Creative Writing

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the MFA in creative writing must submit

• Completed Application for Graduate Study (online).
• Nonrefundable application fee.
• Virginia In-State Tuition Rates Application if claiming entitlement to these rates.
• One official transcript from all previous institutions attended. Transcripts must be sent in a sealed envelope to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Admissions Office or, if an official electronic transcript, to Mason’s official email address for transcript receipt. Official Transcripts.
• Goals Statement. The goals statement should be 750-1000 words and address professional and academic plans. A well-structured goals statement should also explain the applicant\'s interest in the program, relate the program to the applicant\'s career and academic plans, discuss research interests, and highlight information that may be useful to the admissions committee.
• Two letters of recommendation. The recommendations should be academic, rather than professional or personal. Requests for letters are submitted as part of the online application process.
• Portfolio of original work. Portfolio requirements vary according to genre. Read the information below carefully.
• Fiction portfolios should consist of at least two complete short stories. Applicant portfolios in fiction may contain novels or novellas as well as the two short stories. The reason for requesting stories is to ensure a fair consideration and because most workshops are based on short stories. A fiction applicant\'s portfolio should include more than one work in order to represent the breadth of his or her abilities. Fiction portfolios should be single-sided and double-spaced. A cover letter to expain excerpts or chapter selections from novels may be appreciated by the admissions committee.
• Nonfiction portfolios should consist of at least two complete essays or the equivalent totaling no more than 50 pages. A nonfiction portfolio may contain longer essays, biographies or autobiographies, but applicants should submit more than one work. Nonfiction portfolios should be single-sided and double-spaced.
• Poetry portfolios should include up to 10 pages of poems and a table of contents. Applicants in poetry are welcome to submit long poems or shorter poems up to the requested 10 pages. Poetry portfolios should be single-sided and include no more than one poem per page with adequate margins and a readable font. The applicant\'s name should appear on every page and pages should be numbered and referenced in the table of contents.
• Writing Sample. 1000-word nonfiction writing sample, preferably literary analysis. The writing sample is optional, however is required of applicants who wish to be considered for a graduate teaching assistantship.