Submitting an Application
Attention applicants: You can expect to hear from us regarding Fall 2012 admission in the last week of March or first week of April, 2012. Thank you for your patience, and good luck!
General Information
The Boston University Creative Writing Program accepts applications for admission for the fall semester in any given calendar year. Our deadline for Fall 2012 was March 1, 2012. We do not, barring exceptional circumstances, consider late or mid-year applications. We do our best to respond to all applicants by the end of March or beginning of April.
How to Apply: The application fee is $70. Application materials are available at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website. You can either submit your application online or by mail. You may access the online application directly here.
Playwriting
Please note that beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the MFA in Playwriting will be separate from the Creative Writing Program in Fiction and Poetry. Playwriting will now be a three-year program housed at the Boston Playwrights’ Theater, but it will still be a part of the BU English Department. For information on the program and its admissions, please click here.
Your Application
The application for the Master of Fine arts in Creative Writing will include the following:
- A writing sample (for poetry, submit 10 poems; for fiction, submit no more than 40 double-spaced pages, stories are preferred)
- A personal statement, roughly 2-4 pages in length
- Three letters of recommendation
- Transcripts from any college or university you have previously attended (even if no degree was earned)
- Examination scores from the GRE General Test
If you apply by mail, download and print the relevant forms or request a paper application form by e-mailing grartsci@bu.edu, providing your name, mailing address, and intended area of study. Please send your completed forms together with all supplementary application materials, including writing samples, letters of recommendation and transcripts, to:
Admissions Office
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Boston University
705 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 112
Boston, MA 02215
IMPORTANT: Please do not send any materials to the Creative Writing office. In the past we have asked for additional hard copies to be sent to us, but this is no longer the case. Apply online or send all materials, including transcripts and letters of recommendation, to the address above.
Important Information for Those Re-Applying to the MFA Program:
If you are re-applying for Boston University’s MFA in Creative Writing, and wish to re-use application materials (transcripts, test-scores, letters of recommendation, etc.) from your previous attempt, you will need to contact theOffice of Graduate Admissions directly (grs@bu.edu or 617-353-2696) to request that said materials be attached to your current application.
International students must supply additional paperwork, and in some cases, examinations from the TOEFL exam. Please consult with the International Students and Scholar’s Office.
Thank you, and best of luck with your application.