Three-Year MFA Programs

[ovalwriter]

What's your opinion on the three-year MFA program? Do you think the third year offers something wonderful that can't happen in the second year?

 

[lagoon91]

if anything, there's additional time, to work on theses, to teach, etc, which i think is invaluable. two year programs are good but some might feel like there isn't enough time, which i agree with a bit. unless you really know what you want to accomplish in those two years. also three year programs means an additional (hopefully funded) year of not having to return to the real world, lol

 

also some two year programs are essentially three years, due to additional post-grad fellowships and teaching opportunities (ie, Cornell, Michigan, etc), so there must be something to it.

Edited March 5, 2015 by lagoon91

[lagoon91]

i applied to a mix of two and three year programs and originally thought a two year program would be a better fit, but now i think i would prefer a three year program.

[ovalwriter]

Good feedback, Lagoon91.

[arealunicorn]

I know several people in two-year programs who are perfectly happy with that choice. Personally, I'm glad I ended up at a three-year program. lagoon91 already mentioned most of the reasons why I feel that way, but I do think the point about additional time to work on theses bears repeating. For most MFAs, thesis is more a stopping point than a flawless manuscript. That third year is valuable time to re-write/revise/refine.