TonyB

Thank you!

Thanks!

Visited the ASU and UCI MFA sites recently (within the last month) and saw that each program's funding package had been increased by about $2k/yr. Went back yesterday and found that not only had both pages been completely (and badly) redesigned, but funding had been knocked back down to pre-makeover levels. Did anyone else notice this? I'm beginning to feel like I hallucinated the whole thing...

You could also try one of the low-residency programs like Stonecoast, UC Riverside, Western State Colorado, Red Earth, or Goddard that seem to be open to "popular fiction" of all varieties. North Carolina State, Syracuse, and Kansas are allegedly open to sci-fi/fantasy stuff as well.

Also look for schools that don't necessarily fund EVERY acceptee, but still offer a fair amount of funding. Pro: better chance of acceptance. Con: the possibility of being accepted w/o funding, in which case you'd have to decide if you still want to attend. I'd personally recommend not going anywhere unless you get funding.

Thanks for all the great info so far! I will definitely look into the NYC and GaTAPP programs, as I'm quite open to relocating pretty much anywhere. Most of my family and friends, coincidentally, are looking at leaving Ohio within the next year or two, so before too long there won't be much keeping me in the Buckeye state anyway.

This is an example of the type of program I'm talking about, for those not familiar: http://nau.edu/CAL/English/Degrees-Programs/Graduate/MA-Secondary-English-Education/ I've been researching MFA programs (Creative Writing) for years but have only just recently started to look into programs like this. My primary concerns are whether 1) These programs actually include ALL the coursework needed to acquire a teacher certification. I looked into a post-BA licensing program once -- one that didn't even confer a master's degree! -- and they said that, with all the content area courses I'd have to take (having majored in Communication rather than English, History, etc. for my undergrad) I'd end up taking more than 60 credit hours, so these 30-40 hr programs seem too good to be true; and 2) What the funding situation at these programs is like. For instance, I know that many MFA's are fully funded, and even those that aren't not uncommonly offer stipends of $15k or more, tuition remission, etc. I've found many MA program sites tend to be more cagey with this type of info, however. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I feel like, once programs in ANY discipline become widely known to be fully funded, they tend to catapult up the list by several spaces and automatically become "elite," in terms of number of applications received, etc.

Anime-inspired avatars are one of my triggers.

I've had good experiences emailng the heads of MFA/English programs at Ohio State, West Virginia University, Northern Kentucky, University of Dayton, and Cleveland State.

Was wondering if anyone had any info on this program... the UNM website lists graduate assistant salaries at $20k/yr (you have to dig for it a bit, it's not really publicized on the MFA page), and I heard from an alumnus on Twitter a while back that they fund everyone they admit. Yet I've never really seen them on any of the fully funded programs lists that are floating around out there, and in fact their site doesn't specifically say that the program is fully funded. I also recently read (in an interview on Affording the MFA, I think) that their TA salary is only $16k. Anyone have any personal experience with this program, as an applicant or otherwise?

I've heard North Carolina State is a fully funded program, or close to it. They're also amenable to genre writing, if that's anyone's bag. They are cagey about their funding, though, unlike most of the big schools on the Funded MFA list. I've heard it's around 11k/yr, for what that's worth.

So in other words it's good enough for them to read while passing some time on the john, but not good enough to talk about in their precious workshops. I'd call that looking down. As others have noted, I've heard U. Kansas, Southern Illinois, possibly Brown, and North Carolina State are amenable to genre fiction. Low res programs tend to be a lot more open to it, including Stonecoast, Seton Hill, Western State Colorado, Red Earth (Oklahoma City University), and Goddard.

That's 'cause they don't have funding. Been whittling down my short list for the 2016 season. I'm thinking I REALLY want to try and get out of the Midwest, so I'm looking at schools like Irvine, U. Oregon, and the New Mexico's and Arizona's. The funding at Michigan and Cornell is too good to pass up, so I'll probably hit those again as well.

I've heard that most schools in New York offer little to no funding. (And in such an expensive city... ugh). Good luck!