LESLEY UNIVERSITY'S LOW-RESIDENCY MFA PROGRAM: At The Hub Of Contemporary Writing

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Coming in Fall 2009!  Evelyn M. Finnegan Writing for Young People Scholarships

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"So much writing is done in a vacuum. This program has brought me out of the cubicle and into the world."

The Program

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) 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 ten-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. With no required courses on the Lesley campus, the program's flexibility allows students to work from wherever they live, with the residencies being the only on-campus requirement.

At least two attributes distinguish Lesley's MFA in Creative Writing from other low-residency programs. First, the interdisciplinary component encourages students to expand their abilities as writers by widening the angles, and deepening the fields, of their vision. While the multi-genre expertise of our writing faculty will be the student's key resource, those with an interest in the visual arts will have the opportunity to work with faculty from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley (AIB); and those seeking to integrate their writing with such disciplines as art therapy, psychology, and education will have the resources of Lesley's Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences.

Second, 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.

Given these advantages, graduates of Lesley's program will be equipped to give themselves new challenges as they continue to write, explore new genres and art forms, and participate in a serious community of writers and artists.

Program Highlights

• Named one of "the more distinguished low-residency programs" in The Creative Writing MFA Handbook.
• Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Writing for Stage & Screen, and Writing for Young People.
• Residencies in Cambridge, Massachusetts: a literary center.
• An interdisciplinary component that nourishes student writing.
• Graduate Assistantships and a Literary Ventures Fund (LVF) scholarship available.
• Publishing modules and internships with Post Road and LVF.
• Two-year Post-Graduate Senior Fellowship in Teaching available.