MFA Post-Graduate Certificate

The certificate requires two residencies, during which students will take a set number of craft classes and participate in workshops within their secondary genre; it also requires two semesters of independent study spent working one-on-one with a faculty mentor, much like the independent study semesters of our graduate program.

For Current Students 

Students wishing to earn a certificate in a second genre should let MFA Program staff know as early as possible and check the application deadlines. 

Students accepted into the Certificate Program will technically graduate from the MFA program along with their cohort at the end of their fifth, graduating residency. (They will have earned 60 credits.) By that point, they will have been assigned a mentor and set up a fifth-semester plan, as they will be continuing on with their certificate studies immediately.

During their fifth, graduating residency, students who will be continuing on in the Certificate Program will (as is usual) participate in workshops related to their primary genre; their first Post-Grad workshop takes place after their first semester of independent study with their Post-Grad mentor.

Students who wish to take a semester or more off before beginning the certificate will simply apply as alumni (see next section).

For Alumni

Alumni wishing to complete a certificate will need to apply to the program by the spring/fall deadline established for all new students. (Deadlines are always posted here.)

Alumni begin with a semester of independent study with a faculty mentor (no residency precedes this work). Their first Post-Grad Certificate residency takes place after this initial semester spent working in their secondary genre.

For Writers Who Have Earned an MFA with a Different Institution 

Writers wishing to complete a certificate will need to apply to the program by the spring/fall deadline posted on our website. (Deadlines are always available here.)

Writers begin with a semester of independent study with a faculty mentor (no residency precedes this work). Their first Post-Grad Certificate residency takes place after this initial semester spent working in their secondary genre.

All Students in the Certificate Program 

During the first independent study period (semester A), students focus on work similar to semester 1 of the Graduate Program, meaning:

• Each of the five packets exchanged with a mentor will contain a cover letter, a manuscript (approximately 25 pages of double-spaced fiction or nonfiction, or single-spaced poetry manuscripts totaling 8-10 pages, or picture book manuscripts totaling 3 to 10 pages, including new and revised work) and six to twelve double-spaced pages of craft analyses (two or three short essays, or one longer) based on assigned readings.
• As in semesters 1-4 of the Graduate Program, students will also be required to read 15 – 20 books.

During residency/semester B, students focus on work similar to the Graduate Program’s semester 4, meaning:

• During the residency, Post-Grad Certificate students are in the workshop (24 hours total) that represents their secondary/certificate genre.
• Post-Grad Certificate students are required to take 5 CCT classes and 2 ESS sessions during the residency.
• During the second and last independent study period, students will read upwards of 15 to 20 books while working to complete a manuscript; while some pages will be considered drafts, a set number of polished pages will represent the creative thesis (about half the length of a major concentration’s creative thesis; see #4 below). No critical writing will be required at this point in the program.
• Assessment criteria and formatting for creative thesis manuscripts related to the Certificate Program remain the same as what is outlined for all creative theses in the Solstice MFA Program’s Handbook. Guidelines regarding length are essentially half of what is required for theses related to a primary genre:
• Prose writers (for adults) must submit 60 – 75 pages of polished work. Young-adult novels or young-adult short-story collections must be 50 – 75 pages.
• Collections of flash fiction/vignettes/short hybrid texts must be 25 – 35 pages long. (Flash fiction pieces generally run 1,000 words or fewer each. Each vignette generally should run no longer than 800 words.)
• Poets submit 25 – 35 pages of paginated, finished work. Novels-in-verse manuscripts must be 35 – 60 pages.
• Children’s *picture-book manuscripts are generally one to three pages each; the total manuscript pages must fall between 10 and 20 pages.
• YA/children’s writers who wish to combine picture-book manuscripts with longer prose should submit 40 – 50 pages of paginated prose and 3 – 10 pages of paginated, illustratable work according to the specifications outlined in the Solstice Handbook. (Total should equal 43 – 60 pages.)
• YA/children’s writers who wish to combine picture-book manuscripts with poetry should submit 12 – 15 pages of poetry and 6 – 10 pages of paginated, illustratable work according to the specifications above. (Total should equal 18 – 35 pages.).
• Picture book writer-illustrators must submit one illustrated book (32, 40, or 48 pages).
• Picture book writer-illustrators who wish to combine an illustrated book with longer prose should submit one self-illustrated book (32,40, or 48 pages) with 20 -25 pages of a YA/MG novel or creative nonfiction work.
• Cartoonists/graphic novelists must submit:

For the Confident Artist:

Drawing: 12 – 15 pages of full/tight pencils or finished artwork

Scripting/layouts: 15 – 20 pages script/layouts not reflected in finished artwork

Synopsis: If the final work will be longer than 55 pages

For the Confident Writer:

Scripting: 40 – 50 pages of polished script

Drawing/layouts: 6+ pages of lettered layouts

Synopsis: If the final work will be longer than 80–100 pages

Residency C, the final Post-Graduate Certificate residency, requires: 

• the student be in workshop (24 hours total)
• 5 CCT classes and 2 ESS sessions.
• There will be a short public reading for students earning a certificate; they will not be required to teach a craft lecture.
• They will be recognized at commencement, but will not be formally presented with their certificate as they were when they received their MFA diploma.

Writers accepted into the Post-Graduate Certificate Program will receive mentor assignments by mid-January or mid-July (near the end of our winter or summer residencies). Packet exchanges with a mentor must be scheduled within approximately 22 weeks of the semester, following the schedule of the graduate program. A semester plan will be submitted as per the graduate program, including the schedule for packet exchanges and a reading list. At the mid-semester point and at the semester’s end, Post-Graduate Semester students and their assigned mentors will be asked to submit evaluation forms.

Participating faculty members are listed on our application form.

CREDIT STRUCTURE 

The Post Graduate Certificate has a total of 22.5 credits. 

• Semester A independent study: 6 credits
• Residency/semester B: 7 + 6 (total 13) credits
• Culminating Residency, C = 3.5 credits

Students are recognized at commencement but do not participate in the formal ceremony.

QUESTIONS?

Email Program Director Meg Kearney and Assistant Director Quintin Collins at gradinfo@lasell.edu.

TUITION

See our Tuition & Fees for the current per-credit rate.

• Semester A (independent study only, 6 credits)
• Semester B (residency + independent study, 13 credits)
• Residency C (3.5 credits)

*Certificate-Program students are also responsible for the residency hospitality fee, room & board, travel, etc. 

Requirements

Entrance Essay

An entrance essay is required to apply.  The essay should be three to five pages typed (12 pt. font), double-spaced pages should address:

• why the writer wishes to pursue the certificate in a specific genre
• what the writer has been reading in that genre and the impact/influence that reading has had on his/her work
• the writer’s goals for the Certificate Program

Application Manuscripts

Application manuscripts must follow these guidelines:

• All writers: be sure your name appears on every page of your manuscript!
• Poetry — no more than 10 pages; single spaced, 12-point font; one poem per page; longer poems okay, but indicate continuation onto next page (if you do not know how to format poems that run more than one page, ask us to send you a sample).
• Fiction or Creative Nonfiction — 15 to 20 pages; double spaced, paginated, 12-point font; may include multiple short pieces.
• Writing for Children Young Adults —15 to 20 pages; double spaced, paginated, 12-point font; applicants may submit a combination of picture book and prose narrative genres.
• Comics/Graphic Narratives(fiction or nonfiction) — no more than 8–12 pages of sequential fiction or nonfiction.

Transcripts

Solstice Alumni with a PMC diploma should submit a copy of their MFA transcript. These are available through Boston College. You can also order your transcript through the National Student Clearinghouse.

Writers who have earned an MFA from a different institution should email a copy to registrar@lasell.edu; when you have done so, alert the Solstice MFA Program's Director (mekearney@lasell.edu).

Letter of Recommendation

Non-Solstice MFA graduates must submit one letter fo recommendation from a former mentor.

Deadlines

Writers with an MFA degree who wish to complete a one-year certificate in a genre other than their MFA concentration should apply by our general deadlines for a summer/fall or winter/spring start. Deadlines can be found here.