Why Earn an MFA at 鶹Ӱ?
Pacific’s unique low-residency MFA establishes a community of writers supporting each other's creative goals and working alongside world-renowned authors to help bring their artistic visions to life.
鶹Ӱ’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program celebrates writing as an art that has the potential to make a difference in the world. We start with community, gathering at 10-day writing residencies twice a year in the stunning Pacific Northwest, where our distinguished faculty and visiting writers offer lectures and classes and workshops that consider craft as our guiding light. Unlike traditional MFA programs, our low-residency model allows students and faculty to return from our in-person classes to the full and busy lives that support the art they make. Alongside the lessons in writing craft, through semester-long one-on-one mentorship, students learn that a sustainable and enduring practice of writing requires that we find balance among the various commitments that make up a life.
Our MFA in Writing program offers a high level of craft and conversation, upheld by the good humor and care of a community of individuals who share a passion for art. The talents, skills and perspectives of our individual members together create a culture of belonging, collaboration, discovery, and respect. We believe in inspiration and also in revision. We believe there is no one way to write and no right way to write. Above all, we believe in quality and originality in any guise. Our writers will meet you where you are.
Pacific’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program presents learning in its truest sense, meaning, simply, that we are all in this together.
What Can You Do with a MFA?
We are training artists to achieve writing and other professional goals that emerge from a deep study of craft and creative collaboration — from writing and publishing books, to engaging their communities as literary citizens, to developing careers as teachers, editors, and critics. With our focus on developing a sustainable and enduring writing practice, the low-residency MFA at Pacific takes seriously our responsibility to provide you not only with the skills to thrive as you make your way through the program, but also with both strategies and opportunities to continue learning and writing after you 鶹Ӱ. To help support this lifelong learning, Pacific’s low-residency MFA maintains a robust alumni network and alumni programming, including invitations to our 鶹Ӱs for in-person and online workshops and readings, special events and extra-curricular continuing education, and visits to our twice-yearly residencies where they can continue to learn from faculty and create new connections, including as mentors, with current students.
Perhaps the greatest outcome of your participation in any MFA program is the cohort of fellow authors and artists you join when you 鶹Ӱ. We know that this group of thoughtful, diverse writers can be an invaluable resource as you create and revise new projects, and we do all we can — both formally and informally, often through the advocacy of our alumni council — to support the development of writers groups, regional workshops and online publications, and the promotion of work produced and published by our 鶹Ӱs. There is no set path either in or out of our low-residency MFA, but the writers we meet leave the program transformed by their commitment to craft, poised to make an impact with their art, and still part of a program forever invested in their success.
March 1, 2025, is the priority due date for the Summer/Fall 2025 semester that will begin with residency from June 19-29, 2025, on the 鶹Ӱ campus in Forest Grove, Oregon.
We will accept applications until May 15, as space allows.
Residency Writers Conference
Designed as an opportunity for writers outside the MFA to learn as part of the community, the 鶹Ӱ Residency Writers Conference is a 10-day craft intensive where you collaborate with current MFA students to focus on writing craft, deepen your practice, and cultivate new ideas. Perfect, too, for those looking to see if the low-residency MFA is right for them, the Residency Writers Conference provides a sneak peek into the conversations and workshops our MFA program fosters. Featuring the diverse Pacific MFA faculty, visiting writers, program alumni, and a wide variety of participants and perspectives, no two Conferences feel alike, allowing Writers Conference attendees to leave newly energized to tackle their creative projects … and perhaps ready to join the MFA.
MFA Scholarships
Each year Pacific offers partial scholarships to selected students entering the MFA program. All scholarships are based on the quality of the creative manuscript and supporting application materials and are awarded at the time of acceptance. Except in one case — the Robert Kelleher “A Room of One’s Own” Scholarship For Mothers — no additional application materials are required.
Work with Award-Winning Writers
The writers who teach as part of the faculty for the MFA program are outstanding for both their level of national or regional literary achievements and for their teaching abilities. These accomplished writers share a sense of joy around their work and around the community they comprise, bringing their diverse writing styles and voices to the mix.
鶹Ӱ Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program
503-352-1531 | mfa@pacificu.edu
530 NW 12th Ave., Portland, OR 97209
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday
鶹Ӱ is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, one of seven accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Additional curriculum and student outcome information is available in the .