MFAs in the Playground?

[Dacia Brabant]

I thought about posting this in the Arts and Crafts forum, but that seems more geared toward projects so I decided I'd ask this here: are there any MFAs in the Playground, specifically in creative writing? I ask because I'm seriously considering going that route, but I'm interested in hearing from people who've gone down that path themselves or are in the process of doing so as to what their experiences are and if it was worth it for them.

I don't give out personal information online, and that includes what I write about (and I do write for a living), so I'd rather not get too much into what I would do with a creative writing MFA. Suffice to say that my concentration would be narrative nonfiction with an eye toward (European) history. Is anyone perchance familiar with any programs that might be a good fit for such an interest?

[Winter_Wolf]

I do not have an MFA of any kind, but let me ask you a serious question. If you're already writing for a living, and presumably pulling in enough to meet your expenses, why do you actually need to go back to school for a creative writing degree? Especially if you're going to be writing nonfiction.

[SaintRidley]

Doing an MFA in literary translation here (in addition to my PhD).

Depending on what your goals are, that might change my answer a bit. The MFA is probably most worth it if you want to do either of the following: apply to more residencies (the MFA will look good on those applications) to get yourself more focused writing time + sometimes money or establish yourself with a home in academia so you have a steady income from teaching the craft (and institutional access to library resources) while writing.

Do you have any universities you're considering? I think University of Iowa's nonfiction MFA is fairly well regarded.

[Dacia Brabant]

First of all I want to thank you both for responding.


I do not have an MFA of any kind, but let me ask you a serious question. If you're already writing for a living, and presumably pulling in enough to meet your expenses, why do you actually need to go back to school for a creative writing degree? Especially if you're going to be writing nonfiction.

Without getting into any of the specifics, the writing I want to do, need to do, wouldn't be published by my employer, and with the deadlines I'm operating under for them (along with family life constraints) I haven't been able to make much headway on my desired projects in my spare time. Now you might say that I should go work somewhere else, and that's something I'm always looking out for, but I don't know many outfits that would pay me to write a series of nonfiction novels about a very specific time and place in history, and even if there were they probably would want the rights to them.


Doing an MFA in literary translation here (in addition to my PhD).

Depending on what your goals are, that might change my answer a bit. The MFA is probably most worth it if you want to do either of the following: apply to more residencies (the MFA will look good on those applications) to get yourself more focused writing time + sometimes money or establish yourself with a home in academia so you have a steady income from teaching the craft (and institutional access to library resources) while writing.

Do you have any universities you're considering? I think University of Iowa's nonfiction MFA is fairly well regarded.

I would say I'm far more inclined toward the former than the latter. I've taught before and I disliked it immensely, and academia is of very little interest to me at this point, but I find myself in need of creative space and time to focus on my own writing, and an MFA seems like the only real option to obtain these things.

As far as universities go, for personal reasons I can't move so the only options I have are either to go to the nearest one that offers such a program, which is about an hour-and-a-half away, or I could check out some online programs. I haven't done that yet and I'm a little skeptical of them, but if there are any good ones out there I certainly would give them a look.

[Winter_Wolf]

Hey as long as you're sure of your needs and reasons. And you've provided a pretty solid reason; employer monopolizing time. I just wanted to bring up the questions because I have a self employed friend who was tossing around getting an MBA, but in his case he would get the same benefit from buying a few books and looking to get a mentor or some extra (successful) contacts in his field and save a boatload of money. Your situation appears markedly different from what would work for him.

[Dacia Brabant]

For sure. It's certainly been on my mind, arriving at an understanding of what my reasons are for wanting to do this. The admissions committee is going to want to see that in my personal statement anyway, so it's an important thing to consider.

[SaintRidley]

Okay, so with that information, here's what I can tell you.

I wouldn't do an MFA if you can't get funding from the university to do it - it's not worth the money to do so, as the cost will be high. Good universities will offer a stipend and a tuition waiver, so you don't pay to do the MFA and you make something resembling enough to live off of (maybe, depending on the area).

That said, the money from the university will almost certainly come tied to doing some teaching in exchange for the funding and tuition waiver. If you greatly disliked teaching and don't see that changing, it may not be the best idea unless you want to put up with that kind of stress/annoyance. Likewise, you'll be in for a good bit of coursework (about 25% should be workshops or equivalent), so that commute could be killer too. Expect 2-3 years to complete the MFA.

I'll leave it to you to make your own conclusions from that.

[Dacia Brabant]

Thank you for the advice, those are all valid points for me to consider.

I took another look at the website for the program nearest to me and they've upped their game substantially in terms of funding compared with the last time I checked, so they're putting their money where their mouth is as far as their ratings go. It doesn't look like they overwork their TAs either. While I'm still a little apprehensive about teaching, I feel I've matured in the ten years or so since I last taught a class of adults, so I'm going to get my crap together over the next six months and apply for 2018. The worst they can do is say no and I'm out the application fee.

[danzibr]

Yup. Been a 'Murrican all my life.

[willowedc]

Good for you! College is wonderfully fun at the advanced levels! If you don't think of yourself as a "teacher" that's even better! Knowledge is gained by exploration and sharing, on both sides of the desk. Good luck to you!:smallbiggrin:

[Dacia Brabant]

I know this is late, but thank you for the encouragement! :smallsmile: