Choosing Among Fall, Spring, and Summer Semesters

• intense, invigorating 10-day residencies
• individualized study throughout the semester with prize-winning, publishing faculty
• low student-faculty ratio
• opportunities for Spalding scholarships/ assistantships and/or federal student loans
• editing/publishing component
• cross-genre: introduction to modes of writing other than the major area
• innovative special features
• emphasis on interrelatedness of the arts through attendance at cultural events
• a choice of accommodations
• featured guests who are active contemporary writers. Our guests have included novelists Ernest Gaines, Ann Patchett, Susan Vreeland, and Michael Ondaatje; poet and essayist Yusef Komunyakaa; children’s writers Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Donna Jo Napoli, and Nancy Willard; poets W. S. Merwin and Claudia Emerson; essayists Terry Tempest Williams, Pico Iyer, and Scott Russell Sanders; poet and children’s writer Naomi Shihab Nye; screenwriter Robert Moresco (Crash); and playwright Heather Raffo.

Students should choose summer study if they

• wish to add an international element to their creative writing studies
• can participate in a residency more easily in summer than in spring or fall
• prefer a longer (9-month) semester with a less intensive writing schedule at home (12-15 hours a week)
• would like to spread tuition costs over a longer period of time
• want to complete the program in 4 years
  
  (Students who prefer the longer semester but do not wish to travel abroad may combine the spring Louisville residency with the 9-month summer semester schedule.)

Students should choose a combination of spring/fall study if they

• wish to complete the program in 2 years
• prefer residencies in Louisville, a culturally rich, easily accessible American city
• choose to spend 25 hours a week on their studies in a shorter 6-month semester

Students who mix the summer and spring/fall semesters can finish the program in about three years. Students sometimes choose to take a leave of absence for a semester during their program because of financial or scheduling reasons. Students may take up to ten years to complete the program. Top 

The faculty is carefully chosen by the Program Director from candidates nationwide who are known to be not only publishing writers, but also excellent teachers. The instructors create a supportive and honest environment for their students at the residency and during the at-home portion of the semester. Faculty mentors help each student design a semester study plan that meets that student at his or her level of ability and interest in order to promote maximum improvement and learning. Each study plan is individualized and created with the student's writing goals in mind. Complete faculty information.

  Degree Requirements

Students in the MFA Program are required to complete successfully four semesters and five residencies (the fifth residency occurs after the fourth semester and includes graduation) and to accumulate 60-64 credit hours (only students who have transferred from another MFA program may have less that 64 hours).

During the program,

• students read 36-40 books,
• complete a third semester Extended Critical Essay (minimum of 20 pages),
• lead a Small Group Discussion,
• prepare a Creative Thesis of original writing in the appropriate area of concentration (75 pages of prose, screenwriting, or playwriting; 35 pages of poetry; eight picture books; or 75 pages of middle grade or young adult literature),
• during the fifth residency teach a class to other students (Graduation Lecture)
• present a reading of original work (Graduation Reading)
• participate in a Thesis Discussion.
  

For each completed semester, the student is awarded 16 hours of credit. For a detailed description of the requirements, see the course descriptions.

last updated 07/06/09 information subject to change without notice

Spalding University
851 South Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40203

MFA Office: (502) 585-9911, ext. 2423 or (800) 896-8941, ext. 2423
mfa@spalding.edu

FAX: (502) 585-7158

Spalding University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. to award the Master of Fine Arts in Writing. Spalding University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing is a member of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.

last updated 8/13/09 information subject to change without notice

Spalding University
851 South Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40203

MFA Office: (502) 585-9911, ext. 2423 or (800) 896-8941, ext. 2423
mfa@spalding.edu

FAX: (502) 585-7158