MFA Matching Grant Campaign
Thanks to You—We did It!
IAIA’s Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing met The Lannan Foundation’s challenge—we exceeded our goal of $50,000. Thank you so very much—your gifts of all sizes will make the difference for this semester’s MFA students.
Your donations will make it possible for students to refine, enrich, and publish their work in the only graduate creative writing program of its kind in the U.S. Help fund IAIA undergraduate and MFA student IAIA scholarship funds by giving today.
“The IAIA Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program has been such a good experience for me, not only as a writer, but as an Indigenous writer—there’s incredible faculty who not only watched over me but also guided me—it’s a privilege to be part of the program.”
“As the oldest graduate of the 2016 IAIA Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program, I am proof that it is never too late. The program selects brilliant writers who are also passionate teachers, and are funny—very funny. The invaluable support and encouragement of my mentors and fellow students in the MFA program have helped my stories come to life. I have gained understanding where I was unaware, and a lifelong attachment to IAIA and the people I have met.”
“I can’t overstate the importance of IAIA’s Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program, for which there is no parallel, for myself as well as for all Native people. We continue to face the problems of invisibility and misrepresentation. Art has the power to change that. This program and its incredible faculty and leadership made me the writer I am today.”
Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing
There are approximately fifty Low Residency MFA Programs in the U.S. The Institute of American Indian Arts’ program is modeled on the most successful of these, with one important difference: IAIA’s mission “to empower creativity and leadership in Native arts and cultures through higher education, lifelong learning, and outreach” means that the program and the literature we read carry a distinct Native American and First Nations emphasis. Over 60% of our faculty mentors are established Native American or First Nations authors. Our program is open to everyone, but the focus will remain aligned with our unique mission.
IAIA faculty mentors are a dynamic group of writers who have won, among many other awards, Lannan Literary Awards, Whiting Awards, a National Book Award, a ScotiaBank Giller Prize, a PEN/Faulkner Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, a PEN Open Book Award, a United States Artist Fellowship, and a Donald Hall Prize from the Associated Writing Programs.
