A Note from Our Director

Roosevelt’s MFA Program is a relatively young program, full of energetic and committed students and faculty who see a strong writing community as a bridge to a professional writing life. We’ve grown substantially over the past several years, attracting students from all over the country as well as the cultural hotbed of Chicago. Our faculty is a strong, student-centered group of accomplished writers, each with a distinguished teaching record in addition to their impressive professional experiences and stellar creative publications. Together, we’ve developed a studio/ academic curriculum geared toward publication and the acquisition of skills and strategies necessary for professional survival.

In the end, however, seminars aren’t enough by themselves — it takes strong support to make it as a creative writer. At Roosevelt, you’ll find that it’s the whole community of writers, faculty and students alike, who make the program work; and you will feel their influence long after you graduate. People and place are the focus here.

One of the ways you can actively participate in our MFA Program’s community is through its internship opportunities, which offer wide exposure to all the cultural riches Chicago has to offer. Another way to stay connected is through the Roosevelt Reading Series, which features writers such as Debra Monroe, Ben Fountain, Mary Jo Bang, Janet Burroway, Frank X. Walker, Heather Sellers, Miles Harvey, Deb Olen Unferth, Marilyn Nelson, and John Defresne. The series also offers graduate students the chance to showcase their latest work in readings both on and off campus. One of our professional development opportunities is the teaching internship in both composition and creative writing courses. You can simultaneously pursue a Certificate in the Teaching of Writing, which is a combination of theory and practice (internships in the classroom and the writing center). We also offer an internship among the community of writers and editors producing the Oyez Review, Roosevelt’s literary magazine, which has been in continuous publication for over thirty-six years. It is entirely student run and allows MFA candidates to build their editorial and marketing skills while they learn from the process of submission, revision, acceptance, publication, and distribution. There are also several paid, competitive graduate assistantships available each year. Graduate assistants help organize campus readings, work on graphic design for program advertising, and perform other program-related work.

This is not an MA Program but a terminal fine arts degree in the creative writing field—to this end, completion of the degree requires in-depth study of literature and extensive participation in writing studios. The goal is for you to produce a thesis of publishable creative work, taking into account all you’ve read, talked about, and written. When you complete the degree, you’ll be able to join the larger literary conversation out in the world and have a way to support your habit of art. We’re glad you’ve joined us here in the Loop!

Best Wishes,

Scott Blackwood, MFA Program Director