(Application Deadline - September 1, 2008)

Part 1: Who Will Benefit From This Certificate
Antioch University Los Angeles’s Post-Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing requires a semester beyond completion of the MFA in Creative Writing. During this term the student engages in systematic study of the theory and practice of teaching creative writing, a salutary preparation for working in classroom and workshop settings at any educational level. Anyone who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from an accredited institution may apply for the Certificate program. Although the Certificate is not a formal teaching “credential,” we believe it will be very useful to the following groups:

1. MFA holders who desire to teach, but have little teaching experience.
2. MFA holders who are either college/university writing instructors or public school teachers who want to learn more about the intersection of creative and expository writing pedagogies, and to incorporate this knowledge into their teaching.
3. MFA holders who desire to improve their marketability as teachers.
4. MFA holders who have teaching careers well underway and seek to improve their current positions through post-graduate professional development encouraged or required by their employers.

Part 2: Structure of the Certificate Program
The Post-Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing is a one-semester program completed in three stages:

Stage I: Pre-Project Period Residency*: The entering Certificate Student must attend a ten-day Residency on the Antioch campus during which he or she completes the following requirements:

1. “Orientation to the Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing.
2. “Readings in the Pedagogy of Creative Writing” seminar.
3. "Teaching Academic Writing” seminar.
4. Workshop in the Pedagogy of Creative Writing.
5. Attend all lectures and panels involving Certificate students or pedagogy faculty.
6. Five additional Residency learning activities (seminars, lectures, panels, roundtables, etc.; attendance at faculty and student readings does not fulfill this requirement).
   

*The Pre-Project Period Residency is waived for students who have already completed requirements a) through e) at previous Antioch Residencies. Antioch MFA's who have not completed all of the above requirements should consult the MFA Program Chair.

Stage II: Semester Project Period: During the semester-long Project Period, Certificate students perform the following off-campus activities:

1. Participate in supervised teaching of creative writing, coordinated with the assistance of an Antioch creative writing pedagogy mentor.
2. Read widely in the pedagogy of creative writing and provide written annotations of books read.
3. Participate in an online conference on creative writing pedagogy, supervised by an Antioch creative writing pedagogy mentor.
4. Write a paper on some aspect of creative writing pedagogy, supervised by an Antioch creative writing pedagogy mentor.
   

The details of 1-4 are to be negotiated with each student ’s mentor and listed in the Project Period Contract.

Stage III: Post-Project Period Short Residency: Certificate students are required to attend only the final three days of the Post-Project Period Residency, including the MFA Graduation Ceremony. Requirements:

1. Either present a lecture related to the teaching of creative writing or participate in a pedagogy panel with fellow Certificate students.
2. Submit an archive copy of the Creative Writing Pedagogy Paper, plus an annotated bibliography of readings in the pedagogy of creative writing.
3. Participate in an individualized teaching career development session with the MFA Chair and Pedagogy Mentor.

 

Part 3: Guidelines for Applying to the Certificate Program:
Students who wish to enter the Post-Graduate Certificate program must:

1. Have already earned a MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles or another accredited institution.
2. Apply before September 1, 2007 for the December 2007 residency. Pay a $60.00 (non-refundable) application fee.
3. In their applications, students must:

a. Complete the attached application form and include an accompanying letter of application. (Instructions concerning the content of the letter follow.)

b. Provide two letters of recommendation, sent directly from recommenders who can address the applicant’s potential as a teacher. Recommenders may include former professors, supervisors, workshop leaders, etc.

c. Applicants who received their MFA's from an institution other than Antioch must provide an official transcript indicating that the applicant has earned an MFA in Creative Writing from an accredited institution. Applicants who will finish their MFA's close to the application deadline for the Certificate should ask their registrars to provide evidence of when the degree will be posted.

d. Provide a curriculum vita that includes degrees earned, publications, awards, teaching experience, editorial experience, etc.

e. Provide a sample of their creative work (ten-page maximum).

Students who are accepted into the Certificate Program must make arrangements, prior to their Pre-Project Period Residency, for a Supervised Teaching Placement that will be conducted during the Project Period.

As stated earlier, the Post-Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing is not a teaching credential. Applicants should contact the Office of Education in their home state or country to find details of how teachers are certified in their region.

Instructions for Letter of Application
In reviewing Cetificate applications, the Certificate Program Admissions Committee considers an applicant’s performance in his or her MFA in Creative Writing program and other supporting materials, including answers to the questions below. Please answer each question fully. The answers should take the form of a typed letter that addresses the following questions. Please number your responses to correspond with the numbered questions below, and attach your letter to the application form.

1. Why—and what—do you want to teach? Are you interested in teaching literature and composition as well as creative writing?
2. Briefly describe your previous teaching experience: type of institution—college, high school, elementary, etc.—courses, workshops, online conferences, and so forth.
3. If you are currently employed as a teacher, does your institution expect you to take additional graduate courses or workshops for professional development?
4. Regardless of your previous teaching experience, in your own view, what are your (potential) strengths and weaknesses as a teacher of creative and other forms of writing?
5. How do you expect earning this Certificate may help you?
6. Do you have ideas or a proposal for a Supervised Teaching Placement during the Certificate Program? If so, please describe what you wish to do.
7. How do you expect a career in teaching will affect your own creative writing?
8. During which Residencies did you take “Orientation to the Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing,” “Readings in the Pedagogy of Creative Writing, ” and “Teaching Academic Writing ”?
9. List any other pedagogy-related seminars or lectures you attended during the Antioch MFA Residencies.
10. Please attach an annotated bibliography of any of the required Teaching Certificate readings that you have already read from the Teaching Certificate reading list.

Questions 8, 9, and 10 are for Antioch MFA alumni only.