MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University

Rhodes University's MA programme in
Creative Writing, offered in the Institute for the Study of English in Africa
(ISEA), is one of only two such programmes in the country accredited by the
South African Qualifications Authority.

The programme runs over one year for
full-time students based in Grahamstown and two years for part-time students
living elsewhere. [Note that there is no part time intake in 2013, however, as
the 2012 group will be completing their second year. The next part time intake
is in 2014.]

The teachers, who are all practising
writers, are Joan Metelerkamp, Mxolisi Nyezwa, Brian Walter, Paul Wessels,
Joanne Hichens, Anton Krueger, Ingrid Winterbach, Rian Malan, Godfrey Meintjes,
Russell Kaschula, Hazel Crampton, Paul Mason, Eben Venter and Robert
Berold. 

During the first 16 weeks full time
students undertake coursework [in English] taught by a different writing
teacher each week.  They have four group
contact hours a week with writer-teachers in the first semester, and weekly
one-to-one meetings throughout the year.

Part-time students cover the same
curriculum over a two year period, their coursework is covered over 32 weeks in
two week cycles. They receive their coursework assignments electronically, and
receive feedback from their supervisors by email and in small group online
feedback sessions. In the first of their two years they, toghether with the
full time students and all the teachers, attend two separate week-long
intensive sessions at Rhodes. 

About a third of the way into the
course, students are assigned a supervisor from one of the 14 teachers, and
begin work on their extended ‘thesis’ – a book-length creative work. The thesis
can be written in  English, isiXhosa, or
Afrikaans, and can be a novel, non-fiction work, playscript, short story
collection, or poetry collection. 

In the second half of the programme
the coursework seminars and assignments end, and the writers work only on their
extended project.

Admission requirements

Students need an Honours degree in any
discipline or the equivalent (e.g. a 4-year B. Journ degree). 

If a candidate lacks the necessary formal
qualifications but has an extensive publication record or outstanding potential
as a writer, admission as an ad eundem gradum candidate may be possible.

A range of other university support
programmes is available to students, including personal counselling, and
assistance with using electronic collections in the Library.

Application and costs

Application should be made on the
standard MA application form downloadable from the Rhodes University website.
Applications must be accompanied by a 20-page portfolio of creative work, and
an electronic version of this portfolio should also be sent to the course
administrator. Candidates may be required to attend an interview. Closing date
for 2013 full time admission is 30 October 2012.

The fee for 2012 was R14 140 per
year.  The fee is likely to increase
slightly in 2013 – for up to date information and payment terms see
www.ru.ac.za/applying/fees/.  Part time
students pay the full fee for each of the two years. 

If a student drops out or fails to
fulfill the programme requirements, fees are not refundable.

Full time course structure

A combination of teaching modes is
used to stimulate and guide students:

• Weekly seminars followed by weekly assignments based on the seminar content

• Small weekly peer feedback groups of
4 or 5, to read and comment on assignments, attended by the teacher who set the
assignment

• Personal one-on-one supervision

• Focused reading tailored to the needs of the individual and covering various
genres

• Interaction with practising writers in different genres

• Learning opportunities within the
university, such as research seminars

• Some excursions and writing expeditions

The seminar programme is structured by
the various teachers’ own creative interests and expertise. Each weekly
cycle starts with a seminar, followed by a three-day creative assignment, and
at the end of the week, a peer feedback session with students and the teacher,
where drafts are discussed. The student has the weekend to re-write the
piece in response to the feedback, and hand it in.

The full time course is divided into
two semesters. In the first semester the emphasis is on exploration through
various coursework assignments, embarking on ‘creative reading’, and finding a
writing discipline and rhythm that works for each student.  Halfway through the first semester students
choose the coursework stream in their preferred genre, and begin to work on
their extended writing projects.

In the second semester students
continue their extended writing projects without coursework but with regular
meetings with their supervisors. The extended project should be a minimum of 30
000 words for a prose project, 40+ pages for a poetry project, or 10 scenes or
episodes for a playscript or screenplay. No project may exceed 80 000 words.

Students are required to record their
ongoing experience as writers in a reflective journal, which is sent regularly
to their supervisors as part of the supervision dialogue. In the journal they
reflect on their learning experiences, and comment on the coursework
assignments and on their reading.

At the beginning of the course
students are given modular reading lists of fiction, poetry and non-fiction,
adapted to their needs.  They are given
assignments to write creative reviews of various books read during the year,
which are incorporated into their reflective journal.  A related
assignment requires students to research contemporary South African writing via
literary journals, using the unique resources of the National English Literary
Museum in Grahamstown.

Students are encouraged to send work
for publication during the course and to learn how to deal with editor
responses. The course includes the publication of a student magazine.  There are readings at schools and other
public venues during the National Arts Festival and at the launch of the
student magazine.

 Full time course dates for 2013

Note that the MA
course dates do not coincide with the university terms and holidays.

Monday 4 - Friday 8 February 

MA student orientation

First MA term ends Sunday 31 March and
is followed by a two week break

in the first two weeks of April.

Second term begins on Monday 15 April
and continues to Saturday 8 June. 

There is no further teaching after 8
June.

Coursework portfolio should be handed
in by 22 June.

There will then be a break until 7
July [which marks the end of the National Arts Festival.] 

The week of 8-12 July will focus on
student inputs about the extended writing project.

First draft of extended writing
project submitted 15 September.

Final (examination) version submitted
15 November.

 Part time course structure

 Note that the next intake for the part
time course is in 2014.  The part time
course follows the same curriculum as the full time course, split into four
semesters as follows:

 Year 1 first semester – the same
coursework structure  of the full timers
is run over 16 teaching weeks – that is, a seminar and assignment every two
weeks.  The seminar is an audio recording of the full time seminar and its
assignment, uploaded on an mp3 file.   Students have a week to complete
the first draft of their assignment, which is shared in small groups of 4 or 5
using a combination of written comments and an audio group feedback
session.  After the comments they submit
a final version.

 Year 1  second semester –
coursework continues, but as with the full time course, the students choose a
genre stream and begin their extended thesis project.  The seminar-assignment cycle focuses on the
thesis project with its assignments feeding into aspects of the project.

 Year 2 
– students continue their extended project with their supervisors.  A draft is 
handed in at the beginning of September and a final version in November.

 Part time attendance in Grahamstown

Part time students are required to
spend two separate weeks in Grahamstown, in February and July of their first
year 2014, and arrange to cover their own accommodation and travel.  In
these intensive weeks, they meet each other, teachers and potential
supervisors, and the full time students. 
They participate in writing and feedback sessions, and take part in a
writing excursion.  

Assessment

Final assessment to award the degree
is done by two external examiners per student. 
The weighting of the assessment is 75% for the extended writing project
and 25% for their ‘portfolio’, which is an edited collection of excerpts from
their reflective journals and coursework assignments, including book
reviews.  The MA final mark is awarded in
three categories:  pass, fail, or pass with distinction.

Staff

Programme Coordinator: Robert Berold

Advisor for part time students: Paul Wessels

Course administrator: Carol Leff

ISEA Secretary: Nomangesi Kelemi

Enquiries:
Carol Leff  isea@ru.ac.za
  Tel 046 603 8565

Writing teachers

Poetry:

Joan Metelerkamp, Mxolisi Nyezwa, Brian Walter, Robert
Berold

Fiction:

Ingrid Winterbach, Paul Wessels, Godfrey Meintjes, Anton
Krueger, Paul Mason, Eben Venter, Joanne Hichens

Non-fiction:

Rian Malan, Hazel Crampton

Scriptwriting:

Anton Krueger

Xhosas:

Russell Kaschula, Mxolisi Nyezwa

Afrikaans:

Eben Venter, Ingrid Winterbach