Back to Main Article| Rank | School | Votes (of 195) |
2009–10 Rank |
2008–09 Rank |
2007–08 Rank |
Genres Available |
Selectivity | Placement | Residencies |
| 1 | Vermont College of Fine Arts | 79 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 20 days/year |
| 1 | Warren Wilson College | 79 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 20 days/year |
| 3 | Bennington College | 66 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 20 days/year |
| 4 | Pacific University | 37 | 4 | 5 | + | 3 | N/A | * | 20 days/year |
| 5 | Antioch University | 33 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | * | 20 days/year |
| 6 | Lesley University | 31 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | * | 18 days/year |
| 7 | Queens University of Charlotte | 28 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 14 days/year |
| 8 | University of Southern Maine | 25 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 5 | N/A | * | 22 days/year |
| 9 | Goddard College | 18 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | * | 16 days/year |
| 10 | Spalding University | 15 | + | + | 8 | 6 | N/A | * | 20 days/year |
NOTE: + = Honorable Mention (ranked between eleven and fifteen); N/A = information not available; * = unranked. One additional program, Goucher College, is deserving of special note, as its one-genre, fourteen-day residency creative nonfiction MFA placed in the top ten or Honorable Mention category in all three application cycles assessed, including a #10 placement in the 2007-2008 application cycle. For a ranking of the additional thirty-six low residencies in the United States and beyond, click here.
