USM’s continuing commitment to strengthening the humanities was underlined
by the report prepared by USM’s Board of Visitors, “The Southern Maine
Imperative: A Report on the Higher Educational Needs of Southern Maine in the
21st Century,” which was released last fall. Recommendation Three of the
report states, "Continue a broad range of the liberal arts and humanities
programs that are central to a solid undergraduate education and the personal
development of the region's learners."
That charge is being carried further by plans for USM to offer a master’s
degree in creative writing, possibly as early as the summer of 2002. The University
of Maine System Board of Trustees, at the January 18 meeting, approved a proposal
for the program, to be called the Stonecoast Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative
Writing, as the first graduate program in creative writing in the state. The
program will build on the name recognition and quality reputation of the Stonecoast
Writers’ Conference, a summer writing program that has drawn professional
writers of reputation as faculty and interested students from across the country
for the last 20 years.
The MFA, developed by Barbara Lee Hope, assistant professor of media studies, Ken Rosen, professor of English, and Dianne Benedict, associate professor of English, is designed to be a low-residency program, allowing students to continue jobs and other responsibilities in their home locations. The program will require a 10-day period of intensive study at the beginning of each of the four semesters, and a final, fifth 10-day residency before graduation. During the rest of the program, students will submit works-in-progress through mail and Internet and participate in long-distance workshops with faculty who have established reputations as professional writers. The program will provide students with intensive academic mentoring and the opportunity to become part of a community of writers, as well as helping them develop writing and revision skills, and critical understanding of the cultural context in which writing occurs.
The degree will be USM’s 23rd master’s program. The most recent program to become available is the Master’s in Social Work, which is accepting its first cohort of students for Fall, 2001. Also, a Master’s Degree in Accounting recently was added to the offerings at the School of Business.
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