uga creative writing classes

Write@UGA is an online hub for information on UGA’s writing programs, courses, resources, & events.

Write@UGA began as a collaboration between Lindsey Harding and Elizabeth Davis in Fall 2015 with the goal of supporting campus-wide efforts around writing. In the first year, Write@UGA partnered with UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning to bring in a nationally recognized speaker and host various writing-related events. Since then, Write@UGA has evolved into a series of annual events around writing and writing instruction at UGA, including a February guest speaker lecture and workshop series and a May faculty writing retreat. Additional events have included pedagogy workshops, publication exhibits, and panel discussions. 

The website for Write@UGA was created to establish an online umbrella for writing programs, initiatives, activities, events, and support on UGA’s campus. The site’s mission is to provide the university community with a gateway to access writing-related information, news, and links. As a comprehensive digital resource, write.uga.edu offers UGA students and faculty a single online hub to explore writing at the university. For site visitors from other universities, write.uga.edu showcases the incredible resources UGA offers to support students and faculty as writers, as well as writing instruction across the disciplines and throughout the curriculum.

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Creative Writing Core Requirements (12 Hours)

Poetry (12 hours).

• ENGL 3150A - Introduction to Creative Writing - Poetry 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3150C - Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry & Fiction 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3170 - Poetic Techniques 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3180A - Contemporary Poetry 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4310A - Senior Seminar: Workshop in Poetry-CTW 3 Credit Hours

Fiction (12 Hours)

• ENGL 3150B - Introduction to Creative Writing - Fiction 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3160 - Narrative Techniques 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3180B - Contemporary Fiction Craft 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4310B - Senior Seminar: Workshop in Fiction-CTW 3 Credit Hours

Methods: Select one course from Literature Studies Area 1 (3 Hours)

• ENGL 3040 - Introduction to Literary Studies 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3105 - Practical Grammar 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3210 - Advanced Grammar 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3220 - History of the English Language 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3225 - The History and Future of the Book 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3230 - History of Literary and Cultural Theory 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3250 - Topics in Contemporary Theory 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3260 - Theories of Popular Culture 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3995 - Feminist Literary Criticism 3 Credit Hours
• FOLK 3100 - Folklore and Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4204 - Special Topics: Literature, Criticism, and Theory 3 Credit Hours

Literature before 1800: Select one class from Literature Studies Area 2 (2 Hours)

• ENGL 3280 - English Drama before 1800 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3290 - English Fiction before 1800 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3300 - Medieval English Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3310 - Old English 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3350 - Literature and War 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3400 - Courtiers, Clergy, and Poets 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3410 - Seduction, Revolution, and the Rise of Science 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3420 - Mythology 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3500 - Restoration and Earlier Eighteenth-Century English Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3510 - Later Eighteenth-Century English Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3520 - Life Writing 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3550 - Early Indigenous Literatures 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3600 - Early Romanticism 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3800 - Early American Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3915 - Literature of the Early South 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3980 - Women’s Literature before 1800 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4110 - Chaucer 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4130 - Shakespeare, Earlier Works 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4140 - Shakespeare, Later Works 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4150 - Milton 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4100 - Study of a Single Author before 1800 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4201 - Special Topics before 1800 3 Credit Hours

Literature after 1800: Select one course from Literature Studies Area 3 (3 Hours)

• ENGL 3605 - Late Romanticism 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3610 - Love and Death in Victorian Poetry 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3620 - Victorian Novels 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3630 - Haunted Texts 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3695 - LGBTQ Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3700 - Early Twentieth-Century British Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3710 - Late Twentieth-Century British Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3720 - Twentieth-Century English Poetry 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3810 - American Romantics 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3820 - Realism and Naturalism 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3830 - American Modernisms 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3840 - Postmodern American Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3850 - American Poetry 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3860 - American Drama 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3865 - The Short Story 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3875 - Science Fiction 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3885 - Contemporary Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3895 - Comics and the Graphic Novel 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3900 - Irish Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3905 - Jewish Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3910 - The Tradition of Children’s and Young Adults’ Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3920 - Southern Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3930 - Modern Drama 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3940 - Postcolonial Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3945 - Literature and Global Conflict 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3950 - African-American Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3960 - African-American Literature by Women 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3965 - African Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3970 - Caribbean Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3975 - Later Indigenous Literatures 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 3990 - Women’s Literature after 1800 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4010 - Topics in African American Culture 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4020 - Advanced Study in Indigenous Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4030 - Literature and the City 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4040 - Religion and Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4050 - Transnational Literature 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4101 - Study of a Single Author after 1800 3 Credit Hours
• ENGL 4202 - Special Topics after 1800 3 Credit Hours

4000-level Literature Elective: Select one 4000-level course from Literature Studies Area 2 or Area 3 (3 Hours)

Creative writing, literature, rhetoric and composition, folklore, pre-education in english electives (6 hours).

Select two 3000-level or 4000-level English or Folklore courses.

When choosing classes from this section, consider how you can use this coursework to increase your professional and/or personal post-graduate options. If your primary interest is writing poetry or fiction, take an additional Creative Writing class or classes (fiction if your sub-concentration is poetry, poetry if your sub-concentration is fiction; ENGL 3205     Special Topi in Creative Writing; ENGL 3190A     Introduction to Podcasting or ENGL 3190B     Advanced Podcasting; etc.). If you would like the option of entering the workforce directly after graduation, use these elective hours to prepare for a career as a technical or professional writer by enrolling in ENGL 3110    Technical Writing or ENGL 4510    Grant and Proposal Writing. If you’re considering graduate school in Literature, Creative Writing, or a research-and-writing-focused field (Law, Education, etc.), choose an additional Literature or Folklore class. Editing classes, including ENGL 3140    Editing for Publication and ENGL 4501    Literary Editing and Publishing, can be useful if you’re interested in launching your own magazine or small press, or entering the workforce as an editor. ENGL 4500    Internship offers a variety of experiences useful for both professional and personal growth.

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Creative Writing 1

Kaitlin Bevis

Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book and a pen. If the ending didn’t agree with her, she rewrote it. Because she’s always wanted to be a writer, she spent high school and college learning everything she could to achieve that goal. After graduating college with a BFA in English: Creative Writing, an MAT in English: Secondary Education, and an E.d.S in School Library Media, Kaitlin went on to write the bestselling Daughters of Zeus series. You can learn more about Kaitlin and her books at KaitlinBevis.com. This is Kaitlin’s seventh year as a Summer Academy instructor.

Elizabeth Sadler

Elizabeth Sadler loves to read and write adventure novels with fantasy elements. She holds an M.A. in English Literature from George Mason University, as well as an M.F.A. in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University and has been published in New Myths and Separate Worlds. She currently resides in Athens, Georgia, where she teaches British Literature to unsuspecting seniors. This is Elizabeth’s fourth year as a Summer Academy Instructor.

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• Department of English

Creative Writing M.F.A.

A Good MFA Program is Hard to Find

A good MFA program is hard to find, but we believe the MFA Program at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia offers unique opportunities for MFA students dedicated to the craft and purpose of creative writing. GCSU’s famous alumna, Flannery O’Connor, lived in Milledgeville on her farm, Andalusia, and of our beautiful, Southern town, she wrote "When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville." Our MFA students certainly get a lot done in their three years in Milledgeville.

What makes us unique? We take pride in the fact that the MFA Program at Georgia College is a fully-funded, full-residency 3-year MFA program. All students admitted to our MFA program receive a Graduate Assistantship for all 3 years that includes a stipend and tuition remission. Self-funded students are accepted in special circumstances. We offer everything you could find at flagship state universities, but because we are part of a small, public Liberal Arts university, our students are immediately welcomed into a close-knit, creative community. We sponsor a Visiting Writers series, bringing nationally-renowned writers to campus each semester, as well as a graduate student reading series. Our award-winning faculty work closely with students not only as workshop teachers, but as professional mentors.

The MFA Program offers workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and because we believe in expanding creative possibility and passions for our students, we require students to take cross-genre workshops. Students may write their thesis in fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction. In addition to workshops, students take creative writing seminars in Poetry & Poetics or Prose Forms, pedagogy classes on the teaching of writing, and courses on literature and special topics.

Additionally, we offer courses in journal design and editing, so students get hand-on publishing and graphic design experience. Students are able to put their practical skills to creative and purposeful good use while serving as members of the editorial staff of  Arts & Letters , our national literary journal, and one of the premier journals of the Southeast.

We are fully-funded: all students receive full tuition remission as well as a Graduate Assistantship. As part of this assistantship, students gain real-world teaching experience, and work at our Writing Center as tutors, teach undergraduate Composition, and teach in our Early College Program which is modeled on the Writers in the Schools Program. This real world teaching experience is essential for those students who hope to continue with teaching careers and/or community service careers.  We also participate in the Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program which offers assistantships to Peace Corps volunteers.

Finally, the Arts & Letters Journal Editing Fellowship is open to applicants with at least one year of experience in journal publishing and/or editing, desktop publishing and design (preferably with InDesign), and/or marketing and promotion (including social media). The Fellowship offers recipients the opportunity to further develop both editorial and managerial skills over their three years in the MFA program, working closely with Arts & Letters’ Editor and Art Director (for more information about this specific fellowship, refer information under Assistantships ). 

Faculty and graduate students alike all practice what we preach and teach at GCSU!

Our 42-hour program is designed to be a three-year program (although other options may be possible for those students that already have an MA Degree) and most students follow a plan that emphasizes course work in the first year and thesis work in the second and third years.

We welcome you to learn more about our admission application process and opportunities for graduate assistantships and other financial aid.

Check out the new design of the  Arts & Letters   website !

We now have a dynamic platform that is more efficient and responsive, and we’ve packaged it in a prettier and more user-friendly design. We are also now connected across a number of social networks, including  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Tumblr , and  Google+ , so that our readers can keep up on  Arts & Letters  news, reading periods, information on upcoming issues, and prizes.

Visiting Writer Series          

African writers festival.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Prospective students for our Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program usually apply late fall/early winter for the following fall semester. Applications must be complete by Feb.1 for students who wish to be considered for an MFA assistantship (learn more about assistantships and other financial aid available to graduate students). 

Application Process, Part One:

Domestic Applicants: Submit the completed  on-line graduate application  ($35 fee) and required materials to  Graduate Admissions . Application and required materials must be submitted by February 1 :

• The completed on-line graduate application plus $35 fee to Graduate Admissions. 
• Georgia College & State University The Graduate School Graduate Admissions Office Campus Box 107 Milledgeville, GA 31061       
• OFFICIAL undergraduate or graduate transcripts (even if still in progress). If you are in your final year of undergraduate studies, you can still be admitted to the program, though final admission will be contingent upon receiving final transcripts upon your graduation from your undergraduate institution.

Questions? Contact  Graduate Admissions .

International Applicants: If you are an International Student please submit the completed  International Graduate Application For Admission  and required materials to the International Education Center . To ensure timely delivery of materials and for application to receive full consideration, application and required materials should be submitted by January 1 :

• The completed   International Graduate Application For Admission .
• Georgia College & State University International Education Center Campus Box 49 Milledgeville, GA 31061     

Questions? Contact the International Education Center .

Application Process, Part Two:

Domestic and International applicants, attach the following materials to the application or email to the Graduate School, [email protected] .

• A writing sample in your thesis genre (please label as fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction). Submission should indicate the genre to which you are applying: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Submit up to 10 pages of poems (typed, single-spaced, no more than 1 poem per page); or submit up to 20 pages of prose, one or two short stories or creative nonfiction essays/memoir excerpt (typed and double- spaced). 
• A statement of purpose  (about 500 words, typed, double-spaced). Please address your goals as a writer. Tell us why you wish to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing with us, rather than follow another path. Surprise us.  Address as well how the program's offering of tutoring opportunities in the Writing Center and teaching duties in the classroom will help you reach your goals.
• Résumé or CV . 
• Last Name_Genre_Portfolio
• Last Name_Genre_SOP
• Last Name_Genre_Resume CV

 Questions? Contact the MFA program . NOTE:  You will also need to provide verification of lawful presence (PDF ) to Graduate Admissions . Graduate admissions needs this information before we can accept students into the program. Additionally, before you can register for classes, the required  immunization certificate (PDF)  must be submitted to the Registrar's office . We do NOT require GRE scores.

The MFA program web pages provide program-specific information; however, you will find other important information at  graduate admissions , the university registrar , financial aid  and other GC web sites/offices. International students should contact the  International Student Center  for admission guidance.

Evaluation of Your Application 

Your writing portfolio is the primary credential we review in evaluating your application for admission (writing samples are reviewed by a faculty committee who teach in the student’s thesis genre). Your letters of recommendation and statement of purpose are also important, since they will address your skill and accomplishment as a writer. Because our students also take required classes in Poetry & Poetics or Prose Forms, Teaching Creative Writing and non-creative writing courses in literature, criticism, linguistics or other subjects, your transcripts will also help us make our final, holistic evaluation of your application.  We begin to review applications after Feb.1. In order to maintain small classes and individual, intensive mentorship of thesis work, our admission process is competitive. Our first step is to inform students (usually early to mid-March) whether or not they’ve been admitted to our program. Our second step is to determine MFA assistantship offers and wait lists (see  The Graduate School  for details about graduate assistantships).

Any Questions?

Call us at 478-445-3509, or send an email . For Graduate Admissions questions, call 478-445-6289.

All application materials must be completed and received by Feb.1 if you wish to be considered for an MFA program-sponsored graduate assistantship (or “G.A.”). Please include a résumé with the application materials you send to the MFA program. Provide any information that best describes your skills and experience, including (but not limited to, and not necessarily in this order):

• Education (any specific or special studies, experiences, or projects?)
• Tutoring, teaching, or mentoring skills, experience
• Editing/publishing experience (print journal, newspaper, web, etc.)
• Communication skills (including social media/networking)
• Tech skills (InDesign, web editing programs, Photoshop, other Adobe software; experience with Microsoft office or Apple iBooks Author?
• Any other skills/experiences you’d like to emphasize
• List 3 references (those submitting your letters of recommendation)

Applications received by Feb.1, and selected for acceptance to the MFA program, will then be reviewed to determine applicants that will be offered MFA-sponsored assistantships. Faculty committees (in each genre) review these applications holistically, based on the quality of the writing sample, potential for graduate study in an academic setting, and depth of experience (as reflected by the applicant’s statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, transcripts and résumé). The committee then ranks the accepted applications. When rankings are complete, the MFA Coordinator contacts applicants to make assistantship offers or to discuss and clarify a candidate’s placement on an assistantship waiting list. Once offered an MFA G.A., the applicant is encouraged to make a decision as soon as possible, but a final decision will be due no later than April 15.

Assistantships

Kinds of assistantships available to our graduate students:

Most MFA-sponsored first year graduate assistants  (or “G.A.s”) are assigned hours as “writing consultants” in the university  Writing Center. Other MFA G.A.s divide their hours between the Writing Center and the MFA/ Arts & Letters  office, the Flannery O’Connor Review  office, or our teaching writing in the schools  Early College  project. MFA-sponsored graduate assistantships include a stipend (current stipend is $8,600 per year) and full-tuition remission (but does not include mandatory student fees and, unless eligible to be waived, mandatory student insurance). The  GCSU Budget Office  posts current tuition and fees; information about student insurance is available at  United Healthcare .

Teaching Fellowships  require a secondary application process, due to additional credentials required for teaching college-level classes. Students who have been awarded MFA-sponsored G.A.s are eligible to apply for a Teaching Fellowship if a) they already hold an M.A. in English, or b) they have completed 18 hours of graduate credit in English, in addition to meeting other criteria. MFA students who are eligible will apply to the Department of English and Rhetoric (submitting materials through Georgia College & State University careers or some other means, as determined by the Chair). Note: Students are expected to teach during their second and third years of the program; failure to earn enough course credit to teach classes or failure to meet other expected criteria for teaching may result in the forfeiture of the student’s assistantship.

The  Arts & Letters Journal Editing Fellowship at Georgia College encourages graduate studies for students with at least one year of experience in journal publishing and/or editing, desktop publishing and design (preferably with InDesign), and/or marketing and promotion (including social media). Students interested in applying for this Fellowship should also have excellent organizational and proofreading skills.  The Fellowship offers recipients the opportunity to further develop both editorial and managerial skills over their three years in the MFA program, working closely with Arts & Letters ’ Editor and Art Director. In the first year, the A&L Fellow works in the capacity of Assistant Managing Editor, helping the current Managing Editor in the completion of office duties—everything from social media postings to honing InDesign skills to updating the Web Site. In the second and third year, the Fellow takes over as Managing Editor. Managing Editor duties include distributing and monitoring reading (submission) loads, InDesgning the journal and readying it to send to the printer, managing Sendinblue campaigns, and running proofreading sessions. The Managing Editor also is encouraged to represent the journal at the annual AWP Conference, as funding allows. Qualified applicants who wish to pursue the Journal Editing Fellowship should initially contact Dr. Kerry Neville, who coordinates the MFA Program.

The Journal Editing Fellowship is awarded to an incoming student every other year, and includes a stipend for summer work, much of which can be done remotely. The Fellowship is typically awarded in the spring semester prior to the student’s first (fall) semester. The fellowship will be awarded to a qualified recipient in 2023.

Arts & Letters , a nationally known literary journal in continuous biannual print publication since 1999, publishes innovative fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by emerging and established writers, and offers annual prizes in four genres, as well a prize for ‘unclassifiable’ work. Recent representative authors include Wes Civilz, Marianne Boruch, Keith Wilson, Rodney Jones, James Allen Hall, Lina Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, and George Singleton.

In addition, other university assistantships outside the MFA program may be an option for students accepted to our program (typically, these G.A.s offer a lower stipend but still include a full in-state or out-of-state tuition waiver). The MFA coordinator will discuss this option with applicants accepted to the program but who do not receive an MFA-sponsored G.A.

Scholarships and other Financial Aid

Some MFA scholarships (subject to funding availability) are awarded, in addition to the stipend and tuition waiver, to students on MFA-sponsored assistantships. The program coordinator will discuss these awards (if available) with students offered MFA G.A.s. ALL enrolled and returning university students (in good academic standing) can apply for other scholarships (some related to the MFA in Creative Writing program, some not), such as the Flannery O’Connor Alumni Scholarship and the Dorrie Neligan Creative Writing Scholarships.

Student loans are also available to MFA students through the university Financial Aid Office. Whether or not you’re interested in applying for a student loan, accepted applicants may wish to complete the student loan  FAFSA application . Discuss your options with GCSU’s Financial Aid Office .

Quick Info For Assistantships:

• In 2019-2020, 22 of 28 MFA students had assistantships, and 6 had other university assistantships/appointments.
• MFA GAs include a stipend and full tuition waiver (in-state OR out-of-state tuition).
• Applicants offered MFA GAs are encouraged to make a decision early but final decisions are due by April 15.
• MFA GAs are assigned hours in the  Writing Center  (some GAs split hours with another assignment in our program).
• Students awarded MFA GAs apply to be Teaching Fellows their second year (if eligible) through a separate process via the Department of English.  
• MFA GAs usually earn 18 hours in ENGL graduate credit their first year (required for Teaching Fellow eligibility).
• Teaching Fellows are typically assigned CORE classes (ENGL 1101, 1102) and ENGL 2208: Intro to Creative Writing.
• Stipends for assistantships are paid in five equal installments each semester (fall/spring).
• Assistantships do not cover required student fees or student insurance (may be eligible to waive).

MFA students are eligible for a variety of scholarships, some related, some not related, to Creative Writing, as well as student loans.   

Graduate Assistantships in the Writing Cente r   

Graduate Consultant

Interdisciplinary Writing Coordinator

Resources Coordinator    

The Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program at Georgia College encourages graduate studies for Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RCPV’s). Fellows who are accepted to participating graduate programs in their field are awarded assistantships that relate to their experience and training in the Peace Corps.

Upon successful completion of their Peace Corps Volunteer assignment, RCPV’s can apply to the Georgia College MFA Program (the application process is the same as for all applicants, but see the Peace Corps website for more information about RCPV eligibility requirements).

Peace Corps Volunteers who wish to pursue these Coverdell Fellowships should initially contact Kerry Neville , who coordinates the Coverdell Fellows Program on behalf of the university. 

Assistantships are typically awarded in the spring for positions beginning fall semester. For that reason, potential Coverdell Fellows should make formal application by Feb.1 prior to the fall semester they plan to matriculate. The formal application must include the Peace Corps Description of Service (DOS) Certification of Service document:  https://www.peacecorps.gov/returned-volunteers/support-services/certifi…  " 

Early College

Typically,  Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows in the MFA program at Georgia College help to organize and mentor our Early College writing-in-the-schools project. Early College is a public school housed at the Georgia College campus, serving students from Baldwin and Putnam counties. Georgia College undergraduate majors, under the supervision of MFA students and faculty, mentor seventh graders in the Early College program and help them to publish a literary journal called  The Peacock’s Feather .

Georgia College Early College was initially supported by funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for which the program remains grateful.

Most students complete the MFA program in three years. To meet MFA requirements, students take a minimum of 18 credit hours in the first year and 12 credit hours in the second and third years. Note: for students on MFA assistantships who are eligible to teach, there are additional teaching/pedagogy courses and other requirements designed to support and prepare Teaching Fellows.

A Typical Sample Plan for MFA Coursework : 

All students take 34 hours of coursework: ENGL-MFA 4-semester credit hour courses (28 hours); ENGL 3-semester credit hour courses (6 hours):

12 hours: 5000-level and 6000-level courses in the student's major writing genre (3 courses): ENGL 5021, ENGL 6021 and ENGL 6025 (poetry genre); ENGL 5012, ENGL 6012 and ENGL 6026 (creative nonfiction genre); ENGL 5022, ENGL 6022 and ENGL 6026 (fiction genre).

4 hours: Course in non-thesis genre workshop (1 course); ENGL 5011, 5012, 5021, or 5022. Note that 5000-level workshops in a genre are the prerequisite for 6000-level seminars in a genre (see electives section below).

12 hours: Electives chosen from ENGL 5011, 5012, 5021, 5022, 6012, 6021, 6022, 6024, 6025, 6026 (these courses are repeatable; some have prerequisites; approved ENGL 5950 MFA Special Topics may also be chosen (no more than 8 hours of MFA Special Topics courses may count towards elective requirements).

6 hours: Non-MFA ENGL 5000-6000 level courses (at least one course at the 6000 level).

All students also complete the MFA Thesis (8 hours). All students must complete a thesis, with the accompanying critical essay, as well as complete a successful thesis defense in order to graduate. The thesis is intended to be a book-length project. A prose thesis must be a minimum of 100 pages, and a poetry thesis must be a minimum of 35 pages. Students have to complete a thesis in the genre of their specialization; we do permit hybrid thesis projects that are written to be a singular combination, but we do not permit hybrid thesis projects that are a compilation of stories, essays, and poems thrown together to create page length. The thesis defense is an oral defense of your thesis, attended by the thesis director, the thesis committee members, and the student, and is scheduled at least 2 weeks before the end of your final term.

English Course Descriptions from graduate Course cAtalog

Total Credits required: 42

If I write in multiple genres, do I have to choose just one to submit in my application?

Yes, choose one for your application. Still our program does encourage study in a second genre -- in fact, we require each student to take at least one workshop out-of-genre. 

How do you choose which genre to apply in? Submit your best work. We accept candidates primarily on the merits of the writing sample. You will be expected to write your thesis in the genre you submitted.

For my writing sample, can I submit a chapter of a novel-in-progress? What if I don’t have a full 15 pages I’m proud of for my sample?

A chapter is fine, or a completed short story/essay. However, the more complete, the better. Quality over quantity.

Do I need a BA in Writing or English to apply?

No. We've had students in the past with various undergraduate degrees. If you have a strong sample, apply. However, we do review transcripts to see if students have completed some humanities courses (in English or other fields); and although there is no minimum G.P.A., almost all of our applicants have been successful students, earning 3.0 or higher in their academic studies.

How many courses do Teaching Fellows teach each semester?

Here’s the standard procedure (per semester) for G.A. Teaching Fellows:

1st year: Graduate Assistants work in the Writing Center as Consultants OR Writing Center + Journal office or Early College; and serve as readers for Arts & Letters Journal. 2nd year: Graduate Assistant Teaching Fellows teach 2 classes; OR Journal or Early College  + Teach 1 class; and serve as readers for Arts & Letters Journal. 3rd year: Teach 2 classes; and serve as readers for Arts & Letters Journal.

The exception is for candidates who already have an MA. They are eligible to begin teaching two classes the first year and continue that for all three years. However, all students on MFA assistantship must undergo a further application/review process before they will be assigned teaching duties.

What is the stipend and tuition remission that your students receive if offered an MFA graduate assistantship?

The current stipend given to those with an MFA assistantship is $8,600 per year. In addition, many MFA assistantships include scholarship funds (amounts vary). MFA assistantships also include full tuition remission for in-state or out-of-state tuition (student fees, however, are not covered).

There are also other university assistantships available to which MFA students may apply. These assistantships offer smaller stipends, but usually include full tuition remission (again, student fees are not covered).

There is a student health insurance plan that meets the requirements of the new Affordable Health Care Act that students purchase or they may waived the student insurance if they have another qualified insurance plan.

What is the difference between an MFA assistantship and Peace Corp Coverdell Fellows?

How many applications do you typically receive and how many do you accept.

We typically review over 100 applications each year for the program.  We enroll about 7 new students each year, with a balanced number in each of the three thesis genres (fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction). Typically, seven MFA assistantships are assigned to new students accepted in the program; other students might be offered other university assistantships or seek out other funding support. The three-year program enrolls about 25 students total.

What constitutes a good recommender?

It's important to have professional recommenders (i.e., employer supervisors, established writers, college professors). Ideally, these people can speak to your ability to work and handle graduate classes and speak to the quality of your writing. You may choose different sorts of people to speak to your different qualities. These should not be friends or family members.

If I’m reapplying, what do I need to do?

You will not need to re-submit everything, and there is no fee for second-time applicants. You will need to contact Graduate Admissions and the MFA program to announce that you are re-applying. We suggest submitting to the MFA program an updated manuscript and your statement of purpose and resume. You do NOT need to re-submit transcripts, unless you've taken a class at another college since you last applied.

* NOTE You will need to submit again a new application to the Graduate Admissions office.  You may use your old letters of recommendation, or submit new letters. . 

Our Current Students

Collin Bishoff, Caleb Bouchard, Timothy Connors, Marybeth Cooper, Keely Hopkins, Dalton Monk, Kelly Piggott, Courtney Schmidt, and William Warren.

 Mary Alsobrooks, Auden Eagerton, Avery James, Natalie Mau, and Lori Tennant. 

CREATIVE NONFICTON

Paul Bryant, Mary-Kate Burns, Megan Duffy, William Gerdes-McClain, Nicholas Green, Charlotte Lauer, Amelia Longo, and Denechia Powell

Writers Who Publish

Although we don’t expect incoming students to have published their work, since our program began in 2001, our students have been publishing their poems, stories, and essays in many national journals. GC students have published in such journals as  Backwards City Review, Big Muddy, Bloom, Cimarron Review, Colorado Review, Crazyhorse, Cream City Review, Descant, Dos Passos Review, Eclipse, International Poetry Review, McSweeney’s, Meridian, Nimrod, Pebble Lake, Poet Lore, Quick Fiction, Rattle, Redivider, River Teeth, Salt Hill, Santa Clara Review, Spinning Jenny, Thema, Touchstone  and many others.

Alumni Donors Thank You

• Danny Bauer
• Ashlee Crews
• Steve Lavender
• Shawn Parkinson
• Daniel Plunkett
• William Torgerson
• Gwendolyn Turnbull
• Christopher Varn

Our alumni have been up to many great things, and we are excited to share just a few with you here.  In addition to being published in many journals, our alumni have been winning awards and publishing collections, including: 

• Ashlee Adams Crews's  (fiction, 2006) story “Bird Feed” (in "McSweeney’s) won a Pushcart Prize in 2010. Her story “Church Time” won NC State’s 2011 James Hurst Prize. In 2012, her collection, Called Out , was a finalist for the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and in 2013 she received the "Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award." Read her story “Restoration”  online at "Shenandoah. "
• Kristie Robin Johnson’s (creative nonfiction, 2018) essay collection, High Cotton, will be published in summer of 2020 by. One of her essays will appear in the forthcoming anthology, We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, and Humor, from She Writes press. She is the recipient of an artist grant from the Greater Augusta Arts Council, and her writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and received honorable mention in the AWP Intro to Journals Project. She teaches English at Oconee Fall Line Technical College and Georgia Military College.
• Mike McClelland’s  (fiction, 2017) collection of short fiction, Gay Zoo Day : Tales of Seeking and Discovery" (2017) published by Beautiful Dreamer Press, won the Independent Book Publishers Association's Silver Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBT Literature. His creative work has appeared in publications such as the Boston Review, Entropy, Queen Mob's Tea House , and others, and has been widely anthologized, most recently in Gents: Steamy Stories from the Age of Steam , which was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. His work has been recognized as a semifinalist for the Conium Prize and the Saints and Sinners Short Story Contest. In 2018, he was invited to read his work and present at the annual TEDMED conference in Palm Springs alongside speakers like NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and writer Nayomi Munaweera.
• Miller Oberman’s  (poetry, 2006) poetry collection, The Unstill Ones , a collection of poems and Old English translations, was published in the fall, 2017 by the Princeton Series of Contemporary Poets. Oberman is a past recipient of the Poetry Foundation's Ruth Lilly Fellowship. His collection Useful was a finalist for the 2012 National Poetry Series. Read “Old English Rune Poem,” a new translation  published in "Poetry" (July/August 2013).
• T.J. Sandella  (poetry, 2013) has been chosen as one of the Best New Poets 2014. He has also won awards including the William Matthews Poetry Prize (2014, Asheville Poetry Review), the Academy of American Poets Prizes and the Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize. 
• Will Torrey  (fiction, 2010) won "Zone 3's" 2011 Editors' Prize for his story "Trajabar." Read his August 2013 "Working Writers Series"interview online at "The Missouri Review."
• Bill Torgerson ’s (fiction, 2007) most recent novel is  Horseshoe (Cherokee McGhee, 2012). He teaches at St. John’s University. Check out his blog “The Torg”.

Keep in touch with all our outstanding alumni as well as current MFA students and happenings at the program’s  Facebook page !

Milledgeville: A Literary Community

Georgia College offers a unique setting for students interested in pursuing their MFA in Creative Writing. Our university is small (about 6,500 students), located in historic downtown Milledgeville, former capital of Georgia from 1803-1868 and location of Andalusia, historic home of writer Flannery O’Connor.

Milledgeville  is in the heart of Georgia, only 90 miles from Atlanta and an easy drive to the beaches of Savannah and Tybee Island or to the foothills of North Georgia. Milledgeville was the state capital from 1803 to 1868 and is the site of the newly restored Old State Capitol and Old Governor’s Mansion.

The historic downtown features shops, restaurants and taverns just two blocks from campus. The climate is warm, with mild winters and "zero" annual average snowfall. Our community offers places where writers can have a cup of coffee, meet friends and relax. Downtown restaurants, coffee shops, and stores blend small town and college town living into an ideal setting for serious writers.

You might recognize a place or character from the short stories of Flannery O’Connor or Alice Walker (who grew up in nearby Eatonton). Andalusia is the farm where author Flannery O’Connor lived from 1951 to 1964. O’Connor was living at her farm when she completed all of her published books of fiction. Andalusia is open to the public (see their website for more information). 

Learn More About Milledgeville

Dr. Kerry James Evans

• PhD Florida State University; MFA Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
• At GCSU since 2020

Dr. Kerry James Evans is the author of the poetry collection, Bangalore , a Lannan Literary Selection. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship from Sewanee Writers' Conference, and he has taught poetry workshops, poetic forms and theory, and other courses at Florida State University and at Tuskegee University where he was an Assistant Professor. His poems have appeared in Agni, Narrative, Ploughshares , and other journals.

Dr. Martin Lammon (Professor Emeritus) 

• Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
• Ph.D., M.A. Ohio University
• At GCSU 1997-2020

Martin Lammon has won awards for both his poetry and creative nonfiction. His collection of poems,  News from Where I Live , won the Arkansas Poetry Award, and his poems and essays have appeared in such journals as  The Gettysburg Review, Hotel America, The Iowa Review, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Poets and Writers and The Southern Review . Poems published in  Nimrod  were awarded a Pablo Neruda Prize. His essays about living in Costa Rica have been published in  The Iowa Review , Zone 3 , and  The Chattahoochee Review  (winner of the Lamar York Prize for Creative Nonfiction).From 1997-2018, he was the Fuller E. Callaway endowed Flannery O'Connor Chair in Creative Writing. In 2007, he was selected for GC’s Distinguished Professor Award.

Dr. Kerry Neville

• Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
• Ph.D., University of Houston
• At GCSU since 2016
• Coordinator of the MFA and Undergraduate Creative Writing Program

Kerry Neville received her PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, her BA from Colgate University, and was most recently an Assistant Professor of English at Allegheny College.  She is the author of the short fiction collection,  Remember To Forget Me , and of the award-winning short fiction collection,  Necessary Lies .  She is also a contributor to The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and The Fix.  Her essays and stories have been named Notables in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays. She has twice received the Dallas Museum of Art Prize for Fiction, and has also been awarded The John Guyon Prize in Literary Nonfiction,The Texas Institute of Letters/Kay Cattarulla Prize for the Short Story, and the Short Story Book of the Year Prize from Independent Publisher Magazine. She is faculty for the FrankMcCourt/University of Limerick Summer Writing School. She was a 2018 Fulbright Scholar and taught in the M.A. Creative Writing Program at University of Limerick in Ireland

Laura Newbern

• MFA Warren Wilson College; M.A. English-Creative Writing, New York University
•  At GCSU since 2005

Laura Newbern's collection of poems,  Love and the Eye , won the 2010 First Book Award from Kore Press. She’s also received the prestigious Writer's Award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, which recognizes outstanding emerging women writers. She teaches poetry workshops, poetics, and other courses. Laura is currently the Editor of  Arts & Letters . Her poems have been published in such journals as  The Atlantic, Poetry, TriQuarterly  and other journals. Newbern also expresses her creative interests through black and white photography.

Peter Selgin

• Creative Nonfiction, Fiction
• MFA, The New School
• At GCSU since 2012

Peter Selgin’s latest essay collection, The Kuhreihen Melody (Serving House Books) was named a finalist for the 2019 BIG OTHER Book Award for Nonfiction and an excerpt from his novel Duplicity was a finalist for the 2019 Craft First Chapter Contest. His memoir,  The Inventors , (Hawthorn Press) was named a Best Memoir of 2016 by Library Journal. His essay, “My New York: A Romance in Eight Parts,” was chosen by Paul Theroux for inclusion in Best American Travel Writing, 2014. His memoir,  Confessions of a Left-Handed Man : An Artist’s Memoir (University of Iowa Press, 2011), was short-listed for the 2012 William Saroyan International Prize; the title essay was selected for Best American Essays 2006. He is the author of  Drowning Lessons  (University of Georgia Press, 2008), winner of the 2007 Flannery O’Connor Award for Fiction;  Life Goes to the Movies, a novel, two books on the craft of fiction writing, and several children’s books. He has had a dozen notable essay citations in BAE anthologies. His stories and essays have appeared in the  Missouri Review, Colorado Review, Boulevard, Glimmer Train, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, Salon.com, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Sun , and other publications. Other honors include the Missouri Review Editors’ Prize, a Dana Award for the Essay, and a Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights’ Conference Award for his play,  A God in the House , based on Dr. Kevorkian and his suicide machine. He teaches fiction, creative nonfiction, journal design, editing, and production, and other courses. He is also creative nonfiction editor of  Arts & Letters .

Dr. Chika Unigwe

• PhD University of Leiden, Holland; degrees from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the KU Leuven Belgium

Dr. Chika Unigwe is the author of Better Never than Late, De Zwarte Messias, Night Dancer, On Black Sisters Street, De Feniks, Meulenhoff-Manteau, and two children's Readers, Ije at School and A Rainbow for Dinner . Her short stories have appeared in different anthologies including in Watchlist, New Daughters of Africa, and Lagos Noir . Her fellowships include but are not limited to a  Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at the Bellagio Centre, Italy , a UNESCO-Aschberg Fellow at the Civitella Ranieri Centre in Umbertide, Italy, a SYLT Fellow in Germany and a writing fellow at Cove Park, Scotland. She was a special guest  lecturer at Tubingen University, Germany, and a Bonderman Assistant Professor of Practice at Brown University.  She has won a BBC short story competition, a commonwealth short story prize, has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing and awarded a 2016 Pushcart Prize Special Mention. In 2012, she won the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, Africa's most important literary prize. She has judged literary prizes including the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.

Graduate Assistantships in the Writing Center

Resources Coordinator

Degree Programs

The master of arts in english.

Admission.  The University of Georgia Department of English accepts into its M.A. programs students who present a B.A. in English or its equivalent, and a solid undergraduate grade-point average (at least a 3.0), especially in English courses (3.65 or better), as well as positive letters of recommendation and other evidence of scholastic achievement, including proficiency in writing.

Course work.  The M.A. program at the University of Georgia encourages students to take courses in a variety of areas to broaden and deepen their literary and critical backgrounds. The program offers a two-year degree, which requires 30 hours of course work (one course is three hours of credit), at least three hours of which must represent research on their thesis. Students must also demonstrate reading knowledge of an approved foreign language.

Students will complete a core requirement of one course from each of three literary divisions:

1) English literature before 1800

2) English literature after 1800

3) American literature. 

Students will also specialize in an area of concentration (defined as three related courses) from one of our Thematic Arcs.  Students will round out their program of study with a course from another Thematic Arc plus two electives.  Major professors and advisory committees help students plan appropriate courses of study and otherwise offer advice and encouragement.

General Examination.  At the end of their course work, students must pass an oral examination covering their course of study, a portfolio of three essays written in their courses, and a selective list of major works studied.  The student's major professor will offer guidance on selecting the papers and compiling the reading list.

Thesis Project.  The M.A. thesis project of about 50 pages is submitted for approval in the student's final semester of study. It may be developed from a class paper or be the product of original research and study. It may take the form of an academic thesis (necessary for those considering a Ph.D. program here or elsewhere); a pedagogical study, such as a curriculum or a teaching approach to a text; or a project employing methods from one of the concentrations, such as a computer program or an edition. All options require a written component, referred to institutionally as the thesis.

The thesis project is prepared under the guidance of the major professor and advising committee. Once the thesis project is approved in final form, the student must pass a one-hour oral examination, given by the candidate's committee.

The Doctor of Philosophy in English

Admission.  To qualify for admission, an applicant must hold at least a B.A., and preferably an M.A., in English; have a high grade-point average (at least 3.0 in undergraduate studies), especially in English courses (3.65 or better in undergraduate English classes). In addition, applicants should provide supportive letters of recommendation and other evidence of scholastic achievement, including proficiency in writing. While most of the applicants who are admitted in the Ph.D. program already hold a Master's degree in English, applicants with exceptional undergraduate records may be admitted directly into the doctoral program without an M.A.

Course work.  Students entering the program with the M.A. will take a minimum of 27 hours of course work (one course is three hours of credit) before admission to candidacy, three hours of which must be dissertation research (9300). Students entering the program with a bachelor's degree will take a minimum of 45 hours of course work, exclusive of research hours, before admission to candidacy. The program allows students to select courses and areas for examination with the advice and direction of a major professor and advisory committee.

Advisory Committee.  For each entering student, the graduate coordinator serves as the first advisor and then appoints a temporary major advisor, who provides counsel on course work and general directions for study.  Before the end of the first year of study, the student should select a Major Professor and constitute an Advisory Committee. The chair of the Advisory Committee (the Major Professor) will usually be the prospective director of the dissertation. For many students the success of their program of study depends on a close and productive relationship with the Major Professor.

Course Requirements.  Ordinarily, the student who enters with an M.A. spends the first two years of study completing course work, the third year studying for the written and oral examinations, and the fourth year completing the dissertation. The student who enters with a B.A. devotes the first three years to course work, the fourth year to studying for the examination, and the final year to completing the dissertation. Some students move through the program at a faster pace. There are no required courses, but the student's Advisory Committee may recommend or require specific courses that provide a foundation for the dissertation, address particular gaps in a student's preparation, or round out a special area of concentration.

Research Skills Requirement.  Doctoral students must fulfill the Research Skills Requirement, which can be done so--as detailed in the Graduate Student Handbook--in a variety of ways.  The first way to to demonstrate reading knowledge of two foreign languages; the second way is to demonstrate proficiency (a higher level of language fluency) in one foreign language; the third way is to demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language and competence in specified research skills. The student's Advisory Committee must approve the language or languages offered, and the Graduate Committee must approve any proposed set of research skills (such a plan of study should involve substantial study taken at the graduate level outside the English Department). New graduate students should plan to satisfy this portion of their degree requirements as soon after matriculation as possible.

Comprehensive Examinations.  No later than the end of the third year, the student will complete his or her written and oral comprehensive examinations. These examinations are administered by a three-member examining committee (the student's Advisory Committee) appointed by the Graduate Coordinator in consultation with the student's Major Professor. The examinations cover three areas chosen from the approved areas listed in the Graduate Student Handbook by the student and approved by the student's Advisory Committee.  A reading list is composed for each area of examination in consultation with the examining faculty member of the Advisory Committee.  The written portion of each of the three exams is typically a field survey or literature review of approximately 20 pages (excluding bibliography) of each examination area, as directed by the examining faculty member of the Advisory Committee.  An oral portion of the exam provides time to follow up on the written component, as well as to discuss the items on the reading list.

In addition, all students prepare a "project description," which is a preliminary discussion on the students' dissertation topic. This is an 8-10 page document, with an accompanying annotated bibliography.  The Project Description defines a research question that is worth pursuing and demonstrates the student's ability to answer it.  The Oral Exam provides the opportunity for early feedback on the dissertation project.

The Creative Writing Program

The University of Georgia offers the Ph.D. in English with creative dissertation.  The Ph.D. is not a creative writing degree.  Rather, it gives students enrolled in an academic program the opportunity to do creative work. Academic standards and program requirements for are the same for creative writing students as those for non-creative writing students (see above) with the following exception:

Creative writing students are expected to take at least one creative writing class per year (ENGL 6800 or 8800) as part of their required course work.

6800: Topics in Form and Craft (3 hours---maximum 9 hours)---an exploration of topics and issues around the act of writing. Sample courses include The First Book of Poetry, The Art of Translation, The Art of the Book, Novel Form, Novel Genres, and Publishing and Editing.

8800: Seminar in Creative Writing (3 hours---maximum 9 hours for credit) Advanced instruction in the craft of writing, including all genres, such as fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Please see the Creative Writing  website  for further information about the opportunities afforded to students who join us in the pursuit of their Ph.D.

Support English at UGA

We greatly appreciate your generosity. Your gift enables us to offer our students and faculty opportunities for research, travel, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.   Support the efforts of the Department of English by visiting our giving section.  Give Now  

EVERY DOLLAR CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEPARTMENT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY.

• For the Media
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2024 Creative Teaching Awards

The Creative Teaching Awards are presented annually on behalf of the Office of Instruction to faculty who have demonstrated exceptional creativity in using either an innovative technology or pedagogy that extends learning beyond the traditional classroom or for their creative course design or implementation of subject matter that improves student learning outcomes in their courses. 

Lori Johnston (Photo by Jackson Schroeder/UGA)

Lori Johnston , a lecturer in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has transformed Reporting I: Critical Skills for Reporting and Storytelling into a consistent and rigorous course that prepares students for careers in journalism. Each semester, she teaches 180 students how to report, write, and edit and builds their journalism skills through active learning opportunities such as mock press conferences and beat pitch competitions judged by professional editors and reporters. In spring 2023, she created a Beat Bingo game/exercise that encourages students to meet people on their reporting beats, seek out resources in and outside the college, and connect with faculty and former students. Johnston has also built valuable common resources for her students, including a web portfolio template in cooperation with the Center for Teaching and Learning that students will use throughout their academic career as well as a free, fully online textbook. Johnston has even created her own YouTube channel, “Skills for Storytelling and Reporting.”

Carol Britton Laws (Photo by Chad Osburn/UGA)

Carol Britton Laws , a clinical professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, is the creator and founding director of Destination Dawgs, UGA’s inclusive transition program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. She created Principles of Person-Centered Practices as a service-learning practicum class to teach undergraduate students about supporting people with disabilities. The course features online readings, videos, discussion, on-campus engagement, recorded journaling and the completion of a final reflection paper. Students volunteer a minimum of 30 hours as peer mentors, applying person-centered support practices to assist students in the Destination Dawgs program. Principles of Person-Centered Practices was intentionally created to promote active, experiential learning within the Disability Studies curriculum to improve critical thinking, problem-solving and professional communication. In end-of-course evaluations, students say they are proud of their role in the successes of their mentees.

Leslie Gordon Simons (Photo by Chad Osburn/UGA)

Leslie Gordon Simons , professor of sociology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is transforming student happiness. Through innovative use of technology, she has designed a gamified simulation aimed at improving students’ engagement, application, and retention of material in her course, The Science of Happiness. The program focuses on life choices (e.g., use of leisure time, family arrangements, community characteristics) that students can make to improve well-being for themselves, their families and communities. The program produces a happiness score for each student, together with a breakdown of the relative impact of how their choices influence their score. Real-time feedback allows students to understand the results of their decisions and makes the learning experience interactive and fun. Survey data collected at the beginning and end of the semester indicated that students felt less depressed, overwhelmed, anxious and tense by the end of the course.

Nandana Weliweriya (Submitted photo)

Nandana Weliweriya , a lecturer in the physics and astronomy department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has introduced problem-solving simulations and strategies in his physics classes to provide an immersive learning experience. He created interactive pre-lecture videos with embedded questions, encouraging active learning and deeper comprehension before students enter the classroom. Lab classes follow a three-part method: prediction, experiment and data collecting. First, students engage with simulations to predict outcomes. Then, they perform laboratory experiments to test their hypotheses. Then, they have a recitation or problem-solving section to directly apply their acquired knowledge to original problems. The course focuses on hands-on skills and continuous improvement for each student. If students miss questions on midterm exams, they can record a video explaining their errors and correct solutions for partial credit. This deepens student understanding and helps students practice communication skills.

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