F A Q
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We're glad you asked. We have a good answer for that: The Randolph Difference.
Our low-residency M.F.A. program is a two-year academic program in creative writing.
The low-residency distinction means that a majority of the semester is spent with students working intensively in one-on-one mentorship with accomplished writers instead of attending traditional on-campus class sessions.
Our students can live and work anywhere in the world, as long as they are able to attend our intensive, ten-day residency sessions each summer and winter.
For more detailed information about our program, check out our overview page: M.F.A. Program.
Flexibility: Students do not need to move, quit their jobs, or disrupt their lives to dive into a low-residency program. Of course, they will be adding a lot of new learning, reading, and writing, but this program is built for people who want to integrate the writing life into their daily routine.
Personalized Study: Successful low-residency programs foster the most personal and individualized education. The ten-day residencies are intense, full-time, and put you in constant contact with your classmates, faculty and the program staff.
Faculty Mentorship: During the semester, you continue to work closely with one faculty member, and you receive significantly more critiqued work from your faculty mentor than most traditional MFA faculty provide each student.
Students must successfully complete four semesters and five residencies to obtain their degree. A minimum of 60 credit hours of graduate M.F.A. coursework must be completed, and all requirements must be completed within six calendar years.
During the program, students complete a book-length work in their chosen genre, and during their final residency, students present a craft lecture and a public reading.
For a more detailed explanation of our program requirements, examine our full curriculum: M.F.A. Curriculum.
Some say that the M.F.A. is only for future professors and full-time novelists, but that’s only a starting point for understanding the degree.
The M.F.A. also works as continuing education for many K-12 teachers, and it can result in an increased salary. The M.F.A. also makes sense in a myriad of professional endeavors. We know plenty of M.F.A. holders who write creatively and also work in professional writing, editing, publishing, online copywriting, marketing, law, sales, non-profit leadership, research jobs, and much more.
Yes, you can be a full-time novelist, but the M.F.A. is a statement to any employer that you have demonstrated significant ability to think, write, and communicate clearly and creatively—in other words, many, many jobs will be interested in an M.F.A. graduate.
We have an exceptional group of core faculty, and we will continue to add more faculty as our program grows. See our current faculty list here: Faculty.
In addition to our core faculty, you can expect our residency sessions to include visits from scholars and artists. Our guest faculty will present lectures, panels, and consultations with students.
One of the great benefits of earning a low-residency degree is the quality and number of exceptional writers with whom you will work--this group will evolve and grow along with the program. Although you will only have one primary mentor each semester, you will inevitably be influenced by many more of our writers.
We are committed to maintaining a stylistically and socially diverse faculty of the highest quality: exceptional writers, teachers, and humans.
Yes!
Each semester you will have one primary faculty member for one-on-one mentorship; however, that mentor will change each semester. Furthemore, you will have regular opportunities to interact with and learn from all of our faculty during our residency sessions.
You’ll not only attend lectures, panels and readings by our faculty, but you'll also have meals, informal discussions, and continual interaction with the faculty. This interaction is not limited to the faculty in your genre.
In the first few days of the residency, the faculty and the program staff assess the needs of each student, which includes an evaluation of each student’s journey as described in their evolving writing plan.
Students may fill out a mentor-preference form, which allows them to comment on their preferred mentors and provide a rationale.
The program directors, at the direction of the faculty, select the mentor pairings for each semester. It is generally understood that students will work with a new mentor each semester.
The ten-day residency in Virginia is a time for you and our faculty to gather to launch each new semester and for our graduating students to complete their M.F.A. degrees.
The residency days are packed with workshops, seminars, lectures, discussions, readings, activities, and visits from scholars and artists: writers, editors, performers, painters, dancers, and musicians.
In short, you can expect to have a lot of literary fun!
Prior to attending the residency sessions, students submit new work to be discussed by our faculty and your peers in our faculty-led workshops.
Regardless of your chosen genre, you are able to attend lectures and discussions in all three genres: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
Yes, prior to attending the residency sessions, students submit new work, which will be discussed by our faculty and your peers in our faculty-led workshops.
We have two ten-day residencies. The summer residency begins in midsummer, and the winter residency begins in late December.
Our website lists specific dates of upcoming residencies: Residency Schedule.
Please see the application requirements here: Application Requirements.
NOTE: We DO NOT require GRE scores.
Students must have completed a bachelors degree by the time they begin the M.F.A.
For more details on admissions: Application Information.