An Invitation to All Creative Writing Students, from Director of Creative Writing, Dr. William J. Cobb
If you’re an enthusiastic and ambitious Creative Writing student English major (or minor, but see note below), please consider applying for the BA/MA degree program. It’s a combined undergraduate/graduate degree that allows you to earn a Master’s degree in one additional year of study, tuition free. (Note: If you’re an English minor, you would have to switch to a double-major to be eligible.)
The Basics: You apply in the spring term of your junior year. Deadline is March 15, 2021. If you’re accepted, you begin the coursework in your senior year, and some of the courses you take that year “double-count” for both your Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees. You must be an English major to qualify, but double-majors are fine, and actually common in this program.
The Advantages:
1. First off, with this program you can earn a Master of Arts degree in English in one additional year of study. Usually an M.A. degree is two years of study, varying between 30-36 credit hours. But the ability to “double-count” some courses you take in your senior year of study allows the M.A. to be earned in one additional year. For long-term goals, keep in mind that Master’s degrees are traditionally considered preliminary credentials to apply to PhD programs.
2. That fifth-year of study is typically tuition-free, and includes a teaching-assistantship, in which you earn a teaching stipend, and of course receive valuable teaching experience. You teach one course per term with outstanding teaching training and mentorship. There are also additional fellowship and grant opportunities.
3. If you want to be a writer, this is the best degree option for you. Your classes are primarily concerned with Creative Writing, and you have the opportunity to specialize in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and to take cross-genre courses in all of these.
General info can be found here, via the English department website: http://english.la.psu.edu/graduate-creative-writing
Please feel free to ask me any questions you have: William J. Cobb, Director of Creative Writing, wjcobb@gmail.com. The program has been running now for eight years, and we’ve had great successes, with students going on to be accepted into the top MFA and PhD programs in the country. But a Master’s degree can be your endpoint as well: Many jobs automatically pay higher salaries to hirees with M.A. degrees. It’s a win-win.
Dr. William J. Cobb
Professor & Director of Creative Writing
Penn State University
