How to Pick A Creative Writing MFA Program

If you want to be a professional creative writer, you may want to get an MFA (a masters degree in fine arts) in the creative writing field. Not every creative writer holds an MFA degree, but many do. Among many other opportunities, MFA programs give you the chance to workshop your stories, poems, plays, screenplays or novel chapters with teachers and fellow writing students who are equally serious about becoming professional creative writers. For a step by step plan about exactly which factors to consider when choosing and MFA program, read this article.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. First, examine the specific course offerings of each MFA program you are considering. For instance, some programs offer many courses in novel writing and few in screenwriting. If you know for a fact that you want to write for the silver screen, such a program could be potentially problematic for you.

2. Step two is to consider the faculty very carefully. Have you read the work of any of a particular MFA program’s faculty members? (Or, in the case of screenwriters or playwrights, have you watched any of their films or plays?) If so, what did you think of their work? It’s important to trust and respect the people who will be teaching and mentoring you. After all, one of them will ultimately serve as your thesis director.

3. Next, find out about the composition teaching courses offered at each school you are considering. Many people who earn MFA degrees in creative writing end up teaching freshman English composition courses as adjunct professors in universities in order to make a living or supplement their incomes. For this reason, many MFA programs offer rather extensive training in how to teach English composition.

4. Prepare to enter graduate school in creative writing with a definitive game plan. The average MFA program is two years long, give or take a semester or two. What do you intend to accomplish during that time frame? For instance, do you want to focus on screenwriting or writing plays or some other area? This does not mean that you can only take course in one area, but you will probably want to take most of your courses in one particular area of creative writing so that you can specialize and hone your craft.

5. Evaluate the cost/benefit ratio before entering any MFA program. It is expensive to go to graduate school. Do you have savings, or will you be taking out loans? Getting an MFA is not like getting an MBA, but it is almost as expensive. Is your personal marketability post graduation a big concern? If so, this is one more factor to take into account when making your decision.

Tips & Warnings

• It’s important to keep in mind that in many MFA programs you will be required to write a major thesis in order to graduate, so you will need to keep this end goal in mind throughout your time in graduate school. Depending upon your concentration or area of interest, your thesis can be a collection of poems, several short stories, or a significant portion of a novel or play or screenplay.

[motherearth]

on 6/10/2009 These are thorough steps! I've wondered about writing MFA programs.