University of Southern California Masters in Professional Writing
Reviewer's Name:
Hippie Chick
Review Date
March 18, 2009
Year of Graduation:
1993
Review Title:
Wonderful Community
Full Review of the Program:
I was in MPW long before most of the reviewers (thus far), so my experience is vastly different.
I felt blessed to take poetry with William Matthews, CK Williams, fiction with Hubert (Cubbie) Selby and CNF with Gay Talese. The visiting writers were excellent as were the opportunuties to explore other genres.
In particular, I liked the notion that MPW turns out writers not teachers (as other MFA programs do). While I was at USC, I found future job experience in classes like technical writing and journalism.
The best thing about the program, though, I have to say, was the community. Sixteen years later, my MPW friends and I are still close and still exchange work--even tho we all live in different states now. That was the real gem. The life-long friendships.
Advice to Prospective Students:
Visit the grad schools you are interested in and talk to current students (without an advisor or counselor present). From a campus visit, I learned how cut-throat the PhD rogram at UCLA was (for example).
Overall Rating
Reputation Rating
Location
Quality of Faculty
Student Competitiveness
(5=most competitive)
Campus Facilities
Financial Assistance
Making Contacts
Diversity
Career Services/Development
Dating Scene
LGBT Friendly
Social Scene in General
Family Friendly
Cost of Living (5=most affordable)
Dining Options
Admissions
Full-time: Yes
Part-time: Yes
Length of Program: 2 Years
Low Residency: No
Student Body
Genre
Fiction
Poetry
Creative Non-fiction
Screenwriting
Playwriting
