and Sonnets Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 116 - Shakespeare: The Later Plays Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 119 - Milton: Literature, Liberty, Revolution Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 127 - Shakespeare’s Comedy Semester Hours: 3

5. Electives - Semester Hours: 18


18 credits of electives chosen from among any of the 100-level courses in the English Department.

At least 12 of these credits must be in ENGL literature courses, that is, ENGL 100-199, excluding ENGL 170-179 and ENGL 191.  

Of these 12 credits at least 3 must be in a course dealing with literature written before 1900:

Pre-1900 Elective - Semester Hours: 3


Chosen from the following:

  • ENGL 105 - The Middle Ages in England Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 107 - (LT) Canterbury Tales Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 110 - The Age of Spenser Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 112 - Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 115 - (LT) Shakespeare: The Earlier Plays and Sonnets Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 116 - Shakespeare: The Later Plays Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 117 - Seminar: Renaissance and 17th-Century Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 118 - 17th Century English Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 119 - Milton: Literature, Liberty, Revolution Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 120 - (LT) British Drama from 1660 to 1789 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 121 - (LT) The Novel Before 1900 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 127 - Shakespeare’s Comedy Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 129 - (LT) The 18th Century Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 130 - Seminar: 18th-Century Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 131 - The 18th-Century British Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 132 - The 19th-Century British Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 137 - Colonial and Early American Literature From the Puritans Through Irving Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 142 - The American Renaissance, 1820-1860 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 149 - The 19th-Century American Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 153 - (LT) The Romantic Age Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 154 - Seminar in the Romantic Age Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 157 - (LT) Victorian Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 158 - Seminar in Victorian Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 169 - (LT) Renaissance Pick-Up Artists Semester Hours: 3

Remaining 6 s.h.


The remaining 6 credits may be selected from any 100-level ENGL or CRWR course; DRAM 173, 174, 175, or 176; or certain linguistics courses or courses in literature in translation in other departments, chosen under departmental approval.

  • ENGL 101 - History of the English Language Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 102 - Grammar for Writers Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 103 - Structure of English Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 104 - Old English Language and Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 105 - The Middle Ages in England Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 107 - (LT) Canterbury Tales Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 110 - The Age of Spenser Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 112 - Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 113 - (LT) Inventing Identities: Yeats, Heaney, and the Emergence of Modern Irish Poetry Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 114 - Fairy Tales in English and American Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 115 - (LT) Shakespeare: The Earlier Plays and Sonnets Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 116 - Shakespeare: The Later Plays Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 117 - Seminar: Renaissance and 17th-Century Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 118 - 17th Century English Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 119 - Milton: Literature, Liberty, Revolution Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 120 - (LT) British Drama from 1660 to 1789 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 121 - (LT) The Novel Before 1900 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 122 - The Novel After 1900 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 123 - 20th-Century Anglo-Irish Drama Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 124A - The Woman Writer in America Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 126 - The American Short Story Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 127 - Shakespeare’s Comedy Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 129 - (LT) The 18th Century Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 130 - Seminar: 18th-Century Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 131 - The 18th-Century British Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 132 - The 19th-Century British Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 136 - Beat Generation Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 137 - Colonial and Early American Literature From the Puritans Through Irving Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 138 - American Literary Naturalism Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 139 - (LT, CC) The African Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 140 - African American Literature Before 1920 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 141 - (LT) African American Literature: The Harlem Renaissance and After Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 142 - The American Renaissance, 1820-1860 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 144 - American Literature II Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 145A - (LT) American Fiction, 1900-1950 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 147A - American Fiction, 1950-Present Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 148 - 20th-Century American Poetry Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 149 - The 19th-Century American Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 150 - (CC) Native American Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 153 - (LT) The Romantic Age Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 154 - Seminar in the Romantic Age Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 155 - (LT) Childhood and Adolescence in Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 156 - The Bible as Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 157 - (LT) Victorian Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 158 - Seminar in Victorian Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 159 - 20th-Century British Poetry Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 161 - (LT) How The Simpsons Saved American Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 162 - (LT) Law and Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 163 - (LT) Contemporary Irish American Literature and Culture Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 164 - James Joyce Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 165 - 20th-Century British Novel Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 166 - Critical Theories and Critical Writing Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 167 - (LT, CC) Post-Colonial Literature of South Asia Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 168 - (CC) Caribbean Experience in Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 169 - (LT) Renaissance Pick-Up Artists Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 170 - Theory and Practice of Publishing Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 171 - The History of the Book Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 172 - Book Editing I Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 173 - Book Editing II Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 174 - Book Promotion Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 175 - Editing Children’s Books Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 176 - Popular Literature and the Mass Market Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 177 - Magazine Editing Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 177A - Textbook Editing Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 178A - Book Retailing Semester Hours: 1
  • ENGL 178B - Books and the Law Semester Hours: 1
  • ENGL 178C - The Economics of Publishing Semester Hours: 1
  • ENGL 179A - Book Design, Desktop Publishing, and Production Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 180 - (LT) The Outlaw in American Literature: An Irish-American Perspective Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 182 to 184 A-Z - Readings in Literature or Special Studies Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 185 - (LT) Revolutions: British Literature After 1945 Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 186 - (LT) Other Britons: The Literature of Multicultural Britain Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 187 - (LT) Modern British Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 188 - Independent Readings in Literature Semester Hours: .5-3
  • ENGL 189 - Contemporary British Theater Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 190 A-Z - Special Studies in Literature Semester Hours: 1-3
  • ENGL 191 - Internship Semester Hours: 1-6
  • ENGL 191A - (LT) Science Fiction Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 192 A-Z - Special Studies in Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 193 - (LT) Medical Science Fiction Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 194 A-Z - Special Topics: Junior/Senior Seminar Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 195 - Independent Readings in Literature Semester Hours: 1-3
  • ENGL 196 A-Z - Readings in Literature or Special Studies Semester Hours: 1-3
  • ENGL 196D - (LT) Disability in Literature and Culture Semester Hours: 3
  • ENGL 198 A- Z - (LT) Special Studies in Literature Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 184 A-Z - (CP) Special Topics Semester Hours: 1-3
  • CRWR 185 A-Z - Special Topics Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 186 A-Z - Special Topics Semester Hours: 3
  • CRWR 187 A-Z - Independent Studies in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 1-3
  • CRWR 188 A-Z - Independent Studies in Creative Writing Semester Hours: 1-3
  • DRAM 173 - (AA) History of the Drama I Semester Hours: 3
  • DRAM 174 - (AA) History of the Drama II Semester Hours: 3
  • DRAM 175 - (AA) Modern Drama I Semester Hours: 3
  • DRAM 176 - (AA) Modern Drama II Semester Hours: 3

Graduate Course Substitution


In the final three semesters of undergraduate study, dual-degree candidates may, in consultation with the graduate director, substitute up to 12 semester hours of graduate-level ENGL and CRWR courses for the equivalent number of semester hours of 100-level undergraduate ENGL literature courses. Of these 12 semester hours, no more than 6 semester hours of graduate-level CRWR courses may be taken by dual degree-undergraduates.

Graduate Program Requirements – Total Semester Hours: 36*


36 s.h. in graduate-level course work

*Students may register for no more than 12 s.h. per semester. Registration for more than 12 s.h. will require the permission of the program director.

I. Creative Writing – Semester Hours: 18


A. 12 s.h. in (Repeatable) Special Topics in Creative Writing


Special topics in creative writing, whether in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, or playwriting, focus on creative writing projects that may emanate from prompts or assignments and are read and discussed by the instructor and other members of the workshop. Students also read and discuss models from the respective genre. Special topics in creative writing may also be organized around a particular topic, such as character development, structuring the story, or dramatic structure. Current special topics in creative writing include:

B. 3 s.h. in a Craft Course


Craft courses, whether in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, or playwriting, focus on how a work is made, particularly on matters of technique, structure, and style. Issues of craft are in the foreground, driving class discussion and serving as springboards for writing assignments. Some craft courses concentrate on a form (in poetry, examples would be the sonnet, the long poem, the prose poem, the dramatic monologue), or mode (satire, elegy), or genre (the epic, from Gilgamesh to Moby Dick); others on a strategy (third person, first person), or structuring principle (the lyric sequence, the epistolary novel), or feature intrinsic to a specific genre (dialogue, prosody, stanza pattern). Unlike special topics in creative writing, where incisive critique of a student’s writing is the primary focus, in craft courses the students spend most of their class time discussing published works of literature, examining the way that work has been composed – strategies and techniques that make the piece of writing what it is – and why and how these strategies and techniques have the effect they do within the work and on the audience.

C. 3 s.h. in a Creative Writing Elective


(may include an additional special topics in creative writing or craft course)

II. Literature – Semester Hours: 12


Literature electives, to include 3 s.h. of course work on an individual author and 3 s.h. of course work in literature pre-1900.

III. The MFA Project – Semester Hours: 6


A comprehensive creative writing project in one of the essential genres; a project of length and breadth, awarded a “CR” grade after successful conclusion, and, if the project is of particular merit, a designation of “Distinction.”

Graduation Requirements


  1. Completion of all program requirements.
  2. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in overall graduate course work.

The dual-degree program requires successful completion of 148 semester hours, including at least 112 semester hours at the undergraduate level and 36 semester hours at the graduate level.

Suggested Five-Year Sequence - Total Semester Hours: 148


First Year


FALL SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
WSC 001 3
Foreign Language 1 3
Social Science Distribution HP 3
Mathematics Distribution MA 3
Social Science Distribution BH 3
Total 15

 

SPRING SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
WSC 002 3
Foreign Language 2 3
CRWR 133 (fulfills Humanities CP) 3
Natural Sciences, Computer Science Distribution NS/CS 4
Social Science Distribution: BH/HP 3
Total 16

Total: 31 s.h.

Second Year


FALL SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
CRWR 134, 135, or 137 3
Foreign Language 3 3
ENGL 060 (fulfills Humanities LT) 3
ENGL Elective 3
Natural Science Distribution NS 4
Total 16

 

SPRING SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
ENGL 081 (fulfills Humanities LT) 3
ENGL Pre-1900 Elective 3
CRWR Advanced Undergraduate Workshop 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Interdisciplinary Studies Distribution IS 3
Total 15

Total: 62 s.h.

Third Year


FALL SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
Advanced Undergraduate Creative Writing Workshop 3
ENGL 107 or 115 or 116 or 119 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Cross-Cultural Distribution CC 3
TOTAL 15

 

SPRING SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
ENGL Literature Elective 3
ENGL Graduate Literature Elective 3
ENGL Literature Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
TOTAL 15

Total: 92 s.h.

Fourth Year


FALL SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
CRWR Graduate Special Topics 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 2
TOTAL 17

 

SPRING SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
ENGL Pre-1900 Graduate Literature Elective 3
CRWR Graduate Special Topics 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
Liberal Arts Elective 3
TOTAL 15

Awarding of BA Degree: 124 s.h.

Fifth Year


FALL SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
CRWR Graduate Special Topics 3
CRWR Graduate Craft Course 3
ENGL Single Author Graduate Literature Elective 3
CRWR 303   3
TOTAL 12

 

SPRING SEMESTER
Course Semester Hours
CRWR Graduate Special Topics 3
CRWR Graduate Craft Course 3
ENGL Graduate Literature Elective 3
CRWR 303  3
TOTAL 12

Awarding of MFA degree: 148 s.h.

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