Lenoir-Rhyne University

MASTER OF ARTS IN WRITING

LR’s Master of Arts in Writing is designed to prepare students for careers in creative writing, the teaching of writing, and/or the development of advanced writing skills as a powerful tool within one’s chosen profession. In addition to fundamental courses in rhetorical theory, editing, and publishing, students participate in a journey of discovery –exploring the evolution of a literary genre through reading select works. Students engage scholarship in literature, narrative theory, and creative process development to prepare to be the storytellers and story interpreters in professional and cultural environments.

LR’s Writing program is offered through the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative on its Asheville campus. It offers graduate-level courses in narrative training across disciplines in Thomas Wolfe’s hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Drawing on the creative, social, historical, and intellectual legacy of Thomas Wolfe, the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative upholds the practices of positive aesthetics--exploration, eloquence, and attention in developing expansive and insightful narrative. Students at the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative write boldly and much, seeking the shape of story that emerges organically from deep engagement with topic and with close consideration of the multiple forces at work within all stories, including social dynamic and geographical history.

Coursework includes Explorations in the Evolutions of Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, as well as Workshops in these genres and others. Students also engage Special Topics such as Screenplay and Children's Literature. All students complete self-designed Internships and present a Portfolio of completed work upon degree completion. This is a program for writers from all backgrounds, regardless of undergraduate majors, because Narrative applies to all fields of work and to being human.

All faculty in the LR Writing program are appropriately credentialed. In addition to established writers, a variety of community professionals employed in various relevant settings provide instruction and guidance. The program is flexible enough to fit the schedule of anyone, whether entering directly from an undergraduate program, in mid-career, or considering a career change. Courses are available through online and face-to-face delivery for the convenience of working students. The length of time to complete this program varies based on class load and the scheduling of classes. The program can be completed on average in two years or can be taken at a pace conducive to the student’s schedule. Often, distance options are available for courses to best accommodate real life.