News & events of note for the Miami University, Ohio creative writing program faculty & students, past, present and future. Follow @MiamiOH_CW on Twitter.
Miami University in Oxford, Ohio has two outstanding graduate programs in creative writing: a Residential MA (miamioh.edu/cwma) founded over 25 years ago and a new Low-Residency MFA (miamioh.edu/cwmfa) launching January of 2016.
The Residential MA (miamioh.edu/cwma), which has a well-established tradition of excellence and achievement, is small and close-knit. The faculty/student ratio is 1:3. Characterized by workshops of 8-15 people, the program is able to provide both a tutorial atmosphere and a community of ambitious peers in a lovely, small-town university setting about 45 minutes outside Cincinnati. Award-winning faculty (all actively publishing) work closely with a diverse group of about 25 students, some of whom are from other countries, and encourage a demanding, noncompetitive environment.
Miami's generous teaching assistantship package, which includes a summer stipend, is made available to many (and, when possible, all) of our MA students; other financial support is also available. Teaching assistants receive unparalleled pedagogical guidance from our composition and rhetoric program, one of the best in the nation. A significant proportion of MA students teach creative writing courses during their second year at Miami, and the MA also offers opportunities for creative writing internships in China.
Miami MA alumni are successful as writers (in the past few years, recent graduates have sold first books to Alfred A. Knopf, Random House and Harcourt) and in careers in university teaching, public service, editing and publishing. Many go on to hold fellowships at the most prestigious MFA and PhD programs after completing their studies at Miami. Their work has been included in the annual O. Henry Prize Stories collection and other anthologies, received Intro Awards from AWP and Honorable Mention in the Atlantic Monthly Young Writer's Competition, and been published widely in literary journals.
A residential BA-to-MA five-year track is available for especially talented and capable undergraduates in creative writing: http://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/english/academics/graduate-studies/creative-writing/ba-ma/index.html).
The Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program (miamioh.edu/cwmfa) is a two-year, four-semester course of individualized study designed to help poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and hybrid-genre writers hone their skill and work towards mastering their craft. Twice a year ten-day residencies, in January and August, will bring students, mentors and distinguished visitors to Oxford. Faculty mentors include director Eric Goodman, Josip Novakovich, Jim Heynen, Porochista Khakpour, Hugh Sheehy, Emily Rupp, Peter Orner, Dana Ward and Hoa Nguyen.
Combining Miami University’s long tradition of rigorous graduate English education with the best aspects of the low-residency model, students will learn to read and think as writers, while benefiting from working one-on-one from home with literary mentors. Students will become part of an extended literary community, drawing inspiration from their mentors and fellow students, as well as rich literary traditions.
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Residential MA in Creative Writing
Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing
BA in Creative Writing
Minor in Creative Writing
