creative writing phd

creative writing phd

The Importance of Pursuing a Creative Writing PhD

1. Exploring the Benefits of a Creative Writing PhD

Given that the PhD in Creative Writing is a relatively new degree, this is a particularly important consideration for anyone thinking about pursuing this type of graduate program. As with any PhD, a valid reason for entering the program is to improve one’s prospects for securing academic employment. Based on the numbers of our students who seek and secure tenure-track teaching jobs within three months of graduating (turnover rate), there is strong evidence that this goal is attainable for our graduates. At present, we encourage our students who are hoping to become academics to assess the job market in terms of their potential to get a job in their genre (viz. poetry, fiction) and critically weigh the financial and pedagogical advantages to having a PhD in hand; our individual assessments may differ depending on what genre of writing we are analyzing. That said, we will not deny that the job market for PhD in CW graduates is a tough one. On the whole though, we believe that with a strong record of publication and the accomplishments of our graduates, the job market has improved since the founding of the program and its graduates are better poised to compete for good jobs against PhDs in English or Literature. With numerous department retirements on the horizon, a strategic job seeker might find that securing a tenure-track position is not an impossibility. These days a PhD is also a requirement for securing many types of government funding (e.g. for scientific research) and it is often considered a prerequisite for senior-level non-profit or foundation work. During their course of study, many of our PhD students secure full funding to support their living and research expenses and they view it as a wise investment of time to improve their prospects for a more secure future. Given the rigors of a PhD, whether it be in CW or any other field, it is important to keep one’s eyes on the next step and strategic thinking can be an important aid to success. As it relates to career improvement at any point, one of the single most advantageous aspects of our PhD program is its flexibility for working adults. With evening classes and a part-time option, one can theoretically complete a degree without having to forego their current job, often making use of the tuition remission benefits that many university employees receive. Though it tends to take longer to complete the degree by this method, most students find the ability to keep working while going to school a huge relief to family finances and this is particularly so in a tough job market where leaving a relatively secure employment position can hold a significant risk.

2. Gaining Advanced Knowledge and Skills in Writing

Many writers are led to believe that a teaching position and a private, comfortable place to write are mutually necessary alternatives, and to choose the former is to give up the latter. The truth is that there are few resources for those who wish to write only and do nothing else, and it is most difficult to have significant writing time while working a variety of part-time jobs and piecing together a living teaching as an adjunct at various schools. Such a situation may persist indefinitely, often to the frustration and discouragement of the writer in this position. On the other hand, a full-time teaching position offers the writer a regular schedule, a community of writers and learners to belong to, access to libraries, and other resources at the institution, and usually a lighter teaching load after the first year or two. With the MFA and PhD and emphasis in graduate programs of all types, there are increasing numbers of academic jobs available for creative writers at the college level. Full-time positions are attainable with the PhD, and in fact the MFA is becoming a minimum qualification to begin teaching and the PhD increasingly necessary for advancement at many schools.

Advanced study in creative writing affords a range of experiences in writing and thinking that strengthen the effectiveness of a writer. PhD programs train skills in identifying and solving problems in writing, reading and thinking critically in order to facilitate the production of innovative work, and learning one’s own writing process and how to teach it to others. Consequently, graduates of PhD programs are well-equipped to think and write creatively and critically across a broad range of endeavors within the field of writing and publishing, and in careers that require imaginative problem solving and clear communication. The job placement of graduates from PhD programs in creative writing is excellent. Because the academic job market is an ever increasingly difficult one, it is important to note too that a PhD is a significant credential for writers seeking to secure a teaching position.

3. Expanding Career Opportunities in Writing and Academia

Creative writing PhD programs may require previous graduate experience, as well as a graduate GPA. The completion of a master’s degree in an artistic field may help to scaffold the education to a PhD level. However, a creative writing PhD can present a strong qualification for a tenure track in an arts-focused Humanities program. Full-time students could potentially earn a Graduate Assistantship providing tuition remission and a stipend. TA-ships are often in lower-level undergraduate courses. However, PhD students, who are usually on the track to increase the level of teaching they do in academia, are in a position enough to apply to teach this type or a higher level of course during the later years of their assistantship.

A PhD in creative writing will combine coursework in both literature and writing. Literature courses provide a powerful tool in improving critical writing (a skill close to regular feedback) and the increased understanding of rhetoric related to audience and writer. Many literature courses fulfilled by a PhD student, if not designed specifically keeping in mind the creative writer, can provide an interpretation to be used for character and plot development. Courses taken in the genre of fiction, poetry, or playwriting provide both expanded understanding of the craft of creative writing and increased ability to provide critical creative work.

Creative writing doctoral program graduates can use their creative writing Ph.D. to obtain university-level teaching positions. In addition to teaching creative writing at the college level, many graduates teach high school and middle school writing, English, and drama. According to the Academic Jobs Wiki, “strong record of publication” is usually required for landing more prestigious university-level positions. However, most creative writing PhD programs allow students to earn a specialty in a second genre or field. With a strong emphasis in literature, graduates also have the opportunity to teach literature at the college level. In recent years, colleges and universities have restructured liberal arts degrees such as English into departments or schools of Humanities. This shift has increased the demand for PhD level lecturers in these newly independent departments. Higher education is filled with opportunities to educate the next generation of writers.

4. Contributing to the Field through Research and Publications

An obvious way that a PhD in creative writing can significantly enhance your employability in the field is through its contribution to research and publications. Whether you want to follow a career in writing and higher education, or expand your creative understanding through research and postgraduate study, this course is tailored to your needs. Many writers have a great idea for a book or a collection of short stories and feel that they will have time to write it after completing a PhD. We strongly believe that this isn’t always necessarily the best way to develop your skills and creative understanding. Ideas may seem to be clear and present, but can often be forgotten, lost or diluted over time. By registering for this course at Lancaster you will be joining a community of writers from a vast array of backgrounds and writing experiences, all of whom aim to work harder and creatively on their writing. Undertaking a PhD is a further development of your education; an opportunity to develop your ideas, your understanding of writing and it’s a chance to be challenged in a supportive and stimulating environment. The Department’s academic staff are an active and lively research community who between them cover a wide range of literary, linguistic, and creative fields and welcome cross-genre and hybrid research projects. By researching for a PhD you will become an autonomous, expert researcher, extending your knowledge and understanding of creative work and its relevant critical and theoretical contexts. This will ultimately raise your skills as a writer and an expert analyst of writing.

5. Becoming an Expert in Creative Writing with a PhD

By dedicating the time to completing a post-graduate degree in creative writing, you will have the opportunity to teach others how to make their writing eloquent and powerful. It will also allow you to get feedback from other writers, and in the long run, it will give you the credibility to affect the way that people read and write. Many writers hold such degrees, therefore, the person who wants to stand out should make sure their own skills do not fall below those that they will be teaching. This is essential to many writers as it often provides the motivation to complete a work of publishable standard and in the long run, it will ensure that there are more writers producing good quality work. Have you ever considered that getting your PhD may, in fact, lead to you writing a novel that is later published? Although many argue that the PhD in creative writing is only valuable if you want to teach, there are many successful writers who have published and are widely read, and who have a PhD. Getting your work published increases the chance of your creativity being disseminated to a wider audience and this can only be a positive thing for the creative writer.