Mississippi University for Women

MFA Program

Program Established: 
2015
Location: 
Columbus, MS
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation, Cross-Genre
Residency: 
Low
Duration: 
2-3 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
10-15 per year
Application Deadline: 
March 1, 2024
Application Fee: 
$25
Contact Name: 
Kendall Dunkelberg, Director
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: Kendall Dunkelberg, T. K. Lee, L. Lamar Wilson
Fiction: Paulette Boudreaux, Suzanne Jamir, Mary Miller, Brandy T. Wilson
Nonfiction: Ellen Ann Fentress, Suzanne Jamir, Mary Miller, Brandy T. Wilson
Translation: Kendall Dunkelberg
Playwriting: T. K. Lee

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers partial funding through scholarships. All students pay in-state tuition rates.

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 
Other Features: 

Students can also study playwriting and translation, in addition to poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. The program also offers practical courses including Internships, Literary Magazine Production, and Writing for New Media. Cross-genre work is encouraged, and drama students can take classes in and collaborate with The W’s low-residency MFA in Theatre Education program.

The program also hosts the annual Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium, and publishes Ponder Review and Poetry South.

The program offers flexible residency options. To graduate, a student must attend two full residencies (ten days in summer) and two short residencies (five days in October or at other times) at the Mississippi University for Women campus in Columbus, Mississippi. Students are expected to complete the program in two years or up to six years if part-time.

The priority application deadline for the fall semester is March 1. The final deadline is June 30 for the fall semester and December 1 for the spring semester.