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MFA in Creative Writing

Writing for the 21st Century

The Alma College MFA features a strong literature-based curriculum and offers inspirational and exploratory residency experiences designed to develop your ability to read and think critically and to write with a high level of artistic proficiency.

This program offers study in three concentrations:

  • Fiction
  • Creative nonfiction
  • Poetry

About the Program

Designed for the modern student, the two-year program follows a low residency format. You’ll complete five 10-day intensive residencies (or six residencies for a dual genre concentration) and four terms of one-on-one study with a faculty mentor (five terms for a dual genre concentration).

Over the course of the term, the primary focus will be your own creative writing. Students submit five monthly packets of work to their mentors. Each packet includes approximately 25 pages of creative work as well as craft papers, three to four pages each, on a technique or techniques gleaned from assigned reading. Each term’s reading and writing activities require a minimum of 25 hours per week. It may also include conferencing with other students.


At A Glance

5

10-day intensive residency experiences during the two-year program

3

Writing concentrations


Events


Virtual Open Houses

Discuss sample lessons, and the opportunity to learn more about the MFA program, including the application process, residency locations, degree requirements and more.

Register Now


20-Minute Sessions

Schedule time with Program Director Sophfronia Scott to get your individual questions answered about applying to the program.

Register Now

Explore

Student & Alumni Spotlights

No one describes the Alma experience better than those living it. Explore their stories, in their own words, below.

I give a lot of credit to the director of the MFA program, Sophfronia Scott. She has built a program and a group of people who are so talented and welcoming — eager to offer you a seat at the table and make you feel like you belong.

Seny Gonzalez Guardado, `25

I give a lot of credit to the director of the MFA program, Sophfronia Scott. She has built a program and a group of people who are so talented and welcoming — eager to offer you a seat at the table and make you feel like you belong.

Seny Gonzalez Guardado, `25

Get to Know MFA in Creative Writing

Meet the Faculty

At Alma, you'll benefit from close faculty mentorship. Find out more about your professors.

Study Options

The program is thoughtfully crafted to provide you with the flexibility to delve into newfound interests that are bound to arise during your graduate journey.

Residencies

During each 10-day residency, you'll immerse yourself in a vibrant learning community and engage in enriching experiences.

Who is it for?

The Alma MFA is for students who want to make a serious commitment to the craft of writing. Our students come from all walks of life and varying levels of experience. There will be those who are published and those who are not. There will be students who have been in workshop before and those for whom this will be their first. But what everyone will have in common is a passion for writing and reading and a willingness to learn. They long to be around other creatives who care about writing as much as they do and want to talk about the work — a lot! They wish to pursue a degree and a literary life in a way that allows them to maintain their work and family lives. The best and most efficient way to do this is with the low residency MFA in Creative Writing. The program provides ongoing focus and the deep dive students need to understand their craft and to learn how they want to show up in the world as writers. For complete details of the program, view the MFA Student Handbook.

Your MFA Decision Journal

We created this helpful tool to help you explore your goals and guide your exploration.

Admissions and Aid

Not sure where to begin? We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Our team is glad to answer your questions and walk you through the application and financial aid process. If you’re not sure if the program is right for you, contact the program director, or download Your MFA Decision Journal to help you better understand your motivations and goals.

Application Requirements

Application Requirements

  • College transcripts for each college or university attended
  • Curriculum vitae (CV) or resume
  • A creative writing sample.
    • Length: A maximum of 25 pages for fiction or creative nonfiction, a maximum of 10 pages for poetry — no more than one poem per page.
  • Personal essay; 3-4 pages.
    In this essay please address the following:

    1. Discuss your specific interest in the Alma College MFA and your preparation for pursuing a formal study of creative writing.
    2. Your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
    3. Goals for your two years in the program.
    4. Additional experience including what you can bring to our artistic community.
  • Literature essay; 3-4 pages.
    In this essay please discuss the books and writers that have influenced you.
  • Two letters of recommendation.

There is no application fee.

Application Deadlines

Application Deadlines

  • Summer Residency (June 20-29, 2024) – Deadline to apply: May 30
    You will receive an admission decision in two weeks.
  • Winter Residency (December 27, 2024-January 4, 2025; Lake Junaluska, NC) – Deadline to apply: November 30
  • Oxford Residency (August 20-27, 2025)

 

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and Fees

Current tuition and fee rates can be found below. The annual fee covers housing and meal at the two residency sites: the Alma campus and the Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center. Additional expenses include books and travel to and from Michigan twice a year for residencies or, optionally, to Oxford, England once.

Per Term Costs (There are two terms per year)
Tuition: $9,734
Housing & Meals: $1,352

Annual Cost – attending two terms
Tuition: $19,468
Housing & Meals: $2,704

Other Fees
Graduating Residency Fee: $1,352 (per term)
Single Room Fee (Winter Only): $200
Enrollment Deposit: $300

Tuition Policy

Tuition Policy

All applicable fees and charges are payable in advance of enrollment. Tuition is due on a term basis. Each term begins with residency so tuition is due before the first day of each new residency. Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice. All MFA students will be billed for the term (tuition; room and board for students staying on campus; the single-room fee for students who request a single room, if available), with the exception of graduating students who are charged room and board (if staying on campus) and the graduation residency fee.

Financial Aid

Financial Aid

Our students take advantage of the program’s low residency format to continue with their current employment and finance their education from their own resources. Students are encouraged to complete the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA).

Know a writer who would be a perfect fit for the program? Refer them to the Alma College MFA in Creative Writing and they’ll receive a $2,000 scholarship.

If you need additional assistance or have other questions, contact the Financial Aid Office at (989) 463-7347.

Enrollment Deposit Fee

Enrollment Deposit Fee

Accepted applicants are required to pay an enrollment deposit of $300. $100 of this fee is applied as a credit to the student’s account for the first term. Another $100 serves as a security deposit from which the college may recover expenses incurred by the student for damages to college property. The final $100 is a processing fee. Any unexpended portion of the security deposit can be gifted back to the college upon graduation or is refunded to the student after graduation.

Academic Calendar

Academic Calendar

Summer Residency
June 20-29, 2024

Mentored Studies Term
July-November

End of Term, Final Grades Due: December 10, 2024

Winter Residency –Lake Junaluska, NCDecember 27, 2024 – January 4, 2025

Mentored Studies Term
January-May

End of Term. Final Grades Due: May 17, 2025

Post Graduate Term in Creative Writing

Post Graduate Term in Creative Writing

Writers who have completed an MFA or Ph.D. at any accredited college or university may apply for a postgraduate semester in the Alma College MFA program to further their study in creative writing.

The term, like the MFA format, provides for one-on-one work with a faculty mentor. The writer works with their mentor to develop a study plan for the term that includes deadlines, feedback expectations, and points of contact such as a mid-semester check-in and written evaluations. The term is designed to be genre flexible. Writers may choose to work in the genre in which they earned their degree (fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry), or they may use the time to try a genre they have not written in before. They may also work in a genre not offered in their degree program, but in which an Alma faculty mentor has expertise such as playwriting or screenwriting. Postgraduate students receive their first choice of mentor, so if a writer wants to study one of these specialties they should choose accordingly.

Writers may work to complete a current manuscript or use the term to jumpstart a new project. They are free to develop their own study plans and goals, which need not be tied to the MFA’s programming and requirements. For example, writers are not required to write critical papers, though a faculty mentor may suggest craft books if they determine it may benefit the writer’s project.

Residency Attendance

Each postgraduate term must begin with attendance at an MFA residency. This requirement is waived for graduates of the Alma MFA, though most writers will agree that the residency experience is one of the highlights of studying writing at Alma.

Credits

The term is a 13-credit offering

  • 11 credits for the term
  • Two credits for the residency

Tuition and Fees

Term tuition (six months): $5,000
Optional residency, fees include room and board:

  • Local (Alma, MI): $1,352
  • International (Venice, Italy): $5,500 / per person – (Double room for Single use)
    $4,935 / per person – (Twin room for two people – sharing)
    *Fee does not include airfare.

Admissions Deadlines

  • Summer 2023: May 1, 2023
  • Winter 2024: November 1, 2023

To apply, students must complete Alma College’s Application for Non-Degree Enrollment Status and submit to the registrar.

Refer a Writer

Know a writer who would be a perfect fit for the program? Refer them to the Alma College MFA in Creative Writing and they’ll receive a $2,000 scholarship.

Have any questions?

Contact us today for more information on this program and more.

Program Director

Sophfronia Scott
(989) 463-7394
scotts@alma.edu

Admissions

Admissions Office
800-321-ALMA
admissions@alma.edu