MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN CREATIVE WRITING

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFACREA)

Program Background

Graduates of the MFA in Creative Writing program are equipped to hone their craft further and become productive creative writers through a grounding in the theoretical and practical aspects of writing. They are provided with the prospects and possibilities of publication and performance, and an intensive examination and evaluation of their work under the guidance of experienced writers.

Instruction is conducted mostly by workshops, including weekend off-campus sessions. These workshops give the students the opportunity to discuss and produce original writing in the company of experienced professionals.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFACREA)

Course Requirements
Major Courses				21 units
Cognates				6 units
Electives				3 units
Thesis				6 units
Total				36 units

MFACREA Major Courses

Course Code	Course Title	Brief Description
CRW691M	Fiction Writing Techniques	An in-depth study of the fundamentals of prose fiction beyond the undergraduate level; includes frequent writing exercises in the elements of description, characterization, dialogue, narrative viewpoint, the writing of short fiction, and peer analysis of these exercises.
CRW801M	Fiction Writing Workshop	Actual writing of fiction with focus on a work of substantial length, such as a short novel or novella, or a collection of short stories. The bulk of the course content is composed of the fictional works done by the students, and the workshop process is meant to prepare these works for publication.
CRW692M	Poetry Writing Techniques	An intensive study of the techniques in writing poetry, including discussion and critical evaluation of the works of contemporary poets in conjunction with a workshop concentrating on the students’ own output.
CRW802M	Poetry Writing Workshop	Actual writing of poetry with focus on the exploration and practice of various styles; each student works on an individual project. The bulk of the course content is composed of the poetry done by the students, and the workshop process is meant to prepare these works for publication.
CRW693M	Playwriting Techniques	An in-depth study of the principles and techniques, of playwriting for stage, radio, TV, and screen; writing exercises leading to the creation of short scripts.
CRW803M	Playwriting Workshop	Actual writing of plays with emphasis on characterization, motivation, plot, etc., the student must present a completed script for stage, radio, or screen. The bulk of the course content is composed of the dramatic works done by the students, and the workshop process is meant to prepare these works for performance.
CRW672M Or CRW675M	Creative Non-Fiction Writing Techniques Or Introduction to Professional Literary Editing	A study of the craft of writing biographies and autobiographies and other forms of creative non-fiction; exercises in writing short biographies of literary figures based on research and interviews, and on writing about one’s own life. Or A study of the editing process, from substantive editing to the nature of the editor-writer relationship; manuscript reading, author queries, copy-editing, rewrite and style; editing awareness and skills are developed by working on varied writing examples.

MFACREA Cognate Courses

Course Code	Course Title	Brief Description
CRW660M/LIT660M	Literary Theory and Criticism	A study of theories, principles, and techniques of literary criticism, from antiquity to the later twentieth century, with emphasis on major schools of criticism, such as Romanticism, New Criticism, Formalism, Structuralism, Marxism, Feminist Criticism, and Post-Structuralism.
CRW680M/LIT680M	Literary Translation	A study of the theories, principles, strategies, and problems in literary translation; output is a translation into English or Filipino of a literary text originally written in a Philippine vernacular.

MFACREA Elective (3 units)

Depending on the thesis topic, a student chooses one elective from the MA-level Literature programs or a CLA cognate course.

Course Code	Course Title	Brief Description
CRW371M	Poetry and Philosophy	The course explores the relations between poetry and philosophy as complementary, though at times antithetical, discourses. It inquires into selected issues drawn from philosophy of literature, philosophy of poetry, and philosophy of language, such as truth in/and poetry, metaphorical meaning, and lyric philosophy.
LIT331M	Women’s Literature	Close reading of the fiction, poetry, and plays of selected women writers; examines their resolution to the question of the narrative voice, the image of women and women writing reflected in the works and the manner in which the self is presented.
LIT345M	Literature and Environment	This three-unit interdisciplinary course introduces students to the evolving nature of literature and environment studies.
LIT370M	Pathography: Writing Illness to Wellness	This course is an elective interdisciplinary seminar course on the intersections of Literature and Medicine, and focuses on Pathography: Narratives of Illness, Recovery, and Death. The texts for study in the course are literary pathographic texts as well as medical theories on pain and literary theories on narrative.
LIT763M	Gender, Sexuality and Literature	A study of literature from the optic lens of genders and sexualities. Includes a survey of feminist and antihomophobic discourse/theories; an examination of the representations of the female and the homosexual subject in literature; and an interrogation of the identity politics of the writers/texts.
LIT769M	Performance Studies	This course takes up performance both as object of study and as a mode of critical inquiry in the humanities and social sciences. It explores various understandings of performance, performance studies, and performance research, with a special attention to practices of performance in the Philippines.
LIT800M	Literature Seminar	Special topics in interdisciplinary studies, such as Literature and Psychoanalysis, Literature and Marxism, Literature and Linguistics, and Literature and Historiography.

Thesis (6 units)

Course Code	Course Title	Brief Description
CRW851M onwards	Thesis Writing	The application of the skills and knowledge gained in course work with research supervision by a mentor at the department whose interest and expertise of creative-critical practice match the nature, focus, or trajectory of the student’s book project.