Coming here was one of the best decisions I ever made. Period. End of story. 

Everything, absolutely everything, was a piece of red velvet cake topped with two scoops of French vanilla ice cream. 

A low-residency program seemed just the thing for me—and Spalding in particular. And I was right. The backgrounds of my fellow students during my first semester were delightfully varied. There were young people–and I wouldn’t have had it any other way—but also older people who brought years of life experience with them. I enjoyed the varied backgrounds including cultures of other students. 

I wanted to be part of a program that cared about good writing. I continue to see people in love with words and word arrangements. Wow. 

I love the workshops. I love the cultural activities. I love all my mentors. But I think the program’s strongest asset is its carefully created atmosphere of camaraderie and respect: for one week out of the year I feel like what I am doing at my laptop isn’t just a stupid pipe dream or a huge waste of time. I feel like an honest-to-god writer, and that’s pretty damn cool. 

A reason I chose Spalding: the Spring Stretch semester. I’m thinking I might do four of those and take my time, allowing some semblance of a life, enjoying the program, and letting my writing benefit from the attention additional time can provide. 

All the staff are so warm and inviting but also extremely helpful. I never had a question that wasn’t answered quickly. 

I selected the Spalding program for its flexibility, low-residency, reasonable cost and academic breadth. 

I selected the Spalding program because I needed a low residency program so that I could get the instruction and help in my writing while continuing with my day to day life. I like that Spalding was flexible in terms of allowing students to experiment with other genres. 

Students share travel journal writing at summer residencies.

Thank you for creating a writers’ utopia where everyone around you is a writer. This is a writer’s dream come true. 

I was drawn to Spalding’s program because it offered cross-genre opportunities and provided a healthy balance between creative writing and critical analysis. 

My first residency experience was wonderful. The lectures and workshop experience motivated me to approach my writing in a new way, and I cannot wait to get home to begin working on my creative material for my packets. 

For me, the true magic of the Spalding experience occurs during the correspondence period. Let’s face it, in order to write, one must retreat to their lair and start banging the keys. Having said that, it is comforting to know my mentor is out their reading and critiquing my work. That support makes me feel less lonely; a part of something larger than myself. As far as the residency goes, the workshop is the focal point. 

I actually have more friends here than at home—others have echoed this sentiment as well; people I love dearly and hope to remain in touch with for the remainder of my life. 

One of the program’s strengths is the emphasis on positive support. This is so unusual in a competitive, striving world. It makes coming to residency like returning to some ideal we had in youth, an ideal not necessarily possible anywhere else. 

Intimate workshops. Caring mentors. Inspiring readings. 

Spalding welcomes MFA students and faculty to residency

I love having a community of fellow writers, building lifelong relationships. I always leave residency highly motivated with charged writing batteries. I love the mentor/student relationship that allows us to dirty our hands with an in-depth look at one’s own work over an extended period/semester. I think the Spalding MFA program has an incredible staff and faculty and I treasure my access to them during my time here. 

Workshops, mentor guidance, a sense of community among writers, lectures, readings. It’s all been extremely helpful to keep on taking my writing to the next level. 

All of the elements at Spalding have really come together to convince me quite quickly that coming here was the best possible move that I could have made. The administration is so adept at making sure that things run smoothly that I doubt most of us ever think about the amazing logistical considerations that must go into a gathering of this size. I truly feel as though I am among a community of writers with the faculty as willing to learn from the students as we are from them. The program itself is extremely innovative and the emphasis on cross-genre collaboration attempts to enrich the global perspective of participants. 

The atmosphere of caring and kindness and inclusion is palpable. The structure of the program seems well thought out, well planned, well organized. 

I think that the thing I am most impressed with is the nurturing environment at Spalding, and the accessibility of faculty and administration. As a former graduate student in a university environment, I am grateful for the warmth and sense of community here. 

The interrelationship of the writing/arts is of particular value to me. The residency as a whole was an awesome experience. It represented a wide open window into a creative writing world that focuses on craft skills, but at the same time lets the student become aware of the content, the subject matter that can be the story that needs to be told. 

I have had the privilege of watching the program grow and change over an extended period of time. I see how receptive the administrative team is to suggestions and how much care has gone into providing a rich experience for all students. I have loved this residency and how well taken care of I felt, body, brain and spirit. Thank you! 

The program is well organized, challenging and fun, informative, inspirational. 

Comments from Anonymous Graduating Student Evaluations, Spring 2010 

The Spalding program helps a writer to grow in confidence and talent without tearing down the spirit. 

MFA alum visits with Sena Jeter Naslund at Homecoming

Spalding truly does provide a nurturing yet academically rigorous environment. 

Do it. Dive in, dive all the way in. 

I believe that Spalding’s MFA program is truly groundbreaking in its approach to writing and that ten years from now, anyone who has not selected it will regret that choice. 

The best education you can find in creative writing at the MFA level, provided in an atmosphere that nurtures creativity and celebrates success. 

I particularly enjoy learning so much about writing, and then having the opportunity to put that learning into practice. My mind sometimes feels stretched to the limit, and I’m glad. I joined the program so that I would not toil alone. It was exactly the right thing to do.  

I’ve enjoyed the flexibility and acceptance of the brief-residency program in particular and how I’ve been able to attend to my studies sufficiently while working a full-time job. 

I’ve loved the community at Spalding. The faculty, the administration, and the students are all wonderful. Leaving Spalding, I now have a network of writers who want to support my work and continue to maintain the relationships we’ve established. I loved the flexibility of the program and the wide variety of opportunities offered to do cross-genre work and to study abroad; I really think Spalding has found its niche as a unique program through these things. I also really enjoyed the semesters at home and the mentor relationships. 

What a marvelous experience it’s been here at Spalding—certainly one of the pinnacles of my life. I have found a marvelous community of writers here—a tribe—and have every intention of continuing my connection with the program. Thank you all! 

As promised, Spalding is both a rigorous and supportive program that meets every student where he/she is and helps elevate their work and professionalism beyond a student’s stated goals. 

Spalding University’s MFA program has been created with a positive outlook from its faculty and in turn the environment is welcoming and a necessary boost for those who are surrounded by all the distractions that the world throws at us. The program is tailored for the student, for their growth and intellectual stimulation. 

Louisville skyline

What is remarkable about this program is the extent to which the MFA Administration flexes the boundaries to accommodate adult learners; it is almost impossible to find a logistical reason to keep from completing your creative work! I admire this administrative philosophy, which clearly extends from the mission of the program—to create an emotionally supportive environment where the creative work can flourish. The logistical details of leaving home for 10 days, working with a mentor in the midst of our busy lives, completing our academic work to the highest standard—these are important ways the program supports writers. The community that grows in workshop, and in the lobby of the Brown Hotel, and extends via email and Facebook, is the golden take-away from the experience. I came to Spalding (instead of the other programs who accepted me) because I wanted the diversity of faculty. I wanted a LOT of choices about who to work with, and I was not disappointed here. The mentors are consistently strong, but are very different as writers, and as teachers. As a student, I’ve benefitted from the size and breadth of the faculty. 

 Among the most important aspects of the program have been the diverse and supportive faculty and staff. In addition, the diversity and quality of student writing and personalities has enhanced my education. I am leaving with network of upcoming and established writers who I will forever count as my closest colleagues.  

I have never been in an environment that was so particularly warm and responsive, challenging and comprehensive. What I will recall, perhaps after all other things have faded, is the mass of positive energy provided by people who will say hello when they see you on the sidewalk (though you might not have formally met), who are open and generous with their time and expertise, and who have helped make this experience spectacular. Students, faculty, and administration are included in this assessment. 

Contact us: 

MFA Office: (502) 873-4400 or (800) 896-8941, ext. 4400
mfa@spalding.edu 

FAX: (502) 992-2409 

MFA in Writing
Spalding University
851 South Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40203 

Information subject to change without notice. Last updated 08/17/2011 

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