For admissions to masters degree program in Writing at Best Universities, GRE, GPA requirements are
Online Masters in Writing No GRE
Masters programs in Writing which do not require GRE
Cornell UniversityRanked 15 in Best National University.
Graduate School
College description: The Creative Writing program in the English Language and Literature offers an M.F.A. degree only, with concentrations in either poetry or fiction.Students participate in a graduate writing workshop each semester and take 6 additional one-semester courses for credit, at least four of them in English or American literature, Comparative Literature, literature in the modern or classical languages, or cultural studies First year students receive practical training by working as Editorial Assistants for Epoch, a periodical of prose and poetry published by the Creative Writing staff of the department. The most significant requirement of the M.F.A. degree is the completion of a book-length manuscript: a collection of poems, short stories, or a novel.The Field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience as part of the training for the degree. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, offers excellent training for beginning teachers and varied and interesting teaching within the university-wide First-Year Writing Program. Graduate students are assigned to writing courses under such general rubrics as Portraits of the Self, American Literature and Culture, The Mystery in the Story, Shakespeare, and Cultural Studies, among others.A distinguishing feature of the Cornell PhD program in English is its reliance on a system of Special Committees, which allows students to develop their own courses of study within a broad framework established by the department.
The Creative Writing program in the English Language and Literature offers an M.F.A. degree only, with concentrations in either poetry or fiction.The most significant requirement of the M.F.A. degree is the completion of a book-length manuscript: a collection of poems, short stories, or a novel.Every student selects a Special Committee who will be responsible for providing the student with a great deal of individual attention.The Field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience as part of the training for the degree.TOEFL or IELTS
MFA Programs in Writing
College description: Graduates of the Programs in Writing receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in English.The Program is two years, with the option of a third year devoted to working on a Poetry or Fiction thesis.MFA candidates may be selected to work as editors of Faultline, UCI Pushcart Prize winning literary and arts journal.The Programs in Writing do not admit applicants for the winter or spring quarters. Students are admitted to either the fiction or poetry program. Approximately twelve students are admitted into the Programs in Writing each year: up to six in fiction and up to six in poetry. The Admissions Committee places particular weight on the quality of the writing, looking not only for evidence of talent but for indication of a permanent and firm commitment to the craft of writing. The Program takes pride in an impressive achievement of publication by its graduates.A bachelor degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA is a University prerequisite for admission, which may be waived in exceptional cases. The application for admission should specify interest in either fiction or poetry and must include three letters of recommendation, official transcripts of all academic work, an autobiographical statement, and samples of writing. Graduate Record Examination test scores are not required for admission into the Programs in Writing.The English is committed to providing three full years of to all domestic students in the MFA Programs in Writing.For MFA students is given in the form of Teaching Assistantships MFA students on TA-ship are also assigned to teach one composition or creative writing course per quarter MFA students receive academic credit as well as a nine-month salary for teaching.International students admitted into the Programs in Writing are responsible for paying the Nonresident Tuition and fees in addition to housing and the cost of living.UCI offers six graduate housing communities: Palo Verde, Verano Place, Vista Del Campo, Vista Del Campo Norte, Pureta Del Sol, and Campus Village.
A bachelor degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA is a University prerequisite for admission, which may be waived in exceptional cases. The application for admission should specify interest in either fiction or poetry and must include three letters of recommendation, official transcripts of all academic work, an autobiographical statement, and samples of writing. Graduate Record Examination test scores are not required for admission into the Programs in Writing.
Low-Residency MFA—Narrative Media Writing
It is designed for students who want to develop their research, reporting and writing skills to take on topics of national and global importance, beyond the self-focused genres of memoir and personal essay.To take their writing skills to the next level and who understand the advantages that the MFA degree affords. Most of all, the program is for writers who value the power, purpose and meaning of stories well told.The writing sample may be a single work or a portfolio of various articles, essays, short screenplays, etc.Letters should be from individuals who can evaluate the applicant writing ability and potential for success in a graduate program. Preferably at least two of the letters should be from an applicant prior teachers or professional supervisors.
University of IowaRanked 71 in Best National University.
Applying to the Program
College description: The Nonfiction Writing Program offers a variety of courses each year in the craft, culture, and criticism of nonfiction.Every fall, the in-coming graduate class in the Nonfiction Writing Program takes A History of the Essay, an intensive examination of the essay that starts with the first few scraps of writing that emerged in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BCE. From there, the course moves slowly through time, following the development of the essay in Egypt, China, Japan, Greece, Rome, Belgium, Russia, Mexico, Italy, Argentina, Zimbabwe, Germany, Ireland, England, France, and America, all the while trying to figure out what distinguishes those texts that the university might recognize as essay from those that the university would classify as poetry, fiction, or drama.Each semester, every student in the Nonfiction Writing Program is enrolled in a workshop of their choosing. Sometimes these workshops have specific themes—such as The Video Essay or Book-Length Nonfiction —and sometimes they’re workshops that intentionally combine different forms of the genre—personal essays, travelogues, biographies, etc—in order to help spark conversations how the university go pursing a subject and crafting an essay in different forms of nonfiction.The Published Book A course what makes a great book-length nonfiction. Taught in conjunction with the prestigious University of Iowa Press, students in this course will help select the winner of the new Iowa Prize in Literary Nonfiction, a contest that will reward the winner with a book contract.Teaching Nonfiction A course designed to help students develop individual teaching philosophies, as well as practical skills for teaching creative writing, including crafting syllabi, producing exercises, and maintaining vibrant classroom discussions.
Letters should be written by persons familiar enough with their intellectual attainments to evaluate their potential as a graduate student in EnglishOfficial TOEFL scores for non-native speakers of English. Applicants whose native language is not English score at least 111 on the TOEFL iBT 273 on the CBT and 640 on the TOEFL or IELTS PBT, with a minimum iBT speaking score of 26 for teaching.If applicant are a non-native English speaker, the University of Iowa consider their official TOEFL scores and, additionally, the university will conduct a telephone interview with applicant at an appropriate time in order to discern mastery of spoken English.
Admissions Requirements
College description: The university three year MFA degree offers tracks in Poetry and Fiction. The university program is based upon the recommendations outlined by the Association of Writers & Writing programs. The university also focus on professional skills with the university extensive pedagogical training in both composition and creative writing, as well as an offering of courses in literary editing, new media, and publishing.The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is consistently ranked among the top 30 MFA programs in the country by Poets & Writers. The university students are fully funded through graduate teaching assistantships, which include annual stipends, full tuition remission, and health insurance program for all three years of the program.In the ten years since the program started, the university’ve been consistently ranked among the top 30 programs in the country by Poets & Writers in their MFA rankings.
Because the MFA program does holistic admissions, the university look at their writing sample first and foremost, in addition to their personal statement, recommendation letters, CV or resume, and everything else that’s sent to us.Applicants have also used letters of recommendation from employers, supervisors, and colleagues.Please note that the university system accepts recommendation letters via Interfolio. See the detailed instructions provided by Interfolio for this purpose.International students might be required to submit TOEFL scores, immigration documents, and other additional materials with their application.International students may take either the TOEFL exam with a score of 620 on the paper-based test or 90 on the internet-based test , or the IELTS exam with a score of 8.If applicant do feel inclined to fill it out, the portion that is most helpful to the admissions committee is overcoming social, economic, or physical barriers, but most candidates adequately address these elements in their Personal Statements.
Creative Writing, MFA
College description: The program leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing is a studio academic course of study. Imaginative writers enroll in writing workshops, forms courses, and literature classes, gaining exposure to a broad range of writing models and experimenting with a variety of strategies and forms. The program can be completed in three intensive years a fourth year of study, in which work on the final project is the central activity, may be elected. All admitted MFA students receive support in the form of graduate teaching assistantships or fellowships.The writing sample should consist of 20-30 pages of prose , or 10-20 pages of poetry, or both. Applicants must specify Prose, Poetry, or Prose and Poetry in the Specialty Area field of the online application and upload writing sample as appropriate. If applying in Prose and Poetry, upload two separate writing samples, one of prose and one of poetry.Candidates for the MFA degree are required to spend a minimum of two semesters in residence and to complete 48 hours of graduate-level credit, divided as follows.MFA candidates must earn a total of 24 credit hours in this area. These three-hour courses may be repeated for credit.Students read primary works and theory, and respond with their own creative writing.
The program leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing is a studio academic course of study.The GRE general test is accepted but not required.The primary purpose of master’s degree programs is to provide students with subject matter at an advanced level in their fields of study.It may be necessary for students in this situation to secure an evaluation of their credentials from World Education Services Inc.All requirements for the master degree must be completed during the six years immediately preceding the date on which the degree is to be awarded.Each candidate for a master degree must for graduation through myBama no later than the last day to add a class for the semester or the first session of the summer term in which requirements for the degree are to be completed.Six semester hours of eligible credit from one master degree at The University of Alabama may be applied to the requirements for a second master degree, but only if the the second master’s agrees to the courses in the plan of study. Any hours from the previous master’s degree must have been earned during the six years immediately preceding the date on which the second degree is to be awarded. Please note that if a student double counts six hours between two master’s degrees, no hours may double count toward any additional master’s degrees.
Creative Writing
College description: The MFA in creative writing is a three-year degree program that values literary study, innovation and writing that tests the limits of conventional forms.Recent graduates have become not only published authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays and screenplays, but also journalists, editors, publishers and college-level and secondary-level teachers.The degree program culminates in the submission and oral defense of a creative thesis in poetry or fiction.
Students wishing to pursue graduate work in creative writing should visit the department Graduate Studies webpage for the most up-to-date degree requirements.Applicants interested in creative writing must complete the verbal, analytic and quantitative sections of the GRE General Test. A BA degree with an English major or at least 18 credits hours in English is normally required.All students must complete a thesis as part of the degree requirements.Students must submit their Candidacy Application for an Advanced Degree by the stipulated deadline, which is generally the third or fourth week of classes in the semester in which the student plans to graduate. The candidacy application confirms that all degree requirements will have been completed by the end of the semester.MFA students have four years from the semester in which they are admitted and begin coursework to complete all degree requirements.
Temple UniversityRanked 121 in Best National University.
Creative Writing, M.F.A. Temple University
Bachelor Degree in Discipline Related Discipline: A baccalaureate degree is required, although it need not be in Creative Writing or English.Statement of Goals: In two to four double-spaced pages, discuss literary influences and models that feed their creative work.However, if applicant are taking or have taken the GRE and wish their scores for the general test to be considered, please have them forwarded electronically by ETS to Temple University.For applicants in either genre, if applicant would like to include a critical essay in addition to the creative sample, please feel free to do so.Two readers must agree that the project passes.
Creative Writing Graduate Program of Study at The University of Arizona
College description: Students have funding opportunities for research and travel via the departmental English Graduate Union, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, Confluence Center and the Institute of the Environment, among other organizations.Three genres: Poetry, fiction and nonfiction, with active encouragement to work across genres.MFA thesis defense that may include outside readers.Since 1972, the University of Arizona has offered one of the preeminent MFA programs in the country for the study of creative writing. With workshops and craft seminars in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, the university offer intensive instruction in literary craft and the study of literature from a writer’s perspective, as well as opportunities to strengthen professional skills and flourish as a writer. The program is fully funded, with assistantships in teaching composition offered to all incoming MFA students. Applicant have the opportunity to apply to teach creative writing in their second year.Applicant have the chance to volunteer with and or have a for-credit internship with such organizations as the UA Poetry Center, Sonora Review, Fairy Tale Review, Diagram, New Michigan Press, The Volta,Letter Machine Editions, Edible Baja Arizona, terrain.org, Spork Press, Kore Press, Field Studies in Writing, and the poetry collective POG.Please look into the offerings at the Poetry Center, the university partner in many adventures.And perhaps the best advertisement for the program is the work of the university recent graduates.
A student’s studies culminate in the production of an aesthetic statement and a thesis manuscript.Applicant have the chance to volunteer with and or have a for-credit internship with such organizations as the UA Poetry Center, Sonora Review, Fairy Tale Review, Diagram, New Michigan Press, The Volta,Letter Machine Editions, Edible Baja Arizona, terrain.org, Spork Press, Kore Press, Field Studies in Writing, and the poetry collective POG.
MFA in Creative Writing
College description: The graduate Creative Writing Program at George Mason University, one of the oldest MFA programs in the country, has earned a national reputation.Some of the most important things that happen in an MFA program happen outside the classroom. The university Visiting Writers program brings to campus some of the best authors writing in the English language to work with the university students in small workshops.
George Mason University requires all graduate applicants to upload all possible required supplementary materials, such as unofficial transcripts, goals statement or writing sample, at the same time applicant application.The goals statement should be 750-1000 words and address professional and academic plans. A well-structured goals statement should also explain the applicant interest in the program, relate the program to the applicant career and academic plans, discuss research interests, and highlight information that may be useful to the admissions committee.Note: Due to admissions deadlines, graduate students are sometimes admitted before conferral of a bachelor’s degree. Students who are awaiting conferral of the degree will be permitted to register for their first semester. However, continuance in any graduate program requires an official transcript which verifies conferral of a bachelor’s degree.If applicant decide to use an external evaluation service or if their program requires an outside evaluation, GPA and Degree equivalences must be included with their course-by-course evaluation. Evaluations are used for internal purposes and are not released to applicants.Official GRE test scores, as required by their program sent directly to Mason from the testing agency.Students who were educated outside of the US, Canada , UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand must submit qualifying TOEFL, IELTS, or Pearson Test of English exam results.TOEFL: 88 points, minimum of 20 points in each section.Applicant have the option to take graduate courses in non-degree status. To applicant must complete an application for their intended start term and include transcripts as well as a resume.
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing,
College description: Oregon State University has a long tradition of excellence in producing and teaching creative writing, going all the way back to the 1950sCreative Writing has never been more vital or successful at OSU than it is right now, with a nationally competitive pool of applicants in fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction, full funding for all the university students through GTA positions, with full tuition waiver, a vibrant Visiting Writers Series, and the new Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement.
Beyond the writing sample, admission to OSU’s Creative Writing Program is also based on three letters of recommendation, the student’s personal statement of objectives, and college transcripts. Applicants must have a four year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university, and a combined GPA of at least 3.00 on the last 90 quarter credit hours of graded work toward the first baccalaureate degree plus all work completed thereafter.The writing sample, statement of objectives, resume, and recommendation letters may be submitted .Three letters of recommendation should be written by individuals who can discuss an applicant’s creative writing in detail, as well as academic interests and aims letters for teaching assistant applicants should include discussion of teaching potential.The university will accept late recommendation letters, as long as this information gets to us within a week of the deadline. Please encourage their recommenders to send their letters on time.Applicant must complete a new application and re-submit relevant material, including letters of recommendation, writing sample, personal statement of objectives, and transcripts each year.
University of IdahoRanked 127 in Best National University.
M.F.A. Creative Writing
College description: The Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at the University of Idaho admitted its first class of seven students in the fall of 1994. Along with offering concentrations in writing fiction and writing poetry, the University of Idaho program was one of the first in the nation to offer a full concentration in the just-emerging genre of creative nonfiction. Also from its very beginning, and unlike many such programs in creative writing, the University of Idaho program not only allowed but encouraged its students to enroll in workshops in genres not their own.
Note: The Master of Fine Arts program does not require the GRE.There is no departmental form for recommendations. Letterhead is preferable if letters do not come directly from the references themselves, recommendations should be signed, by the reference writer, across the envelope flap. If applicant are seeking a teaching assistantship, letters should also speak to their potential as a teacher of college writing.
MFA Requirements
College description: Correspondingly, the MFA student should have training in literary history and the intellectual and artistic debates that inform current literature. The MFA constitutes solid preparation for creative publication, expert teaching in creative writing and literature, leadership in communications for business, education and arts organizations, or entrance into a Ph.D program in literature and creative writing.
A bachelor’s degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Prospective Students
College description: Support emergent voices of the SMC MFA writing program and enrich the culture.Through literature and poetry, the university come together as human beings to recognize the university interdependence and strength. Saint Mary's College of California has created a space in the Saint Mary writing program to nurture and grow the emergent voices of connection.The MFA scholarship fund is supported by alumni, supporters and patrons of the arts, as well as local community members.The MFA in Creative Writing relies on its Advisory Board not only to secure scholarships for its students, but to also provide strategic guidance for the program. Saint Mary’s considers the Board an integral part of the MFA in Creative Writing mission.All raffle proceeds benefit the MFA Scholarship Fund.If applicant missed the event or just want to relive it, the gallery is displaying the art and poetry until February 2020!
Students are admitted on the basis of original manuscripts, letters of recommendation, and records. The university students hold degrees from fields as diverse as biology, English, business, economics and history, but most have had some exposure to a writing workshop.A former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, he is the recipient of the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Whiting Writer’s Award, a Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from the Bogliasco Foundation, Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the National Endowment for the Arts.A minimum of two but no than three letters of recommendation from people who are familiar with applicant and their work. If possible, and if applicant are applying for the Teaching Fellowship in Composition or at the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum at least one of their letters should address their apptitude for teaching.OPTIONAL: An essay of up to 1,000 words to be considered for Teaching Fellowships in Composition or the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum Please be sure to comment on their teaching philosophy and include details their values, beliefs, and approaches as a teacher.One of their letters of recommendation should address their relevant teaching experience.Please note that the MFA Program does not require applicants to submit Graduate Records Examination scores.While it always wonderful to know applicant, additional letters of recommendation will not affect their chances of admission.Unlike other graduate-level programs, the MFA in creative writing puts importance on the writing sample and personal statement.A deferred student has the option to resubmit any portion of their application materials for merit-based scholarship and teaching fellowship consideration.A $400 tuition deposit is required, the deadline of which will be outlined in the official deferment letter. Students in deferment have the option to resubmit any portion of their application materials for merit-based scholarship and teaching fellowship consideration for the following year.
Seattle Pacific UniversityRanked 19 in Best Regional University in West Coast).
Creative Writing
College description: Accelerated Master in Teaching Mathematics and ScienceMaster of Fine Arts in Creative WritingThe low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Seattle Pacific University is a creative writing program for apprentice writers who not only want to pursue excellence in the craft of writing but who also want to place their work within the larger context of the Judeo-Christian tradition of faith.That is to say that the university program seeks to extend the tradition of Christian writing in which the highest standards of art, open-eyed exploration of human experience, and a respect for inexhaustible mystery come together to yield new and sustaining vision.Applicant will specialize in one of four genres—poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or young adult fiction.MFA students will have the opportunity to sample cultural and recreational possibilities in the area, including visits to nearby historic Coupeville as well as Port Townsend, just a short ferry ride away.All students have two responsibilities: the creative writing project in a chosen genre and the reading list.A cover letter in which applicant share thoughts the creative challenges applicant are facing.A segment of new or revised creative writing.The norm for low-residency MFA courses is for students to spend 25 hours per week on their work.To qualify for admission consideration, prospective students must turn in an online application packet to the Graduate Admissions.The creative manuscript will be given special emphasis.
Three letters of recommendation must be submitted.
Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts Western Kentucky University
The MFA program provides students pursuing vocations in creative writing the opportunity to acquire the background and knowledge required to be leading citizens of what Vachel Lindsay calls the Republic of Letters.Minimum GRE Analytical Writing score of 4.0 and minimum GRE Verbal score of 153.Minimum GAP score of 453Completion of four English courses beyond general education requirements with a GPA of at least 3.0 two of the courses should be upper-level English courses.
Liberty UniversityRanked 80 in Best Regional University in South Coast.
Master of Arts in Professional Writing
A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 is required for admission in good standing. Students with a GPA less than 3.0 may be considered for admission on caution. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.Admission to this program requires a Statement of Purpose. Applicants must submit a 300 to 500-word statement as to why they want to pursue a Master of Arts in Professional Writing at Liberty University.Applicants whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language or an approved alternate test of English proficiency: International English Language Testing System or the International Test of English Proficiency Applicants must earn a minimum score of 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL, a 3.9 on the iTEP, a 6.5 on the IELTS, or an equivalent score on an approved alternate test for all graduate degree programs.
