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Select Seniors Write Creative Theses

Kalam said he also thinks that earning an MFA is not an essential prerequesite for a successful writing career.

"Hemingway didn't need an MFA to learn how to write," he says.

A Looser Standard?

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Watson says the number of applicants for creative theses has been falling since he started teaching at Harvard in 1998.

"In the spring of '98 we had maybe 30 people apply, this year we've had only about 15 or 20," Watson says.

According to Watson, students were not actively discouraged from applying, but some may have figured their chances for selection were slim.

"People just take a guess at their chances and some just don't apply, which is unfortunate," he says.

Watson says the English department is pressed to meet the demand for creative theses.

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