Hollins is a small, private, four-year university located on a
beautiful 475-acre campus in Roanoke, Virginia. Students enjoy
Hollins' challenging and supportive academic environment and our
focus on individualized learning. Hollins' historic and beautiful
campus is minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian
Trail. Although the setting is decidedly pastoral, it is also
minutes from the small city of Roanoke (230,000 in the metro
area), offering many of the cultural amenities people enjoy.
Hollins offers unique summer MFA and MA programs in both the
scholarly study and the writing of children's and adolescent
literature, in which you will have the opportunity to be part of
a uniquely diverse group of scholars, writers, and teachers.
It is Hollins' belief that any serious student of writing must
study closely the best works of others, and any scholar of
literature benefits from the experience of writing. Thus, the MFA
leads to a master of fine arts in the writing of work for
children and adolescents, from picture books to young adult
novels, through a program which also includes scholarly study of
the genre. On the other hand, in the MA program, you may
concentrate solely on the study of children's and young adult
literature as a genre which has received far too little scholarly
attention in the past, or you may do up to half your coursework
in creative writing, or choose a balance somewhere in between,
depending on your goals.
Master of Arts in Teaching
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Hollins offers an MAT program for licensed teachers with two or
more years of experience who have a long-term commitment to
teaching, want to develop curriculum in collaborative teams, and
are interested in assuming leadership roles within their schools.
Hollins will match the amount of grant given by each individual's
school system, up to the cost of one credit hour.
Hollins also allows college graduates to earn teaching licensure
and an MAT at the same time. This program is ideal for college
graduates in many fields who believe teaching is their calling.
This distinctive program is the Roanoke Valley's first to give
students the chance to meet state requirements for licensure with
the added bonus of completing an MAT Hollins is pleased to offer
a grant to assist with the cost of student teaching to all
eligible students completing the degree. (The Hollins grant will
be offset, in part, by applicable grants such as the Virginia
Tuition Assistance Grant.)
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
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For the college graduate writer who wants to concentrate on his
or her craft in a helpful community of writers and who seeks to
expand his or her knowledge of literary criticism and
contemporary literature, the intense, two-year master's of fine
arts program at Hollins offers an individualized approach in an
atmosphere of cooperation and encouragement. Each year Hollins
accepts into this program 12 people who have a strong interest in
and aptitude for writing and literary study. Students have
successfully worked in every genre, among them poetry, short
fiction, novels, plays, creative nonfiction, and children's
literature.
The Hollins program has one of the highest publishing records of
any graduate school in the country. Over the past 10 years,
graduates have published some 200 books. Among the many
publishing writers who have graduated from the program are
Pulitzer Prize winners Annie Dillard and Henry Taylor, novelists
Madison Smartt Bell, Kiran Desai, Garrett Epps, Tama Janowitz,
Jill McCorkle, and Sylvia Wilkinson, poets Wyn Cooper, David
Huddle, Edward Kleinschmidt Mayes, Natasha Trethewey, and Mary
Ruefle, photographer Sally Mann, and filmmaker George Butler.
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
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Hollins offers a master's degree for women and men, with
scheduling that respects the demands of home and work, and
flexibility that allows you to follow your interests or discover
new ones. Since 1969, Hollins, along with a number of other
select colleges and universities (such as Johns Hopkins,
Georgetown, Duke, and Wesleyan), has offered the Master of Arts
in Liberal Studies (MALS) degree.
The MALS program is designed for students with varied interests
and backgrounds, who thrive on the interdisciplinary approach and
flexible curriculum. Students include business executives,
nurses, lawyers, educators, homemakers, lifelong learners
desiring the professional or personal benefits provided by
obtaining the master's degree.
