MFA Creative Writing Non-Degree Options
Still trying to decide if an MFA program is right for you? Converse has two options you might want to consider.
Brief Immersion Residency
The Brief Immersion Residency offers a great opportunity for writers who have completed a bachelor’s degree to immerse themselves in the writing culture at Converse University. A Residency Immersion option provides interested writers an opportunity to “try out” the MFA program by attending and fully participating in one full residency session. Immersion students join MFA students and MFA core faculty in the residency workshop and participate fully in that workshop as a non-degree, non-credit student. Your work will be discussed in the workshop classroom, and you will be expected to provide critique and feedback to peers in the workshop. In addition, participants are expected to attend craft lecture offerings and other classroom activities, plus they attend faculty and visiting faculty readings.
Immersion residency applicants must have successfully completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, and they must have a GPA meeting the Graduate School and program expectations and must write at a level equivalent to those students applying for and receiving full admission into the Converse MFA program.
The application for immersion residency participation consists of a MFA Immersion Residency Application, payment of the $40 application fee, a writing sample in the genre of your workshop selection (fiction, poetry, nonfiction), two letters of recommendation, and appropriate transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable for the Immersion Residency application).
Immersion residency tuition for the full nine-day residency session is $1400. Summer residency Immersion students requiring room & board may purchase the same on-campus room & board package as our MFA students for an additional fee, and Winter residency students are eligible to purchase the same off-campus room & board package as MFA students. Space in each residency is limited and participation in the Immersion Residency cannot be repeated.
Writers who successfully complete the Immersion Residency and decide to pursue admission to the MFA program will have the MFA application fee waived, and, if applying for program admission in the following semester after completion of the Immersion Residency, applicants can complete an abbreviated application process.
Lecture Pass
For those writers interested in a less immersive residency experience, the Converse Low Residency MFA program offers morning and afternoon craft lectures and round table discussions as part of the instructional curriculum during our residency session each June and January. During the residency session core faculty members and visiting faculty guests, agents, and editors present a craft lecture dealing with writing issues and craft techniques. Lecture pass participants are given an opportunity to attend some or all of the craft lectures held during the residency session.
This is a great opportunity for a writer who wishes to have a glimpse into what the Converse MFA program offers but doesn’t want to or cannot do a full immersion residency. Lecture passes are open to any writer holding a bachelor’s degree, or to any college student either entering or currently enrolled as a senior. Lecture passes are also available to Converse alumni. Lecture passes, both full and half passes, are available for a small fee.
Lecture pass attendees receive no academic credit and they do not attend any writing workshop, only craft lectures with the half pass, or craft lectures and readings with a full pass. The cost for a full pass offering attendance at all core and visiting faculty lectures and all core and visiting faculty readings is $450. The cost for a half pass (attendance at lectures only) is $225.
The Converse MFA program offers a discount to all Converse alumni and all Converse full-time faculty/staff interested in participating in the Lecture Pass option: $350, full pass option for Converse alumni and full-time employees, or $175 for half pass option. Space is limited.