Residencies

What to Expect from a Residency

A residency is an intense and creatively stimulating experience. In many ways, it resembles a writer's conference, but the fact that all the students and faculty are committed to the same academic program adds a level of community and ongoing seriousness to the experience. Intense bonds are formed, unforgettable moments occur and old ideas are challenged. The unique setting of the Stone House is an inspiration in itself with its magnificent architecture and beautiful location.

Each residency lasts 10 days, plus one day to check-in. The general set-up of the residency is described below. A more detailed schedule with exact times and locations of events is mailed to all students and faculty a few weeks prior to each residency. A copy of the schedule will also be distributed at check-in. (This schedule may be subject to change based upon program needs.)

All daytime events, including seminars and workshops, will be held at the Stone House Conference Center in Freeport, ME. Nighttime events take place on the Bowdoin campus in Brunswick in the summer, and in various locations in Freeport in the Winter. More information on the locations for nighttime events are listed in each residency schedule.

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Receiving Credit for the Residency

To receive credit for the residency you must attend no less than a total of five seminars: three faculty and two graduating student seminars. Panel discussions, which include both faculty and graduating students, can be counted as either a faculty or student seminar. You must attend a minimum of four seminars in your genre, complete all required reading and any written assignments for your seminars and workshops, and participate fully in every meeting of your residency workshops. We strongly recommend that you attend all faculty readings, five graduating student readings and one of the two current student readings. You must also complete all required forms including the evaluations, your study plan, and any other forms pertaining to the program given to you by the MFA staff.

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General Schedule for the Residency

Each residency follows a similar format. Events may be rescheduled or relocated based on the discretion of the MFA Director to accommodate the needs of the program.

On the first day, all students will check in and receive a residency packet that will include the final residency schedule, any new or changed information on faculty and courses, and maps to the locations where the various residency events will be held. This residency packet will be your ten-day survival guide, so treat it well! The MFA office will notify new students of the required arrival time. Check-in for the Winter Residency is at the Hampton Inn in Freeport, Maine. Check-in for the Summer Residency is on the Bowdoin Campus. Following check-in, students will attend an informative New Student Orientation Session. This is a brief "meet-and-greet" with the MFA faculty and staff.

Check-in and New Student Orientation will be followed by a welcome reception. Students who elected to be matched with a student mentor will be introduced to their mentor at this time. Your student mentor is your guide to survival. As with the residency packet, treat this person well. Light refreshments will be served. New students will have a short break before dinner.

During the summer residency, dinner is served at the Bowdoin Dining Hall. Students who have chosen the Room & Board option will be given a pass to the dining hall when they check-in. Commuter students may also purchase dinner at the dining hall on a day-by-day basis for a fee paid directly to the cashier at the dining hall. Unfortunately, we cannot reserve tables at the dining hall, but you'll recognize your fellow MFA students by their name tags and by the residency survival guide packets they will be clutching.

For the winter months, dinner is not included in the Room and Board plan except as otherwise noted in the residency schedule. There are several fine restaurants in the Freeport area and a list will be provided at check-in. Students generally go out to dinner as a group or in small groups. (Remember to include dinner cost in your Winter Residency personal budget.)

After the dinner break on the first day, all students will attend an introductory meeting and reading where the faculty will be introduced and several faculty members will read from their work. The location will be announced in the residency schedule.  Readings are held almost every night during each residency.

Each residency is basically divided into two parts: the first half and the second half. During the first half of the residency, you will be assigned to a workshop conducted by one or two faculty members. Your workshop assignment will change with the arrival of new faculty for the second half of the residency. You will then have a new workshop leader or leaders and a new group. The schedules for the two parts differ, so it is essential to keep your residency survival packet with you at all times. If you lose it, you could end up kayaking with L.L. Bean's Outdoor Adventure School instead of attending a seminar on Post-Modernism!

During the first half of the residency, the general schedule consists of graduating student seminars, workshops, lunch and faculty seminars. These scheduled events will all take place at the Stone House in Freeport. Students will then return to either Bowdoin campus (Summer residency) or their designated hotel (Winter residency.) There will be a break for dinner followed by student and/or faculty readings.

Another residency requirement: Mentor Interview Sessions. These interviews occur during both the first and the second half of the residency. In a Mentor Interview Session, students will meet in a group with faculty in order to determine their preference for a mentor during the upcoming semester. Sign up sheets will be posted for each faculty member. Students must choose a designated time to meet with faculty. Students may also choose to participate in “after-hour” getherings held practically every night at a local restaurant or in the commons area of the dorm or the hotel. Forgo sleep and join these get-togethers. The conversations, discussions, and laughter you share with your fellow Stonecoasters will come to encourage your development as both a writer and a person.

At some point during the first half of the residency you may ask yourself, “What day is it?” Your concept of time will be completely altered. Your ten day residency survival packet will replace your watch. The outside world will feel like a distant memory. Do not worry, something will jar you back into reality. Usually this reality wake-up comes in the form of Stone House coffee. In literary terms, it is epic java.

Another curious phenomenon which students will experience during the residency, is “Stonecoast Sensory Altercation” syndrome. This syndrome can be defined as a condition where all sensory information becomes a muse for writing. From the sound of your workshop leader's sneezes to the simple ergonomics of a paper clip, anything you smell, taste, hear or touch can trigger a novel, short story or poem.

The second half of the residency is signified by the arrival of new faculty and the departure of many first half faculty. Although the faculty and workshop groups have changed, the general format of the schedule remains the same. This schedule will again consist of workshops, faculty seminars, lunch and graduating student seminars, all of which will take place at the Stone House in Freeport. Students will then return to the Bowdoin campus (Summer residency) or their designated hotel (Winter residency) for a dinner break. Following dinner, student and/or faculty readings will take place. Students can also expect a welcome reception for second half faculty, a current student reading (make sure you sign up and read your work!), a graduation ceremony and celebration and Mentor Interview Sessions (remember, you have to do this twice). The whole purpose for these interview sessions is to prepare you for choosing a mentor. Students will be required to fill out a mentor preference form listing their top three choices for a mentor to be submitted to Stonecoast administration. Following the submission of your mentor preference form, you just may find yourself pacing, nail biting and/or pencil chewing the night that mentor/student assignments are announced.  After the names of faculty and their mentees are posted, students will then be required to set up a conference with their designated mentor to formulate a semester project. (Contact information will be provided for those faculty members who were present only during the first half of the residency.)

On the final day, students will submit residency and workshop evaluations, along with semester study plans to a Stonecoast staff member. All students must submit this paperwork in order to receive official credit for the residency. Students will also check-out from either the dormitory (Summer residency) or hotel (Winter residency). It is now safe to put away your residency survival packet. You have officially survived Stonecoast! Just think, only six months, and you will get to do it all over again.

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Related Links:

What to Expect from a Residency

Receiving Credit

Sample Residency Schedule

Highlights from Summer 07

View more photos of the Stone House, as well as students and faculty at residencies and special events, in our Photo Gallery.