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While our program is a top-ranked option for students looking for an online MFA in writing, we also offer robust opportunities for local students.

One on-campus evening “flex” (FLX) course is offered every eight-week term in Spring and Fall for local students interested in attending class at our beautiful Saint Charles campus. Classes usually meet on Thursday nights from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

And thanks to videoconferencing, this model also allows our 100% online students to join from anywhere in the world; students who do not live locally are invited and encouraged to enroll in these courses and join, live, virtually.

These live classes allow for real-time connection and collaboration with faculty and peers. Our flex classes are most often courses in fiction or multi-genre writing (combination of fiction/nonfiction/YA-MG/poetry).

Local students occasionally join together for on-campus events and creative writing community activities. Our annual graduation draws students from the greater Midwest to celebrate with their friends and family the accomplishment of the MFA degree.

Fall and Spring semester we host an online capstone reading event where our writers showcase a short excerpt of their MFA Thesis for the program community as well as friends and family. Additionally, our craft talk events occur virtually, as does our monthly graduate student reading series event, where current students have an opportunity to share their work with their peers and instructors.