Courses of Instruction

Waite Phillips Hall 404
(213) 740-3252
E-mail: mpw@mizar.usc.edu
FAX: (213) 740-5775

Director: James J. Ragan, Ph.D.

Master of Professional Writing

The program is designed for individuals pursuing writing as a career. Fields included are fiction, screenwriting, poetry, stageplay writing and non-fiction book writing. Program faculty are successful writers whose experience in writing and knowledge of publishing bring professional expertise to the classroom.

The curriculum offers seminars and workshops focusing on the development of students' work and on marketing the book, play and filmscript. The degree is specifically intended for writers, preferably those interested in working in more than one genre.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the program is based upon possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, with a minimum 3.0 GPA. When possible, interviews will be conducted with applicants. Adequate scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations, three letters of recommendation and a work sample of at least 10 pages are required.

Degree Requirements

Thirty units of work are required for the MPW degree. MPW 900 Survey of Professional Writing is required and normally will be taken during the first year. In addition, 15 units are required in the student's major field (fiction, poetry, non-fiction, or cinema-TV-drama), including one to six units of MPW 994 Professional Writing Project, in which a project is developed in consultation with the director of the program and an appropriate faculty advisor. The remaining 12 units consist of electives from the writing curriculum. Students are required to submit a proposal describing their individual projects to the director at least six weeks prior to the beginning of any semester in which they plan to enroll in MPW 994. There are no foreign language or thesis requirements.

In addition to the following professional writing courses, students may select units for the major from CTWR 514, 515ab, 517 and JOUR 435, JOUR 436 (MPW Program approval required).

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