Marylhurst Launches Creative Writing Master’s Program


Low-residency graduate program connects students with award-winning faculty.

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 Marylhurst University has launched another low-residency graduate program, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Beginning winter term 2019, students will start communicating and sharing work with faculty mentors by email or mail. Twice a year, these “apprentice writers” will join acclaimed authors and faculty on campus for one-week residencies. These highly engaging creative writing residencies will feature lectures and readings by published authors and poets, many of which will be free and open to the public.

“Our creative writing program is designed on the premise that writers write alone, then come into community for affirmation and to share their work,” said Jay Ponteri, director of the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program and winner of the 2014 Oregon Book Award for his acclaimed memoir, Wedlocked. “Faculty mentors will engage regularly with apprentice writers as they explore, experiment, make false starts and persevere towards draft generation, revision and completion.”

Students most likely to succeed in the program are those who have work underway, or a clear vision of the work to be done, Ponteri said. “Students should expect to finish the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program with a polished manuscript in hand, or, at least, a good portion of a manuscript completed,” he said.

For students who have yet to complete a bachelor’s degree, Marylhurst offers a three-year path to a B.A. in English and M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Experienced writers with an A.A.O.S. or A.S. degree earned at a community college may complete both programs in this streamlined curriculum, saving time and money.

The creative writing program is the latest addition to Marylhurst’s low-residency graduate offerings, ideal for students who need to fit school into their busy lives, around commitments to work and family, or who simply want to stay in their local communities while pursuing a graduate program. Marylhurst also offers a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling and Master of Science in Food Systems and Society in the low-residency format.
 
Applications for the M.F.A. in Creative Writing are now being accepted. For more information on the program and admission requirements, go to marylhurst.edu/degrees-and-programs.

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About Marylhurst University – Founded in 1893, Marylhurst University is a premier, not-for-profit, professionally focused liberal arts and business university. Marylhurst’s community of scholars, professionals and artists offers exceptional master’s degrees, bachelor’s degree completion programs, courses, continuing education and impressive arts, music and cultural events.