MFA Program
See writers who attended this programElana K. Arnold, Swati Avasthi, Coe Booth, Lisa Jahn Clough, Brandy Colbert, Tae Keller, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Nicole Melleby, Eliot Schrefer, Sherri L. Smith, Ari Tison, Elizabeth Wein
The program offers partial funding.
The program offers many scholarships, including the Herman W. Block Annual Memorial Scholarship ($5,000); the T.A. Barron Bi-Annual Fellowship for Excellence in Fantasy Writing for an Incoming Student ($2,500); the T.A. Barron Annual Fellowship for Excellence in Fantasy Writing for a Current Student ($5,000); the Rising Star Annual Scholarship from Stonefruit Studio (Sourcebooks) ($2,500); the Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors Bi-Annual Scholarship ($2,000); the Anne Tews Schwab Bi-Annual Award for Excellence in Critical Writing ($2,000); the Frances and Kermit Rudolf Annual Nonfiction Scholarship ($1,000); the Brandon Terrell Annual Memorial Scholarship ($2,500); and merit scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000.
Students attend two 11-day residencies each year, in January and July, at the Hamline University campus in Saint Paul. Over the ensuing semester they work one-on-one from home with a faculty advisor. The program focuses on writing for children & young adults.
Students can study the following genres: Picture Book, Early Reader, Middle-Grade and Young Adult Fiction (this includes realistic; historical; speculative fiction—fantasy, science fiction, hybrid; mystery; thriller; horror), Nonfiction, Poetry and Verse Novel, Graphic Novel, and Comics.
Priority deadline for scholarships is Sept. 1 and final deadline is Nov. 1 for January start; the priority deadline for scholarships is March 1 and final deadline is May 15 for July start.
Megan Atwood, Cheryl Bardoe, Daniel Bernstrom, Sherryl Clark, Loretta Ellsworth, Amanda Glaze, Molly Beth Griffin, Erin Berger Guendelsberger, Bonnie Sue Hitchcock, Justina Ireland, Lily LaMotte, Aimee Lucido, Ann Matzke, Tracy Nelson Maurer, Kalena Miller, Melody Reed, Lisa Frankel Riddiough, Barbara Carroll Roberts, Melissa Savage, Caren Stelson, Melanie Sumrow, Jamie Swenson, Blair Thornburgh, Ari Tison, Kim Tomsic, Hebah Uddin (as Karuna Riazi), Elizabeth Verdick, Alicia D. Williams