Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements  in addition to the following program-specific requirements: 

• A 3.0 GPA overall and in the student’s major
• Three substantive and detailed letters of recommendation, at least two from former teachers familiar with the applicant’s most recent academic and creative work
• A 3-5 page personal statement focusing on the role of the candidate’s reading life in his or her development as a writer. (Note: The general Graduate Admissions application refers to this as a statement of interests and intent. They are one and the same.)
• Applicants must indicate whether they are applying in FICTION or POETRY in their Statement of Purpose. If you want to apply in both genres, include one writing sample in FICTION and one in POETRY and indicate in the Statement of Purpose that the application is for both.
• A writing sample of 10 manuscript pages of poetry or 20 manuscript pages of fiction
• GREs are encouraged but not required