Teaching

• No additions or clarifications to the CLAS standards.

Research

• Research in this department comprises creative writing and artful nonfiction in addition to literary scholarship and critical analysis.
• The department recognizes research and creative work that is released in different formats and genres as appropriate for the target audience, including performance, exhibition, digital, and print media of many kinds.
• The department does not stipulate a particular rate of publications or set of journals, but a rule of thumb is that each traditional research-active faculty member will publish in reputable, peer-reviewed journals or edited volumes and/or complete portions of a projected monograph each year. Research-active creative writing faculty will publish stories, poems, or essays in literary venues with a national reputation, and/or complete portions of a projected long-form work, such as a book or equivalent scale project.
  • A reputable scholarly journal is characterized by a commitment to rigorous peer review, high-quality production standards, and transparent editorial policies.  
  • A reputable venue for creative work could be an online magazine, a journalistic outlet, a print literary magazine affiliated with an institution, or scholarly journal with a track record of publishing nationally known creative writers with standing in the field.
  • The department values research contributions that significantly advance knowledge in the field, are performed rigorously, are innovative, and are communicated effectively.
  • The department values creative works that show mastery of craft methods; are in conversation with other artists, movements, and works in the field; and demonstrate creative integrity.
  • The department acknowledges that subdisciplines differ widely with regard to the time and effort required to produce a significant publication. Accordingly, it is anticipated that even the most accomplished faculty members may have very different rates of productivity.
• The department recognizes a variety of markers of increasing reputation. For example, invitations to give talks at other institutions and at conferences are a sign of the visibility of a faculty member’s research program, and also are beneficial to the faculty member’s students and the department. Other markers include awards from prestigious organizations, receipt of an endowed position, editing special issues for reputable journals, judging awards, commissions, and organizing conferences, workshops, and symposia.

Service

• Senior faculty are generally expected to bear a heavier load of administrating the department, including mentor and support for more junior faculty, especially when requested to do so by the DEO as part of the departmental mentoring system.

Teaching

• The department does not expect assistant professors to direct a doctoral student before promotion-and-tenure.

Research

• Develop a research program sufficient to achieve tenure.

Teaching

• Effectively mentor graduate students and guide them to the PhD or MFA in a timely manner, if relevant to their appointment.

Research

• Accumulate evidence of sustained reputation in their field.

Service

• Expand the range of service contributions within the department.

Teaching

• Continue to effectively mentor graduate students and guide them to the PhD or MFA in a timely manner, if relevant to their appointment.

Research

• Possess a national and international reputation and maintain a research program that further enhances that reputation.

Service

• Expand the range of service contributions within the department by, for example, serving as chair of a search committee or promotion committee.