Lasell University's Solstice Low-residency MFA in Creative Writing is a selective two-year program that helps you further your writing practice with a high level of professional proficiency while developing your unique voice in a supportive community. This skills-based program combines five short, ten-day residencies—periods that feature literature & craft courses, writing workshops, seminars, readings, and panel discussions with a diverse cadre of writers, editors, and agents—with a 21-week long period of independent study in which each student works 1:1 with a mentor. This terminal degree offers a flexible format to help you fit the coursework into your schedule while providing an encouraging, immersive experience.

The program's mission is to nurture all the voices of America and beyond; to help students reach their full potential as writers through a demanding curriculum that balances the workshop experience with the study of literary craft, criticism, and theory; and to prepare students for the rigors of being a professional writer after graduation. The Solstice Program provides a supportive, welcoming environment in which writers of all backgrounds feel safe and are encouraged to take creative risks. Working with some of the best writers in the country, our students emerge with a deep, well-rounded knowledge of their art, a strategy for continuing the development of their creative vision, and a supportive circle of peers and mentors. We seek to instill in our students an appreciation for the value of community-building and community service, and the belief that engagement with the literary arts is not only a means to personal fulfillment but also an instrument for social justice and real cultural change.

Thanks to the support of founding faculty member and best-selling fiction writer Dennis Lehane as well as the Solstice Institute for Creative Writing, the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program launched at its first home institution—Pine Manor College—in 2006. The program landed at its current home at Lasell University in 2022, beginning its next chapter at an institution that aligns with its mission via the University’s commitment to fostering the next generation of creative thinkers, makers, leaders, and doers.

For more information on other MFA Concentrations, see below:

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MFA-CNF - Creative Nonfiction

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