By Katy Yocom
Spalding MFA Associate Administrative Director
For writers ready to carve out space in their life for creative pursuits, Spalding University’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing is launching a post-baccalaureate certificate program in Creative Writing. The certificate program launches in November and is equivalent to one semester in Spalding’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing. Those who complete the certificate program earn 15 hours of graduate-level academic credit.
Nationally recognized as a Top 10 program, the MFA’s low-residency model is designed to make graduate study possible for students who hold full-time jobs and substantial family commitments. The new certificate program is an extension of this philosophy. Spalding MFA students and alumni include writers who earn their living as teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers, and therapists, among other professions. The certificate program presents a specific opportunity for prospective students in these helping professions, where creative writing skills are considered particularly valuable, although the new program is open to writers from any walk of life. Employers increasingly emphasize writing skills in hiring and advancement, and many reimburse the costs of tuition for continued study in this area.
Certificate students will join MFA students and take existing courses taught by current MFA faculty in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, and writing for children and young adults. Students may begin studies in November, May, or July and complete the certificate in six months, which requires about 25 hours of work per week. A nine-month option requiring only about 12 hours of work per week will be available beginning in May. Certificate students produce the same amount of work on either schedule.
Certificate-program admission standards are the same as for the full MFA program. The application consists of a completed application form, payment of the university application fee, a writing sample, two essays, two letters of recommendation, and appropriate transcripts. A BA or BS is the minimum education requirement. The application deadline for the fall semester is August 1.
The Spalding MFA community is very excited about providing this new option for writers looking to improve their craft. If you or someone you know might be interested in the certificate program, contact us at mfa@spalding.edu or 502-873-4400.
Katy Yocom’s fiction, poetry, essays, and journalism have appeared in The Louisville Review, New Southerner, the blog StyleSubstanceSoul, Louisville Magazine, LEO Weekly, 2nd & Church, Food & Dining, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of grants from the Elizabeth George Foundation and the Kentucky Foundation for Women and was writer-in-residence at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. She holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University.