If you are a writer, and that is your passion, you may have at one time or another in your academic career considered enrolling in a Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative writing. If you are a writer, you know the competitiveness of the MFA programs. If if you have been on the path of writing for a while, and are trying to decide what your next move is, you have most likely toyed with the academic alternative. At some point and time, the idea of entering and pursuing a Master of Fine Arts is certainly contemplated. But how does one decide which program they should attend.
This past month the top five MFA Programs in the United States were announced by the U.S. New and World Report. The programs were ranked based on surveys that were completed by those in the writing field, as there is not a federally sanctioned accredited body to actually rank creative writing programs in terms of an MFA Program, especially a Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing . The top five MFA Programs came in respectively as: The University of Iowa, John Hopkins University, The University of Houston, Columbia University, and The University of Virginia.
The University of Iowa has always been a leader in the field of literature, particularly with the Iowa Writer’s Workshops popularity, and the successful writer’s it has produced from its’ Creative Writing Program. Iowa has had one of the top MFA Programs for years, and has graduated some of the finest. The program at Iowa is very competitive, partly due to the school’s stellar reputation, but also due to the structure of the program. Iowa operates as a workshop setting with students learning from each other in addition to learning from the faculty. A Creative Writing Program is a little different from a regular Masters Program in that, at Iowa the only actual required course is the workshop. It is all about writing. To avoid financial stresses, all of the students are given a financial aid package which ranges from $7,993 for a research assistantship, whereby they work at the schools literary magazine the Iowa Review or the University of Iowa Press. Teaching assistantships come at a stipend of $10,794 for teaching two classes. There are also fellowships ranging from $12,000 to $15,000. All students are admitted into the program at in-state tuition rates, with exceptions being to those granted fellowships. Ninety percent of the cost of health insurance is paid by the university for each student. Iowa usually has approximately 100 students at one time in their MFA Program.
John Hopkins University’s MFA Program in Creative Writing is smaller with an average of about twenty students at one time enrolled. The program at Hopkins is called the Writing Seminars, and offers poetry and fiction. There is a one-year Master’s of Art’s as well as a traditional MFA program depending on the student’s need, and where they are in their writing career. Like Iowa, students take classes and teach as well. They receive tuition waivers, and a stipend of twelve thousand dollars per year, with health insurance being totally free. It is said this program is not as competitive as Iowa, mainly due to the funding packages. Hopkins also offers a few grants based on the strength of one’s application.
The University of Houston’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, faculty and funding seemed to be the motivator behind those applying. The Creative Writing Program which offers an Master of Fine Arts, in addition to a PhD in literature and creative writing, requires a three year commitment to complete it. This program is not a cake walk in that it has a very heavy course work load, in addition to students teaching. The teaching assistantship at Houston pays ninety six hundred dollar per year to the first year student. A PhD student on the other hand, would receive twelve thousand dollars. In addition there is the bonus of tuition reimbursement and free health insurance. And there is more, students receive a one time stipend of five thousand dollars by a local literary nonprofit organization called Inprint. Students are committed to completion of the program and the diversity it offers in terms of professionalism.
The MFA Program at Columbia University is a solid program with a lot of elitism behind it. The financial aid packages are an entire different story. Most of the students leave the school in major debt, but feel the education ,and experience to the esteemed faculty are worth the student loan debt. The university is in the process of making attempts to increase funding. There are a few fellowships, and research assistantships. Health insurance is also discounted at Columbia. The MFA in Creative Writing includes a program for fiction, poets, and creative nonfiction writers. Approximately two years in length, the program allows students up to three additional years to complete their theses. Even though the program is expensive, the location, the faculty, and the city’s ties to the publication and literary community are incentive for the students enrolled in the program.
The University of Virginia is the final of the top five MFA programs ranked. A very elite program accepting only five poets and seven fiction writers, is in demand and has to turn away applicants. The faculty as well as the students feel the size of the program makes a major difference in the success, and potential of the writers. It fosters a warm learning environment by keeping the size small, thereby eliminating competitiveness. The MFA Program completed in two years, offers poets an additional year, and possibly one or two for fiction writers who may work on the staff of the university’s literary magazine Meridian. Third year students have the option of teaching. Effective with the school year 2006-2007, stipends in the amount of $7,540 are offered to fiction writers the first years, and poets $16,305. The variance in the amount of the stipend is based on the small number of poets enrolling in the program. The university is currently pursuing additional funding for fiction writers.
