Lesley University

MFA Program

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
2003
Location: 
Cambridge, MA
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residency: 
Low
Duration: 
2 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
16
Application Deadline: 
November 15, 2023
Application Fee: 
$0
Contact E-mail: 
Contact Name: 
Lesley University Graduate Admissions
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: Erin Belieu, Steven Cramer, Joan Houlihan, Adrian Matejka, Kevin Prufer
Fiction: Tony Eprile, Laurie Foos, Rachel Kadish, Hester Kaplan, Michael Lowenthal, A. J. Verdelle
Graphic Novel & Comics: John Rozum, Carl Antonowicz, Pamela Petro
Nonfiction: Cindy House, Rachel Manley, Kyoko Mori, Pamela Petro, Janet Pocorobba
Stage and Screen: Jami Brandli, Barry Brodsky, Ellen Lewis, Cassie Seinuk, Sinan Unel
Young People Writing: Tracey Baptiste, Sara Farizan, Michelle Knudsen, Chris Lynch, Cynthia Platt, Jason Reynolds, Sara Zarr

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers up to $400,000 in scholarships per admission period.

Other Features: 

Students attend two nine-day residencies each year, in January and June, at the Lesley University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While we have rolling admissions, for students who want to be considered for funding, the application deadline is November 15 for the January residency and March 15 for the June residency.

The program offers degrees with the following areas of specialization: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, stage and screen, graphic novel and comics, and writing for young people.

Through the program’s unique interdisciplinary component, students can gain professional experience in one of four tracks: pedagogy, publishing, social justice, and cross-genre writing. Alternatively, students can individualize their interdisciplinary work by creating specialized studies of their own, such as enrolling in travel study courses, including Lesley’s Wales Study Abroad Program at the Dylan Thomas Summer School.

Students also take advantage of program partnerships including with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Aevitas Creative Management, and editors and publishers.

There is also 12-credit certificate for anyone with an MFA who wishes to study with the program’s faculty.

Graduates: 

Leland Cheuk, Katie Cotugno, Mark Edwards, Sara Farizan, Beth Glass, Michael Graves, Lisa Kenner Grissom, Patricia Lynn Gutman, Lisa Gruenberg, Melanie Henderson, Cindy House, Lyz Lenz, Sara Levine, Jasmine Lina, Richard Manieri, Celeste Mohammed, Axie Oh, Kathy Park, Rahima Rice, Lisa Robinson, Claudia Rueda, Julie Wittes Schlack, Cassie M. Seinuk, Tracy Strauss, Enzo Silon Surin, Jasmine Varga, Andrea Wang, July Westhale, Amber Wong, Amy Yelin, Elizabeth Young