discovery creative writing marking guidelines and awp guidelines for creative writing programs
Dr.KiaraSimpson,United States,Researcher
Published Date:05-07-2017
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Program Director’s Handbook
Guidelines, Policies, and Information
for Creative Writing Programs
A Publication of the
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
2012
Rev 3.0
A Letter from AWP’s Executive Director
Dear Creative Writing Program Director:
AWP was established in 1967 by fifteen writers representing thirteen
programs in creative writing. Our association has grown since then. Creative
writing is now taught at most of the 2,400 departments of literature in North
America. More than 300 graduate programs in creative writing have been
established in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, and
Australia. AWP’s membership includes 500 colleges and
universities and 34,000 writers, teachers, and students.
Creative writing
Academe in North America has excelled in providing
access to education for all economic classes and races of
programs have
peoples. Creative writing programs have been part of an
been part of
amazing experiment in democratic participation in higher
an amazing
education and the arts; our programs have helped
experiment
democratic nations produce literature that more closely
represents their peoples. Our literature now includes
in democratic
multitudes.
participation
In the United States, AWP has helped to establish the
in higher education
largest system of literary patronage for living writers that
and the arts.
the world has ever seen. A conservative estimate of our
programs’ support for writers exceeds 250 million in
annual expenditures on salaries, honoraria, lectures,
readings, library acquisitions, conferences, and publications. If you consider that,
in a typical recent year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) dispensed 7
million to literary projects and fellowships, you can appreciate how successful
AWP and its members have been in building a new network of support for
contemporary literature.
AWP once concentrated its energies upon the establishment of new
programs. Most institutions at first provided tough resistance to the building of
our programs, as most departments of English preferred their authors long dead
and safely entombed in libraries. Now that hundreds of programs have been
established and creative writing is one of the most popular academic disciplines in
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 1
AWP Guidelines
the arts and humanities, we are free to devote ourselves to building audiences for
literature while we improve our programs. AWP’s members have an important
role to play in restoring the prominence of literature in the academy and in the
public square.
As a portion of all BA degrees conferred in all disciplines, BAs in English have
fallen from 7 out of every 100 BAs conferred in the 1970s to less than 4 out of
every 100 conferred today. Because classes in creative writing are among the most
popular and over-subscribed electives among undergraduates, our programs are
in a unique position to help develop new audiences for literature. As a result, the
AWP Board of Directors has recently given special attention to undergraduate
education; there are four sets of recommendations in this handbook for
undergraduate teachers and programs.
AWP recommends that programs adjust their curricula in keeping with the
changing skills and needs of their students as readers, as writers, and as
professionals in the workplace.
AWP’s most experienced Program Directors and teachers developed these
documents to help you build a better program for the study, creation, and
appreciation of literature.
AWP welcomes your suggestions toward making these documents more
useful. Please write to awpawpwriter.org. Thank you for your work in helping
the next generation of writers and readers flourish.
Sincerely,
David Fenza
Executive Director
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 2
AWP Guidelines for Creative Writing
Programs & Teachers of Creative Writing
Introduction
The institutional membership of the Association of Writers & Writing
Programs, a national nonprofit corporation founded in 1967, includes a majority
of the graduate programs in creative writing in North America. AWP is the
primary source, internationally, of information on creative writing programs in
English. The AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs is the only comprehensive
listing available.
Enrollment in writing workshops continues to grow, and new writing
programs are established regularly, but the Master of Fine Arts in creative
writing—the degree supported by AWP as the appropriate “terminal degree” for
the practicing writer/teacher—is still misunderstood by many administrators
whose responsibilities include the evaluation of writing programs and the
recruitment, employment, and retention of teachers of writing.
Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Association of Writers & Writing
Programs has developed this information on writing program curricula and
policies regarding the hiring, promotion, and tenure of writers teaching in higher
education. This statement was shaped by a two-year study conducted by the AWP
Curriculum and Academic Policy Committee, chaired by Ellen Bryant Voigt
(Warren Wilson College) and Marvin Bell (University of Iowa) in 1979. Since
then, the document has been revised and reaffirmed by the AWP Board of
Directors for each successive edition of The AWP Official Guide to Writing
Programs. Aside from this document, we know of no other comprehensive set of
guidelines regarding the hiring and tenure of writers who teach, their appropriate
credentials, or academic policies affecting them. This document reinforces AWP’s
commitment to the quality of teaching in this field, and it reflects AWP’s
continued support of writers in the academy.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 3
AWP Guidelines
Guidelines for Teachers of Writing
Hiring, Rank, and Tenure
It is the position of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs that
decisions regarding the hiring, rank, and tenure of teachers of creative writing
should be based on the quality of the individual’s writing and teaching. Academic
degrees should not be considered a requirement or a major criterion which would
overrule the importance of the writer’s achievement in the art. In the hiring and
promotion of a professor of the art of writing, significant published work should
be viewed as the equivalent of a terminal degree by administrators and personnel
committees.
If, however, a terminal degree is required, it is recommended that the Master
of Fine Arts be considered the appropriate credential for the teacher of creative
writing. Holders of this degree may also be prepared to teach literature courses as
well as composition and rhetoric. AWP reminds institutions that the degree itself,
and programs that award the degree, vary considerably; it is recommended that a
prospective teacher’s individual competencies be examined closely.
AWP assumes that the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing or its
equivalent includes at least two years of serious study; a creative thesis (book-
length collection of creative work); completion of course work in form, theory,
and literature, including contemporary writers; and a substantial amount of
individualized writing study, with criticism and direction of the student’s writing
by experienced writers through workshop, tutorial, independent project, or thesis
preparation.
AWP believes that writing program faculty, who as creative writers are best
qualified to make assessments of a candidate’s work, should be given the
responsibility of making professional decisions about their peers, and that their
evaluations of the candidate, and their recommendations, should be given the
utmost weight in the review process.
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AWP Guidelines
Parity
It is the position of AWP that creative writers be given parity with scholars in
terms of salary, including senior positions at the top of the salary range, and that
the MFA degree be considered the equivalent of the PhD in literature, linguistics,
or composition. While the system of part-time or visiting writing faculty is often
used to increase the breadth of a program’s offerings, such a system should not
exclude writers from access to full-time, tenure-track positions and the possibility
of renewal.
Course Load
According to AWP surveys, the majority of writing faculty members carry a
course load of either two or three courses per semester or quarter in graduate
creative writing programs. It should be noted that many institutions define
“writing workshop” as equivalent to teaching two courses because of the
additional work required in conferences, tutorials, and thesis preparation that
writing students need for the development of their work. Other institutions
consider a writing workshop equivalent to one literature course. AWP
recommends that the course load for both undergraduate and graduate writing
teachers be defined in a way that recognizes the importance of individualized
attention to the student’s creative work and increased amounts of conference and
preparation time required. AWP also reminds institutions that a teaching writer
needs large amounts of time to do his or her own creative work.
Workshop
AWP surveys conducted periodically since 1978 indicate that most teachers
of writing find they are most effective in the workshop format, and that the
majority of workshops have a class size of 11–20 students. AWP recommends that
workshop size not exceed 15, and that 12 be viewed as desirable and most
effective.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 5
AWP Guidelines
Additional Recommendations
It is the position of AWP that teaching writers must have access to a liberal
policy of leave and sabbatical. As with other arts, the writing teacher will be
effective as a teacher only insofar as he or she is active and engaged as a writer;
large, recurring periods of time devoted to the writer’s own work are crucial to
continued effective teaching.
AWP believes that writers should have the major voice in decisions
concerning the hiring and retention of creative writing faculty, admission of
students to the writing program, the awarding of degrees in writing, the writing
program’s budget, and the allocation of physical resources. AWP believes that
writers in the academy are best qualified to make such judgments in regard to
creative writing programs.
A Description of Writing Program Curricula
Although they share common goals, criteria, and characteristics, writing
programs in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia are now many
and diverse. AWP does not advocate one approach to the study of writing over
another, but does seek, through The AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs, to
help the student writer locate those programs which are most compatible with his
or her goals and expectations. Prospective students using the Guide are urged to
read each program description carefully, and to pay special attention to the faculty
listing, the coursework distribution and other degree requirements, and the
statement of the program’s aims.
The AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs makes a distinction between, on
the one hand, courses in writing offered by an undergraduate or graduate
literature program or department, and, on the other, a coherent curriculum in
literature and creative writing designed for writing students. The primary aim of
writing programs, through work in writing, form, and theory, and through the
study of contemporary writers and past authors, is to help students become better
writers. An education in the liberal arts and/or vocational training may be
secondary aims. Writing programs are also characterized by the presence of active
and experienced writers on their faculties, and the student’s own creative work is
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 6
AWP Guidelines
seen as the primary evidence for decisions about admission and graduation. It
should be noted that “creative writing” has traditionally encompassed poetry,
playwriting and screenwriting, translation, fiction, creative nonfiction, and other
imaginative prose.
Graduate writing programs are listed in The AWP Official Guide in the
following descriptive categories: Studio, Studio/Research, and Research/Theory/
Studio. Although the aims and specific curricula of programs within each
category differ, the following general distinctions may be fairly made:
Studio writing programs place primary emphasis on the student’s writing
experience within the program. In this way, they most closely parallel studio
programs in music, dance, and the visual arts. Most of the degree work is
done in workshops, independent writing projects or tutorials, and thesis
preparation. The study of contemporary literature and the forms, craft,
themes, and aesthetics of writing may be incorporated into workshops or
offered through separate seminars. Faculty members of such programs are
selected for their achievement in the creative or artistic genres of literature
and not for scholarly work. Students are admitted to such programs almost
wholly on the basis of a writing sample, and in turn, the significant degree
criterion is the quality of the thesis manuscript.
Studio/Research writing programs usually place equal emphasis, in their
curricula, on the student’s writing and literary scholarship, with the belief
that the study of literature is crucial to one’s development as a writer.
Seeking a balance between literary scholarship and literary artistic practice,
these programs vary in the structure and amount of literature requirements,
but they frequently rely on the regular English department faculty, noted for
scholarly achievement, for many of the literature course offerings, while
writers on the program faculty offer form, craft, and theory courses,
workshops, and thesis direction. Studio/Research programs often require
comprehensive examinations, and candidates are expected to be equally
well-prepared in literature and in writing. Admission is determined
primarily by the quality of the original manuscript.
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AWP Guidelines
Research/Theory/Studio writing programs emphasize literary scholarship
and the study and practice of literary theory. These programs also offer
writing workshops, independent studies, seminars on contemporary
literature and the craft of writing, and the opportunity to complete a
creative thesis, but these programs require that a majority of the degree-
candidate’s course work will be completed in literary scholarship and
theory, usually in seminars taught by English department faculty. The
course of study typically spans three or more centuries of literature from
three or more continents, and proficiency in another language besides
English is usually required in earning the degree. Such programs align
themselves both with academic traditions of literary research and with anti-
traditional modes of cultural criticism that have become prevalent since the
1970s. These programs actively use the same criteria for admission and
degree award that are applied to candidates in literary scholarship, including
the comprehensive examinations, grade point averages, and previous
undergraduate course work in literature.
Additional Recommendations
It is generally felt among creative writing program faculties that a series of
readings and/or brief residencies by established writers is an important dimension
of a writing program, offering students an immediate connection to
contemporary literature and exposure to a variety of voices and aesthetic
approaches. Because such a series is seen as integral to the curriculum, writing
faculty should have the largest voice in determining the participants in such a
series.
—AWP Board of Directors
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 8
AWP Hallmarks of a Successful
MFA Program in Creative Writing
Graduate programs in creative writing have evolved since the 1930s to offer a
range of artistic experiences, approaches, and courses of study. Because there are
many paths by which one may become a writer, the curricula vary from program
to program. AWP encourages this variety and innovation while it sets general
guidelines to help ensure a high quality of artistic literary training within these
programs. Although the courses of study vary, AWP has noted the following
shared characteristics among successful programs that nurture a culture of
creativity, vitality, intellectual rigor, artistic discipline, and collegiality. These
definitive hallmarks also form the basis for “The AWP Guidelines for Creative
Writing Programs and Teachers of Creative Writing.”
A successful MFA program has accomplished writers as faculty members, a
rigorous curriculum, talented students, and strong administrative support, all of
which are complemented by the assets that distinguish a generally excellent
academic institution. The AWP Board of Directors recommends that MFA
programs undergo an annual self-evaluation and periodic independent
assessment in an effort to offer the best education for writers and to make the best
possible contributions to contemporary letters. Independent assessments are
especially valuable to programs that have been operating for less than ten years.
To facilitate, structure, and focus a program’s self-evaluation or independent
assessment, the AWP Board of Directors has established these “Hallmarks of a
Successful MFA Program in Creative Writing.” The hallmarks are grouped within
five general categories.
Rigorous and Diverse Curriculum
The curriculum is consistent with the mission of the program as “studio” or
“studio/research,” two types of programs established by The AWP Guidelines for
Creative Writing Programs and Teachers of Creative Writing. This curriculum
requires 48 to 60 semester hours or credits of study over two to three years. At the
heart of this curriculum are graduate-level creative writing workshops and
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 9
Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
seminars taught by core creative writing faculty on craft, theory, and
contemporary literature. The institution also provides challenging elective,
graduate-level classes in the literature of many centuries and continents. The
program should provide an enabling progression of both practice and study in the
literary arts in order to prepare the student for a life of letters and to equip the
student with the skills needed for writing a publishable book-length creative work
for the thesis.
1. Philosophy. The program has an overarching set of values, beliefs, and
pedagogy that reflect: (a) the best practices of creative writing programs; (b) an
awareness of the needs of its students; and (c) an understanding of the currents of
contemporary literature and culture. The program's philosophy is appropriate to
its institution's mission and the goals of its strategic plan. The curriculum requires
studies that employ this philosophy effectively.
2. Consistent and Frequent Course Offerings. Required courses are offered
regularly in the actual course schedule every semester or quarter. Most of the
courses are taught by permanent full-time (tenure-track or tenured) faculty
members.
3. A Challenging Workshop. The writers’ workshop is a seminar in which
students critique one another’s work under the mentorship of an accomplished
writer-teacher. The workshop is writing intensive, offering each student multiple
opportunities for submission and revision of creative work.
4. Extensive Literary Study. One must become an expert and wide-ranging
reader before one can hope to become an accomplished writer. The curriculum
balances the practice of the art of writing with the study of literature, requiring at
least 21 semester hours or credits in literature courses, outside of workshops and
independent study. Of this total, 6 to 9 semester hours or credits may be in
seminars on craft, theory, and technique taught by MFA faculty. Extensive and
diverse reading lists for such courses should inform creative and critical writing
assignments. Courses might cover topics such as the following: The Evolution of
the Short Story; The Architecture of the Novel; Traditional Forms of Verse; The
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Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
Craft of Translation; Magical Realism and Its Influence on Contemporary
Authors; Post-Modern Theory and Contemporary Literature; The American Long
Poem Sequence; etc.
5. Attentiveness to Revision. In addition to frequent reading and writing, the
curriculum requires frequent revision of student work, and the teacher provides
suggestions for improving the work as well as references to literary models that
may be helpful. Thesis advising focuses on specific suggestions for revision of
creative work and includes feedback on successive drafts.
6. A Variety of Seminars and Workshops. As study with writers of varied artistic
sensibilities serves a student best, students should have the opportunity to study
with a different accomplished writer in a workshop each semester. Topics for
literature seminars should also be diverse along several axes, offering exposure to
many literary periods and cultural traditions, to literature that reflects a
multicultural American society, and to varied craft topics.
7. A Variety of Lectures and Readings. The program broadens the student’s
knowledge of literary techniques and aesthetics through literary lectures, craft
lectures, and readings by the faculty, visiting writers, and scholars.
8. Strong Thesis Advising. Faculty members excel in providing both holistic and
line-specific suggestions for revision of each student’s thesis. Students are required
to produce a publishable literary work, and they must demonstrate expertise in a
primary genre to graduate. Rough guidelines for the page range of a thesis
manuscript vary by genre: 50-80 pages for poetry, 150-200 for a short story
collection or collection of nonfiction essays, 200-350 for a novel or book-length
work of creative nonfiction. Where a mixed-genre thesis is accepted, the form
should demonstrate coherence—i.e., the compositional quality that would make it
a publishable work—and the page range should correspond to guidelines for prose
manuscripts.
9. Residential Course Work and Mentorship. Although AWP recognizes the
effectiveness of electronic learning and Web-based classrooms, face-to-face
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Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
mentorship is crucial to an artist’s education. Because residential learning and
individualized instruction foster the best retention and graduation rates among
matriculated students, every MFA program, including a low-residency program,
requires at least 14 days of residential study annually.
10. Cross-Genre Study. The program may require the student to take one
seminar or workshop in a genre other than the student’s declared specialty. A
nonfiction writer, for instance, often benefits from learning the narrative
strategies of fiction writers, while fiction writers often benefit from learning the
research techniques of nonfiction writers. Although this feature is not a necessary
part of a program’s curriculum, it is a feature of many effective programs.
11. Vocational Study Options. Students may have access to elective classes in
journalism, publishing, composition, theater, screenwriting, technical writing,
teaching writing, or communications taught by distinguished faculty. The
program may also provide internships through an affiliation with a journal, press,
publishing venue, or other community literary programs that provide editorial
experience.
Accomplished Faculty
These qualities distinguish a program that supports excellent teaching:
1. Accomplished Writers Who Teach Well. The program has a faculty of
published writers who have distinguished themselves as teachers and as artists. As
teachers, they command the respect of their peers, and they receive generally good
to excellent student evaluations. Each faculty member has published significant
work in one or more of the following genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction,
playwriting, writing for children and young adults, or screenwriting. Each faculty
member has published at least one book by a respected press, and that book is in
the genre which the faculty member teaches. Each faculty member holds an MFA
or the appropriate terminal degree in creative writing. An outstanding
publications record of literary book publication may serve as an equivalent for the
degree.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 12
Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
2. Stable Faculty. Most of the faculty are tenured or tenure-track so that students
may rely on continuity in instruction, mentorship, thesis advising, and
recommendations for professional advancement. Faculty members routinely
make themselves available to students outside of class. The intensive nature of
advising on a creative thesis should be a factor in determining a teacher’s course
load. Senior tenured faculty, who have distinguished themselves by their national
publications, have a teaching load of 2-2 or lower in order to support their
advising of theses, their mentorship of students, and their research, writing, and
contributions to contemporary letters.
3. Diverse Faculty. A program’s faculty provides depth and expertise in each
genre and variety in aesthetic sensibility. A diverse faculty provides a range of
aesthetic viewpoints related to literary, ethnic, cultural, or other influences, and a
range of approaches to craft. A visiting writer’s position often helps to enhance
this diversity.
4. Community Service. Faculty members are professionally active, not only
publishing creative work, but also providing leadership in the profession through
national, regional, and local service. The faculty members are dedicated to making
sure their program provides a supportive literary community in addition to
effective instruction.
5. A Low Faculty-to-Student Ratio. A good program has a faculty-to-student
ratio of one to twelve, or better. Because of this low student-to-faculty ratio,
students have the opportunity to receive frequent and extensive critiques of their
work and their theses.
Excellent Students and Support for Students
In its efforts to serve its students well, an effective program offers these features:
1. Small Classes. To facilitate extensive critiques of student work, workshops
should have no more than 14 students, and class size in other graduate seminars
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Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
should range from 11 to 20 students. Online classes are no larger than seven
students. A mentor in a low-residency program conducts no more than five
tutorials a semester.
2. Regular Evaluation of Faculty and the Program. The program is responsive to
the needs of its graduate students, and students evaluate their courses and
instructors each semester. At least once every four years, the program also
conducts exit surveys of students after they have completed the program. The exit
survey seeks an overall evaluation of the program’s effectiveness in curriculum,
thesis advising, and other areas that are not evaluated in course evaluations.
3. Selective Admissions. With generally high and selective admissions standards,
the program sustains a high ratio of applicants to admissions.
4. Strong Recruitment of the Best Students. Both the institution and the
program work in concert to enroll qualified students of different backgrounds,
social classes, and races.
5. Financial Aid. Programs offer some financial aid in the form of scholarships,
waivers, assistantships, fellowships, internships, subsidized loans, travel support,
or other forms of support in order to attract the best students.
6. A Student Handbook. Students are given clear guidelines for the structure of a
tutorial or online coursework, which protect their right to consistent, regularly
scheduled feedback and provide appropriate means for redressing any grievances.
The handbook also clearly defines the etiquette for online classes and discussions,
and it explains the requirements for earning the degree, including guidelines for a
creative thesis and expectations for any requirements in addition to course work
(critical papers, lectures, or oral or written exams).
7. A High Retention Rate. A high percentage of matriculated students graduate
from the program, and a small number of students drop out or transfer to other
programs.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 14
Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
8. Publication by Students and Graduates of the Program. The number of
publications by students and alumni is the ultimate measure of an MFA program’s
effectiveness. A high number of students go on to publish significant literary work
and to win honors and awards for their writing.
9. Mentorship for TAs. If teaching assistantships are available, a regular program
of TA training and mentoring ensures that TAs develop good pedagogical
methods and benefit from the experience of a skilled teacher.
Strong Administrative Support
An effective program has these features in its administration:
1. Strong Leadership. The MFA program director provides strong leadership in
planning, in staffing, in devising curriculum, in training new faculty members, in
recruiting the best students, and in advocating program needs to the host
institution’s administration. The program director also facilitates alumni relations
and fund-raising for the program.
2. Sufficient Autonomy. The institution’s administration gives the program
sufficient autonomy with regard to curriculum, admissions, budget, graduate
support, physical facilities, and personnel to ensure quality, stability, flexibility,
and the capability to take advantage of opportunities quickly.
3. Strong Financial Support. The institution provides financial resources to
facilitate excellence in the recruiting and retaining of faculty, in providing services
to students, in providing administrative support for the program director, and in
maintaining the facilities used by the program.
4. Good Collegial Relations. If the program is part of a department of literature
or another larger entity, the program has a supportive relationship with that
department. The program has good working relations with the university’s
leadership.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 15
Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
5. Community Outreach. The program director and the institution’s
administrators seek, whenever possible, to establish a strong, positive presence in
the local community. Typically, several events of the reading series or lecture
series are open to the public, and the marketing of these open events is effective.
Affiliations with community literary centers is also encouraged.
6. Diligent Quality Control. The program director makes sure that students have
the opportunity to evaluate their faculty annually. In a low-residency programs,
the students know that they have the right to a productive tutorial with a frequent
exchange of packets, or to a rigorous online class that demands participation of
the students and timely instruction, guidance, and responses from the teacher.
The program director will take immediate action in counseling faculty members
and in replacing faculty members if high standards of instruction are not
consistently maintained. Although the faculty are entitled to some flexibility in the
quantity of assignments, as justified by the varying difficulty of those assignments,
the program director monitors the assignments to ensure that the program
remains rigorous and challenging.
7. Clear Criteria for Evaluation of Faculty. Faculty members are promoted and
tenured based on publication of creative work, demonstrated ability as teachers,
and contribution to the university and greater literary community. The program
should have clear criteria for designating, hiring, and promoting creative writing
faculty, and the criteria should be specific to creative writing faculty, whose
respected venues for publication may reside outside the usual circle of university
journals and presses that publish scholarship and theory.
8. Participation in Professional Networks. A good program provides
membership in AWP and other appropriate local, regional, and national
associations to assure that faculty members and students have access to timely
information about contemporary letters and the teaching of creative writing.
9. Administrative Support Staff. To facilitate excellence in administration, the
program director has the administrative support of one to two full-time workers,
depending on the size of the program.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 16
Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
10. Release Time for the Program Director. Depending on the size of the
program, the program director has his or her teaching load reduced by one or two
courses a year.
Other Assets and Infrastructure
An effective program also has the assets and infrastructure that characterize any
good college or university:
1. Accreditation. The program, institute, or department is part of an accredited
institution of higher education, or it is an accredited institution in and of itself.
2. Good Infrastructure. Classrooms, offices, and other spaces are adequate to
conduct workshops, conferences, readings, and informal student and faculty
gatherings. Spaces assigned to the program promote an atmosphere conducive to
concentration, listening, social exchanges, and focused work. When students are
housed on campus, they are housed in close proximity to each other to provide
more opportunity for them to develop the kind of lifelong friendships that are
often crucial to sustaining the writing life after the completion of the degree.
3. A Computer Lab. The lab is open at least twelve hours a day for students to
work on manuscripts and conduct research on the Internet.
4. An Excellent Library. Faculty and students have access to a library with
extensive holdings in canonical and contemporary literature.
5. A Unique Educational Feature. A special focus, initiative, resource, archive,
project, or other opportunity for students distinguishes the program from other
comparable programs. Such a feature might be a literary magazine, an emphasis
on translation, a small press, special internships, or the archives of a literary
author.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 17
Hallmarks for Graduate Programs
6. A Campus Bookstore. The program has a campus bookstore that supports the
curriculum, special events with visiting writers, and faculty and student authors.
7. An Affiliated Literary Publication. The program is affiliated with a journal,
press, or other publishing venue that can provide editorial and publishing
experience.
—AWP Board of Directors
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 18
AWP Hallmarks of an Effective
Low-Residency MFA Program
in Creative Writing
Since the first low-residency MFA program in creative writing was developed in
the 1970s, higher education has established over thirty such programs. With
various combinations of residencies, workshops, lectures, online workshops and
classes, study abroad, correspondence, and one-on-one mentoring, low-residency
programs vary; however, their chief attributes are individualized instruction and
structural flexibility for students. Low-residency programs require at least two
years of study. Students study literature and craft by writing original fiction,
creative nonfiction, poetry, translations, screenplays, or plays; by analyzing
contemporary and canonical works of literature; and by writing critical papers.
Programs also require culminating projects focused on the craft of writing—an
extended craft essay, a lecture, or the teaching of a seminar. The centerpiece of the
course of study is a creative thesis, an original literary work in the student’s
chosen genre(s).
With its mentoring relationships involving one teacher and one student, or with
small online workshops and seminars, the low-residency program excels in
expediting the development of a writer. Students in low-residency programs tend
to be older than traditional graduate students. Many students enter these
programs intending to continue in their already established careers; these students
find that their professional work is often improved by the skills they acquire in
their artistic avocations. Low-residency programs have a strong record of
preparing graduates for careers in teaching, editing, publishing, public affairs,
advertising, and administration.
To facilitate, structure, and focus a program’s periodic self-evaluation or
independent assessment, the AWP Board of Directors has established these
hallmarks, which are also addressed to administrators who seek to establish low-
residency programs at their institutions. The hallmarks are meant to be
aspirational rather than prescriptive, reflecting current best practices. Specific
details associated with some of the following hallmarks are included because of
the relative newness of the low-residency model, still unfamiliar to many
Association of Writers & Writing Programs 19
