Hamline University, MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults

MFA Program

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
2007
Location: 
St. Paul, MN
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residency: 
Low
Duration: 
2 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
15
Application Deadline: 
September 1, 2023
Application Fee: 
$0
Contact E-mail: 
Contact Name: 
Terry Horstman
Core Faculty Includes: 

Elana K. Arnold, Swati Avasthi, Coe Booth, Lisa Jahn Clough, Brandy Colbert, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Meg Medina, Lilliam Rivera, Laura Ruby, Aisha Saeed, Eliot Schrefer, Dashka Slater, Sherri L. Smith, Laurel Snyder

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

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 Walden Pond Press Annual Scholarship ($2,500); the Anne Stickney Schmidt Annual Scholarship for Picture Book ($1,000); the Ming and Li Go Annual Scholarship ($1,000); the Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors Bi-Annual Scholarship ($2,500); the Anne Tews Schwab Bi-Annual Award for Excellence in Critical Writing ($1,000); 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.

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 
Other Features: 

Students attend two 11-day residencies each year, in January and July, at the Hamline University campus in Saint Paul. 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), and Nonfiction, Poetry and Verse Novel, Graphic Novel and Comics.

The priority deadline is September 1 and final deadline is November 1 for the winter start. The priority deadline is March 1 and final deadline is May 15 for the summer start.

Graduates: 

Megan Atwood, Cheryl Bardoe, Daniel Bernstrom, Sherryl Clark, Molly Beth Griffin, Loretta Ellsworth, Christine Heppermann, Bonnie Sue Hitchcock, Justinae Ireland, Lily LaMotte, Aimee Lucido, Tracy Nelson Maurer, Kalena Miller, Melissa Savage, Caren Stelson, Jamie Swenson, Blair Thornburgh, Kim Tomsic, Hebah Uddin (as Karuna Riazi), Elizabeth Verdick, Alicia D. Williams