Wilkes University

MFA Programs
MA

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
2005
Location: 
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Spoken Word
Residency: 
Low
Duration: 
2-3 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
48
Application Deadline: 
December 1, 2023
Application Fee: 
$35
Contact E-mail: 
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr, Phil Brady, Christine Gelineau, Shanta Lee

Fiction: Ru Freeman, Kaylie Jones, Ken Liu, Nancy McKinley, Robert Mooney, Taylor Polites, Nisha Sharma, Jeff Talarigo, Rachel Weaver

Creative Nonfiction: Beverly Donofrio, Jessica Goudeau, Laurie Jean, J. Michael Lennon, Robin Micah McCrary, Kao Kalia Yang

Playwriting: Bonnie Culver, Gregory Fletcher, Christine Renee Miller, Nicole Pandolfo, Dania Ramos

Screenwriting: Susan Cartsonis, Ross Klavan, Jennifer Mayer, Richard Uhlig

Spoken Word: Angelique Palmer

Writing for Television: Alice O’Neill

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers graduate assistantships and scholarships.

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 

Akashic Books, Etruscan Press, Kaylie Jones Books, Havescripts/Blue Moon Plays, Resonate Entertainment, River and South Review, Books by Hippocampus, SenArt Films

Other Features: 

The program is a sequential MA/MFA program; students must complete their three-semester MA degree at Wilkes before pursuing a MFA degree for two more semesters. The program offers degrees in screenwriting, playwriting, and publishing, in addition to degrees in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and spoken word.

Students may choose between two residency options: two eight-day residencies in January and June, or online “Weekender” classes offered shortly after the residencies. All residencies take place at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The application deadline to be considered for a graduate assistantship is December 1 for the January residency and May 1 for the June residency.