Antioch University

MFA Program

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
1997
Location: 
Los Angeles, CA
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation, Cross-Genre
Residency: 
Low
Duration: 
2 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
22
Application Deadline: 
Rolling Admissions
Application Fee: 
$50 (Fee waivers available for those who attend an information session)
Contact E-mail: 
Contact Name: 
Lisa Locascio Nighthawk
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: Victoria Chang
Prose: Lisa Locascio

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers scholarships, grants, federal financial aid, and federal work-study positions.

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 

Lunch Ticketa student-run online literary journal

LitCit: a student-run literary podcast

Other Features: 

Students attend two 10-day residencies each year, in June and December, and work remotely with faculty members during the project periods separating residencies. Antioch MFA residencies are fully remote and can be attended 100 percent in person, 100 percent online, or a combination thereof. Antioch is the only low-residency MFA program with a social justice focus in the United States and requires all students to conduct an independent community focused service project known as a field study.

Genres include poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, writing for young people, screenwriting, playwriting, and literary translation. Dual-genre degree programs are also available. Students also have the opportunity to take online electives in poetry, prose, and dramatic writing, among other offerings.

Faculty may include: Sarah Van Arsdale, Chris Feliciano Arnold, Ari Banias, Dan Bellm, Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, Francesca Lia Block, Jaswinder Bolina, Gayle Brandeis, Chen Chen, Naima Coster, Nikki Darling, Natashia Déon, Colette Freedman, Reyna Grande, Joseph Han, Brad Kessler, Vandana Khanna, Jim Krusoe, Genevieve Hudson, Sarah Manguso, Guadalupe García McCall, Tomas Moniz, Alistair McCartney, Victoria Patterson, Carol Potter, Sharman Apt Russell, Aminah Mae Safi, Ana Maria Spagna, Marco Wilkinson, Rachel Zucker, and more.

The program begins reviewing applications on a rolling basis in January for the Summer/Fall semester and July for the Winter/Spring Semester. Applications are accepted and reviewed until all spots are filled.

Graduates: 

Jessica Abughattas, Esther Belin, F. Douglas Brown, Shonda Buchanan, Melissa Chadburn, Antonia Crane, José Hernández Diaz, Anna Dorn, Elizabeth Earley, Barbara Fant, Ashaki Jackson, Toni Ann Johnson, Aimee Liu Kellor, Cassandra Lane, Jillian Lauren, Roberto Lovato, Malia Márquez, Kate Maruyama, Bernadette Murphy, Daniel José Older, Wendy C. Ortiz, Khadijah Queen, Lise Quintana, Shannon C.F. Rogers, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Leonora Simonovis, Susan Southard, Cecilia Woloch, Nancy Woo, and others.