Converse University

MFA Program

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
2009
Location: 
Spartanburg, SC
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residency: 
Low
Duration: 
2 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
22
Application Deadline: 
October 1, 2024
Application Fee: 
$40
Website: 
https://www.converse.edu/mfa
Contact E-mail: 
rick.mulkey@converse.edu
Contact Name: 
Rick Mulkey (Director)
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: Suzanne Cleary, Tyree Daye, Denise Duhamel, Rick Mulkey, Ashley M. Jones, Richard Tillinghast
Fiction: Marlin Barton, Geoff Herbach (YA fiction), Sheila O’Connor (YA Fiction), Robert Olmstead, Leslie Pietrzyk, Susan Tekulve
Nonfiction: Denise Duhamel, Robert Olmstead, Leslie Pietrzyk, Susan Tekulve, Richard Tillinghast

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers funding through partial merit scholarships for first-year students and a limited number of graduate teaching assistantships for second-year students.

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 

Clemson-Converse Literature Series, South 85 Journal

Other Features: 

Students attend two nine-day residencies each year, in January and June, at Converse University in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The program offers students the option to minor in a second genre by taking another full semester of classes, and it hosts a reading series, one-on-one manuscript consultations with editors and agents, and panels on publishing, editing, and freelance writing. The program also offers the Converse MFA Alumni Book Awards with publication through Clemson University Press and the Clemson-Converse Literature Series.

The application deadline is October 1 for the Winter residency and March 15 for the Summer residency.