For students who like to express themselves through writing, the English department offers a master's of fine arts and a new doctoral program.
Dr. Theron Britt, associate professor and director of the doctorate program, said the Ph.D. students are gearing up to take their field exams this spring. The doctorate program is in its second year and offers four concentrations: composition, applied linguistics, professional writing and textual studies.
Britt said there are 10 students in the doctorate program.
"We're a small program," Theron said. "And we will be growing slowly."
The deadline for applying to the doctorate program is March 1. Britt said he now has 25 applications and is still looking for qualified applicants.
Dr. Stephen Tabachnick, chairman of the English department, said the department hopes to hire more faculty who will participate in the doctorate program.
"Having a Ph.D. program allows us to attract some highly qualified faculty." Tabachnick said.
"We are very excited about the fact that our first Ph.D. students are going to take their field exams this spring," Tabachnick said.
Tabachnick said one of the important aspects of having a Ph.D. program is it serves the people in the area. He said otherwise, potential students would have to go elsewhere for a doctoral program.
He also said having a doctoral program brings a different, exciting level of teaching. He said it helps to attract faculty who want to share their research with students.
"It energizes the entire faculty," Tabachnick said.
Tammy Jones, a doctoral student, said she hopes to go back to teaching when she finishes her degree. Jones previously taught for four years in Belize as a volunteer.
"I've never had a more interesting job in my life," Jones said.
Jones said she chose the Ph.D. program because she had gotten her master's from The U of M and because the program was new.
Jones said the advantage is it allows her to tailor the program to her interests.
Dr. John Bensko, program coordinator for the MFA creative writing program, said the MFA program consists of 48 hours. Some of the courses students take are creative writing workshops, poetry, fiction writing and creative non-fiction.
Bensko said the MFA degree is considered a terminal degree which enables students to teach at a college or university. Bensko did point out the teaching jobs at the college level are extremely competitive with only master's degrees.
"This degree (MFA) is really for people who are interested in creative writing," Bensko said.
Bensko said professors help students learn what it takes to get published. He also said the program is different because students do their own work rather than relying heavily on reading text books.
Bensko knows about being published, he has had three books of poetry published. His book, Green Soldier won The Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize.
The MFA program also has the literary journal, River City, which is published twice a year. The journal publishes students works in poetry, fiction, non-fiction, art and photography.
The journal is distributed nationally and a yearly prize of $200 is awarded for fiction. A $100 prize is also given for poetry. Bensko said more information on the contest can be found on their website: www.people.memphis.edu/~rivercity/contests.html.
