Columbia's Curriculum

[StayAbove50]

Hi All,

Sorry if I'm messing this up--I posted this in the 2017 thread before realizing that was nestled within this wider section of the forum: 

Can anyone recommend any programs, fully-funded or not, that offer a similar curriculum to Columbia University's program? Obviously, it's no secret that Columbia is extremely expensive. Aside from some of the big name faculty members of whom I'm a huge fan, though, the main draw for me is the curriculum. They offer a wide variety of lectures, seminars, and whatnot on top of the usual workshops--and it would seem that, all told, you spend more time in the classroom than many other programs I've researched. (E.g., at NYU, it looks like you only take 8 credit hours, or two courses per semester, compared to the max of 15-18 you take at Columbia.) On top of that, there's some flexibility to take a few courses outside of the MFA program. Can anyone point me in the direction of programs that offer a similar approach? Thanks!

(realizing now after copying+pasting that this approach is pretty necessarily coupled with a light/non-existent teaching load, so I suppose that's another factor to consider.)

[heliogabalus]

I believe Arkansas has a program that fits that bill.

[outflare]

Related: I was surprised to learn that New School only requires 9 credits per semester. That seems a bit low to me (I received my masters in art education a while ago and we did 15 a semester). I too am drawn to the rigorous amount of classes at Columbia, and when one of their professors called me about my acceptance, the academic nature of the program was something he brought up several times, as was the ability to take classes in many (not all) "regular" Columbia courses. I asked about taking a class on contagious diseases and/or childhood trauma (relevant to the novel I want to write) and he said it was entirely possible. I did a little nerd dance in the office!

[heliogabalus]

To be fair, with the amount of tuition Columbia charges most of their MFA students you should be able to take any class you damn well like.