Sample Course Descriptions

Writer’s Workshops
Workshops are designed to establish a community of writers at CCA while focusing on the individual writing direction and practice of each student. Students are encouraged to complete ongoing writing projects and explore new directions for further writing. Discussions will be based on the manuscripts of students in the workshop, occasionally informed by important readings of direct significance.

MFA Program in Writing offers three regular workshops every semester; Fiction, Poetry and Creative Nonfiction. Occasional genres also include; Playwriting, Screenwriting, and Graphic Novel

Thesis Project
To complete the MFA in Writing, each student writes a full-length manuscript, taking advantage of interdisciplinary or collaborative possibilities at CCA. Manuscripts are flexible in substance and design. They center on poetry, short story, novel, creative nonfiction, script, or an experimental literary form, and may also involve the use of a visual medium. The Writer's Workshops, during the second year, provide advising and community support and allow the artistic freedom necessary to accomplish this substantial work. During the second year, the student will also work with a thesis committee, which includes an advisor.

Writers Seminars
Each semester, several Elective Seminars are offered, covering a wide range of topics. These topics vary from semester to semester. In the past, courses have included seminars that focus on topics from the contemporary short story to the work of individual writers such as Anton Chekhov and Flannery O'Connor as well as the following: Writing in Book Structure, Writing on the Body, Contemporary World Literature, First Books, Documentary Narrative, Teaching Creative Writing, and Independent Publishing.

Mentored Study
Mentored Study provides one-on-one study each semester with a faculty mentor. Meetings are regular and frequent and are based on writing the student produces. The course gives a student the freedom to pursue his or her own direction seriously and intensively, while being engaged and guided by a faculty mentor through in-depth discussion and detailed critical commentary. In consultation with the mentor, a student may also choose to incorporate relevant readings into the course. These readings provide the basis for reflective or critical writing by the student that becomes part of the overall dialogue.