tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post1969579134359032395..comments2023-11-02T01:29:11.575-07:00Comments on The MFA Chronicles: How many credits is your program?JayTeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02923700657540655227noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-10833502315630781252010-02-14T18:29:58.967-08:002010-02-14T18:29:58.967-08:00Hey Raina,
Do you know what the course load is in...Hey Raina,<br /><br />Do you know what the course load is in years 2 and 3?<br /><br />It looks like you'll have 33 hours in the first year alone?!MFAguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08385328745333363385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-85690324860234686442010-01-13T12:15:36.958-08:002010-01-13T12:15:36.958-08:00Well...I took 6 courses this semester. One was a 6...Well...I took 6 courses this semester. One was a 6-credit "how to teach composition course" and there were 3 1-credit courses: (2 GTA courses required by the graduate school and the other was a research course required by the graduate school/department/school). <br /><br />There is no language requirement at VT for the MFA program, so none the courseload does not include that...<br /><br />This semester I am taking 5 courses (15 credits) and teaching composition. The department aproves up to 18 credits per semester.<br /><br />Mind you, VT is a pretty new program, so some of the kinks are still being worked out. The graduate school and department have different requirements for what equals a "full courseload." I go by the department. I don't want any issues. lolRainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18261846710670865118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-74224252699868676662010-01-11T11:10:15.302-08:002010-01-11T11:10:15.302-08:00wow. i'm trying to figure out how and why your...wow. i'm trying to figure out how and why your credit load is so high. i teach in an m.f.a. program and i studied in an m.f.a program. my program was 48 hrs/ 3 years ... a full course load was 9 credit hours, 12 was an overload, and i don't even think they'd approve 16. the program in which i teach is 45 hrs/ 3 years, with a language qualification. <br /><br />are your 'credit hours' somehow different in construct so a class equals more than 3 credit hours? taking 6 courses as a graduate student, who teaches no less, doesn't make sense to me ... but oh, well .. you learn something new every day.poet-scholar-professor-typehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11892034134489818540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-66157808442741354362010-01-08T09:31:11.232-08:002010-01-08T09:31:11.232-08:00At Penn State, the program is 2 years and 42 credi...At Penn State, the program is 2 years and 42 credits. The first two semesters, we take 3 3-credit classes and a 1-credit teaching seminar. The second year is more flexible with people taking varying amounts of thesis/project credits along with their workshops and seminars.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02608421232179032744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-77118002827323643832010-01-02T22:51:38.156-08:002010-01-02T22:51:38.156-08:00Another thing to keep in mind, SeeMoreGlass, is th...Another thing to keep in mind, SeeMoreGlass, is that some 3-year schools treat the third year the same way: as research hours/thesis prep, with no real course-load.Joshua Gottlieb-Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16562233353440767788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-54115984103602905512010-01-01T19:24:55.280-08:002010-01-01T19:24:55.280-08:00JayTee and Raina - thanks for your replies!
it won...JayTee and Raina - thanks for your replies!<br />it won't be my #1 deciding factor, of course, but it helps to know when considering two year vs three year programs that certain programs could technically be extended (3 year programs, to my mind, had the advantage, and this evens the playing field a wee bit).SeeMoreGlasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16501277537314530418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-75564060420360244542010-01-01T11:37:17.395-08:002010-01-01T11:37:17.395-08:00@ JayTee- Alabama does have an optional fourth yea...@ JayTee- Alabama does have an optional fourth year. Same deal. Teach. Maybe thesis work, but no official courses. A few more schools have that option, but it's not exactly publized as well.lol<br /><br />@Seemoreglass -I think it's a delightful surprise, but not something you should be driving yourself crazy over when you're applying. (Not that you're doing that, just saying...)Rainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18261846710670865118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-46738095059751091572010-01-01T07:20:05.242-08:002010-01-01T07:20:05.242-08:00hey seemoreglass- yeah the third year thing was a ...hey seemoreglass- yeah the third year thing was a surprise to me about UVA as well. basically you are funded as a teaching assistant who teaches comp. you no longer take classes. a lot of people seem to take advantage of it, i'm considering it. it's an option for both fiction and poetry students. it's not on the website because it's not really an official thing lol. <br /><br />i think i've heard other schools mention something like this. like Alabama, I think is a 3 year school with an optional 4th year. Maybe some other posters know of others.JayTeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923700657540655227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-71069951378640558832010-01-01T00:03:25.783-08:002010-01-01T00:03:25.783-08:00hi everyone - i am applying to mfa programs for th...hi everyone - i am applying to mfa programs for this year and jaytee's comment raised a question for me - i also applied to virginia and i had no idea about the third year option. does this apply to fiction students as well? i can't find anything about it on the website. does this mean other schools offer this third year as well? is there funding in the third year? a bevy of questions, sorry! thanks so much for this site, it's so helpful.SeeMoreGlasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16501277537314530418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-65989533731843976772009-12-31T18:00:42.057-08:002009-12-31T18:00:42.057-08:00Well, my program is three years and 70 credit hour...Well, my program is three years and 70 credit hours. The 70 total sounds like a lot, but we are on the quarter system, so we have three terms each year rather than two. We take 30 workshop credits (6 workshops) and 20 lit credits (4 lit classes) plus 5 credits of a craft/forms class, 5 credits outside the department, and 10 credits of thesis writing work.<br /><br />GTA's are required to take a minimum of 9 credit hours a term in order to be considered full time students. That works out to being about two classes a quarter in addition to the one we teach.<br /><br />I'd say for me it's just right.insertbracketshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07980404937296101384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-38561877474674794982009-12-31T16:48:07.624-08:002009-12-31T16:48:07.624-08:00My program is 2 years and 48 credits. We take one ...My program is 2 years and 48 credits. We take one 3 credit class, one 3 credit workshop, and 6 dummy credit/research hours each semester to equal 12 credits. Oddly, I do feel this load is kind of light. I wish there were more poetry craft classes available each semester. They're working on that though. There is an option to do a third year with all research hours and teaching comp.JayTeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923700657540655227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-167751269158318142009-12-31T13:24:35.120-08:002009-12-31T13:24:35.120-08:00My program is also three years and 48 credit hours...My program is also three years and 48 credit hours. I will take about 9 hours per semester, and that is what I took this last semester. I struggled a bit with that--it meant over three novels a week plus writing assignments--but in retrospect I think it was about right. I'm taking three classes again next semester, but I did consider dropping down to two.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08887749173643713230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396226836483140641.post-63547975751095392712009-12-31T13:16:15.677-08:002009-12-31T13:16:15.677-08:00Wow! You have a lot of credits! I did a two year l...Wow! You have a lot of credits! I did a two year low-res MFA at Queens. I think it was roughly 36 hours so 9 a semester with maybe a few more hours at the end added on for thesis.<br /><br />U are working hard!Jessie Cartyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181286764480973423noreply@blogger.com