The Master of Fine Arts in Media Arts is a 36-credit, non-thesis graduate program designed to develop students’ expertise in creative writing for a commercial audience and creative media production through a combination of theoretical and hands-on practice.
The program offers two tracks:
The Creative Writing track helps aspiring writers develop and refine commercial works in the form of novels, screenplays, and nonfiction. Building on the success of the previous master of professional writing program, the MFA will prepare students for work as freelance writers of books, magazine articles, short stories, and narrative non-fiction. Our program faculty include extensively published, commercially successful authors who bring substantial practice and creative experience to the classroom.
The central feature of the curriculum is intensive evaluation, critique, and workshopping of each student’s writing. This individualized focus begins during the writing courses in the core curriculum and continues through additional creative writing electives and the final project. Throughout the program, students work in close collaboration with experienced faculty who are actively writing and publishing novels, non-fiction, and screenplays.
Students cover novel writing, nonfiction writing, and screenwriting in the required courses. Additional coursework in genre-specific classes and in these three areas enable students to develop their knowledge and skills in line with their interests. Students’ development is demonstrated in the final project – a book-length, professional-quality manuscript or screenplay.
The program requires 36 credits hours excluding any undergraduate deficiency coursework.
Students will select appropriate coursework from a list maintained by the department, in consultation with the graduate advisor and their faculty advisor. Students may focus on one of the three areas covered in the core writing courses or choose to develop their abilities across more than one of those areas. In the case of individualized courses such as JMC 5503 Tutorial in Writing and JMC 5990 Independent Study, content will be tailored to the interests and needs of the student.
Writing electives include but are not limited to Mystery Writing, Writing Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Short Story, Horror Writing, Romance and Suspense, and Young Adult Fiction Writing.
Graduate electives at Gaylord College vary from semester to semester to provide a wide opportunity for students to increase their knowledge of writing genres and formats.
NOTE: Students who wish to include any other JMC course not on the list must petition the JMC graduate liaison and the dean of the Graduate College.
With the approval of the adviser, students may take supportive coursework offered by other departments appropriate to the student’s focus in the program.
The following courses are possibilities that may be of interest to a variety of students in the program:
Other areas of study will vary depending on students’ focus but may include history, psychology, physical sciences, anthropology, women’s studies, arts, modern languages, classics, or any other disciplines that should be helpful in developing the student’s final project. For example, a student writing a historical novel for a project might benefit from history courses.
The student must write a book-length manuscript or a feature-length screenplay in the appropriate professionally recognized formats. The content of the project must be substantially new material and cannot repeat previously submitted coursework. This work is done over two semesters, under JMC 5880 Graduate Project.
The student must assemble a graduate project committee, as the College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Graduate College require. The student must then submit a written project proposal for approval by the chair and committee. The proposal shall detail whether the project is to be a book or screenplay; it shall specify appropriate professional markets for future submission of the work; it shall include the major points of content; and it shall state any specific research methods necessary to support the development of the work. Upon completion of the project, the student must successfully defend the work before his or her committee and be able to provide a marketing strategy for submission to publishers or studios. (The work does not have to be accepted for publication but must be judged by the committee to be of publishable quality.)
The Creative Media Production track is designed for emerging and established storytellers who seek to create impactful media across film, television, audio, documentary, digital, and emerging platforms. It prepares students for careers as producers, directors, filmmakers, content creators, multimedia storytellers, creative directors, media entrepreneurs, and educators, while also providing a strong foundation for artistic practice and lifelong creative achievement.
The 36-credit-hour curriculum is designed to help students develop advanced skills in creative development, production, post-production, media aesthetics, storytelling, collaboration, and professional practice. Drawing upon the strengths of the nation’s #1 Film & Video undergraduate program, this new MFA degree at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College builds a long tradition of hands-on, experiential learning. Students have access to state-of-the-art production facilities, professional equipment, faculty mentorship, and countless opportunities to work on real-world creative projects.
The MFA culminates in a six-credit-hour Graduate Project, the terminal-degree capstone experience. Under faculty guidance, students conceive, develop, produce, and publicly present a substantial original work that demonstrates artistic vision, technical mastery, and professional-level execution. Creative projects may include narrative films, documentaries, episodic content, audio productions, immersive experiences, multimedia storytelling projects, or other innovative forms of media expression as approved by the student’s committee and graduate program.
The program requires 36 credit hours excluding any undergraduate deficiency coursework.
*If taken at the 4000 level during the B.S., students will take substitutes as approved by the graduate advisor and faculty advisor.
Students will select appropriate coursework from a list maintained by the department, in consultation with the graduate advisor and their faculty advisor. Students may focus on advancing a particular role within creative media production including film, sound or editing. In the case of individualized courses such as JMC 5990 Independent Study, content will be tailored to the interests and needs of the student.
Production electives include Podcasting, Production for Clients, Advanced Audio Production, After Effects, Cinematography, and Approaches to Teaching in Mass Communication.
Graduate electives at Gaylord College vary from semester to semester to provide a wide opportunity for students to increase their knowledge of mass communication theory, research methodology and professional practices.
NOTE: Students who wish to include any other JMC course not on the list must petition the JMC graduate liaison and the dean of the Graduate College.
With the approval of the adviser, students may take supportive coursework offered by other departments appropriate to the student’s focus in the program.
The following courses are possibilities that may be of interest to a variety of students in the program:
Other areas of study will vary depending on students’ focus but may include history, psychology, physical sciences, anthropology, women’s studies, arts, modern languages, classics, or any other disciplines that should be helpful in developing the student’s final project. For example, a student producing a historical miniseries for a project might benefit from history courses.
The student must complete a media product demonstrating their mastery of storytelling techniques through their chosen media -- a documentary, podcast series, short film, or client-based production to name just a few options. The content of the project must be substantially new material and cannot repeat previously submitted coursework. This work is done under JMC 5880 Graduate Project.
The student must assemble a graduate project committee, as the College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Graduate College require. The student must then submit a written project proposal for approval by the chair and committee. The proposal shall detail whether the project is to be a documentary, film, podcast, etc; it shall specify appropriate professional markets or artistic competitions for future submission of the work; it shall include the major points of content; and it shall state any specific research methods necessary to support the development of the work. Upon completion of the project, the student must successfully defend the work before his or her committee and if not client-based, exhibited for a public audience.
Gaylord College offers graduate assistantships to outstanding applicants to its graduate programs. The 20-hour weekly positions include a student health insurance plan, biweekly stipend and tuition waiver.
Learn more at the Graduate Student Scholarships webpage.
February 1 for the following academic year.
Please contact the graduate studies academic adviser, Leslie Cermak at lcermak@ou.edu to schedule a campus visit or learn more about the Master of Fine Arts program.
