MFA program among top 10

EOU recognized for “Best Online Master’s in English & Creative Writing”

News contact: Laura Hancock | University Advancement | 541-962-3585 or lhancock@eou.edu

January 22, 2016

LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) – Eastern Oregon University is ranked ninth on a new list of the top 50 colleges and universities offering affordable online graduate degrees in English and creative writing.

Nonprofit Colleges Online issued the rankings and recognizes schools on their list with the “Students Before Profits Award” for 2015-16.

Winners were selected from online programs offered by “accredited, nonprofit colleges and universities with objectively lower than average tuition costs,” according to Nonprofitcollegesonline.com.

In addition to cost, schools and programs were evaluated based on publicly available information about accreditation, academic quality, student satisfaction and reputation in the field. Rankings are designed to help prospective students make smart choices about where to invest time and money in earning their degree online.

View the complete list at
www.nonprofitcollegesonline.com/rankings/best-online-masters-in-english-creative-writing.

EOU’s MFA degree is delivered in a unique low residency format, enabling students who may have families or jobs an educational alternative that is very flexible.

Students spend two weeks on EOU’s main campus during summer and fall residencies. During the non-residency periods, they continue to work with faculty to hone writing and theses at a distance. Successful and well-known authors, including Ars Poetica visiting writers, EOU faculty and popular writers from around the region, serve as mentors.

“We’re elated to have received this top 10 ranking,” said Jodi Varon, MFA co-director. “The program’s flexibility in supporting and encouraging cross-genre study, as well as supplying the foundation for craft and publication, make the low-residency experience an integral part in each writer’s continuing development.”

Varon said students refer to the time they spend immersed at EOU in June and October as their “secret life.”

“They journey here to study, write and engage with other writers on our mountain-ringed campus. The group effort in building and sustaining the program – by faculty and students alike – is phenomenal,” she added.

Learn more at www.eou.edu/mfa.