Program Overview
Our MFA in Creative Writing program includes three intensive two-week summer residencies, three online semesters of creative writing and critical reading and one online semester of thesis preparation. We encourage students to begin the program with a summer residency, but you may opt to begin in the spring.
We modeled our low-residency format on the mentorships that informed the development of many accomplished writers before residential MFA programs even existed. Each faculty mentor works with no more than five students per class. As a result, our students enjoy the freedom and flexibility to participate in our program remotely, while still benefiting from close mentoring relationships with established authors.
You will choose the primary genre in which you plan to work: poetry, creative nonfiction or fiction (fiction includes science fiction and fantasy). If you’d like to work in a second genre, a cross-genre is available.
By the time you’ve completed our MFA program, you will have created and revised an original work and finished a thesis that can serve as the foundation for a book-length manuscript.
How to Know If This Program is Right for You
This program is ideal for anyone who:
- Wants to develop writing skills and relationships that will last a lifetime
- Has been out of school for a while and wants to reconnect with the literary arts
- Would love to be mentored by accomplished writers
- Is eager to gain publishing experience by working as an editor for a literary magazine or a publishing assistant for a poetry press
- Writes better and more regularly when involved in a community of writers
Learning Experiences
You can look forward to the following:
- Three intensive two-week summer residencies that are taught on a mentorship basis
- Four online semesters of courses taught via Blackboard and video conferencing
- Ongoing, individualized mentoring from established writers
- Lively yet rigorous discussions of contemporary literature and one another’s writing
Student Organizations and Internships
You will have the opportunity to participate in:
- Editing the Black Fork Review, a literary journal featuring poetry, creative nonfiction and fiction by AU students and faculty and writers from the wider literary landscape. In your role as an editor, you lead teams of undergraduates in editing work in each genre.
- Graduate publishing assistantships
- A limited number of graduate publishing assistantships to work with the Ashland Poetry Press are available to students who have taken ENG 631: Mentorship I and have selected poetry as their primary genre.
- Students are chosen for assistantships during the fall semester; decisions are based on faculty recommendations and a cover letter sent to the managing editor of Ashland Poetry Press.
- Graduate teaching assistantships that help pay for your education while you gain teaching experience. Currently, qualified MFA students earn $2,494 for each course they teach. Based on availability, you may be able to teach five classes during your time in the MFA program.
Course Sequence
You can learn more about the curriculum by reviewing the Curriculum for the MFA Program in Creative Writing.
Accessibility
The Student Accessibility Center works one-on-one with students to ensure that all coursework and events are fully accessible. The center offers a variety of resources and services, including text-to-speech software. Please contact Silvia Henriss at shenriss@ashland.edu or 419-289-5904 to learn more or to set up an appointment.
Tuition & Fees
This information shows the tuition fees for the MFA program in creative writing. Explanations of residency-only and additional fees follow the table.
For information about financial aid, go to Graduate School Financial Aid.
Additional Information
Additional Information
Graduate Outcomes
"The Ashland University low-residency program feels more akin to a family than a program. The faculty and staff are not only highly skilled but also deeply caring. I graduated from the program not only a better writer but a better person."
- David Baxley, Ashland University MFA Alumnus
