I just started my second semester in a low residency MFA program at Pacific University in Oregon. When I tell people this, they usually ask: What does that mean?

At Pacific University and most other low residency programs, the semesters begin in June and January, with a 10-day residency. Pacific students meet on campus near Portland, Oregon in June and on the coast at Seaside in January. Students are assigned a workshop group for the residency, with about eight students and two faculty-writers. The workshop meets for two hours every morning. The rest of the day is filled with craft talks (lectures about writing technique), each by a different faculty-writer. Student readings, thesis readings by graduating students, and faculty-writer evening readings round out the day, which begins at 9 AM and ends at 9 PM.   The idea is to fit a semester’s worth of classes into 10 days.

During the residency, students are assigned advisors, who will be their mentors and work with them one-on-one for the rest of the semester. Students and their advisors work out a schedule for the five or six “packets” (exchanges of creative work) and finalize a list of readings. Students are expected to read 20 books and write 12-15 commentaries per semester, as well as create five or six pieces of creative work.

The program lasts four semesters, with five residencies. For the third semester, students have to write a critical essay, and the last semester ends with a thesis.

Why Pacific?

Pacific has been named one of the top five low residency MFA programs by Atlantic Monthly and Poets & Writers magazine. It has a stellar faculty, with best-selling writers like Brady Udall (The Lonely Polygamist) and Pam Houston (Cowboys Are My Weakness), and award-winning faculty, such as National Book Award finalist Bonnie Jo Campbell (American Salvage). But, best of all, it has writers who are committed to teaching and who work as a team, most of whom return every year, unlike some other low-residency programs that have higher turnover.

Why low residency?

I have a family, with a husband and two children who are entrenched in the community, so moving was never an option for me. I chose low residency because it was convenient. I have been surprised, however, that it has many benefits over a traditional model. The close mentorship relationship between student and advisor allows for much more flexibility.