The following message might be of interest to many on this list...

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Master of Professional Writing info


JMC grad students:

This message is aimed at Professional Writing students, but I am sending
it to my whole grad student list so I don't miss any of you who may be
interested.

I know many of you are curious about the Master of Professional Writing
program that received final approval this summer. Some of have told me
you want to switch over. This message outlines the curriculum, the
admission requirements and some things to consider in deciding whether
to try to switch to the M.P.W.

We will be putting information about the program on the JMC Web site
soon, but I wanted to send it to you all now and address the switching
issues for you.

CURRICULUM

The M.P.W. degree will require a minimum of 32 credit hours (same as the
M.A. project option), excluding any deficiency work.

CORE COURSES (15 hours)

There are four core courses:

-JMC 5073 Introduction to Graduate Study in Journalism and Mass
Communication
-Fiction writing requirement: JMC 5514 Writing the Novel-Graduate*
-Drama/screenwriting requirement: JMC 5734 Writing the Screenplay*
-Nonfiction writing requirement: JMC 5594 Writing the Commercial
Nonfiction Book*

*These are new courses. All are free-standing graduate classes (not
slashlisted). You are not permitted to substitute JMC 4514 for the
graduate novel core class or JMC 4734 for the graduate screenplay core
class. (If you took JMC 4514 or JMC 4734 before fall 2003, they may be
included as electives if the dean of the Graduate College agrees. I am
going to make a blanket request to him about these classes.)

The core curriculum is the primary difference between the M.P.W. and the
M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication with a PW emphasis. Both
include Intro to Graduate Study in JMC so that all of our students are
acquainted with concepts and issues in the broader field of mass
communication. But the other core courses in the M.P.W. are focused on
intensive development of the writing craft.

PROFESSIONAL WRITING ELECTIVES  (9-12 hours)

Students will select appropriate coursework from the list below in
consultation with their advisors. Students may focus on one of the three
areas covered in the core writing courses or choose to develop their
abilities across more than one of those areas. In the case of
individualized courses such as JMC 5503 Tutorial in Writing and JMC 5990
Independent Study, content will be tailored to the interests and needs
of the student. (JMC 5514 Writing the Novel-Graduate, JMC 5594 Writing
the Commercial Nonfiction Book and JMC 5734 Writing the Screenplay are
listed both here and in the core curriculum because they may be repeated
once with a change of content.)

JMC 5023 Advanced News Editing*
JMC 5053 Advanced Reporting*
JMC 5503 Tutorial in Writing*
JMC 5514 Writing the Novel-Graduate
JMC 5553 Contemporary Problems in Professional Writing
JMC 5563 Category Fiction*
JMC 5570 Special Topics in Professional Writing**
JMC 5594 Writing the Commercial Nonfiction Book
JMC 5734 Writing the Screenplay
JMC 5970 Seminar
JMC 5990 Independent Study

*These courses were previously G4000 courses but are being given
separate 5000 numbers and slashlisted, with additional requirements
spelled out for graduate students. (Students who took these courses when
they were G4000 courses, before fall 2003, may still count them as
electives.)
** This course is being created to focus attention on a variety of
professional writing topics that have in the past been offered under the
broad 5970 Seminar number used in other areas of journalism and mass
communication. (Professional writing students could still take 5970
Seminar courses where relevant to their interests.)

Courses that are not listed here require a petition from the graduate
liaison (me) to the dean of the Graduate College. Any students who want
to count other classes should make their case to me and, if I agree they
should be counted, I will do a memo to the graduate dean.

OUTSIDE SUPPORTING ELECTIVES (3-6 hours, graduate level)

With the approval of the advisor, students are to take supportive course
work offered by other departments appropriate to the student's focus in
the program.

The following courses are possibilities that may be of interest to a
variety of students in the program:

ENGL 5223 Seminar-Film
ENGL 5923 Advanced Fiction Writing
ENGL 5943 Advanced Creative Nonfiction
DRAM G4773 Playwriting I
DRAM G4783 Playwriting II
DRAM 5733 Graduate Play Structure and Analysis

Other areas of study will vary depending on students' focus but may
include history, psychology, physical sciences, anthropology, women's
studies, arts, modern languages, classics, or any other disciplines
which should be helpful in developing the student's final project. For
example, a student writing a historical novel for a project might
benefit from history courses.

GRADUATE PROJECT (2-4 hours)

The student must write a book-length manuscript (minimum of 50,000 words
-- about 200 pages) or a feature-length screenplay (90 to 120 pages,
approximating a film of 90 to 120 minutes) in the appropriate
professionally recognized formats. The content of the project must be
substantially new material and cannot repeat that submitted in previous
course work. This work is done under JMC 5880 Graduate Project.

The student must assemble a project committee, as the College of
Journalism and Mass Communication and the Graduate College require for
thesis students. The student must then submit a written project proposal
for approval. The proposal shall detail whether the project is to be a
book or screenplay; it shall specify appropriate professional markets
for future submission of the work; it shall include the major points of
content; and it shall state any specific research methods necessary to
support the development of the work. Upon completion of the project, the
student must successfully defend the work before his or her committee
and be able to provide a marketing strategy for submission to publishers
or studios. (The work does not have to be accepted for publication but
must be judged by the committee to be of publishable quality.)


ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Requirements for full admission will be:

1) A 3.2 GPA (4.0 scale) in the last 60 credit hours of undergraduate
course work
2) a strong combined verbal and analytical score on the GRE
3) two letters of recommendation
4) a one- to two-page resume
5) a written essay of 1,000 words minimum detailing the student's
reasons for pursuing the degree and the intended future application of
the degree
6) a writing sample of at least 50 consecutive pages of fiction or
creative nonfiction. The writing sample will be evaluated by
Professional Writing faculty and will weigh heavily in admission
decisions and in evaluating the need for deficiency coursework.*
 *The writing sample requirement is the new element in admission
requirements for the M.P.W.

(International students required by the university to take the TOEFL
must score a 5.0 minimum on the Test of Written English.)

A student may earn conditional admission with a 3.0 GPA (4.0 scale) in
the semesters in which he or she earned the last 60 hours of
undergraduate credit. Such a student must earn at least a 3.25 GPA for
the first 12 hours of graduate course work.

A student may be required to take one or more of the following
deficiency courses to prepare for graduate-level work: JMC 3504, Writing
for the Entertainment Media, or JMC 3514, Writing the Short Story.*
 *These requirements differ from the deficiency requirements of the M.A.
in JMC. Students who successfully apply to switch to the M.P.W. are no
longer subject to the course deficiency requirements of the M.A.


ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN DECIDING WHETHER TO SWITCH FROM THE M.A.

 HOW TO SWITCH

Current students in the M.A. in JMC who want to switch to the M.P.W.
must:
1. Do a change of major form (available through the Graduate College Web
site, gradweb.ou.edu) requesting the switch and submit it to the
Graduate College. Forms may be filled out and submitted online.
2. Meet the admission requirements for the M.P.W. Those who are already
admitted to the M.A. and maintaining good records in the program will
have met the admission requirements except for the 50-page writing
sample. I will determine, by consulting with Professors Davis and
Chester, whether you actually need to submit a sample or whether you
have met this requirement through other work they have already seen.
Though it is unlikely that students already in the M.A. would be
required to take either of the two deficiency courses, it is possible
based on evaluation of the writing sample.

If you want to switch in time for the spring 2004 semester, you should
request a change of major by Nov. 1.

 WHETHER TO SWITCH

Here are some issues to consider:
-This will obviously be a better option for students who are early in
their programs. If you have completed most or all of the M.A. core
curriculum, you will have to backtrack and take another set of core
classes. If you want to count the M.A. core courses as electives in the
M.P.W., you will have to make your case to do that.
-If you have a strong interest in journalism (apart from non-fiction
book writing), it may be best for you to stick with the M.A. because you
will be able to explore journalism issues more fully through the M.A.
core courses and electives.
-If you are interested in teaching eventually at a university in a JMC
program, you may be better off sticking with the M.A. because it is a
more conventional route into a Ph.D., which it's likely you would need
to become a professor in a JMC program.


If you have any questions, please let me know.

David Craig