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