English Literature:
Degree Programme Proposal
Online Distance Learning MSc in Creative Writing, 3 years, part-time
As many discover an interest in writing later in life, a part-time distance learning course is more attractive and convenient for people with family, work, cultural and mobility restrictions and for those with full lives. The three year duration of the course is MSc is designed to cater for the needs of such students. Many mistakenly believe that a one year masters is a fast track to publication: this the exception rather than the rule. Writing well usually involves a lengthy apprenticeship: ars longa, vita brevis. Motivated students have more time to develop their skills and to consider the onward direction (s) they may wish to pursue.
The programme is part of a broader School strategy to develop Creative Writing provision within English Literature. In 2012, a Writing for Performance Masters is scheduled to be launched, tying in with the 250 year anniversary of English Literature at Edinburgh. The Writing for Performance course will forge links with theatres in and around the city. For several years, our campus Creative Writing students have taken part in a text/image collaboration with Edinburgh College of Art which has resulted in publications, exhibitions, blogs as well as student presence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Once the distance learning online programme is fully established, further collaborative projects text/sound/image are anticipated.
The course aims to attract and support students from a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds. Indeed, how the social, cultural and geographical diversity might shape the discourse and the eventual output is an underlying consideration in course content. Having to consider the schemata within which they construct their writingswill enrich the learning experience for students, as will awareness of how the living language reinvents itself within different cultures and locations.
Life experience is a valuable asset for a writerand the opportunity to work with students who may have been away from study for some time is welcomed. Our campus programme has attracted a considerable number of students writing in English as a second or even third language and this too, is an enrichment to the learning process. It is worth noting that in many countries it is still not possible to gain a qualification in creative writing at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
Though some may wish to upskill after an undergraduate degree or modules in Creative Writing, many enter at postgraduate level without previous undergraduate experience of creative writing and some come from other disciplines. The decision to study fiction or poetry has often less to do with upskilling and more to do with a desire for a career change/break. Graduates from the campus MSc at Edinburghhave gone on to publish their own work, to write for theatre, radio, film and television, to find employment in publishing, literary agencies, teaching and advertising.
Creative Writing at Edinburgh has proven research strengths, as can be seen from the current range of writer/tutors on the campus programme: Alan Gillis ( poet/critic), Robert Alan Jamieson ( novelist and poet in English and Shetlandic), Allyson Stack ( novelist and short story writer), Jane McKie (poet) and Dilys Rose (novelist,short story writer, poet and librettist). Between them, they have received many awards, prize nominations and credits for their writing.
For several decades, English Literature has hosted a Writer in Residence, to promote and encourage all comers. Our current Writer in Residence is the novelist Alan Warner. Honorary Fellows of the Department include Ian Rankin, Ron Butlin (Edinburgh’s current Makar), Rona Munro and Philippa Gregory. It is anticipated that Iain Banks and Douglas Dunn will join their ranks in 2012. The James Tate Black Awards are the oldest and some of the most prestigious literary awards in Britain and the city of Edinburgh’s literary heritage, not to mention the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Edinburgh’s position as the first World City of Literature, give the department, and the programme, considerable international appeal.
Programme Ethos
Writing fiction and poetry is demanding and often draws on deep personal resources and life-history. When students presenttheir own work, they can beholding up a piece of themselves for critique. Building up a relationship of trust both on a one to one basis and within workshop groups takes time and effort and is essential for good feedback. In addition to its potential pool of students and tutors, one of the attractions of distance learning is that issues of gender, age and social background are minimised. Online, people are as good as their words, which is precisely what published writers have to be. Except in interview situations, broadcasts or public readings – which tend to come after publication success, writers cannot depend on physical presence or charisma to persuade their readers: their work has to speak for itself.
The opportunity to comment on presentations and raise questions around any particular topic will be available in discussion groups, in individual tutorials and more informally through a virtual cafe space. A range of technologies will be employed to maximise the learning experience and will be supported by the University’s information services, in close contact with a learning technologist to ensure maximum efficiency.
The programme offers more flexibility in learning opportunities, is likely to tap into a broader interest group and promises to be an exciting and challenging development in the teaching of Creative Writing at Edinburgh. The campus course will be ten years old in 2012, the department will celebrate two hundred and fifty years of English Literature and so this DEI funded initiative isa particularly timelyopportunity to build on already strong campus foundations, to extend their reach and look to the future. In what for the printed word is a time of great change, it is also the moment to explore new directions and creative possibilities for literature.
Accessibility
The programme will require the same core competencies as existing English Literature programmes. Online materials will be designed with accessibility requirements in mind and in consultation with the Disability Office, and planning will also take into account the possibility and feasibility of reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities where those can be made without compromising core competencies.
Financial Case
Fees: Fees for the online distance learning course will, in the first instance be set at £9000 in total for home/EU/international students. In consultation with the DEI, it was not felt to be appropriate to differentiate between home and international students on a distance learning programme.
Competitor Research
Competitor research in the UK and North America suggests that very few courses offer
taught postgraduate study in pure distance learning mode. Of only a handful in Britain, Lancaster offers a part-time course (with obligatory summer school) and Glasgow a one-year full time course. In North America, the norm is for low- residency courses which offer a blend of online and campus teaching. The fees for such courses are, on average around $30,000 which at the current exchange rate is around £18,400 which would make the programme at £9,000 (in total) financially attractive to international students. What follows is further detail on research findings.
Lancaster University appears to offer a similar, two year part time online MA in creative writing in fiction and poetry ( Home/EU fees of £5,700 in total, International £11,000). Napier University offers a one year screen writing course (Home/EU £3750, International £9,750), Glasgow a one year distance learning course which differs very little from its campus course and fees appear to be the same as for the campus course (Home/EU £4,500/International £11,500).
There are around 50 North American Low Residency MFAs - the predominant US Creative Writing qualification. Fees vary, but the average is around $30,000 (approx £18,000 at today’s exchange rate) for two years of study. In most some cases this includes fees for the residency, in others this is additional and can push fees up to $40,000. In general there appears to be no disparity in fees between Home and International students unless clearly specified. Where there is a difference it is often more particular -- for example, reduced fees for Nebraska residents compared to non-residents. Of particular note is the University of British Columbia’s Optional Residency MFA -- they encourage International students to apply, and while the annual residency in Vancouver is advised it is not compulsory.
Models vary, but in general study is undertaken over two years and is divided into four semesters, with four associated residencies (a couple of institutions have a final fifth residency). Residencies are normally for around 10 days. In addition to online workshops and seminars, the student/tutor relationship is deemed to be important, often with exchange of work/tutor commentary happening on a monthly or bi-monthly basis (as ours would). This kind of exchange can also happen with different on-line course tutors – a scenario in which seminar topics are posted and linked to a forum for discussion (similar to online writing forums in this programme) all of which is supplemented by the aforementioned tutor feedback.
Focus group findings: The course outline was sent to 120 current and former CW campus students for their responses. Of 40 respondents these broke down into: Home./EU 18 International 22
Recent Graduates 20Mature 20 Current 12 Former 28
Without exception, all were positive about the proposal. Though most added that they wouldn’t have changed their own campus experience, they felt that distance learning is the way of the future and makes particular sense for people with work, family or mobility restrictions. Regarding the financial case, the most relevant comments are outlined below:
1) Student/Tutor Ratio. Several mature students with experience of studying and/or teaching online insisted that this ratio has to be relatively low. In competitor research findings - some NA universities actually specify tutor/student ratio as an added inducement. On a course of this kind, quality tutor feedback is essential and only experienced, published writer/teachers are capable of providing this. A successful course requires a successful formula. What CW students value above all else is good quality supervision and small groups in which their work is critiqued. Larger numbers should not detract from the quality of experience or from the level of tuition they receive.
2)Duration of Course. Around 20% wondered whether three years might be too long, but given that our target market is likely to be a rather different demographic from the campus intake, this needn’t be a problem.
3)Cost for Home/EU/International Students: Some home/EU students were understandably put off by the hike in fees. Though this is soon likely to be on a par with campus courses throughout the country, we might be looking at a larger international intake in the early years. A degree from the University of Edinburgh and from our 5* English Department, has global appeal, fees for international students are less than for a campus masters and so likely to be popular.
4)Further Developments: In the focus group survey, a number of respondents expressed interest in online PhD study, a development which would certainly be taken into consideration once the Masters is fully established.
Student Recruitment:
The intention is to enrol around 35 in year one, increasing in to 50 new students in years two and three and upscaling to an intake of 75 in year four. Additional staffing will be proportionate to demand. Possibilities for future expansion: i) to offer online study for PhD, for which there is already some interest and ii) to broaden course options to include, for example, writing for children/ young adults, creative non-fiction, screen writing.
STAFFING:
In addition to the programme director, who will design and develop courses in fiction and poetry as well as taking a large part in the delivery of online webinars and a share of hosting online writing forums and individual consultations, a deputy programme director, anticipated to be in post by March/ April 2012 will liaise with programme director on all aspects of the course development and take a share in the delivery of webinars, as well as hosting writing forums and individual consultations. Off-campus tutors will also be employed, numbers as required by student intake, to provide additional support for the virtual summer school, contribute to online forums and individual consultations. In addition, a learning technologist will support both teaching staff and students and liaise with the University’s IS services to ensure smooth running of the course, implement any necessary refinements and review technology provision as required.
Programme Structure
Students enrolled on the programme should expect to spend on average 10-12 hours per week engaged in course activities, though due to the nature of the respective courses, this is likely to vary from week to week. This is not the campus programme minus the campus experience and as a pure distance learning MSc it will not depend, as almost all do - on a residential supplement to ‘make it real’. It will incorporate successful and applicable aspects of campus study – workshops and individual tutorials and a reading component similar to campus literature option courses (also absent from many rival CW programmes) - and on proven distance learning strategies – online writing forums, online seminars (webinars), individual tutorials and student blogs. A virtual summer school will welcome and establish each incoming year group. The course will examine key issues relating to the writing of fiction or poetry through theoretical considerations and practical applications. Writing assignments, designed to inform and develop good practice, will lead on from online presentations.
The MSc degree (for prose fiction or poetry) will comprise of the following elements:
•a virtual summer
•individual tutor/student consultations
•writing forums (groups of 6-10 students with tutor host)
•webinar programme (plenary sessions)
•reading programme (groups of 4/5, ALGs)
•guest readings and presentations
Virtual Summer School (5 days’ duration, for all students on the programme)
As a pure distance learning programme, this will not depend on a residential supplement to ‘make it real’. The virtual summer school will include an induction and orientation session, personal introductions from students and tutors, tutor readings and, it is hoped, guest readings from some of the University’s Honorary Writing Fellows. These will be followed by ice-breakers, language games and stimulus writing exercises for group and solo work, followed by question time. The VSS will combine synchronous and asynchronous activities and take time zones into consideration. By its conclusion, students should have a clear sense of what to expect and what is expected of them, they should have confidence in using the relevant technology and have laid the foundations for a good working relationship with tutors and classmates.
Individual Consultations:
Tutors, who will include the Programme Director and deputy Programme Director, will supervise a number of students throughout their selected course (fiction or poetry) and will offer detailed feedback, both general and textually specific, on work in progress. Students will be expected to submit work for critique fivetimes per annum. This will take the form of detailed written feedback, both textual and general, which will be uploaded to the website. Additional verbal feedback (Skype) will also be made available. Access to work will be restricted to the student, tutor and Programme Director. All tutor/ student communication will be archived, providing a valuable resource by which to monitor progress.
Writing Forums
A series of simultaneous asynchronous online writing forums - three per annum, each of twelve days’ duration and involving a small, designated group (6-10 students) will run throughout the course. The host tutorswill oversee activity in the forums. Students will read all the work posted and then supply detailed, written responses, which should make general and specific textual comments and be circa 500 words. After initial postings, forum members are free to comment further and additional responses may be more brief and informal in tone and style. In order to compare and contrast levels of response, group dynamics and quality of work over the entire year group, tutors and students will be able to view activity on other forum sites though not to contribute directly to the discussions therein. Before closing a forum, the host tutor will summarise the level of engagement and highlight any matters arising, areas of interest and offer suggestions for further development.
Webinars
In Years One and Two, synchronous webinars, delivered at a time (or times) to suit international time zones, will explore specific aspects of fiction or poetry from the point of view of practitioners. Advance reading and activities will be set and on conclusion of each webinar, a tailored writing assignment will be set. These assignments will not be directly subject to assessment as the main function of these is to feed into and extend existing creative practice, not to press students to write to order. Work resulting from assignments may but need not be presented for a future tutor consultation, forum and/or formal assessment.