Whether you’ve always wanted to be a writer or you’re just getting your feet wet in the literary world, a creative writing program can give you the skills and structure you need to bring a project to life. Here are four things to consider as you explore your creative writing degree options.
Decide on a Format: Residency, Low-Residency, or Online
Full-time, on campus graduate programs are often referred to as “residential” (even if you don’t live on campus). These programs vary in structure: some have classes during the day, while others focus on evening classes. Attending an MFA program or taking creative writing classes on campus would entail choosing a school within commuting distance or relocating.
Low-residency programs, you could say, are a hybrid format. You’ll take your creative writing classes online and write independently through most of the year, and then attend an intensive campus residency, usually for a week to 10 days. Residencies typically offer a mix of classes, readings, workshopping, and events with your peers.
Low-residency programs certainly offer more flexibility than full-time, on-campus programs. Low-residency and no-residency programs allow you to attend a school that is farther away, geographically. However, the challenge of traveling for week-long residencies, both in expense and time, often rules out the idea of a low-residency MFA program for many prospective students.
A third option is a no-residency program designed to better fit the lives of working adults who also happen to be aspiring writers. This convenience is likely why more students are earning writing degrees online than ever.
National University does not have an MFA but is proud to have a genre-friendly creative writing minor.
Make Sure the Creative Writing Degree Offers Your Favorite Genre
Traditionally, graduate creative writing programs have offered poetry and literary fiction; creative nonfiction also has since grown in popularity. Many programs also might offer a concentration in playwriting and screenwriting. These have become somewhat of the standard options in MFA programs but, of course, offerings vary from school to school.
When it comes to fiction, though, it’s a pretty broad category. Many traditional programs focus on literary fiction. Writers who are drawn to write for a more commercial audience, typically referred to as genre-fiction, may want to find a program that’s open to a wide range of genres such as science fiction, young adults, or romance.
Like many wordsmiths, you might write in a few different areas. But you probably have one you’d like to focus on in graduate school. Make sure you find a program that fits that basic need. Look for an online creative writing degree program offers concentrations in:
- Poetry
- Literary Fiction
- Creative nonfiction
- Screenwriting
- Playwriting
- Nature writing
Research the Faculty
Once you begin on your thesis project, your book-length work, screenplay, or poetry collection, for example, you’ll most likely be assigned an MFA thesis advisor. Before that, you’ll take classes with and receive guidance from several faculty members.
Before you decide on a specific creative writing degree program, take a look at its affiliated faculty members. Are they published authors, working writers, or established in the publishing field? Does one or more faculty members have expertise or interest in similar areas as you? And, beyond credentials, what would it be like to work with these faculty members? Be sure to ask questions as a page of bios might not tell you everything you need to know.
Research the Alumni
What about student success? Look at what MFA creative writing alumni of your schools of interest are doing after graduation. You could do a little research on their publishing credits in literary journals, book deals, teaching appointments, full-time jobs in publishing, and other outcomes.
As you explore alumni accomplishments, keep in mind that everyone enters a creative writing degree program with different goals: Some pursue an MFA to land a teaching position or prime themselves for success in publishing. Other graduates took creative writing for personal fulfillment. The most important thing for you will be finding a program that matches your ideal version of success.
After you choose a program that fits your needs, your next step is to prepare for your writing journey.
Let’s rehash how to choose the best online creative writing degree (or campus-based) program:
- Choose a format: residency, low-residency, or online
- Choose based on genres offered: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, or a sub-genre of one of these
- Research the faculty: is there someone you’d like to work with?
- Research the alumni: what are they doing, and are they happy doing it?
