Creative Writing Programs :: NewPages Guide
Lesley University
MFA Program in Creative Writing
29 Everett St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Website: www.lesley.edu/gsass/creative_writing/index.html
Program director: Steven Cramer
Program contact: Jana Van der Veer, Asst. Director, Advising and Student Services
Phone: 617-349-8369
Email: jvanderv@lesley.edu
Degrees offered: MFA
Genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for stage & Screen, writing for young people
Type of program: Low residency
Length of program: 2 years, full-time
Enrollment: Students may apply for Fall (June residency) or Spring (January residency)
Total credits required: 48
Application deadlines: March 1 for Fall; September 1 for Spring
Scholarships available: Yes
Core faculty (limit 15): See http://www.lesley.edu/gsass/creative_writing/faculty.html for a complete list of current faculty
Assistantships: Yes
Publishing/editing courses: internships
Literary magazine: No
Reading series: Yes
Recent visiting writers: M.T. Anderson, Andre Dubus III, Vivian Gornick, Marie Howe, Lois Lowry, Tom Perrotta
Program description: The MFA Program in Creative Writing is a low-residency program that allows students, with the oversight of a faculty mentor, to design their own concentrations in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for stage and screen, or writing for young people. A nine-day residency begins each semester with an exciting program of seminars, workshops, readings, and the chance to design the semester's program of study. Students work independently during the semester, under the guidance of their faculty mentor.
Lesley’s interdisciplinary approach constitutes a three-fold recognition: that the borders between artistic genres have become ever more porous; that contemporary writers must be alert to new models of career preparation; and, perhaps most importantly, that along with avid reading and writing, there are always other passions that feed a writer’s imagination. Students design individual, 3-credit interdisciplinary projects for the first three of their four distance-learning semesters. The options for these projects are multiple—in some cases, students take Lesley or AIB courses; others develop independent studies or work as publishing interns, teachers, or teaching assistants.
With its residencies taking place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lesley's program draws energy from one of the literary capitals of the United States. Many of our core and visiting faculty have for years thrived in this epicenter of writing and publishing. Their experiences make them uniquely astute advisors for student writers, who will need to understand the complexities and opportunities of contemporary literary culture.