Bennington College

Vermont, United States

Low-residency program

One of the top low-residency programs in the country, the Bennington Writing Seminars is a two-year, rigorous exploration of craft. You commit as much to reading as to writing and critical literary analysis. You craft bold new works of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and may work in a dual-genre. You finish with a polished thesis and a critical paper. All this with the expert 1:1 guidance of acclaimed authors who develop a stake in your work. Our alumni, faculty, students, and staff publish work at the highest levels.

Our faculty-student ratio of 1:1 provides true mentorship. You work closely with a faculty member who is an accomplished writer and a distinguished teacher.

You may focus on one or more genres at Bennington. While most choose to specialize in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, others work across two genres through our Dual-Genre Degree.

You may apply to begin during either of the 10-day residency sessions in January (winter term) or June (summer term)—application deadlines are September 1 and March 1, respectively.

We are committed to increasing access to our program for students from diverse backgrounds and to building community through sustained dialogue and practice. We offer scholarships, and fund the emerging voices we want to support and read.

Bennington offers a self-directed pace that allows you to develop a sustainable, lifelong writing practice. We know how important it is for MFA students to gain teaching experience so we've developed the Residential Teaching Fellows program—a first-of-its-kind teaching opportunity among low-residency MFA programs, among others.

We offer a range of scholarships and federal financial aid loans. All applicants are considered for merit scholarships.

Contact writing@bennington.edu


Contact Information

Bennington Writing Seminars
One College Drive
Bennington
Vermont, United States
05201-6003
Phone: 802-440-4452
Email: writing@bennington.edu
www.bennington.edu/mfa-writing



DEGREE PROGRAMS

Graduate Program Director

Megan Culhane Galbraith
Director
Bennington Writing Seminars
One College Drive
Bennington
Vermont, United States
05201-6003
Phone: 802-440-4452
Email: writing@bennington.edu
URL: www.bennington.edu/mfa-writing

The Bennington Writing Seminars offers a low-residency Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Writing and Literature. This two-year graduate program involves five intense 10-day residency periods at Bennington College during January and June of each year. Between residencies, students spend the six-month terms corresponding directly with faculty who teach as part of the program's core staff. Additional faculty are invited to participate as associate staff during the 10-day residency periods, teaching literature from a writer's point of view. The five residencies feature workshops, readings, lectures, and discussions that are part of an ongoing investigation of what constitutes the world of letters.

In keeping with Bennington's progressive tradition, the course of study in the Seminars is structured largely by the student. Students, in concert with the core faculty, form their own reading lists, and submit interpretive and original work - fiction, nonfiction, and poetry - for critique at monthly intervals throughout the term. The development of individual work is at the heart of the program. Students are expected to devote at least 25 hours each week to their writing and reading.

Residency workshops in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are conducted by the core faculty. Students design their course of study for the coming term - readings and writings - in consultation with the core faculty member with whom the student will be corresponding. Workshops are small, never more than 10 students and 2 teachers, and an intimate 5 to 1 student/teacher ratio is maintained throughout the program.

The first two semesters are devoted to original and interpretive work, with a minimum 10-page critical essay, based on work from the reading list, to be submitted to the core faculty member at the end of each term. The third semester requires that each student completes, in addition to original work, a minimum 20-page critical work. Finally, in addition to submitting a completed creative thesis, graduating students are required to present a literary lecture and give a reading of their own work during the fifth and final residency period.

Students are admitted to the program primarily on the strength of the original manuscript submitted with the application.

Type of Program: Low-Residency Program
Largest Class Size: 10
Smallest Class Size: 5
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
Tuition bennington.edu/mfa-writing
Duration of Study: 2 years
Unit of Measure: Credits
Total Units for Degree: 64
Application Requirements: Transcripts, Writing Sample, Application Form, Letters of Recommendation, Other




FACULTY

Bennington Writing Seminars

Our faculty-student ratio of 1:1 provides true mentorship. You work closely with a faculty member who is an accomplished writer and a distinguished teacher.

www.bennington.edu/academics/faculty/aos?aos=96