Frequently Asked Questions
MIU MFA in Creative Writing
Below some frequently asked questions and answers that may help you make decisions re. the MFA in Creative Writing at MIU if you are thinking of enrolling or just got accepted to the program. Our next enrollment deadline can be found on the MIU home page here.
What is the teaching philosophy of this MFA in Creative Writing?
This MFA is unusual in several ways. We teach creative writing from a basis of creative process and consciousness. We prioritize the writer and creativity over the creative product, encouraging students to make mistakes, try again, write “shitty first drafts,” as Anne Lamott calls it, and experiment and invent freely, breaking boundaries. We believe that unguarded creativity leads to creative discovery. We help students explore the “leaping mind” (Bly) and the “wilderness of their creative imagination” (Roy). That untamed space of being is where you will find your most interesting, deep, intuitive material and your authentic creative voice as an author. It also helps establish a deeper connection with your intuition, which guides not just the writing process, but also the revision process. You can read more about how we use consciousness as a spring board for creative expression below.How does meditation feature in this program?
Another thing that sets our program apart is that we use meditation and self-care as tools to access the creative imagination. At the start of our program, you learn the Transcendental Meditation technique, which settles your mind and body as you experience the dynamic silence of your own consciousness. From this deep connection with yourself, creativity flows like a river. Writing becomes play. It’s easier to problem-solve; leap to surprising, fresh associations; stay in the flow; and adopt a sustainable, intuitive, healthy writing routine. Accessing the most profound layers of yourself fuels your creative process. We offer two support courses for those new to MIU’s system of consciousness-based education and TM, which are supplemental to our MFA in Creative Writing. Students who have studied at MIU before can waive out of these courses, but they are mandatory for everyone else. These courses are called TM, the Writer, and Creativity 1 and 2, are 2-credits each, and run through the whole semester in alternate weeks; they allow you space to freely discuss your (new) practice of TM and the consciousness-based education model.
How long is the program?
Our MFA is a minimally 2-year (4 semester) program, though most students extend into a fifth or even a sixth semester. If you take the program at a reduced load of 6 - 8 credits in one or more semesters, the program may extend for you beyond six semesters (at that reduced load, you will be done in 4 years or 8 semesters, if you enroll for 6 - 8 credits every semester). We recommend taking 12+ credits per semester to go at normal speed, but if you have a compelling reason to slow down, you can, as long as you make that decision in advance of the semester’s start. In the first year, we recommend starting at normal speed of 12+ credits so you can feel out what a regular semester is like.
In your capstone semester, you will offer a thesis reading and a master class or workshop on any topic you want. Extensions are possible beyond the first thesis mentorship semester; we offer an Extended Thesis Mentorship for students who need additional time. Students graduating with a dual genre emphasis often also take a fifth or sixth semester to have time to immerse in their second genre of choice. We understand that it takes time to write a book, even under the professional guidance of a mentor. For your thesis manuscript, we expect a serious effort toward book-length manuscript of publishable quality, though we don’t expect it to be necessarily finished, especially not if it is a memoir or novel; it may also not be fully polished yet and you may take time beyond graduation to complete the book, but you’ll have all the resources to help you know how. We work with students in all stages of skill, coming into the program, and we do not hold our students to impossible standards but instead stimulate, challenge, and support our students to achieve their full potential. This is a joyous, energizing process that opens endless opportunity for personal growth and the deep satisfaction of achieving personal goals.
The minimum required course credit count for this MFA is 48 credits, though many students attend more. You can find all of our classes here. Catalogue descriptions and graduation requirements are listed toward the bottom of the page.What is the time-commitment for this program?
Our MFA is considered a part-time program. The weekly time-commitment includes time for meditation and is set at roughly 14 - 20 hours, depending on your ambitiousness, time availability, reading speed, and investment in your writing. The best routine in this program would involve devoting a few hours each day to your writing practice, your assignments, and your reading, which can be done asynchronously. That will add up to enough hours to complete all your work in time. You can also focus on your courses chiefly in evening and/or weekend hours. Note that if you are a slow reader, you may need to set aside more time to complete your assignments.
You are also required to attend synchronous class sessions for each class once a week, which usually comes to two, or sometimes or three, times a week. Each class session lasts about 1.5 hours. These class sessions are offered via Zoom and are scheduled so it works for the entire cohort and the faculty. Most students will have two or three online class sessions a week at a time (1.5 - 2 hours each) during the semester. One will be for the mentorship (16 week course) and one for additional courses, which tend to be offered either back to back or in alternate weeks at a length of 8 weeks each. Students new to TM may also teach their introductory courses to consciousness-based education called “TM, the Writer, and Creativity.,” which will be offered every other week with class sessions of one hour throughout the semester.How is the semester set up?
The semester starts with an online residency. You can find out more about the residency below. The residency offers a good dose of inspiration and immersion in craft and creativity with readings, workshops, panels, and master classes conducted by well-established authors who share their knowledge and work with you. This provides nourishment and a push for the semester. There is more information about our next residency’s dates at the bottom of this page. In each semester of our program, you will typically take a residency (2 weeks with extra time for submission of assignments), a mentorship (which is composed of two separate courses that work together, see below), and 2 additional 8-week online courses. If you are new to TM or MIU you will take a third 8-week online course to help orient yourself re. your practice and our university.
The residency exposes you to a wide variety of writers and ideas, giving. you a good supply of nourishment and a push to stimulate and prepare you for the semester ahead. The mentorship semester allows you to dive deep into your craft and explore different genres, play around with craft, and begin writing your thesis manuscript when you are ready.
The other online courses have a different function. In the first year, they are designed to spark your creative imagination and help you understand your own creative process and metacognitive abilities: The Writer and the Self; Literature and the Self: Literary Techniques that Expand Awareness; and Every Page a Pulse: Creativity and Consciousness. In the second year, they focus on pragmatic skill sets you will need to be a working writer in the world. You can opt to take courses such as Literary Theory for the Creative Writer, Writing Pedagogy, The Writer Online, The Writer in the World, an Outreach, a Publishing Practicum, or Research in Creative Writing. By the end of the program, you will have a thesis - a good push toward a book-length manuscript of publishable quality - and all the skills required to make it as a working writer in the world.
Is learning synchronous or asynchronous? What is the balance between class time and online assignments?
Learning is mostly asynchronous via our university platform, Canvas. The main synchronous part of our program is the residency, though you can attend events asynchronously if your schedule prohibits you from attending live (live attendance is highly recommended so you get to meet the authors and participate in the discussions!). There is more on the residency schedule below.
In addition, each of our courses has a once-a-week online class session that runs for about 1.5 - 2 hours via Zoom, so you will have a total of 2 or at most 3 of these a week throughout the semester. These sessions are mandatory; if you have to miss, you discuss with your instructor so sessions can be taped, helping you watch them asynchronously. The time and dates for these sessions are set with agreement between everyone enrolled in a certain class, plus with the faculty, so that the class time is workable for everyone in terms of scheduling, time-zones, etc. These sessions have been reported to be a highlight of our program, so we think you’ll not want to miss because you enjoy talking to your faculty and peers. It is a connecting experience. As a general rule, it is good to keep evenings open for online classes, especially on Mondays - Thursdays, though classes are not always held in the evenings, depending a particular cohort’s schedule. Since many of our students have day jobs, sometimes daytime meetings are not an option for them, so evenings easily become the default. We also have students in many time zones, so that is another scheduling factor.
Our consciousness-based education orientation courses are usually scheduled on Mondays. Regular online classes are scheduled on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Mentorship classes are scheduled on Thursdays, Fridays, or in the weekends. We make exceptions to this set up only when everyone’s schedules allow or require it. It’s usually a good idea to keep Tues or Wed evening and Thursday evening free for your MFA class sessions. The class sessions are a wonderful way to deeply get to know your cohort members and your faculty in an intimate setting. We always use Central Time as a default reference point, since MIU is in Iowa, but we can provide a time zone calculator if you require help figuring out a translation to your time zone. We have students all over the world attending, so sometimes finding a suitable class time can be a challenge. We ask for your patience and flexibility in finding compromises that work for everyone!
Online class reading and writing assignments in Canvas can be completed at your own time. There are places for assignment uploads (your faculty will give you feedback on your work) and there are also discussion boards where you can interact with your peers and continue class discussions and dialogue. Courses are laid out in weekly modules where you can find all you need to complete that week’s tasks. Every part of each class is related back to the whole of each class and also to the program’s learning outcomes. Every assignment is also connected to yourself, your experience, your creative process, and your own consciousness.What online platforms does MIU use?
MIU uses Zoom for online classes, including residency sessions, and CANVAS for online study and assignments. Ahead of your first class, the university will enroll you in a CANVAS orientation which will explain our online course system to you. You may want to set up a Zoom account with your MIU email address once you are enrolled as a student. Please install Zoom on your desktop so you have easy access; online log-ins can get glitchy otherwise. Our residency is held online via Zoom. We use Vimeo for your asynchronous residency events, and you can view them in our Vimeo library online.When is the next residency and how does it work?
Our Fall ‘25 semester starts with a residency from Mon. Aug. 18 - Sun. Sept. 14, 2025. The intensive part of the residency runs from Mon. Aug. 18 - Sunday, Aug. 31, but the residency extends till Sept. 14 for the completion of assignments to give you additional time to watch videos asynchronously. On Sept. 1, so mid-way your month-long residency period, the regular semester also starts with a mentorship and usually two, sometimes three, simultaneous other classes during the semester. Some of these classes last 16 weeks (the mentorships) and some only 8 weeks, which can be scheduled back to back or in alternate weeks throughout the semester.
You will have to schedule your time well between Sept. 1 - Sept. 14, for you will begin your regular semester activities while you also get extra time to complete the discussion boards and videos you may have missed during the residency, plus you’ll have time to complete a very short reflective paper for your residency. We have modified residency requirements to help you not feel overwhelmed.
In the residency, you will get multiple orientations re. our MFA program and your courses and assignments. Most orientations will be scheduled in the weekends and asynchronous, but we also have check-in sessions for Q&A multiple times during the residency. In-person follow ups can be offered as needed. There will be ample time to ask questions and connect to your faculty.
In your residency, you will be introduced to our teaching philosophy, to social issues and ethical dilemmas in the literary arts, and to workshop alternatives to the traditional workshop model in the creative writing classroom, among other things. You will meet your core faculty and mentors and your classmates, plus some alumni.
In the writing world, a big part of getting feedback on your work comes through “workshopping.” This means that you share your work with the group and get feedback in a particularly designated session. This can be a scary experience. This is why in our program we “unsilence the traditional workshop,” which means that we offer alternatives to the traditional workshop model that empower each student to feel safe and have their own voice (you can learn more about this below). You will also receive a deep immersion in inspiration, craft, creativity, and words that will serve as inspiration for your entire semester.
The residency is held online via Zoom and is accessible asynchronously as well as synchronously to accommodate people who cannot take off from work every day. You do not need to travel to Iowa to attend but can sit in on events from the comfort of your own living room wherever you are. Students are required to attend about a set amount of events and receive an additional two weeks to complete their assignments and view missed sessions via Vimeo. The residency is intensive in the first two weeks but mostly asynchronous on weekends. We hope that you can take off from work at least some of this time even for the day-time classes because our schedule is quite delicious and enjoyable. However, you can view all residency sessions asynchronously as well, if you have any scheduling conflicts due to work or family obligations. It is highly recommended to try to be there live online so you can meet the writers and ask questions and engage in discussion. You are not required to be there every day or attend every session, and you can make up sessions if you cannot attend live. We have set up the schedule as flexibly as possible to accommodate those with full-time jobs and/or other family or work commitments so it will be possible for everyone to join.
The second two weeks (from Sept. 1 - 14) are a grace period without additional sessions, just time to complete the work, since residencies can be a bit intensive. During these two weeks, your regular semester starts with mentorships and other classes. New students are automatically signed up for the regular course load of the first year, which is outlined below.
RESIDENCY SCHEDULE (you can pick/choose which sessions to attend, though some are mandatory):
Morning sessions: 10 AM - 12 noon CT (one event per morning)
Afternoon sessions: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM CT or, alternately, 2:30 - 4:30 PM CT or sometimes 1:30 - 4:00 PM CT (once in a while multiple events per afternoon)
Evening sessions: 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM CT (one event per evening, events may end earlier)
Weekends usually have only asynchronous onboarding sessions scheduled. You will find the residency schedule in your Canvas course.
How do the mentorships work?
The mentorships are the heart of our MFA. Every mentorship has up to 6 students and includes lots of intimate time in a small cohort, plus one-on-one time with your mentor. The mentorship is made up of two co-requisite courses that go together: 1) an Advanced Creative Writing Workshop in your genre of emphasis, and 2) the co-requisite Advanced Process Mentorship in that same genre, both taught by the same mentor. These courses form one class, but they are listed separately on your transcripts with a CW and LIT component to showcase that you have taken literature classes in your MFA; this can be helpful in getting a teaching job upon graduation.
The creative writing workshop gives you time to generate creative work and engage in deep revision; you will participate in workshops and receive peer as well as mentor feedback while you work toward your thesis, which is a serious push toward a book-length manuscript of publishable quality, which is due at the end of the MFA. You will also learn about craft in various genres. The advanced process part of your mentorship with a LIT designation is for reading and craft analysis and involves reading a bibliography, writing personal response essays and craft analysis essays. A craft analysis essay is an essay that reflects on the way a writer uses elements of craft and technique to achieve certain effects in their writing. You will learn to write craft analysis essays in the course of your MFA at the rate of at most two essays a semester, with a first and second draft for each so you get feedback from your instructor in the process. The residency includes several onboarding videos to help you get started!
Reading is a vital part of writing. As Virginia Woolf said, “Read a thousand books and your words will flow like a river.” In our program, reading is an integral part of your writing process, but always in service to your creative process. In the first half of the semester, you will have focus on craft elements, then you proceed to workshops to get feedback on your work. We use alternatives to the traditional workshop model and you will always be in the driver’s seat with the power to steer your workshop in a way that is helpful to your process (see below).
Emotional safe space comes first. Your mentorships allow you time to explore your inner creative process and immerse in craft in-depth under guidance of your mentor. Our mentors all are well-established professional with books to their name. You will engage in up to four packet exchanges with your mentor per semester, and you will also write self-evaluation essays about your process. A packet exchange is an exchange of work between you and your mentor with a submission from your side and feedback from the side of your mentor. Up to four times a semester, you submit creative and analytical work and your bibliography to your mentor for feedback and dialogue. You have the option to merge two of your four packets and you can also at times substitute self-care assignments for academic assignments, because we believe that a healthy writing routine starts with knowing how to work with yourself creatively in a positive manner. Creativity is not always easy to regulate or evaluate, since it’s very much an emotional and intuitive process. If you have emotional or creative blocks surface or if you are dealing with external circumstances beyond your control, you may need to slow down your process a bit. This is fine in our program, though your mentor may suggest you take an additional mentor semester in the MFA if you fall too far behind. That is also fine, for you are not working in a race with anyone else; you are learning to pace yourself and work in a manner that is connected to your self and respectful of your own needs and process.Alternatives to the Traditional Workshop Model.
In our MFA, we “unsilence the workshop,” which means that we adopt alternative methods to the traditional workshop to empower anyone to feel heard on their own terms in an inclusive approach that respects silenced voices, including those of female and minority writers. We will onboard you with these alternatives to the traditional workshop during the residency. We empower each student to choose their own preferred method for each workshop, which may change through the program. We never want a student to feel silenced in a workshop but instead we want students to emerge from their workshops feeling reinvigorated and empowered yet creatively challenged.Narrative Evaluation and Self-Evaluation: Portfolio Based Assessment.
In MIU’s MFA in Creative Writing, we use a portfolio-based assessment system and narrative evaluation rather than letter grades. You can find out more about this system and the rational behind it here.I don’t yet practice TM. How do I start?
For those of you who do not yet practice TM, your admissions counselor will reach out to you after your acceptance to help you connect to TM-teachers in your area who can help you learn TM either ahead of the residency, during the residency, or at the start of the semester, whatever works out time-wise. This instruction is free if you are enrolled as an MIU student. We have some TM teachers among our faculty and alumni who can answer your TM questions if you have any, or speak to program director Nynke Passi, who can also help you with your questions and needs.
What is the MFA’s Spring ‘25 Schedule?
Below is our full Fall ‘25 CW MFA Schedule. Your advisor, program director Nynke Passi, will help you with your schedule if you have questions or concerns. Some courses are mandatory in the first year, some in the second. Students can take the MFA at a slower pace, though this will affect financial aid. A full load is a 12+ credit semester. CW 506 and CW 509 are university requirement courses for students new to MIU and consciousness-based education; these courses can be waived by alumni or those who have studied at MIU before. They do add credits but don’t count toward the courses required for your MFA, since they are TM support courses.
FALL ‘25 RESIDENCY:Residencies 1 - 5 (CW 501, 502, 503, 504, 505): Aug. 18 - Sept. 14, with the intensive portion of the residency between Aug. 18 -31. Faculty: Nynke Passi and Eileen Espinoza, joined by many literary guests, this time particularly the faculty of our English department, since this is an MIU MFA and English Dept. Showcase residency.
FALL ‘25 MENTORSHIPS:Please note that it is possible to work on various genres and do cross-genre work in every mentorship. Many of our CNF (creative nonfiction) students join a poetry or a fiction elective to learn craft of lyric or narrative, for example. Many of our fiction students write thinly veiled memoir and may take a CNF mentorship. Sometimes, particularly our POETRY or CNF mentorships are over-full, so some CNF students may be enrolled in the fiction mentorship, where you can still work on your CNF materials and narrative in general. Our Fall ‘25 fiction mentor is Eric Boyd, our poetry mentor Jennifer Espinoza, and our CNF mentor Eileen Espinoza. You will meet your mentors during the residency! We can’t wait to introduce them to you.
Please note that thesis students are included in the regular mentorships. Graduating thesis students may be working at their own schedules and participate in fewer class sessions or workshops depending on their process.CW & LIT 560 Poetry Mentorship taught by Jennifer Espinoza. From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19, 2025.
CW & LIT 561 Fiction Mentorship taught by Eric Boyd. From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19, 2025.
CW & LIT 562 Creative Nonfiction Mentorship taught by Eileen Espinoza. From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19, 2025.
CW & LIT 593 Thesis Mentorship (see above; thesis students join regular mentorships in their genre of emphasis). From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19, 2025.
CW & LIT 594 Extended Thesis Mentorship (see above; extended thesis students join regular mentorships in their genre of emphasis). From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19, 2025.
FALL ‘25 REGULAR ONLINE COURSES:FIRST YEAR
CW 510 The Writer and the Self taught by Nynke Passi. From Sept. 1 - Oct. 26 (8 week course).
CW 511 Literature and the Self taught by Nynke Passi . From Oct 27 - Dec 19 (8 week course).
SECOND YEAR and up
CW 541 Writing Pedagogy taught by Clint Martin. From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19 starting in the first week of the semester after the residency (8 week course taught in alternate weeks).
CW 545 Publishing Practicum taught by Eileen Espinoza. From Sept. 8 - Dec. 19 starting in the second week of the semester after the residency (8 week course taught in alternate weeks).
CW 546 Research in Creative Writing taught by Eileen Espinoza. From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19 (8 or 16 week course, taught every week or in alternate weeks spread out over the semester). This course is an independent study substituting for Writing Outreach, or for research projects or thesis support.
INTRO to CONSCIOUSNESS-BASED EDUCATION and TM SUPPORT
CW 506 TM, the Writer, and Creativity 1 taught by Dylene Cymraes. From Sept. 1 - Dec. 19 (8 week course, taught in alternate weeks spread out over the semester).Thesis Boards
For graduating students only.
What courses will I be taking in my first semester?
In your first semester, you will be signed up automatically for the following: 1) your first residency; 2) a mentorship in your genre of emphasis or one of your genres of emphasis; 3) plus the core courses of the first year for the spring semester: The Writer and the Self and Literature and the Self, which are both 8 week courses taught back to back, so you won’t be taking them at the same time. One will end and then the next one will start. Together, this adds up to 12 credits, a full load which qualifies you for full financial aid. If you need to take a reduced load for any reason, our program has the option of enrolling for 6 -8 credits, which means either the residency and two support courses or the residency and a mentorship; there is reduced financial aid available for that option as well, though we highly recommend starting up with the regular load so you can evaluate your own pace and needs. Going more slowly means extending the length of the MFA significantly.
Those of you new to consciousness-based education and TM will also take a course called TM, the Writer, and Creativity 1 (2 credit course) to onboard you with the general principles of consciousness upon which MIU is founded. Please note that TM, the Writer, and Creativity 1 is not a light academic course; it’s a support course. Note that all new students are automatically signed up for all of the above courses. If any student requires to go at a slower pace than 12 credits per semester, please speak to your advisor and program director Nynke Passi right away (npassi@miu.edu).
Please note: If one or more of the mentorships fill up completely, the program director will make an informed decision to place each student in the mentorship that is the best fit given their emphasis and interests and work goals, matching each student carefully with a mentor who can help advance their understanding of craft while also keeping an eye on the needs of all students in the program. In most cases, the MFA will accommodate the requests of our students. However, sometimes this is not possible due to over-enrollment, in which case the program director will adjust the schedule so each student is served in the best possible way without straining the faculty or creating an overload in any one of the mentorships. We will always strive to listen to each student and consider your needs carefully! Feel free to contact Nynke Passi at npassi@miu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.What are the next residency’s events and who will be the guests?
Our next festival is coming up. The public event list is not yet available. The dates will be from Aug. 18 -31 and you will have two additional weeks, into the semester, from Aug. 18 - Sept. 14, to complete your work. You can attend events synchronously or asynchronously, since they will be recorded and stored in our Vimeo library. But we recommend live attendance as much as you are able, for meeting the well-known authors who will be joining us for our residency is a truly amazing and magical experience that you want to enjoy live, so you can interact with these authors and ask them questions, etc. STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE DIRECT ZOOM LINK AND SCHEDULE VIA THEIR CANVAS COURSE AND DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER FOR EVENTS IN ANY OTHER WAY. YOU CAN SIMPLY CLICK THE DIRECT LINK TO EACH EVENT, WHICH IS THE SAME FOR ALMOST ALL EVENTS. Enjoy!