Home 2016-2017 Undergraduate College Catalog Master of Fine Arts in Writing & Master of Liberal Arts Programs

Master of Fine Arts in Writing & Master of Liberal Arts Programs

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2016-2017 Undergraduate College Catalog

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Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

*** As of March 2013, the admission of new students into the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program has been suspended until further notice. Current students will be able to continue their progression in this program.***

This program cuts across many disciplines to take a broad-based approach to the study of contemporary humanity and our changing world. Instead of demanding concentration in one field, it permits students to draw on many areas: art, literature, music, psychology, religion, sociology, philosophy, history and politics.

The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies is designed to fit the needs, schedules, and interests of the part-time adult student. Thirty credits, ten courses or nine courses and a Master's Essay constitute the program. MALS students create an individually structured program based on courses relevant to personal and professional interests.

Special Features

Self-Paced Program: By taking one course each semester, students can complete the degree within three years. Some may complete it in a substantially shorter time by taking more than one course each semester.

Convenient Scheduling: Students may enter the program in any semester. Classes usually meet once a week and convenient scheduling allows a student to take either day or evening courses.

Personal Counseling: Students are assigned an advisor who will work with them to plan their course of study.

Admissions

Persons holding bachelor's degrees from accredited colleges may apply. A two-year interval between full-time undergraduate study and entrance to this program is strongly recommended. A formal interview is required. Along with the MALS application form and fee, students should submit official transcripts of all previous work (undergraduate and graduate) and an autobiographical letter describing the applicant's education and career experiences. The two-to-three page narrative should be reflective and include reasons for choosing this program. Students with appropriate credit in a graduate liberal studies program may transfer a maximum of six graduate credits.

Master of Fine Arts in Writing

About the MFA Program

Manhattanville’s 36-credit Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a dynamic literary community of writers from all walks of life. Courses are scheduled in the evenings and on weekends in order to meet the needs of working adults. The program can be completed in two years, though students may work at their own pace, beginning in either the fall or spring semester, or with Summer Writers’ Weekend, held annually at the end of June.

Our program aims to develop writers who can participate effectively in professional, academic and community settings. Our students learn and hone the skills of their craft in a challenging, nurturing environment that fosters community and personal growth.

We believe that taking an eclectic approach to a post-graduate writing degree ensures a more well-rounded, prepared and versatile writer. That is why our students are welcome to explore and study all genres, yet have opportunities to go deeper into a genre of their choice. This approach ensures surprising and rewarding results.

Degree Requirements

Manhattanville’s MFA program is among the most flexible creative writing programs in the country. Students in our unique non-tracking curriculum will have the opportunity to work in a single genre, a variety of genres or in cross-genre workshops with gifted teachers and mentors who are also award-winning authors. The Manhattanville MFA Program is comprised of just four required courses:

Foundations in Graduate Creative Writing (3 credits)
Contemporary Publishing: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
Advanced Seminar in Graduate Creative Writing (3 credits)
Thesis Project (3 credits)

Beyond these four required courses, MFA students are encouraged to build an individualized program that best fits their immediate interests and long-term goals. Course offerings regularly include Fiction Workshops (in short story and novel), Poetry Workshop, Cross-Genre Workshop, Children’s/Young Adult Workshop, Screenwriting Workshop, and Creative Non-fiction Workshop as well as regular Topics courses and other electives. Each of these courses earn three credits toward the MFA degree.

Transfer Credits

Under certain conditions and with the approval of the Dean, students may transfer up to 6 credits toward electives in the Master of Fine Arts degree program.

Coursework eligible for transfer must come from regionally accredited institutions or from non-regionally accredited institutions with comparable curricular and standards to those at Manhattanville College.

Satisfactory Progress

Students are considered to be making satisfactory progress as long as they are enrolled in at least six credits during each Fall and Spring semester. Completion of the program entails 36 credits. To complete the program, the GPA must be at a 3.0 or better. Students who fall below a 3.0 cumulative GPA will not be in good standing. Students who are not in good standing must meet regularly with the MFA director and will have one semester to return to good standing.

No student working towards a degree may be enrolled in the program for more than five years.

Leave of Absence

In general, a leave of absence is intended to provide a student time away from his/her studies due to a temporary circumstance or situation (financial, personal or medical). Any student wishes to request a leave of absence should contact the office of the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences for additional information and guidance as to next steps to formalize a leave from the College. Students must request a leave in writing to the Dean and in making the request, include the following information: the specific reason/purpose for the leave, how the student plans to spend his/her time while away and confirmation of the semester intended semester of return (a leave is normally granted for one semester). In addition, if the reason for a leave of absence is medical in nature, students must also will out a Temporary Medical Leave form. If applicable, the letter from the medical provider should be sent to the attention of the Dean the School of Arts and Sciences.

Students who have been granted a leave of absence must contact the MFA Office at least one month prior to the first day of classes in the semester of anticipated return to request readmission and follow the process as outlined above. At times, there may be conditions attached to a student’s possible return as stipulated at the time the student is granted the leave of absence. In these cases, the student should provide evidence and all applicable documentation of having met these conditions. The MFA Office will contact relevant offices of the College regarding the request for readmission and regarding possible holds. In doing so, if the it is determined that the student can be academically approved and any outstanding holds have been resolved to the satisfaction of the applicable College office, the student can be readmitted to the College. Students approved for return from a leave of absence may register after the designated registration dates.

Summer & Fall Writers’ Weekend

Summer and Fall Writers’ Weekend are two-credit writing courses, providing students with the opportunity to participative in intensive writing workshops with some of the country’s most celebrated literary figures. In the past few years, visiting professors have included National Book Award-winning YA author Thanhha Lai, fiction phenom Justin Torres, Wole Soyinka Award-winning science fiction writer Nnedi Okorafor, legendary author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and renowned poets Patricia Smith,

Claudia Rankine, and Kazim Ali.

The Manhattanville Review

The Manhattanville Review is an online journal of literature, art & ideas, run by students of the MFA Program. The Review publishes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, cross-genre writing, and art. Editors of The Manhattanville Review receive tuition remission for their work on the journal, and are encouraged to take ownership of the

journal and envision new ideas and projects to pursue during their tenure. At the close of each year, the Review hosts an reading in New York City.

Special Events

Each semester renowned authors are invited to read and discuss their work in our Meet the Writers series. Past guests have included Philip Gourevitch, Pete Seger, Tracy K. Smith, Amy Goodman, Terrance Hayes and Ben Lerner. These evening events and other readings, panels and conversations are free and open to the public.

Registration, Advising & Academic Resources

Academic Advising

Upon admission to the program, you may speak with the program administration about your goals and the appropriate course load for your first term. Each semester, students are invited to set up advising sessions in advance of registration, so that students can discuss their plans and pacing through the program, and ensure they complete their credits by their desired graduate date. For spring semester course registration, you will receive an email to set up an appointment in October or November. For fall courses, advising takes place in Macrh or April.

Course Registration

In your first semester at Manhattanville, you will need to complete a paper registration form and return it to the MFA Office for approval and processing. You can find the registration form online.

By your second semester, you can register for all courses online through WebAdvisor.

Web Resources

After you confirm enrollment in the MFA Program, you will be sent instructions for setting up a student account that may be used to sign into WebAdvisor and other web services.

Students can access the following information by using WebAdvisor:

Current course schedule, with classroom locations
Each semester’s full course schedule
Final grades at the end of the semester
Academic record from past semesters

To learn more about WebAdvisor and how to start logging on, students may view a PowerPoint "How-To-Access/Use WebAdvisor" tutorial by going to: http://www.mville.edu/students/default.aspx.

Grade Reports

To access your grades, log into Web Advisor and select Students. Under Academic Profile, choose Grades. Choose a term/semester and choose Submit. Class titles, grades and credit hours for the chosen semester should appear.