Qualification Regulations
Part I
These regulations are to be read in conjunction with all other Statutes and Regulations of the University including General Regulations for Postgraduate Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas, and Postgraduate Certificates.
Part II
Admission
1. Admission to the Master of Creative Writing requires that the candidate will:
(a) meet the University admission requirements as specified; and will have:
(b) been awarded or qualified for a Bachelor’s degree with at least a B grade average across the 200- and 300-level specialisation courses, or equivalent; or
(c) been awarded or qualified for a Bachelor’s with Honours degree in Creative Writing, Expressive Arts or English, with at least a B grade average for the qualification, or equivalent; or
(d) been awarded or qualified for a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts in Creative Writing, Expressive Arts or English, with at least a B grade average for the qualification, or equivalent;
and will have:
(e) been selected into the programme on the basis of an assessment of the substance and quality of a portfolio of creative writing prepared by the candidate.
Qualification requirements
2. Candidates of the Degree of Master of Creative Writing shall follow a parts-based programme of study, which shall consist of courses totalling at least 180 credits, comprising:
(a) completion of Part One and Part Two as detailed in the Schedule for the Qualification;
(b) attendance of a compulsory workshop either on-line or in person.
3. Notwithstanding Regulation 2, candidates admitted under Regulation 1(c) or (d) may apply for credit towards Part One of the qualification in accordance with the limits specified in the Recognition of Prior Learning regulations.
Specialisations
4. The Master of Creative Writing is awarded without a specialisation.
Student progression
5. In cases of sufficient merit, the Degree of Master of Creative Writing may be awarded with distinction or merit.
6. For progression to Part Two of the Master of Creative Writing candidates must have maintained a grade average of at least a B+ over the 60 credits undertaken for Part One.
Completion requirements
7. The timeframes for completion as outlined in the General Regulations for Postgraduate Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Certificates will apply.
8. Candidates may be graduated when they meet the Admission, Qualification and Academic requirements within the prescribed timeframes. Candidates who do not meet the requirements for progression from Part One to Part Two, or who do not meet the requirements for graduation may, subject to the approval of Academic Board, be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate Arts, should they meet the relevant Qualification requirements.
Unsatisfactory academic progress
9. The general Unsatisfactory Academic Progress regulations will apply.
Schedule for the Master of Creative Writing
Course planning key
- Prerequisites
- Courses that need to be completed before moving onto a course at the next level. For example, a lot of 200-level courses have 100-level prerequisite courses.
- Corequisites
- Courses that must be completed at the same time as another course are known as corequisite courses.
- Restrictions
- Some courses are restricted against each other because their content is similar. This means you can only choose one of the offered courses to study and credit to your qualification.
Key terms for course planning
- Courses
- Each qualification has its own specific set of courses. Some universities call these papers. You enrol in courses after you get accepted into Massey.
- Course code
- Each course is numbered using 6 digits. The fourth number shows the level of the course. For example, in course 219206, the fourth number is a 2, so it is a 200-level course (usually studied in the second year of full-time study).
- Credits
- Each course is worth a number of credits. You combine courses (credits) to meet the total number of credits needed for your qualification.
- Specialisations
- Some qualifications let you choose what subject you'd like to specialise in. Your major or endorsement is what you will take the majority of your courses in.
Part One (Choose 60 credits from)
List A (Choose at least 30 credits from)
Course code: 139703 Critical and Creative Research 30 credits
An introduction to practices of research with creative texts. Students will learn practical techniques for planning and producing research in critical and/or creative modes. Fostering a critical voice and debating the cultural and social value of aesthetic communication will be integral to the course.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139765 Creative Writing Workshop 30 credits
An advanced study and practice of creative writing in its myriad contemporary forms.
View full course detailsList B (Choose no more than 30 credits from)
Course code: 139710 Rhetoric, Composition and the Teaching of Writing 30 credits
An advanced introduction to rhetoric and composition as a framework for writing research and writing instruction.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139724 Literary Revolutions: Romantic and Victorian Literature 30 credits
A study of literary culture in Britain and the Pacific during the Romantic and Victorian periods. This course explores relationships between poetry, novels, travel writing and political treatises in the period, focusing on the distinctive nature of literary engagements with contemporary social and political upheavals.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139750 Contemporary New Zealand Writers in an International Context 30 credits
An advanced exploration of contemporary New Zealand fiction and poetry and its relationship to international aesthetic practices, in the context of globalisation and postcoloniality.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139758 Postcolonial Theory and Writing 30 credits
An advanced introduction to theories of postcolonial ethics and identity, and their relationship to selected works of literature from a range of postcolonial contexts.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139763 Community Theatre 30 credits
What role does theatre have in the community? Is there a valid place for community theatre in a secular society? If so, what stories need to be told through theatre? How might we tell them? The exploration of these questions will involve, initially, the examination of a range of historical and contemporary models of community theatre. Students will then engage in exploratory workshops, in community research, writing, rehearsals and theatrical performance.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139799 Research Report (30) 30 credits
A supervised and guided independent study.
View full course detailsCourse code: 154708 Modern Fiction, Popular Culture and the Media 30 credits
An examination of major developments in approaches to fiction in the twentieth century, focusing on modern and postmodern trends, and on how these have impacted on the rise and alleged decline of distinctions between elite art and popular culture. Texts for analysis are selected from both literature and film and include examples of canonical as well as popular fiction.
View full course detailsCourse code: 154747 Media Practice and Global Culture 30 credits
This course examines the critical context of contemporary media practice, exploring how media texts, technologies, and institutions respond to and produce processes of globalisation. Students will focus on the use of digital and mobile media technologies, and consciously negotiate decisions regarding the cultural, social, political, economic, ethical and environmental implications of their own media production, distribution and consumption.
View full course detailsPart Two (Choose 120 credits from)
Course code: 139860 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139861 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 139862 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
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