Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, 48 hours
The MFA in Creative Writing is a two-year co-educational low residency program designed for serious, independent writers seeking advanced instruction in fiction, poetry, young adult fiction, and creative nonfiction through a non-traditional course of graduate study. The program’s emphasis on the mastery and understanding of writing skills and contemporary literature and craft through the master-writer and apprentice mentoring relationship, offers students a stimulating and individually tailored curriculum of courses and projects.
The degree requires 48 hours of graduate credit completed during four 9-day residencies at Converse University, offered twice annually (summer and in January), four mentoring semesters, a fifth graduating residency, the completion of a substantive analytical project on literature or craft, and a book-length creative thesis and oral defense.
- Candidates will write an extended draft of an original complete work in their genre-MFA Creative Thesis demonstrating proficiency of advanced elements of form in the genres in which they studied: fiction, poetry, and/or nonfiction.
- Candidates will produce an extended work (25-30 pages) of research based literary criticism/craft forms essay.
- Candidates will construct and craft an advanced-level creative writing craft lecture in a professional manner, organizing and delivering content in a mode appropriate to audience.
- Candidates will perform a public reading of their original work.
Admission into the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing requires completion of a two-step approval process. In addition to meeting the minimum requirements set by the Converse University Graduate School, the MFA applicant seeking full standing in the degree program must receive approval for degree program status from the MFA program faculty and director. Only those students who received approval for degree program status in addition to acceptance into the Converse University Graduate School may enter the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program.
In evaluating applications for the MFA in Creative Writing, panels composed of MFA faculty look for a demonstrated commitment to the art, and a level of skill that suggests the potential student is ready for graduate work in creative writing. The main requirement for applications is a portfolio of original work: approximately 25 pages of fiction, young adult fiction, creative nonfiction, or up to 12 pages of poetry. Environmental Writing students must select either fiction, poetry, or nonfiction and follow submission guidelines for the chosen genre. Students will need to submit three copies of this portfolio with application. Students must also submit official transcripts from the accredited college or university from which they received their highest degree, and two letters of academic and/or professional reference.
Application Deadlines
Students can begin the program in the Summer/Fall term that begins with the summer residency, or the Winter/Spring term that begins with the January residency. Applications for the Summer/Fall term should be submitted by February 15. Applications for the Winter/Spring term should be submitted by October 1.
The following materials are required for application:
- Hold at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
- Submit a completed graduate school application form, including a non-refundable $40 application fee.
- Submit official transcripts from the accredited college or university from which they received their highest degree. A minimum GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale is required for full admission to the MFA program.
- Submit a portfolio of creative writing consisting of up to 25 pages of fiction, young adult fiction, creative nonfiction or up to 12 pages of poetry.
- Submit a brief personal statement (up to two typed pages) responding to the following: Whose writing do you admire and why? Why do you want to study the writing of poetry, fiction or nonfiction? What do you hope to gain from an MFA program, especially a low-residency MFA program?
- Provide two letters of academic or professional reference to be sent from people familiar with your academic record and/or your professional record. Letter should address several of the following: motivation and intellectual ability for graduate work, understanding of major field, your potential as a writer, personal maturity and ability to contribute to a writing community, and ability to meet deadlines and work independently.
In addition to meeting the minimum requirements set by the Converse University Graduate School, the MFA applicant must receive approval for degree program status from the MFA program faculty and director.
Complete your MFA application online at:
https://apply.converse.edu/apply/
How the Low-Residency Program Works
The Residency
The residency is an integral part of each semester, and each nine-day residency, held on campus in early summer and again in January, begins the new semester with a demanding program of creative writing workshops in which student work is discussed and evaluated. Students also attend craft lectures on the history, theory and critical approaches to the genres, faculty/student presentations and one-on-one consultations, in addition to presentations by visiting writers, editors and agents. With a low student-faculty ratio, students have important access to instruction from mentors. In addition, workshops are kept small, never more than 6–8 student writers. This allows students to receive direct contact with experienced writers and their peers, providing a stimulating and supportive community of writers. (Refer below for additional details concerning on-campus residencies.)
The Mentoring Semesters
During the months between these residencies, students work individually with faculty mentors—award-winning writers, with whom students construct reading lists and to whom they send their creative and critical work for written feedback on a schedule determined at the time of their residency. Each student exchanges 5 packets of creative writing and craft topic response papers with a mentor per term. The faculty/mentor responds within one to two weeks via mail or e-mail and offers instructive critiques for revision, additional reading suggestions and relevant observations on craft and theory.
Students must complete four mentoring semesters to graduate. The Summer/Fall mentoring semester begins with the Summer residency, and the Winter/Spring mentoring semester begins with the January residency.
The Fifth, Graduating Residency
At the end of the two years, students finish the program by returning to campus for a fifth, graduating residency. In this final residency, graduating students complete the following:
- give a presentation and oral defense of their creative thesis project
- give a public reading from their creative work
- lead their fellow students in a craft seminar developed under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
Required Activities for Graduation
In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, the following must be met:
- Completion of 4 on-campus residencies
(16 credit hours) - Completion of 4 courses in chosen genre
(16 credit hours) - Completion of 4 courses in craft topics
(16 credit hours) - Completion of original, book-length manuscript of high quality in the selected genre
(Creative Thesis) - Completion of substantive research paper, 25–30 pages, written during third semester of enrollment
- Evidence of broad reading and an annotated bibliography of required reading list. By the time of graduation, participants will be expected to have read a substantial number of books concerning such topics as aesthetics, craft, genre, and the works of individual writers of achievement in the participant’s chosen genre.
- Completion of fifth, graduating residency.
- Students are expected to devote a minimum of 16–18 hours per week to their graduate work.
YA Fiction Emphasis: Courses and Procedures for Students
In the YA fiction student’s first year in the program (semesters 1 and 2), the student will participate in regular fiction workshops, fiction writing courses, and craft topics fiction courses (see course descriptions) to sharpen the basic craft techniques necessary in all fiction. During the second year (semesters 3 and 4) in the program, the YA student will participate in workshops, craft topics courses and writing courses emphasizing the craft techniques associated with the writing of Young Adult Fiction. With the third residency session, students with an Emphasis in Y.A. fiction will continue to take CRW 600; however, rather than take the regular third semester courses in fiction, the student will participate in a residency workshop focused on Y.A. Fiction, and will take CRW 622 Young Adult Fiction Writing I, and CRW 615: Craft Topics in Young Adult Fiction Writing I, (see course descriptions below). In the fourth residency and mentoring semester, students will continue their study of Y.A. Fiction Writing in the residency workshop and mentoring semester by taking CRW 600, CRW 623 Young Adult Fiction Writing II: Thesis, and CRW 616: Craft Topics in Young Adult Fiction Writing II. In these residency workshops and throughout the third and fourth mentoring semesters, students will continue to develop their work in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, but with an emphasis that encourages writers to identify and explore in their creative work and craft analysis the essence of what makes a work of fiction YA in terms of narrative point of view and subject matter, while also challenging the conventions of genre fiction. Third and fourth semester craft topics courses in the Emphasis will have similar requirements to the regular fiction courses except emphasis students will complete a major research project focused on YA fiction, and develop a craft lecture in the fourth semester based on the YA research project.
Optional Second Genre Emphasis
The Second Genre Option provides current Converse MFA students the opportunity to study a secondary genre in addition to the major genre of study. Students applying for approval to study in a second genre will enroll in an additional semester in the MFA program and complete an additional 12 semester hours.
Second genre students admitted into the optional emphasis will complete a full residency and mentoring semester in one of the three genre options: fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.
During the second genre residency/semester, which will take place in the student’s third semester, students participate in the residency workshop in their second genre of interest. During the mentoring semester immediately following that residency, students complete creative and critical craft work in that second genre under the guidance of a mentor with a specialty in that genre.
This one-semester option adds one residency and one semester (a total of 12 credit hours) to a student’s total program of study and earns the student a second genre concentration in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction which is documented on the final transcript. The second genre emphasis will lengthen the program for those second genre option students from four full semesters to five full semesters (including residency sessions at the beginning of each semester.) The Graduating Residency requirements will not change, but will continue as usual and will follow the student’s final creative thesis semester.
Since it is highly important for students to first establish themselves and make positive progress in the MFA program and in the study of their primary genre before broadening out, enrolled MFA students are eligible for the second genre study option only during their third residency/mentoring semester (in other words, before the Critical Essay semester); both the Critical Essay and the Creative Thesis must be completed in the student’s primary genre in the final two semesters of the program). Under special circumstances, a student may complete the second genre emphasis as a fifth semester after the completion of the primary genre coursework.
For students enrolling in the second genre option, the total number of graduate hours increases from 48 hours to 60 credit hours.
Applying for the Second Genre Option
Second Semester Converse MFA students intending to enroll in a second genre may apply for admission in a secondary genre residency/semester by one of the following dates: February 15 for students enrolling in their third semester during the summer residency/fall mentoring semester, or October 1 for students enrolling in their third semester during the January residency/spring mentoring semester.
To apply for the second genre concentration, students must submit the following to the MFA director:
- A writing sample in the genre of interest (10 pages of poetry or 15 pages of nonfiction or fiction)
- A brief cover letter indicating the student’s desire to study a specific second genre.
Upon review of these materials, the MFA director will consult with relevant faculty. Director and faculty approval is required for this option.
Students are expected to write at an appropriate level for graduate study in the selected second genre.
Transfer Students
Converse recognizes there may be cases in which students enrolled in another MFA program might want to transfer to Converse University’s MFA in Creative Writing program.
Our policy regarding transfer students is as follows:
- Students currently enrolled in another MFA program (residency or low-residency) who wish to transfer to Converse University’s low-residency MFA program must submit a complete application as described in our Application Guidelines.
- Students attending a full-residency MFA program will begin our low-residency program as first or second-semester students; any credits earned from residency MFA programs will be accepted by Converse University on a case-by-case basis.
- Students who have successfully completed and passed one or more semesters at another accredited low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program may enter the low-residency MFA program at Converse University with one semester’s worth of credits (3 courses or up to 12 hours).
Time Limit
Candidates have five calendar years from the time of enrollment to complete the MFA degree.
Registration and Tuition Payments
Upon acceptance, a $400 deposit is required to hold the student’s place in the program. This deposit is non-refundable and is applied to tuition.
Full payment of tuition is due two weeks before the beginning of the residency and may be sent by check or money order, or paid by Visa or MasterCard by phone before arrival at the residency. See MFA calendar for specific dates regarding tuition deadlines and refunds.
- Tuition
The 2023-2024 tuition rates for the MFA program are $640 per credit hour, or $7,680 per semester, well below the national average for low residency MFA programs. - Housing Costs-Residency Sessions
All enrolled MFA students receive room and board during both the summer residency session and the winter residency session at no additional cost. The MFA program works with Residential Life to provide on-campus room & board during the summer residency session, and with local hotels to provide room and board during the winter residency session.
Tuition costs are evaluated annually and are subject to change.
Financial Planning
Many students choose federal student loan funds to assist with their educational costs in the MFA program. You do not have to demonstrate “financial need” to secure a Federal Direct Loan, but you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually. The priority deadline for applying for federal financial aid is March 1. There are also private or alternative student loan sources available to assist in paying your educational costs.
Eligibility for the private or alternative loans is determined by your credit history.
For more information on applying for federal or private student loans, contact the Financial Planning Office at financial.planning@converse.edu or 864-596-9019.
Federal aid recipients who withdraw prior to the completion of the current term are subject to a federal aid refund. This refund can impact the amount of aid a student can retain upon withdrawing from Converse University.
Financial aid is a means of payment. The absence or delay in receipt of financial aid funds does not affect the student’s financial responsibility of charges due to the University.
Withdrawal and Tuition Refund Policy
A withdrawal is considered to be a complete withdrawal from the University. The date of withdrawal is the earlier of:
- The date the student notifies the university; or
- The ending date of the previous term if the student fails to register for a new term; or
- The date the student specifies as the date of withdrawal if this date is after the date of notification.
The withdrawal must be written and sent directly to the MFA program office. When a student withdraws from the University prior to the end of a term, all incomplete courses for which the student is currently registered at the time of withdrawal will be recorded as withdrawn on the student’s grade record. If the withdrawal is effective at the end of the term, the grade as supplied by the evaluating faculty for each course will be posted to the student’s grade record.
Students who withdraw prior to the end of the term should refer to the current tuition policies statement for information about appropriate tuition refunds. Financial aid adjustments are based on federal guidelines.
Dismissal
Please refer to the Graduate Catalogue for policies concerning student dismissal from Converse University.
Graduation Policy
The date of graduation is the last day of the student’s graduation residency. Graduation requires both academic and financial clearance. The Business Office and the Financial Planning Office will audit financial accounts. The Program Director and Registrar certifies that all academic degree requirements have been fulfilled. If academic and/or financial clearance is not granted, a hold will be placed on the graduation process until the academic deficiency and/or the financial obligation is cleared.
Required Courses for the MFA in Creative Writing
Total Residency Credits: 16 hours
Taken by all students in Semesters 1, 2, 3, and 4:
MFA Craft Topics
MFA Craft Topics I – History, criticism, & theory
(according to student’s selected genre (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry)
MFA Crafts Topics II: History, criticism, & theory
(according to student’s selected genre (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry)
Graduating Residency
Taken by all students in their fifth and final semester. Students give a thesis presentation and craft lecture presentation to complete degree requirements.
Additional Requirements
Thesis and Book List – Candidates must submit prospectus for thesis and an approved book list before fourth mentoring semester’s first packet due date.