The MFA Residency + Guided Study
The Pacific University MFA in Writing program residencies are an opportunity for students to connect with faculty mentors and guest authors in idyllic settings focused on the craft of writing. Over the 10 intensive days of events, students meet some of the best minds of the literary world.
Each day is filled with an expansive selection of presentations and events designed to provide tools and inspiration for the art of writing. In the mornings, students typically attend a craft talk and workshops. After lunch they may choose among a number of talks, panels, classes and readings. Each evening closes with readings by the faculty and students. In addition to the scheduled events, the residency includes time for contemplation, writing and informal gatherings. Though students in the program specialize in a particular genre for their degrees, the residency offers opportunities to experience and appreciate the relationship among all the literary genres.
Toward the end of the residency, each student is paired with a faculty advisor and together they create an individualized study plan that outlines the student’s projects for the guided study that follows. The residency is both a rich reward and a stimulus for the months of solo work that lie ahead.
Pre-Residency
- Worksheets: Submit four poems, no more than 10 pages in all, or a prose piece of up to 4000 words for faculty and peer review.
- Peer Review: Prepare detailed comments on all manuscripts in workshop group.
- Study Proposal: Submit a semester study proposal that includes writing goals, areas of interest, and a tentative reading list.
January & June: 10-Day Residency
- Workshops: Receive close critique and participate in critique for others.
- Presentations and Readings: Attend lectures, classes, presentations, readings, and discussions by writers and degree candidates.
- Advisor Conferences: Participate in strategy sessions with advisor to design an individualized semester study plan.
- Study Plan: Refine initial study proposal and define goals, reading list, projects, and deadlines for the guided study.
- Residency Review: Submit required responses to craft talks, classes, roundtable discussions, and lectures.
Explore the Residencies
The study plans that shape each semester’s work in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing program grow from the students’ own interests, needs, and developing visions and guide the trajectory of their work. During the guided study students send writing to their advisors and, in turn, receive critiques and support, including specific suggestions as well as general advice for the developing craft and course of study.
Guided Study
- Workload: Devote 20-25 hours per week to implement study plans and projects.
- Creative Project: Develop a body of carefully edited work (20-30 pages prose, 10-15 poems).
- Exchanges/Packets: Submit work to advisor (5 exchanges, 1 about every 3 weeks).
- Reading: Complete assigned readings (20 works per semester).
- Reading Responses: During the first two semesters, write commentaries on 12-15 of the assigned readings. During the last two semesters, create an annotated bibliography for the assigned readings.
- Log: Keep record of exchanges with advisor.
- Midterm Assessment: Assess progress toward goals in study plan.
- Semester Assessment: Evaluate semester progress.
The Experience of Guided Study