Academics

MFA Course Sequence

The MFA Program traditionally begins with the first of three intensive 14-day summer residencies, followed by three non-residential semesters of creative writing/critical reading and writing and one non-residential semester of thesis preparation.  Students may opt to begin the program in the spring non-residential semester.

The MFA at Ashland offers one of the only cross-genre options in the country, in which students may take one semester in another genre.

All non-residential courses and the writers' workshops during summer residencies are taught on a mentorship basis, with each faculty mentor working with no more than five students per class. Non-residential courses are taught online via Angel, in which students and faculty engage in lively discussions about common texts and occasionally workshop each other's writing.

Download the MFA Student Handbook (PDF).

Course Descriptions

Traditional MFA Course Sequence

Students beginning in the summer will have a projected schedule of courses as follows:

Total number of credits: 45

Non-Traditional MFA Course Sequence

Students beginning in the spring will have a projected schedule of courses as follows:

Note that students enrolling in January will have a spring semester off in between completion of English 701 and the final residency. Students are encouraged to continue working on their theses during this period.

Total number of credits: 45