The Wilson College MFA program is designed for working professionals with a low-residency schedule tailored to meet the needs of artists allowing them to reach the next level in their field. View our flyer for more information and a link to our website.
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Many MFA candidates choose a program based on proximity. But it’s risky to make convenience the deciding factor in your education. Here are seven top elements to look for in a low-residency MFA program:
A program that will stretch you as a writer. How many credit hours comprise the degree? how many packets? how many pages per packet? These numbers help reveal what a program will ask of you—and give you in return. Spalding MFA alum Whitney Collins said, “The sheer volume of work we were asked to generate was remarkable, and, yes, a bit intimidating, but you will AMAZE yourself by being able to do it. I graduated with a newfound confidence surrounding my generative abilities.” Since graduating in 2018, Whitney has won a Pushcart Prize and published two short-story collections with Sarabande Books. She now teaches fiction for the Spalding MFA program.
A student-centered program. How flexible is the program? Can you spend a core semester studying a second genre? Are there scheduling options to fit your life? Can you take a leave of absence without penalty? At Spalding, the answers are very, yes, yes, and yes.
A great track record and a promising future. For your MFA degree to retain its value over the years, it should come from a proven, thriving, continuously innovating program with a bright future. The Spalding program is one of the oldest and best-regarded low-residency MFAs and enjoys generous support from its university.
Active faculty. You’ll grow most by working with faculty members who are publishing, producing, and plugged into the industry now. Kathleen Driskell, chair of Spalding’s Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing, is Poet Laureate of Kentucky. Spalding’s MFA faculty includes best-selling poet and memoirist Maggie Smith; Salon.com chief content officer Erin Keane; best-selling novelist and former Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House; children’s lit phenoms Leah Henderson and Lesléa Newman; TV writer and producer Bruce Marshall Romans (Hell on Wheels, Messiah, Spider-Man Noir); Kira Obolensky, recently profiled in the American Theatre podcast The Subtext; and many others actively creating while providing dedicated, relevant instruction to students.
Alumni successes. An established program should have recent alumni successes. Spalding congratulates MFA alums Holly Gleason, who debuted at #1 on two New York Times best-seller lists with Heart Life Music, co-written with Kenny Chesney; Colleen Alles, whose Close to a Flame: Stories appeared in LitHub’s 100 Notable Small Press Books 2025; Ashley Cook, who won a 2024 Daytime Emmy for TV writing; Jennine “Doc” Krueger and Ann Eskridge, who took part in Theatre NOW New York’s musical theatre lab; Mike Fitzer, whose “Nub City” won a semifinalist laurel in the Cannes Indie Shorts film festival; Colleen Harris, who published a full-length poetry collection and signed contracts for two more in 2025; and Rabiah York, who recently released her ninth picture book.
Ongoing support from faculty and administration. Writing is a lifetime undertaking, and you want your MFA program’s support for the long haul. Alum Lauren Budrow wrote, “Out of my four degrees, it’s my MFA from Spalding that I feel the most connected to, where I could actually reach out to fellow alums as resources, and feel comfortable enough to reach back to faculty for advice or assistance. Those friendships and connections exist because the core bond with the program is so solid.”
Deadline: Rolling Chatham’s low-residency MFA in Creative Writing enables students to improve their writing through one-on-one interaction with mentors and other students at the Summer Community of Writers residency. Complete your MFA at your own pace. Join our vibrant creative writing community today! For more information, view our flyer and visit our website.
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Chatham’s MFA in Creative Writing grows from Rachel Carson ’29, a creative writer known for her social conscience. Our students treat writing as a public act with the power to effect meaningful change. Their ideas, convictions, and writing matters. Our students think deeply about their spaces and identities. They look within then connect to the world with care and intention. Concentrations include travel writing, nature writing, food writing, publishing, social engagement, and pedagogy to complement the MFA degree with genres in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s writing (low-residency only). Additionally, we offer an on-ground full-residency program and a low-residency program.
Chatham’s MFA in Creative Writing grows from Rachel Carson ’29, a creative writer known for her social conscience. Our students treat writing as a public act with the power to effect meaningful change. Their ideas, convictions, and writing matters. Our students think deeply about their spaces and identities. They look within then connect to the world with care and intention. Concentrations include travel writing, nature writing, food writing, publishing, social engagement, and pedagogy to complement the MFA degree with genres in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s writing (low-residency only). Additionally, we offer an on-ground full-residency program and a low-residency program.
Early Placement Application Deadline: August 1 for November entry.
Spalding’s nationally distinguished low-residency MFA is the most affordable of the top-tier programs. Explore across genres, study one-on-one with outstanding faculty, gain editorial experience on Good River Review, and develop a lifelong writing community. Fiction; poetry; creative nonfiction; writing for children and young adults; writing for TV, screen, and stage; and professional writing. Certificate and Master of Arts in Writing also available. Scholarships, assistantships.
Writing for the Screen and Stage: Low-residency MFA At Point Park University
Point Park University’s low-residency MFA in Writing for the Screen & Stage is accepting applications now thru June 15, 2021. Discover your creative voice with a team of professional writers and a program that will prepare you for a multi-faceted writing career. We offer generous artistic scholarships based on your submitted artistic portfolio. Applying is free! Do it today!
Point Park University’s low-residency MFA in Writing for the Screen & Stage is accepting applications now thru June 15, 2021. Discover your creative voice with a team of professional writers and a program that will prepare you for a multi-faceted writing career. We offer generous artistic scholarships based on your submitted artistic portfolio. Applying is free! Do it today!
The low-residency MFA in creative writing at St. Francis College offers a lecture series called Write in Brooklyn which features prominent writers from a range of genres. In 2019, they launched their own YouTube channel allowing you to view these discussions online. Participants in this series have included Mahogany Brown, Dominique Morisseau, Jason Reynolds, and Amber Tamblyn.
The low-residency program meets in-person twice a year in January and June. The January residency this year was moved completely online. They offer separate genre tracks in fiction, poetry, and dramatic screenwriting/playwriting. They have a 6-to-1 student to faculty ratio that offers “an intimate, focused environment for aspiring writers to flourish.”
Early Placement Application Deadline: February 1 for May entry. Spalding’s nationally distinguished low-residency MFA is the most affordable of the top-tier programs. In the MFA and its sister programs, study one-on-one with outstanding faculty, gain editorial experience on Good River Review, and develop a lifelong writing community. Fiction; poetry; creative nonfiction; writing for children and young adults; writing for TV, screen, and stage; and professional writing. Scholarships and assistantships available.
Fairfield’s two-year, low-residency MFA program helps writers develop their literary voice and make connections that lead to publication. Students receive mentorship from an award-winning faculty of authors and gather for nine-day residencies on Enders Island. Degrees are offered in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or dramatic writing. Concentrations are available in publishing, spiritual writing, social justice, and literary health and healing.
There is still a few days left to submit your application to the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program at Eastern Kentucky University. The Bluegrass Writers Studio offers one of the most affordable and progressive low-residency programs in the nation.
They offer a close-knit and supportive writing community, are devoted to their students creative and professional success, and are supportive of both literary and literary genre writing. The program offers online workshops conducted with live audio, intensive residency workshops, international literary and cultural experiences, and web-based courses in contemporary literature. Students also have the option of working on Jelly Bucket, the annual graduate-student-produced literary journal.
To be considered for their Fall 2020 program, applications need to be received by August 1. To start their program in spring, applications need to be received by December 1.
