Program Overview
The program is built around five essential blocks:
- Residencies
- Coursework
- Practicum/Internship
- Enrichment Project
- Thesis
I. Residencies
The program hosts two residencies per year: one in the first week of August and another in the first week of January. Attendance is required at any residency that correlates to any semester in which you are enrolled (for an alternative, please see the following section, Campus Workshops). August residencies correlate to Fall semesters; January residencies correlate to Spring semesters.
The residencies provide the essential locus for building community in the program. You will get the most out of the program by taking advantage of the presence, work, and comments of your colleagues in the program at the residencies. Becoming an engaged and active member of the program at the residencies will also increase the likelihood that you will be able to take advantage of networking opportunities with students and faculty when you graduate.
At the residencies, you can expect a week of intense work and equally intense entertainment. Our days will start at approximately 9 am and will run throughout the day with workshops, lectures, and meetings with faculty, and will conclude with readings and other social events after a community dinner.
So that we might achieve that sense of community and foster a rich residency experience, attendance is required for all students at all events during the residency. Local students might best think of the residency as traveling to a remote location without going far. While we understand that Danbury residents may choose to sleep at home in their own beds, they should plan on being away from home and away from work for the full day every day of the residency. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of the residencies and the need to have all students participating in them fully.
We also understand that local students might appreciate ongoing programming outside of the residencies. Therefore, we offer a series of on-campus workshops, readings, and lectures during the normal academic year. Students have the option to forego one residency in favor of attending five of these on-campus workshops sponsored by the program. However, this option is not available in the first semester; all students must attend the residency that corresponds to their first semester of enrollment.
Campus workshops are open to all students in the program, not just to students who choose to select the workshop option in lieu of one residency.
The Campus Workshop Option in lieu of one residency is also available to non-local students, but the cost may be prohibitive to them due to travel, depending on where they live. In some cases students may substitute attendance at writing conferences for a residency.
II. Coursework
Please refer to the Course Sequence and Course Descriptions links in the Prospective Students section.
In the Multigenre Workshop, you will work on projects in your two chosen genres; you will also do some writing in other genres. You will critique the writing of other students in the workshop, and they will critique your work. The critiques and wide array of writing assignments are designed to help you build critical, writing, and editorial skills that are necessary for the professional writer or editor.
With the exception of the Multigenre Workshop and sometimes the Internship/Practicum course, all of the other courses are individual, student-driven mentorships. In each course, you will work one-on-one with a faculty member to design the syllabus, create a reading list, define the writing workload, and schedule your meetings, whether online, by mail, by phone, or in person.
It is most important to remember that you bear the responsibility of getting the most out of these classes. Your return will be determined almost entirely by your level of investment in the course. You will need to do independent research, to drive yourself to write frequently, and to ask the right questions of your mentors.
All of the mentors in the program will be highly successful writers in their respective fields. Their role, rather than to dictate to you a set of knowledge, is to guide you through your own journey of discovery. They will provide you with feedback, ask you directed and challenging questions, suggest useful writing projects, and direct you to important resources.
As you probably know by now, part of the application process for the program involves selecting two genres as your primary and second genres, one creative and one practical. The faculty members with whom you will work in the program are determined by your genres of interest and the faculty’s genres of expertise. We will make every effort to match you with the faculty members you want most to work with.
III. Practicum and Internships
One of the goals of the program is to give you practical, hands-on experience working in one of your fields of interest. Students who are interested in teaching may choose to complete a teaching practicum by teaching at any level and completing a parallel project such as an essay or journaling.
Students who are not interested in teaching may participate in an internship that complements their course of study. The MFA Coordinator can assist the student in setting up such an internship with organizations, businesses, or institutions across the country. The student might, for example, intern at a commercial magazine, for a newspaper or book publisher, as a grant writer, in a technical writing shop, or any other appropriate venue.
IV. Enrichment Projects
Enrichment projects are designed to give the student an opportunity to explore an avenue of learning outside the course structure that he or she might not have the time or initiative to explore otherwise. The student will design in collaboration with the MFA Coordinator a project that will increase his or her ability as a writer, provide valuable networking contacts, or educate and enrich the student on a personal or professional level. The student might, for example, choose to learn a foreign language, start a new online publication, volunteer for a non-profit organization, or try another challenging and appropriate activity.
V. Thesis
In your final semester, you will register for 8 hours of thesis work. This time is designed to allow you to complete your final thesis, a book-length (or appropriate equivalent) piece of work in your primary genre (or, in some cases, the second genre). The completed thesis must be approved by your thesis committee (first reader, second reader, and MFA Coordinator) in order to receive the degree. The committee will judge the thesis on the quality and publishability of the work.
