MFA in Writing
Read. Write. Be Read.
Steeped in the College's prestigious literary tradition, Bennington's Master of Fine Arts in Writing is consistently named one of the top low-residency programs. Founded in 1994, Bennington's Writing Seminars was one of the first low-residency graduate writing programs in the country. During this two-year, low-residency program, you commit as much to reading as to writing and conceive reading lists that strengthen and broaden your knowledge. You perform critical literary analysis. You craft bold new works of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry inspired by your discoveries. You finish with a polished thesis and a parting lecture. All this with the expert guidance of acclaimed authors who, throughout your individualized instruction, become familiar with and develop a stake in your work.
We offer a range of scholarships, including The Donald Hall Poetry Scholarship (a full scholarship) and the PEN/Emerging Voices Fellowship ($10,000), among others. In addition, we offer teaching opportunities, including a first-of-its-kind Residential Teaching Fellowship, which provides full tuition remission for one term, plus housing and board.
Check out resources and residency information.
Models & Mentors
Our faculty-student ratio of 1:1 provides a true mentorship experience. You work closely with a faculty member who is an accomplished writer distinguished in their teaching as well as on the page.
Develop Your Skills
Students can focus on one or more genres at Bennington. While most students choose to specialize in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, others work across two genres through our Dual-Genre Degree.
Begin
You may enter the program during either of the 10-day residency sessions in June (14–24, 2018) or January (3-13, 2019). Deadlines are Sept. 1 to apply for January residency, and March 1 to apply for June residency.
Inclusive Community
We are committed to increasing access to our program for students from diverse backgrounds and to building an inclusive community through sustained dialogue and practice. We offer scholarships, and fund the emerging voices we want to support and read, including a partnership with the PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship program.
Outcomes
Bennington offer a self-directed pace that allows you to develop a sustainable, lifelong writing practice. We know how important it is for MFA students to gain teaching experience so we've developed the Residential Teaching Fellow program—a first-of-its-kind teaching opportunity among low residency MFA programs, among others.
Tuition & Fees
We make every effort to put this education within reach for qualified writers thanks to teaching fellowships, and through scholarships, and federal financial aid loan programs. Our office works directly and individually with students. Please contact us with any questions.
Why Bennington? Just ask our alums.
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney MFA ’13
Author of the New York Times bestseller, The Nest
Gail Vida Hamburg MFA ’04
Author of The Edge of the World
Katy Simpson Smith MFA ’13
Bestselling author of Free Men and The Story of Land and Sea
Charles Bock MFA '97
Author of the New York Times bestsellers, Alice & Oliver and Beautiful Children
Amy Gerstler MFA '00
Winner of a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry
Morgan Jerkins MFA ‘16
New York Times bestselling author of This Will be My Undoing.
Tiffany Briere MFA '11
Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, Best American Essays, Pushcart Prize winner
Top 5 in the country
Consistently ranked by The Atlantic and Poets & Writers as one of the top five low-residency MFA programs in the country.
Be read.
Our alumni publish works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Check out recent alumni work.
What Our Students Say
When writers are ready to take their work to the next level, they come to Bennington.
"[This book] knocks you over and changes how you view the world…" The Washington Post
National Book Award Finalist National Book Award Organization
"The entire book is rich" The New York Times
"...a twisty, unsettling thriller" The New York Times
"...cuts to the heart of life" Vanity Fair
"...haunting the reader with those human questions" The Chicago Tribune
"...compelling...because it is moderate" The New Republic
"...sideways views that are intriguing" Associated Press
“...that lost world [of] youthful longings.” The Boston Globe
“These stories feel both specific and flexible.” New York Times Sunday Book Review shortlist
“...among the most assured debut novels in recent memory...” Vogue
@BennMFA_Writing
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Sep 21Claire Vaye Watkins (@clairevaye) Fiction Faculty, on “There There” by Tommy Orange: “‘There There’ is an urgent,… https://t.co/aMe6rVjIjq
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Sep 21RT @OonaPatrick: moment of appreciation for university presses and the people who keep them going
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Sep 20Going old school ! #amwriting https://t.co/kt1iXNlkdB