A Finely Honed Core Curriculum

Nowhere but at Hamline will you find a program that integrates the best aspects of the low-residency model with effective learning strategies finely tuned from over a decade of teaching MFA students.

Our unique, comprehensive program is not defined by specific required courses, rather it examines the following subjects in depth over the period of five residencies:

• Elements of the craft
• The writing process
• Forms of writing (e.g., picture book, novel—fantasy, mystery, science fiction, historical; nonfiction; poetry, etc.)
• The history of children’s and YA literature (including classic texts)
• The business of publishing
• The writer’s life (e.g., keeping the work going, finding and then working with an agent and editor, promoting one’s work, teaching, etc.)

Children and young adult literature will be explored through a required reading list, lectures during the residencies by experts in the field, and on-line presentations given by Hamline University faculty in the School of Education.  Additionally, guest presenters such as agents, editors, and publishers bring the business-of-books to real life.

Progam Structure

Time Frame:  2 years (4 semesters)
Total Residencies:  5
Credits per Residency: 4
Credits per Semester: 8
Total Credits Needed: 52

Throughout the two-year program, you gain and expand your knowledge and skill by developing your own creative and critical work. Each residency serves as the catalyst for the semesters work and explores various aspects of the core curriculum. During the five-month semester that follows, you work with a faculty advisor who provides mentoring and detailed manuscript critique through monthly correspondence.

The result is a learning experience that is both rich in interactive experience and tailored to the works-in-progress of each student.

SEMESTERS 1 & 2
Each month you submit a significant amount of new and revised creative work and critical responses to a wide range of children's literature designed to provide students with specific lessons in the craft as well as a comprehensive overview of the field.

SEMESTER 3
In addition to your creative writing, you submit a critical thesis of 20-30 pages focusing on an element of the craft or an aspect of children's/young adult literature. At the residency following your third semester, you will give a lecture, usually focusing on the subject of your critical thesis.

SEMESTER 4 
You submit a creative thesis, a long project of original work that shows mastery of the craft in your chosen genre. At your final residency following your fourth semester, you will give a reading of your creative work.

> The advantages of a low-residency format