Just two years after achieving independence, Vermont College of Fine Arts’ (VCFA) MFA writing programs have been ranked first among programs of their kind by Poets & Writers, the leading creative writing publication in the U.S. This honor comes on the heels of several other major achievements for VCFA, including achieving accreditation as a degree-granting institution in record time.
Established in 1981, the Vermont College MFA in Writing Program is the original low-residency writing program in the country. The Atlantic named it one of the top five low-residency programs nationwide. The Writing for Children & Young Adults track was established in 1997 and was the nation's first fully developed graduate program focusing on writing for young readers and numbers among its alumni New York Times bestsellers, ALA award winners and National Book Award finalists.
Vermont College of Fine Arts, the first independent college in Vermont in a quarter of a century, was in fact launched by an alumnus of the MFA in Writing Program, novelist and longtime college administrator Tom Greene. The impetus for independence was a desire to maintain the programs and the academic nature of the campus which were under the threat of being dismantled and sold piecemeal. Two years after going independent, success abounds.
‘To have our writing program ranked so highly by such a prestigious magazine in the field is quite an honor,’ says President Tom Greene. ‘But the quality of the MFA in Writing and Writing for Children Program is best evidenced in the incredible success of our alumni and the quality of our faculty. To have the programs acknowledged by Poets and Writers is a tribute to VCFA’s full writing community.’
This ranking took into consideration VCFA’s Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Translation, and Writing for Children & Young Adults tracks for the MFA in Writing degree. The alumni from these programs have published over 1,200 books by almost every major house and won major literary awards.
The 2011 Poets & Writers Magazine MFA rankings are comprised of individual rankings for both full-residency and low-residency programs that were measured in eight categories. The magazine’s goal of these rankings is to ‘better position applicants to make an important life choice.’ VCFA is tied for this position with Warren Wilson College.
Source: VCFA. 9.8.2010
Vermont College of Fine Arts is a national center for education in the arts, a place where the creative expression of individuals is nurtured and a sense of community flourishes. VCFA is the only graduate school in the country devoted exclusively to fine arts education, and the first independent college to form in Vermont since 1983. Offering three nationally successful Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Visual Art, Writing, and Writing for Children & Young Adults, VCFA’s alumni are among the most celebrated authors and artists working today