MFA Season 2022
We spoke to the directors of 5 Philly area MFA in creative writing programs to talk details. Here’s what they said.
Temple
A two-year program if you do it full time; part time is allowed with a max duration of three years. Fiction and poetry are the only disciplines offered. Up from recent years, Temple now has four fully funded spots per cohort. According to director Don Lee, “The cohort size varies from 7 to 13 (the latter is what we have this year). It tends to alternate from smaller to larger, so on average, we fund 40% of students.” Core faculty include: Don Lee, Liz Moore, and Jena Osman. This past year’s writers in residence were Kiley Reid and Mary-Kim Arnold.
Unfunded cost of tuition is approximately $16K per year or $33K total. Current tuition info here, and the cost per credit is $966.
Apply by February 15, 2022.
Rutgers Camden
A two-year full time program, Rutgers-Camden’s campus is a single train stop from Philadelphia. Students can concentrate in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction. Core faculty include: Gregory Pardlo, Patrick Rosal, Lauren Grodstein, Lisa Zeidner and Paul Lisicky with visiting professors including Airea D. Matthews, Karen Russell, Lise Funderburg, Tom McAllister, and Robin Black. Home of the award-winning literary magazine StoryQuarterly and the NEA-supported Writers in Camden reading series.
According to director Paul Lisicky, "Typically, the program is able to offer a number of teaching assistantships to incoming students, which come with tuition remission and a stipend. Currently, the exact number of teaching assistantships varies from year to year. Other students may be admitted with partial scholarships that cover tuition for a certain number of credits per year.” The TA stipend is set by the Board of Governors each year, and for the 2021-22 academic year it's $30,162. That comes with tuition remission. Full-time in-state tuition for 2021-22 is $20,944 with fees of $2,363 ($739 per credit). Full-time out-of-state tuition is $38,534 ($1,218) with fees of $2,346.
Apply by January 20, 2022.
Arcadia
A two-year low residency program, Arcadia University’s M.F.A. program in Creative Writing “incorporates both a dynamic online environment and a study abroad experience” with online workshops and a residency in Edinburgh, Scotland. Fiction and poetry are the only disciplines offered. Core faculty include Tracey Levine and Joshua Isard, with adjuncts including Stephanie Feldman and Eric Smith.
Says director Joshua Isard, “We have 15 students per cohort, and the cost is per credit ($795). Every accepted student receives partial funding of between $1000 and $3000. We also have TA positions available, which includes work in the writing center and in a classroom. Work in the writing center is paid on an hourly basis—students can work as many hours as are available—and work in the classroom is paid at $1000 per semester. Since every student gets at least partial funding, no one pays the full tuition.”
To be considered for funding support, apply by March 1, 2022.
Drexel
Drexel’s program is a two-year, low-residency MFA in Fiction Writing (electives in areas such as YA and creative non-fiction are available) featuring online workshops, reading tutorials, a retreat in Collioure, France, and one-on-one packet exchanges with notable published writers. A relatively young program, they welcomed 25 writers into their third cohort in fall 2021 and graduated their first class of 14 in June 2021. Core faculty include Nomi Eve, Paula Marantz Cohen, Scott Stein, Maegan Poland and others, and recent packet exchange readers include Naomi Jackson, Alexia Arthurs, Ravi Howard, Tim Bascomb, Kosoko Jackson, Hank Philippi Ryan, Heather Webb, Denny Bryce, Karen Karbo, and Julie Cantrell. The MFA lit mag is Paper Dragon, which strives to elevate the voices of traditionally underrepresented populations.
According to director Nomi Eve, “We have Teaching Assistantships, where our MFA students learn how to teach undergraduate composition and are paid for doing so while they pursue their MFA studies. The TA program is very competitive. We have between 4-6 TA spots a year. Once a student is accepted into the MFA, there is a separate application process for the TA program. TA's are paid $3000 per course and can teach up to four courses in a year, which covers most but not all tuition.” For the 2022 cohort, the MFA is able to provideone full tuition scholarship from the MFA Gift Fund for Marginalized Writers. The goal of the MFA Gift Fund for Marginalized Writers is to support diverse voices and diverse literature by funding writers whose personal experiences of marginalization inform their literary pursuits. See more regarding TA and MFA Gift Fund applications in 2022 here.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Rosemont
The MFA in Creative Writing program at Rosemont College offers tracks in poetry and in, with options for prose concentrations including creative non-fiction, short fiction, writing for young adults, novel writing, and dramatic writing. Rosemont also offers a 60-credit Double Degree (MFA in Creative Writing/MA in Publishing). There are monthly student and faculty readings as well as two residencies for credit. The Summer Writer’s Retreat takes place on the Rosemont campus and the International Writer’s Retreat takes places each January abroad. Previous locations include Sicily, Malta, Greece, and Morocco. Past writers in residence have included Liz Abrams-Morley, Erin Entrada Kelly and Tawni Waters, and recent visiting writers include Dan Chaon, Karen Joy Fowler, Steve Almond, and others.
A limited number of competitive Graduate Assistantships are also available that offer tuition remission for one class. A limited number of Director’s Merit Awards are also available to new students with an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher and outstanding writing samples. The cost per credit is $710.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.