Master of Fine Arts in Writing

at University of New Hampshire - Durham Campus USA

The Department of Political Science at UNH offers the Master of Arts in Political Science. The program provides advanced study in international relations and American and comparative politics. The program serves students interested in working in government, public service, nonprofit management, electoral politics, education and research, and in preparing for Ph.D. programs. It gives students the flexibility to tailor their coursework to individual interests within a curriculum that ensures a strong foundation in international and domestic politics, research methods, and analysis. Faculty engage in teaching and research activities encompassing the fields of international and comparative politics, American politics, and political thought.

If you have graduated within the last five years with a Bachelor of Social Work from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-accredited program with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better, you are eligible to apply for the advanced standing M.S.W. degree at UNH. Professional social workers make a difference in people’s lives, communities and society. An M.S.W. is a professional degree that will prepare you for work in fields such as healthcare, education, substance abuse, child welfare, employee assistance programs, policy and advocacy, and other human services and social welfare related areas. Additionally, an M.S.W. is the first step toward becoming a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW).

Why Choose Unh’S Master Of Social Work Program?
At UNH, you’ll earn a CSWE-accredited M.S.W. from a top-tier research university. You’ll learn from full-time faculty who are passionate about social justice and are experts in their fields of practice. The advanced standing option will allow you to finish your degree in a much shorter timeframe than a traditional M.S.W. program — as few as 12 months in Durham or 16 months online. You’ll also gain hands-on experience while making a difference in your community through a local field internship.

The Department of Natural Resources and the Environment offers a Master of Science program that provides advanced, research-based study in the ecology, biogeochemistry, economics, policy, and management of vital natural resources, including water, soil, forests, wildlife, and agricultural crops. Students take an interdisciplinary approach to their research and use the tools of the natural and social sciences, including geospatial methods, to make fundamental and significant contributions toward local, regional, and global sustainability.

Students are supported by a highly productive and internationally recognized faculty, outstanding laboratory facilities, and a diversity of accessible terrestrial, marine, and freshwater field sites. Research conducted by faculty and graduate students has resulted in UNH being ranked second of 316 North American institutions in scholarly contributions to the field of ecology.

At UNH, a master’s degree in kinesiology allows you to choose among three specialization areas: exercise science, outdoor education or sport studies. Each area focuses on applying cutting-edge knowledge to practice and will prepare you to take the next career step in healthcare, program management, sport administration or advanced research.

The ANSC: dairy management option is designed to provide students with solid training in areas important to the successful management of a dairy enterprise, for employment in related agribusinesses (e.g., pharmaceutical and feed industries), or for those wishing to pursue additional training leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. degree in dairy science or its related disciplines. Dairy management students receive training in areas such as nutrition, reproduction, diseases, genetics, lactation physiology, forages, agribusiness finance, personnel management, computer science, and public relations. The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center and the Burley-DeMerritt Organic Dairy Research Farm are modern dairy facilities. The Fairchild Dairy houses 85 lactating Holstein cows plus a similar number of non-lactating animals. The Burley-DeMerritt Farm houses 50 lactating Jersey cows plus a small number of non-lactating animals. For additional information and answers to questions regarding the option in dairy management, email Dr. Peter Erickson.

Majoring in sociology provides a solid, multifaceted foundation in the liberal arts, including analytical thinking and writing, and skills in collecting and analyzing data. Students learn diverse theoretical approaches to the social world and acquire tools for conducting and understanding social science research. The wide range of substantive areas taught in the UNH Department of Sociology include courses concentrating on family and work; environmental sociology; social policy; inequalities of race, class and gender; criminology, social control and deviant behavior; medical sociology; and religion.

Undergraduate training in sociology is an excellent background for a variety of careers, including the business world, where majors might work in marketing and sales or human resources; government and nonprofit services, where majors might work in education, health services, social welfare or criminal justice; and research. An undergraduate degree in sociology is also excellent preparation for graduate work in law, social work, criminal justice, counseling, public administration, public health, business administration, urban planning or further studies in sociology.

This option prepares students for managerial positions in commercial, public, and nonprofit organizations that provide recreation and leisure services. Curriculum design emphasizes the effective and efficient planning, delivery, and evaluation of leisure-based programs, services, and enterprises. Applied experience is a component of most courses, in addition to a required practicum and the 10-16 week full-time internship under professional supervision. Depending upon the RMP electives and the career support emphasis or minor chosen, students may expect to find employment in a broad range of settings. Recent graduates have found employment in the areas of conference and event planning, municipal park and recreation services, recreational sports, commercial and entrepreneurial recreation businesses, youth-serving agencies, resorts, camps, and natural resource management positions in state and federal agencies.

The Program in Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers a Master of Arts degree in Spanish with courses in the following areas: Second Language Acquisition, Pedagogy and Methodology; Hispanic Literature and Cultural Studies; and Hispanic Linguistics and Cultural Studies. The program also supports work in interdisciplinary Hispanic studies.

The ECS major is comprised of 14 core requirements providing integrative courses in both environmental conservation and sustainability, along with a foundation in biology, ecology, physical and social science, and the basic tools and skills applied to problem solving. These core requirements are typically fulfilled in the first two years. Beginning in their junior year, ECS students, in consultation with their advisers, create a seven course focus area based on an ecological system or natural resource of their choosing. The focus area provides advanced study in ecology and natural resources; social sciences; tools, skills, and/or natural history and should reflect the student's interests and future goals. Additionally, each ECS student completes a practicum experience and a capstone option.

The ECS major provides the opportunity for students to gain a common foundation of knowledge and skills emphasizing integration and critical thinking, while allowing for sufficient flexibility to pursue their interests and passions within a large and complex field of study. The design of the curriculum will allow each student at least four, and as many as six, free electives, which they may fulfill as they choose. Many students pursue international experiences, such as the UNH EcoQuest program in New Zealand, add a minor or dual degree (such as the dual degree in international studies), and/or pursue research opportunities with our faculty or through another of UNH's undergraduate research opportunity programs.

In addition to the university's mandatory Discovery Program requirements, degree candidates must complete our core program (freshman through junior years).  In the senior year, students select professional technical electives in the areas of their interest.   They also carry out a student-designed project to acquire both breadth and depth of study and to integrate knowledge across course boundaries.

For a detailed semester by semester list of requirements for the four years of study, please refer to the Degree Plan tab.