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Is
a Low-Residency Program for You? Until fairly recently, this
was not a question too many people even considered. If you pursued formal
graduate study in creative writing you followed a traditional graduate path. You’d take the Graduate
Record Exam as part of your application process. You’d count on spending at
least one year (more often two) “in residence” on the campus where the
program was administered. In addition to the workshops where your own pages (and
your classmates’) would be critiqued, you would take courses in literature,
theory, foreign languages, other disciplines. You’d be expected to pass
comprehensive examinations as well as write an acceptable thesis. A teaching
fellowship would very possibly be part of your financial aid package. With the advent of the
first “low-residency” programs, the scene changed. Options evolved, and they
began to appeal particularly to students who appreciated that flexibility. In
the simplest terms, “low-residency” programs offered a new opportunity-- to
study writing and earn a degree without being based on a university campus. One
might travel to the campus intermittently (usually twice each year) for an
intensive period (usually one or two weeks) of workshops, seminars, and
readings. During the months between those sessions-- or residencies-- one would
write (and read) back at home, sending one’s work to a faculty “mentor”
and receiving feedback from that person. That remains the basic framework for
most programs, with some variations. But before you think about
differences between and among the various low-residency programs, consider some
initial self-assessment questions to ask yourself when trying to decide whether
an “in-residence” or “low-residency” program would be most appropriate
for you. 1) Why am I interested
in a graduate writing program in the first place? (Thinking about this question
now may also help you as you begin to analyze the differences between/among the
programs a little later.) 2) What am I looking
for/hoping to find in my graduate writing program? Try to consider where those
hopes/needs/goals may be most likely fulfilled. (For example, if you’re
looking to immerse yourself in a full-time on-campus graduate school experience,
taking a range of courses in many disciplines, a low-residency program may not
meet that goal.) 3) How “mobile” am
I? In other words, can I move to another state or part of the country (or world)
right now? How do my personal /family life and/or professional situation affect
my decision on how and where to pursue my degree? (Low-residency programs tend
to offer flexibility for those whose professional/personal commitments preclude
“transplantation,” as the structure permits them to continue working/living
in their current locations.) 4) What are my work
habits like? Am I generally self-motivated and disciplined? Will I likely
function effectively even without the structure of frequent classes, an on-site
library, a physical campus, and other features that an in-residence program
might provide? 5) How do the fees,
financial aid programs and packages of the in-residence and low-residency
programs that I’m considering compare? Which work best for me (grants, loans,
teaching fellowships, tuition remission for work, etc.)? Once you decide that the
low-residency option is something that you are indeed interested in pursuing,
there's lots more to consider and investigate. You'll want to collect
information about the available programs (there are currently more than twenty
degree-granting programs in the United States and Canada). And you'll definitely
want to analyze and assess them to decide which ones are most appropriate for
you to apply to-- and potentially attend. It's an intense-- but can also be an
intensely exciting-- time in the development of a practicing writer. © 2004
Erika Dreifus Erika Dreifus (Ed.M.,
M.F.A., Ph.D.) is the author of several resource guides for writers, including
_The Practicing Writer's Primer on Low-Residency MFA Programs_, from which this
article has been adapted. Visit her website, www.practicing-writer.com,
to learn more about these
guides and about her free monthly newsletter. |
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