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FAQs: Independent Study/Field Work

How do I apply for English 298 (Independent Study), 399 (Senior Independent Study), or 290 (Field Work)?

Permission to elect Independent Study and Field Work is granted by the associate chair, but you should find a faculty sponsor before obtaining the associate chair’s signature. If you wish to do 298, 399, or 290 and you don’t know who would be an appropriate sponsor, consult the associate chair first. Occasionally, a request for Independent Study or Field Work requires permission of the chair after consultation with the associate chair.

What kinds of Field Work will the department sponsor to oversee?

The project must fall clearly within the scope of our concerns as an English Department. Projects involving a student’s work in journalism, television, radio, or advertising, for example, are best referred to either the American Culture Program or the Department of Sociology (which offer courses in those fields). You are required to submit a written proposal. The proposal should address the relevance of the project to your work as an English major (or work in English courses) as well a s outline clearly and specifically your duties on the job.

Is there a Creative Writing Program at Vassar?

The English Department at Vassar offers an array of creative writing courses. Students usually begin with English 205: Composition, which may be taken in either "a" or "b" semester. This course serves as an introduction to the writing of both fiction and poetry. English 206, also offered in both "a" and "b" semesters, is open to students who have taken 205. One section of 206 is usually designated as a "poetry" section for those students who wish to work exclusively in that form.

The department has two year-long creative writing courses, English 208-209: Narrative Writing and English 210-211: Verse Writing. They are open to both majors and nonmajors.

Students who wish to be considered for these courses must submit a writing portfolio before spring break in the semester before the courses begin. A portfolio should consist of 15 to 20 pages of fiction or 6 to 8 poems. These courses are not available to Freshmen. A writing portfolio is also required for students wishing to take English 305-306: Senior Composition. This course is limited to senior English Majors, and entails the writing of a Senior Thesis– a collection of poems, short stories or a novel.

Independent study in creative writing is also available for sophomores, juniors, and seniors, subject to the ordinary rules for independent study in the English department. All of our creative writing courses include study of established authors as well as in-class consideration of student work. Vassar sends many graduates on to MFA Programs in Creative Writing. Recent graduates have studied at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Brown, Cornell, Stanford, University of Montana, University of Massachusetts and University of Arkansas.

Writers who have attended Vassar include Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, Muriel Rukeyser, Mary Oliver, Jane Smiley, Erica Funkhauser, Elizabeth Spires, Carole Maso, Indira Ganesan, Keith Scribner, Thomas Beller, Karin Cook and Greg Herbek.

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