Course of Study / PhD in Creative Writing
1. Required Coursework
These are minimums only. The Advisory Committee may determine that the student needs to take additional courses, or the student may opt to do so.
- Students who enter with a master’s degree must take 30 hours of graduate-level coursework (generally 10 courses), of which 3 hours may be research hours (9300).
- Students who enter with a bachelor’s degree only must take 45 hours of graduate-level coursework (generally 15 courses) exclusive of research hours.
- All doctoral candidates must take at least three 8000-level seminars.
- All directed readings must be approved by the graduate committee. Students must submit a detailed proposal to the Graduate Coordinator no later than one month before the start of the semester, although for planning purposes, two months would be preferable.
- All Creative Writing students must take at least one CW course a year, either ENGL 6800 or 8800. Repetition is allowed, and students are encouraged to study with at least 3 different CW faculty and are strongly encouraged to take multi-genre workshops (i.e. poetry and prose, or fiction and non-fiction).
- See the Graduate Handbook for details about CW program policies.
The Graduate School does not recognize undergraduate coursework on the Program of Study; hence, undergraduate courses will not count toward the required hours.
At least 12 hours of coursework must come from courses open only to graduate students.
No grade below a C may be counted toward the required coursework.
Generally, students enroll in three 3-credit courses when they are not teaching, and in two 3-credit courses when they are teaching. Students who are teaching at UGA (as well as UGA Research Assistantships and Presidential Fellows) are on UGA Assistantships, which means that they must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours of coursework during the fall and spring semesters, and 9 hours during the summer term. They generally satisfy this requirement by topping off their regular coursework with dissertation research hours (English 9000 or 9300).
Teaching assistantships call for 18 hours of work per week.
2. Research Skills Requirement
In addition to coursework, students must satisfy the Research Skills (foreign language) requirement. They may do so in any one of three ways:
- By demonstrating proficiency in a single foreign language approved by the Advisory Committee and Graduate Coordinator;
- Student must earn at least a B in a graduate-level literature course offered by a UGA foreign language department
- By demonstrating reading knowledge in two foreign languages approved by the Advisory Committee and Graduate Coordinator;
- Student must complete two years of study in a single foreign language class at UGA; or
- Student must pass a translation exam prepared & administered by the appropriate foreign language department (offered once a semester); or
- Student must earn a “B” or higher in one of the “reading knowledge” courses offered by a UGA foreign language department (FREN 2500, GERM 3500, etc.)
- By demonstrating reading knowledge in one foreign language approved by the Advisory Committee and Graduate Coordinator and presenting detailed evidence of study outside the discipline that is closely related to the student’s projected dissertation. Such a plan of study must involve a minimum of three graduate-level courses outside the English department. All petitions to have this study outside the discipline recognized as a Research Skill must be approved by the Graduate Committee.
Note: For the purposes of the Research Skills requirement, the Graduate School does not recognize language coursework taken at other colleges.
Note: Courses taken to satisfy the Research Skills requirement will not be counted toward the Program of Study (the minimum number of required courses).
3. Assembling an Advisory Committee, Planning a Program of Study, and Submitting Forms
First-year students will be assigned a faculty advisor by September of the first year.
By the end of the first semester, students should begin thinking about how they plan to satisfy the Research Skills requirement and should discuss it with their advisor.
By the middle of the spring semester, first-year students should choose a Major Professor and discuss with that person the composition of the Advisory Committee for the purposes of planning a program of study and identifying a thesis topic. As soon as the student has a 3-person Advisory Committee in place (and has secured the consent of the three faculty), he or she should submit an Advisory Committee form. Although the composition of this committee may change, the student must submit a new Advisory Committee form each time the membership changes.
By the end of the spring semester the student should fill out a Preliminary Program of Study form in consultation with the Advisory Committee. This form need not be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator or the Graduate School; it is for planning purposes only.
The Graduate School recommends that a Final Program of Study form be submitted by the end of the student’s second semester, and certainly by the fall of the student’s second year.
This is an official form that will be submitted to the Graduate School after going through the Graduate Office. Students should plan ahead, bringing to the Graduate Office a printout of their graduate coursework. The Graduate Program Advisor will assist the student in completing this form.
Note: The Final Program of Study form is the student’s opportunity to ensure that he or she has met all department and Graduate School requirements. If the form is not submitted until the student’s final intended semester, it may be too late to determine whether all graduation requirements have been met.
4. Comprehensive Exams and Admission to Candidacy
Students who arrive with an M.A. degree must take their exams no later than the end of the third year of study.
Students who arrive with a B.A. only must take their exams no later than the end of the fourth year of study.
Students must select three fields. At least two must be drawn from the prescribed list (see the Graduate Handbook). Creative writing students must be examined in “Forms and Craft of Writing” as one of their prescribed lists. Students who opt to design a third area must have their proposal approved by the Graduate Committee.
Comprehensive exams must be announced to the Graduate School and scheduled through the Graduate Coordinator’s office. All Advisory Committee and Program of Study forms must be submitted and approved by the Graduate School before the exam is scheduled. All coursework must be completed before the student sits for exams.
5. Graduation Requirements and Deadlines
Students should consult the Graduate School website to learn about important graduation deadlines and thesis format requirements. Students should plan to be registered for at least 3 hours during the semester they intend to graduate. Deadline information is available here.
Please note: It is the student’s responsibility to see that all forms have been submitted on time and that all program and Graduate School requirements have been met.
6. Academic Standing and Dismissal for Insufficient Progress
Students may be dismissed by the department at the end of any semester if they have not made sufficient academic progress to warrant continuance of study. Failure to follow the Program of Study or other departmental and Graduate School guidelines, low grades (below a 3.0 GPA), and lack of progress on a thesis are among the reasons dismissal might occur. The Graduate Faculty periodically reviews the records of graduate students whose progress or performance is in doubt.