T
he MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Virginia is a two-year program and, in general, we admit five poets and five fiction writers each year, which keeps our program small and intimate, with about 25 students matriculating at any one time. We receive some 600 applications per year. Our program was ranked highly by U.S. News and World Report; Virginia tied for 3rd/4th in the nation with Columbia University. The Atlantic Monthly, Summer Fiction Issue 2007, included our program in its list of the top five MFA programs in the country. We have a small, aesthetically diverse, and distinguished faculty (their biographies are available in the Faculty section).

All of the students who are admitted to our program receive financial support for both years of study. In their first year, all MFA students receive health insurance coverage and a Hoyns or Poe/Faulkner Fellowship in either fiction or poetry writing. The amounts of these fellowships vary from year to year, but the fellowships cover tuition and fees (for six graded hours and six ungraded hours each semester), and allow for some money left over. We view this first year as a time of adjustment and intense focus on personal writing and mentoring. In 2009-2010, first-year students will receive $16,000 in fellowship money for living expenses, the stipend balance remaining after tuition, fees, and medical insurance have been deducted. In the second year, all of our students receive an introductory, undergraduate fiction, poetry, or expository writing course to teach, one in the fall and one in the spring, with health insurance, a tuition waiver, approximately $1,500 in fellowship money, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant salary of about $9,550 for the year.

Application Deadline

Applications for Fall 2012 admission must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2011.

How To Apply

To make a full application to the MFA Program in Creative Writing you must submit two separate packets of information: one to the Creative Writing Program and one to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. You can apply to both the fiction and poetry areas but will be admitted to just one. Should you choose to apply to both, you submit just one Graduate School application; a separate Fellowship Application should accompany each fiction and poetry submission. We do not accept any transfer credits.

1. You must mail a Fellowship Application and a creative manuscript directly to:

University of Virginia
Creative Writing Program
Department of English
219 Bryan Hall
P.O. Box 400121
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4121

The Fellowship Application, a modest single sheet, contains specifications about how to prepare your manuscript. The manuscript is the only writing sample required for admission to the MFA Program (you do not need to send a critical writing sample). Your personal statement is part of the UVa main application. The Fellowship Application and manuscript, again, should be mailed directly to the program; do not mail the writing sample to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Please keep a copy of your manuscript, as it cannot be returned. The University of Virginia does not send notice of receipt of materials. The new online system allows you to check the status of your application.  Please note: the new system only accepts electronic letters of recommendation.

2. You can apply online by following the instructions here.

You must also apply to the University of Virginia's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. All application materials other than your manuscript and one-page fellowship application should go to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Do not submit your creative manuscript to GSAS. The University of Virginia requires all prospective graduate students, including those applying for the MFA, to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general test. An official copy of the GRE general test scores should be reported to the school (code 5820). Note that the GRE Subject Test is not required for admission to the MFA Program in Creative Writing.

Again, the University of Virginia does not send notice of receipt of materials. The new online system allows you to check the status of your application.  Please note: the new system only accepts electronic letters of recommendation.

Due to the large volume of application materials received, the Creative Writing Program asks that applicants not phone or email to confirm receipt of a complete application. If there are missing materials we will contact you.

Financial Aid

Tuition for Creative Writing Program MFA students at the University of Virginia is considerably less than it is at many comparable institutions: for 2008-2009, tuition and fees for out-of-state students amount to $15,543; for Virginians, $8,743.

In recent years, all admitted students have received either a Henry Hoyns or Poe/Faulkner Fellowship in their first year, which covers the cost of tuition and fees and allows for a stipend for living expenses.

All poets receive an instructorship in beginning poetry during their second year. All fiction writers are awarded an instructorship in either beginning fiction writing or academic writing during their second year. In 2009-2010, we plan to award an additional $1,500 in fellowship money to all second year students. Teaching assignments are made in the spring semester of the first year. The English Department offers other forms of financial aid and employment.

Work-study and loans are administered by Student Financial Services, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400204, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4204 and can be reached at (434) 982-6000, or by visiting the website. Please contact that office directly for application forms and information.

Admissions Decisions

Decisions on admission into the Creative Writing Program will be announced by April 1. Students are expected to respond by April 15. If a student does not respond by this date, we will assume that the offer is being declined. There will be a waiting list. An admitted student who cannot enter in the fall semester will have to reapply for the following year. Deny letters will be sent the first week of April 2012.

According to the "Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees and Assistants" published by the Council of Graduate Schools, no student accepted at any of its hundreds of member institutions is under obligation to respond to an offer of financial support prior to April 15. For more information, the full text of this resolution appears on the web site of the Council of Graduate Schools.

Disclaimer

In accordance with federal law, the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the policies of the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, the University does not discriminate in any of its programs, procedures, or practices against any person on the basis of age, citizenship, color, handicap, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era. The University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.