Graduate Certificates in Writing | Spalding University Catalog

Graduate Certificates in Writing

Certificates Overview

The Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing offers three low-residency certificate in writing programs: the Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Writing, the Post-master’s Certificate in Writing Enrichment, and the Post-master’s Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing.

Those who wish to pursue quality graduate instruction in creative writing, but do not wish to pursue the 35-hour Master of Arts in Writing (MAW) degree or the 65-hour terminal MFA degree, may apply to one of these programs.

The certificate programs provide in-depth study of an area of writing so students can improve, even excel, in their chosen area of interest. Certificate students join MAW and MFA students in existing courses taught by School of Writing faculty in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, writing for TV, screen, or stage or the pedagogy of creative writing.

The low-residency program consists of an intensive residency course at the beginning of the semester, after which students and faculty return home for an independent study session. During the independent study, the student and mentor communicate about the writing deployed in a series of five packets.

Students may begin studies in May or November in Louisville and complete the certificate in five months, which requires about 25 hours of work per week during independent study. An eight-month option, requiring about 12 hours of work per week during the independent study, begins in May with an on-campus residency in Louisville) or in June with a virtual summer residency. Students produce the same amount of work on either schedule.

Certificate Admissions Requirements

Admission to a Certificate in Writing Program is based primarily on the quality of the applicant's original writing sample in one of the particular areas of fiction (flash, short story and/or novel), poetry, creative nonfiction (memoir and/or lyric essays or personal essays), writing for children and young adults (picture books, middle-grade and/or young adult), and writing for TV, screen, and stage (TV script, screenplays, and/or stage plays). or the pedagogy of creative writing.

Post-Master’s Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing applicants submit materials in one of the particular areas mentioned above: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults or writing for TV, screen and stage.

The quality of the applicant's writing is judged by a committee of School of Writing faculty, who read the sample without knowing the identity of the applicant, and the Chair or Associate Programs Director. Application materials also include an application form and fee, transcripts and two essays. A bachelor’s degree is required. (Applicants who do not yet have the bachelor’s degree may be interested in our BFA in Creative Writing or BA in Professional Writing programs.)

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so they may be submitted at any time. The early-decision application deadline for those wishing to start with the on-campus fall residency in November is August 1; the early-decision application deadline for those wishing to start with the on-campus spring residency in May or the virtual summer residency in June is March 1. Prospective students who miss the deadline may inquire with the School of Writing Office about the possibility of applying after the deadline.

Certificate Admission Requirements: Acceleration for Spalding Seniors

Spalding undergraduate students who have achieved senior status (have earned 90 credits or more) may be given permission to take the bridge course ENG 512/612 Introductory Creative Writing Residency. This offers Spalding undergraduates the opportunity to successfully complete an elective 3-credit-hour residency course to fulfill the first required course for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Writing program if the student chooses to pursue the embedded graduate certificate after earning the BA or BS. The 3 credit hours of ENG 512 can satisfy 3 credit hours in the undergraduate program as a general elective.

Upon conferral of the BA or BS, successful completion of ENG 512/612 or ENG 514/614, and with recommendation from that course’s instructor and approval of the Chair or Associate Programs Director, the student may matriculate into the certificate, Master of Writing or Master of Fine Arts in Writing program by completing a graduate application form, submitting the required materials (writing sample, two essays), paying an application fee, and submitting official BA or BS transcripts.

Acceptance Information

The School of Writing usually makes decisions on applications three to four weeks after the complete application has been received.

If a student is denied admission, they are advised to seek additional instruction at a local undergraduate program and/or to work privately with a publishing writer or writing group. Another way to seek additional instruction is to take adult education courses in creative writing. The School of Writing offers a 3-credit-hour course, ENG 605: Advanced Creative Writing, that helps prepare students to enter graduate school. After additional experience, applicants may re-apply for admission to the program, submitting a new manuscript.

The School of Writing Faculty Committee recommends students for admission to the certificate programs on a rolling basis.

  1. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability.
  2. Successful applicants may enter the program in fall, spring, or summer, based upon the admission cycle the applicant applied.
  3. After completing all components of the certificate admission process, graduate students’ application materials are submitted to Spalding University’s Graduate Committee by the School of Writing Chair for university admission as a graduate student; once approved by the University Graduate Committee, acceptance into the certificate program will occur.
  4. If an applicant is selected and admitted into the program, yet is unable to begin in the next residency course, the initial acceptance into the certificate program remains good for one year.

Requirements

Residency courses include workshops, lectures, readings, and other assigned curriculum sessions. The student also plans, in consultation with his or her instructor, an Independent Study Plan for the upcoming course in original writing and reading (with critical commentary). Five times during the independent study, the student sends to the instructor a packet consisting of original creative writing, a detailed cover letter with questions about the craft of writing, and short essays commenting on the reading list. The instructor responds within a week to each aspect of the packet. After successful completion of the residency course and independent study, the student is awarded the certificate.

Certificate admission standards are the same as for the MFA and MAW. A BA or BS is the minimum education requirement for the post-baccalaureate certificates or a master’s with a creative writing concentration for the post-master’s certificates. (Applicants who do not yet have the bachelor’s degree may be interested in our BFA in Creative Writing or BA in Professional Writing programs.)

The Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing offers these low-residency, 15-credit-hour certificate programs:


Other Low-residency Programs in the School of Writing

The School of Writing offers three low-residency programs: