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[foxxx]

Hello all,

I'm an undergrad who is looking for MFA programs in nonfiction writing. I'm graduating with a dual major in English Literature and Secondary Education - English. My GPA is solid, I will have good letters of recommendation, and I think I'm a competitive applicant. I live in Pennsylvania and, while I am willing to travel, am looking to stay in the eastern part of the US. I have looked at major programs and am trying to make sure I haven't missed any small gems of schools. Can anyone out there offer me some suggestions?

Also, any help at all in regards to this is appreciated. Thank you all so much.

Foxxx

[charlesr]

Why do you want an MFA?

[foxxx]

I love writing and it's something I'd like to pursue. I want to eventually teach at the University level and would rather get an MFA and then a Ph.D as opposed to an MA then Ph.D. However, I would also like to work in editing and publishing in addition to writing. An MFA seemed to cover the most ground and is the direction I am most passionate about.

[edmonddantes]

I am in an unrelated field, and perhaps you have thought of all of these already, but here's a place to start:

Talk to your professors in both fields and any related fields.

Look at the CVs of people that have the jobs that you want and see where they went.  Look at both those in the industry and professors--a pattern should emerge.  Even the schools you have already identified, look to see where their newest hires got their PhDs (if it's good for a PhD, it's likely good for the MFA).

Check US News Weekly World Report.  An okay place to start.

You mentioned the East Coast.  Choose a city you'd like to live in and look at all of the usual suspects.  Ie. Boston--look at Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis, Northeastern, and Harvard.  Check out the webpage.  Do they focus on your area of interest?  How many professors teach it?  What have those professors done?  What have graduates gone on to do?  If they are professors are they tenure track?

If your school has an alumni network, e-mail a couple of people and ask if they have noticed a trend in hiring or have heard about any programs in particular. 

Also, where did your professors go?

Finally, in your own research, who do you cite?  Where are they teaching at?  Where did they get their MFA/PhD?

Hope this helps a little.

[dntw8up]

It's not my area, but I've heard some good things about this program: http://www.goucher.edu/x1166.xml

[academic_cog]

I love writing and it's something I'd like to pursue. I want to eventually teach at the University level and would rather get an MFA and then a Ph.D as opposed to an MA then Ph.D. However, I would also like to work in editing and publishing in addition to writing. An MFA seemed to cover the most ground and is the direction I am most passionate about.

I was just talking to people on a creative writing search committee and they were telling me the competition was _brutal_, I mean, far worse than any competition for English lit positions. Remember that there are thousands of 1 and 2 year MFA programs putting out grads every year and then a huge backlog of all those grads competing for the permanent jobs that are getting posted. I'm not saying don't go if this is what you want to do, but be aware that these programs don't really make you competitive for a university creative writing program on their own --- you'll want to get a couple books out and some top-level creative writing awards before really applying.

Have you been over to the AWP website or society?

If what you want to do is write, can you just start writing? Do you _need_ the MFA or can you try out freelancing before going into an MFA program?

I have very little experience with actually being in an MFA program, it's true, but the people I was talking to from the other side of the search committees were saying the number of applicants they were getting dwarfed the numbers I was hearing about for the positions I was applying to. Oh, and two of the postdocs at this place I'm temporarily working at now have MFAs on top of their PhDs and aren't having any more luck landing a tt job than me. I'll stop with the doomsdaying now. :)

[bibliothecula]

If you want to work in publishing as well, a publishing course might be better for you than an MFA. A number of schools on the East Coast offer such programs.