The Boston University MFA Creative Writing Program in Fiction and Poetry is one of the country’s oldest and well-respected MFA programs. This program is highly competitive and selective. Less than 5% of the students who apply for this program are accepted. If this shows anything, it shows that this program only accepts the best students.
There are many great perks to attending this creative writing program. Read the facts below to learn why you should apply for this program if you are an aspiring creative writer.
- There are small class sizes. Each year, the Boston University MFA program accepts less than 20 students. In 2016, the program only accepted ten fiction students and eight poetry students. This ensures that the students who are accepted into the program get individualized attention on their works by both their professors and their peers.
- The program only takes one year to complete. The Boston University MFA program is unique in that it only takes a year to complete. Most other MFA programs take up to two years. Since there are small class sizes, the professors are able to speed up the pacing of the class and provide individualized attention to the students. This program is faster paced than many other similar programs, so students will need to be focused and quick to keep up with the classes.
- You do not need a BA in Creative Writing to apply. To apply to the program, you need need to have already earned a bachelor’s degree, but it does not have to be in Creative Writing, or even any other English or Literature-related topics. You could be accepted even if your degree is related to business or science. What matters to this program is your talent in writing, and it doesn’t matter if you have honed your talent with a Creative Writing degree or not.
- The program offers global writing fellowships. Unlike other writing programs, the Boston University MFA program has an optional continuation once a student completes all of their degree requirements. The school allows the students to travel to almost any country in the world and stay there for three months (on average). This is something truly unique, and any student would be lucky to accept this trip of a lifetime.
- The program offers a Literary Translation Seminar. Each spring, Boston University offers a Literary Translation Seminar. This seminar teaches students about the ways that works of literature have been translated. This not only includes translations into spoken language but also sign language. Some famous speakers who have presented this seminar in the past include David Ferry, Rika Lesser, Charles Simic, and Rosmarie Waldrop.
- The program includes four writing workshops. During the course of this writing program, students are expected to participate in four writing workshops. These workshops are tailored to help students to concentrate on their literary work, whether that be a work of fiction or poetry. The school also has students take four other classes, for a total of 32 credits.
- Non-literature courses are also offered. While most students who attend this program take four workshop classes and four graduate literature courses, they have the option to opt out of a literary class to instead take another class of their choosing. However, the student must be able to explain why they want to take another type of class (it must relate to their creative work in some way). For example, a student writing a historical fiction could opt out of a literary class to take a history class.
The Boston University MFA Program offers its students many unique opportunities that they couldn’t find in other MFA programs.With the small class sizes, individualized attention from professors and students, the great classes offered, and the optional trip aboard, who wouldn’t want to attend this program? To apply to the writing program, click this link. (There is a $95 fee for the application. To apply for a fee waiver, go here.) If you need an expert to help with your creative writing paper, visit CustomWritings. Good luck in your application!