MFA Programs

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Program Overview

If you have dreams of writing a book, Fairfield University's low-residency MFA in Creative Writing can help you make those dreams into reality. In the past three years, our alumni and students have published over 80 books, in addition to hundreds of articles, essays, stories, and poems. Our concentration in publishing/editing has helped students get internships and jobs at magazines and publishing houses alike. 

As a student in our program, you can pursue the study of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and screenwriting. Within these genres you can pursue concentrations in publishing/editing, spiritual writing, or literary health and healing.

Students gather for our convenient semiannual residencies on beautiful Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut. While highly rigorous, the program can be tailored to suit your individual writing goals, and allow you to learn from a faculty made of nationally recognized writers. The most promising writer in each residency applicant pool will be awarded the prestigious $5,000 MFA Fellowship.

Our alumni have been up to some great things since graduating, including the creation of AfterEnders, a website dedicated to fostering a lifelong community for the Fairfield University MFA in Creative Writing family. The site offers past, present and future students a unique blend of practical advice and creative inspiration based on the personal experience of MFA graduates or faculty members.

No matter which writing path you pursue, you’ll receive the support and guidance of our award-winning faculty during the one-on-one mentoring sessions, as well as many opportunities to collaborate during on-campus activities and online - illustrating our commitment to your well-being and success.

More About the Program

Certificate in Creative Writing

The MFA in Creative Writing program now offers a year-long intensive certificate program titled The Prologue. As an introduction to the MFA program, The Prologue is a 12 credit post-baccalaureate program that provides creative writers of all levels with two semesters of rigorous, graduate-level one-on-one mentorship to help them jumpstart or finish a book-length project.

The Residency

Fairfield University's MFA in Creative Writing Program involves exciting, bi-annual, nine-day residency periods at Enders Island, an inspirational retreat located off the coast of Mystic, Connecticut. Each residency brings together a uniquely talented group of faculty, guest writers, students, editors and agents that work, learn and have fun together while practicing and discussing the subtleties of writing and craft.

Students & Alumni

Fairfield's MFA students and alumni may be in their 20's or 80's or anywhere in between - but once they share a handful of residences at Enders Island, they are bonded for life. To help them stay connected, informed and inspired, we offer a variety of engaging resources.

Faculty

Fairfield University's MFA faculty are experienced and published authors, who work closely with graduate students to provide academic advice and individualized attention that makes their experience as productive as it is rewarding.

Concentrations

MFA students may concentrate in one genre such as poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction or screenwriting, or they may have a dual concentration in two of these genres. Since it is felt that working in more than one genre can benefit the writer’s development, students are encouraged to work outside their main genre for a workshop or even an entire semester.

Inspired Writer Series

Fairfield University’s Inspired Writer Series series was initiated as a companion to the MFA program and celebrates the program’s concentrations in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry with a rotation of exemplary guest authors.

Videos

Browse videos of recent seminars and readings to experience the breadth, originality and excellence of our Enders Island residencies.

Diversity and Inclusive Excellence

As a Jesuit, Catholic university, Fairfield is dedicated to diversity and inclusion; to radical hospitality in service of racial, social, and economic justice.

Admission

Admission requirements for the MFA in Creative Writing are based on certain criteria and are outlined in detail for your convenience.

Teaching Opportunities

Teaching options for MFA graduates span a range of opportunities. The potential MFA students should be aware that due to changes in higher education, the full-time position teaching creative writing at a university has become a challenging position to obtain, often requiring a book publication as well as prior teaching experience. MFA graduates who are interested in teaching will be mentored to consider the full range of teaching options if this career fits their interests. MFA students are qualified to serve as adjunct instructors at the college level. Our graduates have also transitioned into careers teaching writing at the high school level as well as designing and staffing innovative community-based writing programs.

Students within the program can choose a pedagogy track for their experience within the MFA. This involves serving as a Teaching Assistant to a graduate level workshop during their final residency with one of the faculty mentors. In addition, students can invest time in other options within this track. Students who live within the Fairfield area may also apply to serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate creative writing course taught at Fairfield; during this experience they meet with the professor on a regular basis to discuss pedagogy and observations, and reflect upon their own teaching goals and philosophies. Many of the students who select the TA experience also complete a pedagogy project, which is an in-depth research experience on the teaching of writing that culminates in a 35-page academic paper, often weaving in evidence from the TA experience or a community-based educational project. These third-semester projects, which earn 9 credits toward the degree, are developed as part of the MFA curriculum and are discussed in depth with a program mentor. The completion of the pedagogy track will also be noted on the applicant's CV.

The MFA program in collaboration with First-Year Writing and the Fairfield Writing Center augment our MFA students' pedagogical backgrounds. Fairfield MFA students living in the Fairfield area have the opportunity to apply to serve as paid teaching assistants in the University Writing Center, an opportunity to develop expertise in the fields of teaching and editing.

Accelerated Master's Degree

Eligibility

  • Full-time, matriculated students of ANY major and school may apply to the MFA in Creative Writing Program
  • GPA of 3.2 or higher
  • Completion of at least 96 credits prior to the start of fall senior year

Admission Requirements

  • Online application available at fairfield.edu/applynow
  • $60 admission fee (waived for current students)
  • Fairfield University transcript (obtained by the Office of Graduate Admission)
  • A letter of recommendation
  • Personal statement
  • Copy of resume
  • Writing sample

Timeline

  • Current undergraduates should speak to their academic advisor during their junior year to express interest in the accelerated program.
  • Qualified undergraduate students can register for up to two graduate courses during their senior year.
    • These classes will be covered through full-time undergraduate tuition (with the exception of the MFA Winter Residency which is an additional tuition charge).

    • Graduate classes cannot count towards fulfillment of the undergraduate degree.
    • During their senior year, students should submit an official graduate application to gain admission to the full graduate program.

Other Admission Options

Learn about our new Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) option, where highly qualified students can receive up to one full semester credit for the work they have already written or published. Students receiving the PLA can finish the MFA in three semesters instead of four.

MFA Book Prize

Fairfield University’s MFA program is one of the very few MFA programs in the country to offer its students the unique opportunity to win a professional book contract. The Fairfield Book Prize is awarded every two years to a Fairfield University MFA student or alumni who has entered an original and compelling book-length manuscript to its contest. The finalists are judged by a writer of national distinction, and the author of the winning manuscript is awarded a $1,000 prize, a standard royalty book contract, and publication by Woodhall Press, who will edit, publish, distribute, and market each prize-winning book.

Woodhall Press is an independent publisher founded by three Fairfield University MFA alumni, Colin Hosten, David LeGere, and Christopher Madden.

Fairfield MFA Book Prize Winner: Summer 2019

Brooke Adams Law headshot

Brooke Adams Law

Catchlight
Learn More About Catchlight

Brooke Adams Law’s Catchlight is a beautiful, moving novel of a family in transition, struggling with loss and disease and addiction, but also with new possibilities for redemption and renewal and love. Law steadily draws the reader in to the complex and closely observed emotional ties that bind brothers and sisters together, as well as those that keep them separate. She asks us whether we can find joy in the midst of grief, and whether we can make art out of pain, and then she shows us how that is done.

Guest Judge: Phil Klay
Publisher: Woodhall Press

Previous Fairfield MFA Book Prize Winners

Susan Smith Daniels

2017 Winner

The Genuine Stories

Guest Judge: Meghan Daum

Lynne Heinzmann

2015 Winner

Frozen Voices

Guest Judge: Richard Hoffmann

Chris Belden

2013 Winner

The Floating Lady of Lake Towaba and Other Stories

Guest Judge: Dani Shapiro

Nick Knittel

2011 Winner

Good Things

Guest Judge: Charles Simic

Causeway Lit

Causeway Lit is an online literary journal sponsored by Fairfield University's MFA in Creative Writing and a collaborative effort among graduate students in the program. Hands-on publishing opportunities exist on the Editorial, Production, and Marketing teams.

  • Be exposed to the editing and publishing process
  • Cultivate your editorial skills needed to improve your own creative writing
  • Foster dialogue about the writing craft
  • Learn about the marketing and production side of publishing
  • Stay on top of trends in the publishing industry
  • Expand your writing community beyond the program cohort
  • Have hands-on experience to add to your resume
  • Foster global citizenship and diversity through an interactive, engaged, international web audience
  • Reading through submissions from emerging and seasoned writers from around the world
  • Evaluating writing craft
  • Recommending selections
  • Contacting authors
  • Suggesting edits
  • Working closely with the contributors and each other to produce publishable material
  • Wordpress and html training
  • Posting, formatting, and proofreading poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, and author bio pages
  • Photo formatting and publishing
  • Drafting and distributing news releases surrounding new issues and events for Mason's Road
  • Writing blog posts that stir up interest to a web audience
  • Using Facebook and Twitter to publicize the journal
  • Organizing reading events, poetry slams, and multi-genre activities in the local community
  • Developing and distributing printed materials promoting the journal
  • Working the AWP booth

Leadership positions include Editor-in-Chief and Genre Editor roles for the editorial side, and a Managing Editor position for the publishing side. An internship for the Managing Editor role is available as a third semester project through an application process.

Causeway Lit is published twice a year, coinciding with our Enders Island residencies in July and December/January. For more information, visit causewaylit.com.

FAQs

Degree Questions

You will need to submit a portfolio of work, including a writing sample (20 pages for prose, 6-8 poems for poetry), two letters of recommendation, and a two-page personal statement. In addition, you will need to submit a transcript of your undergraduate work. However, the heaviest emphasis is placed on the creative writing sample.

No. Most of our students have families and careers. However, it is expected that you will commit 25 hours a week working on your writing.

You must apply to be admitted in one of three main genres - fiction, poetry, or nonfiction. For fiction, while the writer may work in any form, style, or sub-genre - including experimental, historical, scifi, or mystery - the work must have certain basic literary qualities (i.e., interesting and original language, well-developed characters, plots that avoid cliches). After admittance, if you would like to switch genres, you must submit a writing sample in a second genre to the director. However, for the creative thesis, most students will need to select one of the three genres. In special cases, you may do a combination thesis, but only if two faculty members agree to take on such a project.

Yes. In fact, we encourage it. Many seminars and panels actually have cross-genre themes.

Harriet Doerr published her first novel at the age of 73 and it went on to win the National Book Award. The great thing about writing is that you're never too old to write or to become trained as a writer. Fairfield's low-residency MFA is perfect for the "mature" student. Our student body will range in age from 23 to 75 and will include people from professions and experiences from all walks of life.

No. The only thing we ask is that you've made a serious commitment to writing and that you've been writing for some time. We look much more for commitment than formal training.

No. While some of our students will have published their work, most will not yet be published.

During each residency, you must attend a minimum of five seminars in your chosen genre. However, you may attend as many as you wish, including in other genres. There will be opportunities to attend workshops, plenary sessions, readings, and lectures dealing with each type of genre.

Residency and Faculty Questions

Yes. Since the residency is so important to a writer's development, you must attend each of the five residencies, as well as the fifth graduation residency where you will give a lecture and a public reading of your work.

If you select to stay with us on Enders Island, the MFA staff makes all arrangements, including lodging and meals. You will be responsible for transportation to and from the residency, though we do provide shuttle service from the train station on arrival in Mystic, CT.

At the end of each residency, you will be paired with one faculty mentor for the five-month independent work. Together you will work out a plan of study. Some correspond by e-mail, others by sending hard copy packets in the mail. Faculty will communicate their responses to your work by e-mail, regular mail, and phone.

Application Questions

You can find tuition information on our Tuition & Fees page.

In certain cases, depending on the student’s portfolio, the transfer of up to 15 MFA credits will be considered.

Absolutely. Our well-trained and highly published faculty will bring an entirely new dimension to your writing training.

You can, with the permission of the director, take one semester off due to personal or professional reasons.

No. We accept applications on a rolling basis.

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