Our MFA program treats language as a creative material, fostering interdisciplinary experimentation and innovative work across print, digital, sound, performance, and text-image mediums. This is writing as studio art.
Master of Fine Arts
Graduate
60
2 Years
PNCA Campus
Graduates of our creative writing program have gone on to publish unique and powerful works. They’ve built on the creative practice they developed as a student and continued to experiment with their writing. With a terminal degree, they have gone on to have an impact in the arts world and beyond.
Through PNCA’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing program, R. Stranger merges visual work with writing, exploring prose, poetry, photography, film, and more. Mentored by Vi Khi Nao and Dao Strom, Stranger addresses themes of queerness, embodiment, and grief. Their work has been showcased at various events and exhibitions, benefiting from the program’s multidisciplinary approach and supportive art community.
Throughout the year, students work under the guidance of a mentor to experiment and create compelling work. Every three weeks, students submit work to faculty mentors in addition to brief essays on forms and methods, an ongoing reading list, and a letter addressing their writing process and responding to substantive feedback from the mentors. During the summer and winter residencies, students engage in focused writing and critique sessions.
Writers can learn how to make books with specific instructions in letterpress printing, zine making, book design, various kinds of binding, and printmaking. We can also help with internships at small presses.
Our program will have a presence at the AWP Conference, at both onsite recruitment and offsite reading/performance events. We encourage students to attend events like AWP and MLA.
At each residency, faculty mentors, guest artists, and students give readings and presentations of their work. Residencies include talks and workshops about the various ways writers can perform their work for others.
The Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing program requires a residency course be taken each semester, in addition to a combination of Creative Writing Studio and Forms & Methods courses. The program culminates in a Creative Writing Thesis and a final residency for thesis presentation and graduation. The residencies provide intensive workshops and mentorship, while the studio and methods courses focus on developing writing skills and understanding literary forms.
Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies offers renewable Merit Scholarships to students who demonstrate aptitude in their areas of creative practice. Merit scholarships are assessed based on the strength of the student’s application. In awarding merit scholarships we consider each student’s portfolio (if applying to a studio-based program), personal history of scholastic achievement, as well as their contributions to culture and community. Consideration is also given to traditionally underrepresented students and those who demonstrate financial need. No separate application is required to be considered for merit scholarships.
Willamette University