# David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting



## courteroy (Jun 22, 2020)

Hey Guys,

Have any of you applied to or attended the MIU David Lynch program? I'm going to apply in the Spring for Fall 2021 because I love the way it works. Basically, you do everything online so you can live anywhere. You do a ten day residency at the school in Iowa each semester, but aside from that you have your freedom. 

It's a hippie dippie school in that it is named after the guru that founded transcendental meditation. My concern is that it is accredited, but I don't know if the organization that accredited it is one that would be recognized and accepted by future PhD programs. Does anyone know how you figure this sort of thing out? I don't know that I'll ever want to get my PhD, but I also want to leave that door open in case I do choose to go that route.

Here's the link and info package for the program for anyone that might be interested. It isn't too late to apply for Fall 2020.






						David Lynch Low-Residency MFA in Screenwriting | Maharishi University
					

You grow personally while you sharpen your writing skills and gain access to deeper levels of your creativity, discovering how, as David Lynch says, to catch the big fish.




					www.miu.edu


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## SalvatoreBrown (Jul 3, 2020)

Hi courteroy--

I'm in the same boat but don’t really have any answers. I’m accepted for the MIU David Lynch Screenwriting MFA (starting in August) and have to declare intent on Monday. Are you talking about screenwriting or are you referring to the other program? Cinematic Arts MA I think?

It’s been hard to find anything at all on-line about the program, but this is what I found concerning accreditation—>

MIU’s landing page says it’s accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which apparently is one of the major regional accreditation agencies, started in 1895 — and recognized by the USDE & CHEA.

Regional accreditation is apparently better than national and more widely accepted. I saw a lot of online programs from big state schools accredited by the HLC, and some private names I recognized. Here’s the list of online schools I’ve been looking at, showing their accrediting agencies:

List of Online Colleges with Regional Accreditation

This helped set my mind at ease a little bit:

Accreditation of Colleges and Universities: Who's Accrediting the Accreditors?

And this about regional accreditation agencies:

Regional Accrediting Organizations | Council for Higher Education Accreditation

The wikipedia page on the HLC does mention some controversy, which was a little troubling (see “Criticism,” 2009):

Higher Learning Commission - Wikipedia

But generally, as far as I can tell, the HLC accreditation is sound.

Anyway, I’m going to call and ask directly on Monday (7/6) as that’s when I’m told I need to declare intent to attend the screenwriting program. I want to make sure as well that the accreditation for the university carries over to the screenwriting MFA.

Definitely hippie dippie, but pretty compelling for some reason. Also from what I gathered from googling, the faculty seem reputable.

Would love to hear if you learned anything more—


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## courteroy (Jul 13, 2020)

This is incredible, first off, congratulations! I'm also interested in the David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting. I wasn't aware that they had other film options. I love the idea of learning TM and focusing on tapping into the creative side of screenwriting more so than the structure of it all. I keep thinking maybe I'll try TM now, but with the pandemic, it just seems too risky to go to a center.

I'd love to know what you submitted that ended up gaining you entry. They don't specify whether the script we submit needs to be a feature or if it can be TV. Most schools have more details surrounding the creative requirements.

When you called, what did you learn? Did you decide to attend or choose not to declare intent? Any more information on whether or not we would have trouble transferring this experience to a PhD program? This is honestly my only concern with applying. I don't understand the accreditation and how that all works. The links you provided definitely provided a bit of clarity, though. Thank you so much for sharing your research. 

Like you, I looked into the professors and they seem like a good bunch. I unforunately don't have much to share, but I'm so thankful that you've chosen to share your experience. I just love the idea of doing this program. The ten day residencies and being able to live anywhere while finishing grad school is super appealing. Right now, I'm stuck because I cant work and gain any real life experience while in undergrad and i'm just over being restricted so much.


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