Comments | applyingtograd: Mfa in environmental and travel writing

xxflyingsoulxx in applyingtograd

Mfa in environmental and travel writing

Oct 26, 2013 12:15

Hey all,

I've thought about a lot since last time I posted in here and have accepted my love and passion for creative writing. I don't think I mentioned this in the last post but ever since I discovered this, I've tried to figure out what to do about it. I've found one school In Seattle called antioch university which has an ma program in ( Read more... )

Comments 8

tisiphone October 26 2013, 20:03:43 UTC

I'm all for following your dream - I just finished an MA in an obscure subfield of anthropology, and will be doing a PhD in the same field once I find funding :) Your friend's reaction sounds like all the reactions I get from people that are accustomed to thinking that the only reason to get a degree is to get a job. I say, the first hurdle is money. If money isn't a problem go deeper. What are you going to get out of this program? You already know you don't need an MFA to be a writer from personal experience. However, if you're just looking at it as "two years to do nothing but write," well, you can do that much cheaper on your own. Can you spell out why you want this degree, and what it will bring to you?

xxflyingsoulxx October 26 2013, 22:55:00 UTC

Well I figured why not? It would definitely improve my skills and networking/connections and yeah, I could really be a writer for 2 years. I figured that it would help me better articulate environmental/social issues so I could have a bigger an impact and it would help me put my foot in the door for more opportunities.

tisiphone October 26 2013, 22:58:01 UTC

I would do some research and find out whether the second assumption is actually the case. It's my understanding that it generally is not, but if the program is particularly well-connected that might not be true. I'd quiz the program representative on what their graduates end up doing.

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Thread 6

erinmack October 31 2013, 05:17:19 UTC

If money is NOT an issue, then you don't really need to worry about how this choice will affect your career.

I have a co-worker attending Chatham's MFA program who really likes it.

ext_303080 November 9 2013, 04:43:32 UTC

GO FOR IT! I'm currently doing my MFA in Screenwriting and I love my program, although it can be very frustrating at times! If money is not the most prominent issue for you and you can adjust yourself to life as a grad student, then do it. Clearly, you have the passion, drive and motivation to succeed. I can tell from your post. Obtaining an MFA can be challenging, but it also pushes you creatively ( ... )

roseofjuly November 15 2013, 05:32:08 UTC

I tend to be practical-minded, but there is something very special about studying your craft in a community of scholars/researchers for a few years at a time. You get a kind of enrichment that you can't anywhere else, and that's valuable on its own even if no job prospects come out of it.

That said, the primary purpose of a degree program is to get a job/career. And an MFA program will probably have as its primary motivation preparing you for some kind of career. Whether that's a career in creative writing or in teaching and doing scholarship on writing (or a little of both) depends a lot on the program, but they will expect professionalization activities from you ( ... )