Recommend universities that offer MA/MFA in Creative Writing

[tekkie]

So far, the only ones I know that offer this is UST, DLSU, UP, Ateneo. anybody here a graduate of this program in any of these universities? opinions, tips will be greatly appreciated. TIA.

[kungpow]

I'm not sure if Ateneo offers creative writing in graduate school...But you won't go wrong with UST, UP or DLSU. I guess the best tip I can tell to those who want to pursue graduate studies is to go to a reputable school where you feel comfortable.

[n3X]

UP only. kahit profs ng ibang schools sa UP din e. Uy writers night pala sa dec 8! kitakits!

[stepehenyan@12]

take up journalism instead of creative writing.

[whateverville]

take up journalism instead of creative writing.

what made you say that?

anyway, regarding the question of the threadstarter, yeah tingin ko nga UP, DLSU, ADMU and UST offer good creative writing programs, faculty pa lang nila eh, mga well-renowned writers ng pinas. :)

[tekkie]

Thanks for the tips, guys and gals :) Will look into it before deciding to take the plunge.

@n3x, I attended the Writers Night last Saturday; sayang, sabay sila ng PEN, di pwede pagsabayin :D Got to talk to Dr. Butch Dalisay, he's one friendly, accommodating chap who gave me valuable insights on taking up grad studies at UP.

[bluecrush_5]

go na sa UP! the best CW professors are there.

[hunter_alchemst]

Well, I hate to break some self-glorifying posts but most of the professors of Creative Writing of UP,ADMU, and DLSU are from UST. Just look at the recently concluded golden anniversary of the Philippine Center of the International PEN. Its keynote speaker was Bienvenido Lumbera, national artist for literature, is a Thomasian and was even a Varsitarian staffer. Cirilo Bautista, Ophelia Dimalanta, Gamalinda clan, Mike Coroza, F. Sionil Jose, Rogelio Sicat, to name a few of our leading artists and creative artists are all Varsitrian staff and Thomasians. So if I will be asked, I'd rather go to UST. Just my two cents :)

[KuyaDanny]

If someone wanted to learn from Lumbera, why would he go to Lumbera's alma mater, when Lumbera was teaching elsewhere? Lumbera attended UST in the 50s. Are his professors still around?

It seems to me that choosing a graduate program depends highly on the faculty who will form you during your study. So I would first select the mentors, and then attend the school where they teach, not necessarily where they studied.

[Ashlars]

Well, I hate to break some self-glorifying posts but most of the professors of Creative Writing of UP,ADMU, and DLSU are from UST. Just look at the recently concluded golden anniversary of the Philippine Center of the International PEN. Its keynote speaker was Bienvenido Lumbera, national artist for literature, is a Thomasian and was even a Varsitarian staffer. Cirilo Bautista, Ophelia Dimalanta, Gamalinda clan, Mike Coroza, F. Sionil Jose, Rogelio Sicat, to name a few of our leading artists and creative artists are all Varsitrian staff and Thomasians. So if I will be asked, I'd rather go to UST. Just my two cents :)

True. Most of the creative writing profs, at least the award-winning, established writers, of UP, Ateneo and La Salle, are products of UST.

You forgot other notable UP professors who are also products of UST like Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, J. Neil Garcia, V.E. Carmelo Nadera and Wendell Capili, just to name a few.

It surely can't be denied that UST continues to play a major and enviable role in Philippine literature.

[n3X]

Most ng national artists for literature affiliated with UP. Those who graduated from other schools, some of them also taught in UP. For example, Lumbera graduated from UST, taught for a while in Ateneo but eventually established himself in UP. Professor Emeritus pa nga siya e. There are also a lot of UST graduates who are professors now in UP. I'm not sure lang din if Silliman has an MA/MFA in Creative Writing but based na rin dun mga Tiempos.

[Ashlars]

Yes indeed, the established, award-winning writers of UST taught in different schools and they may have decided to teach there for good but they will always be sons and daughters of UST. UST helped teach them to become the successful writers that they are today.

[paenggoy]

Just go where your favorite writers are teaching. Ask program staff and if possible talk to the writers first because they might not be teaching full-time during particular years or might transfer to another school soon.

[la_flash]

Just a question, why there's a need to take MA/MFA in CW?

Isn't it true that CW cannot be learned? You can't learn from others how to develop your own style, can you?

Well, those are the same questions which were asked from us in one of the seminars that we attended way back.

[KuyaDanny]

Yan ang magandang katanungan.

I suppose it depends on the student and what he needs to become a better writer. Some people with talent and potential can benefit from the structure and rigor of a university program. They become motivated, disciplined, and broadminded. There are analogies in business. Not all good businessmen or managers needed a business education, but some of them certainly improved after going through it. The same can be said of musicians in music school, and painters and sculptors, etc, in art school.

[dagitab24]

My first post after a hiatus of months, just because this topic is close to my heart:

Your choice of school, should you attend one, is also a matter of style. If you want to study writing using Bagong Pormalismong Pilipino, by all means, study at UP. If you want to learn feminist writing, enroll in Marj Evasco's classes at DLSU. If you want to learn reader-response theory and Rilke, you might consider studying under DM Reyes in Ateneo's MA Cultural and Literary Studies program, which is as close as you can get to a MFA CW in that school.

But do you even need an MFA in the first place? My answer: It depends. If you have a couple of Palancas tucked under your belt, universities will try to hire you, no doubt. You do not learn sensibility in an MFA program. You develop it outside school. Sensibility defines who you are as a writer; an MFA program can only help you with technique. An MFA looks good on the resume, but your writing will have to speak for itself. The mentoring a formal program could prove to be a lot of help, but trust me, it's not everything. I know a multiple Palanca winner who chose not to finish college but learned writing on his own.

Rowena Tiempo once said: If you want your child to become a writer, try to get him into playing the piano, or nuclear physics, or running a 4-minute mile. That's the only way he'll never get tired of words.

I agree with her wholeheartedly, anti-Iowa boor I may be. You don't get to experience life and write about it if all you'll see are books upon books. That's not life. You only write about stuff you touch and see and feel. That's worth more than any MFA. If you insist on getting a graduate degree, enroll in a straight language course, like MA Filipino, or a social science, like history. That way, you'll expand your horizons and never get tired of writing about the discovery process too.

[tekkie]

thanks for the input, dagitab24. gave me quite a few points to ponder on, specially on feminist writing being offered at DLSU.

[dagitab24]

You're welcome, tekkie. Always to help out aspiring writers like yourself.

A few more questions, though:

- What are the languages you write in? Filipino is better at UP and Ateneo than in DLSU, even if DLSU is a CHED Center of Excellence and Ateneo is not. This is because only a few students take Filipino courses in Ateneo and you're guaranteed almost-exclusive mentorship there. Beware, though: Filipino writing in Ateneo tends to be very conservative, even too Catholic (Rene Javellana comes to mind). Ma'am Beni Santos, regardless of language, is still the mother figure and is very open to everything. I won't regret being in a workshop with her.

- Second is the question of genre. DLSU is good with fiction and future fiction (these two are considered separate genres now, even if the Palanca Foundation has discontinued the future fic category). You won't go wrong with having Vince Groyon and Tony Perez as your mentor. UP has a very good fiction tradition as well, with the likes of Jun Cruz Reyes. Too bad Rene Villanueva and Nick Atienza have already passed away; expect the quality of fiction teaching in UP to drop a notch.

Poetry is Ateneo, UP, and UST's forte. As I mentioned earlier, Benilda Santos is the best sponsor one can have when it comes to applying for workshops. UP has the likes of Rio Alma and Fidel Rillo (although the latter appears only rarely, and only at LIRA sessions, which won't help much if you write in English). UST has the Grand Dame of Philippine poetry, Ophie Dimalanta, who has been instrumental in shaping TWG poets' style sice time immemorial. SUX2BÜ should be able to give you more information about the UST programs.

- Also, the type of formation (literary frameworks, etc) you want. Since you're interested in creative writing, I'm sure you know how to tell between formalism and structuralism. I've discussed the specializations of different schools in a earlier post.

BTW, you need not confine your choices to the Big Four. Silliman University is still a good program as long as the Tiempos are around. You might want to apply for the Silliman workshop first, then apply for the MFA/MA program once you're in.

[tekkie]

^^ I'm more at home in English, as I cannot express myself well in Pilipino, not even to save my life :(

Genre, well, Ma'am OAD (yes, she was my prof before) thinks I can write poetry. I like poetry. But I want to try my hand at fiction.

As for Silliman, personal circumstances preclude me from trying out there. But that doesn't mean I'm closing my door to it :)

[hunter_alchemst]

Rio Alma is also from UST. Though he is now teaching in UP, he is still as good as a Thomasian so to speak. In fact, I met him just this December 15 during the USTETIKA awards night since it was his brainchild afterall. Just sharing :)

[maroon_spinoza]

gahd.

okay, okay. they came from this school and that, they teach here but came from there, it's better here and they're second rates.

whatever.

he/she was just asking which university has the best ma/mfa cw program suited for him/her.

some people always want to get noticed.
sheesh.

[paenggoy]

It's hard to say which university offers the best program because professors may move from one school to another or may take a leave while you are enrolled. Several are not full-time profs and are invited to teach for a semester or two in some programs, while some full-time profs can teach in more than one school. Sometimes, what is taught isn't what the person wants and what he wants to take might be taught by someone else. Also, some seminars are offered outside any program.

My suggestion is to enter a program that is most convenient for you, i.e., closest to your work place and/or home, that offers tuition that you can afford, that has class schedules that fit yours, that has provisions for part-time studies, transfer of credits, that offers classes that you want or need or that has teachers whom you prefer and who might stay during the duration of your enrollment, etc.

[galileo_]

Rio Alma is also from UST. Though he is now teaching in UP, he is still as good as a Thomasian so to speak. In fact, I met him just this December 15 during the USTETIKA awards night since it was his brainchild afterall. Just sharing :)

I think Rio Alma is a product of UP.

Ustetika is the brainchild of Vim Nadera.

[n3X]

It's hard to say which university offers the best program because professors may move from one school to another or may take a leave while you are enrolled. Several are not full-time profs and are invited to teach for a semester or two in some programs, while some full-time profs can teach in more than one school. Sometimes, what is taught isn't what the person wants and what he wants to take might be taught by someone else. Also, some seminars are offered outside any program.

My suggestion is to enter a program that is most convenient for you, i.e., closest to your work place and/or home, that offers tuition that you can afford, that has class schedules that fit yours, that has provisions for part-time studies, transfer of credits, that offers classes that you want or need or that has teachers whom you prefer and who might stay during the duration of your enrollment, etc.

Hmmmm. I totally disagree. And I'm totally against studying in some place for CONVENIENCE. If one wants the best education, go for it. The mere fact na nag-ask yung tao dito sa isang democratic online forum means that s/he wants to get the best advice.

Its not that hard to say which school has the best program just because professors MAY move from one to the other or baka mag-leave. I think the best question to ask is where do they stay. Lahat naman ng kahit sinong asa sa isang school puedeng umalis anytime e. Plus, di rin naman ganun kabilis ng turnover ng mga profs sa mga established schools. Secondly, puede namang i-"summarize" or i-"total" yung buong educational experience ng isang school e. One could compare for example, yung isang school na merong isang superstar na faculty dun sa isa na so-so yung faculty. Obviously, mas okay sa total yung so-so kesa sa isang superstar lang, aside na lang kung gusto mo lang mag-follow sa tradition nung nag iisa na yun.

[hunter_alchemst]

I think Rio Alma is a product of UP.

Ustetika is the brainchild of Vim Nadera.


:( oo nga tama ka. sorry, my fault, my mistake. :(

[paenggoy]

You can't "go for it" if, for example, there's no scholarship and you have to continue working full-time to pay for tuition. In fact, many grad students have to choose particular schools for this and similar reasons. That is what I meant by "convenience."

It's not wrong to ask about these things in this forum, but bear in mind that's it's difficult to verify advice because we don't know a member's background. There are some forums such as mailing lists where members have to use their real names, non-free e-mail addresses, and signatures at the bottom of each mail (containing their name, unit affiliation, etc.), but it is not the case here, which is why the best I can give is generic advice.

The better option is to just visit the school and talk to faculty, staff, and students of the program. One can even visit the program website and send e-mail to the staff. It's not a waste of time because prospective students usually have to check the school website and visit the campus before and during application.

Next, a professor may be tenured, part-time, a visiting professor, a writer who does not work in the academe full-time (which means he is not tenured in any particular school), or about to retire. It's not hard to tell: just check the faculty roster and visit the school itself and talk to the staff.

In order to find out about the quality of instruction, prospective students usually talk to currently enrolled students and staff and check faculty credentials through the rosters and the prospectus. Again, this is not difficult to do as it can be done both online and during the campus visit. Of course, one can read about it here, but how will one know if what is posted is true unless one sees it in the school website and/or for himself by visiting the school and talking to students? If a member states that he is a student of such a program in this forum, how do we verify that?

Hmmmm. I totally disagree. And I'm totally against studying in some place for CONVENIENCE. If one wants the best education, go for it. The mere fact na nag-ask yung tao dito sa isang democratic online forum means that s/he wants to get the best advice.

Its not that hard to say which school has the best program just because professors MAY move from one to the other or baka mag-leave. I think the best question to ask is where do they stay. Lahat naman ng kahit sinong asa sa isang school puedeng umalis anytime e. Plus, di rin naman ganun kabilis ng turnover ng mga profs sa mga established schools. Secondly, puede namang i-"summarize" or i-"total" yung buong educational experience ng isang school e. One could compare for example, yung isang school na merong isang superstar na faculty dun sa isa na so-so yung faculty. Obviously, mas okay sa total yung so-so kesa sa isang superstar lang, aside na lang kung gusto mo lang mag-follow sa tradition nung nag iisa na yun.

[ooooooooooooooo]

Hi, meron na ba sa inyo na nakakuha ng 2 year certificate program ng malikhaing pagsulat sa UP? Feedback naman po regarding this program. Mahirap bang makapasok? Nabasa ko kasi sa UP website na kailangan mong makapasa ng workshop/audition bago ka matanggap. Ok kaya siya for working people? Thanks!

[paenggoy]

Perhaps you can contact the UP Creative Writing Center:

http://www.upd.edu.ph/research.htm

http://www.members.tripod.com/likhaan_online/

Also, perhaps you're looking for something like the class described here:

http://www.msuiit.edu.ph/ipag/workshops.html

I found these by entering "short-term creative writing philippines" and "creative writing center UP Diliman" in search engines. One might find even more sources by entering various key words and looking at subsequent page results.

[rap_sd6]

hmmm ask ko lang: why MA in CW?

I took Edel Garcellano's class prior to taking CW elective courses and i sympathize with Edel. parang literary barkada ang situation dito sa atin.

i hope things have changed na:D