MFA in Creative Writing - Admissions

Priority Deadline: December 11th, 2023.

General Application Deadline: January 29th, 2024. 

A complete application to the SMC MFA program contains the following elements:

• The completed online application

• A manuscript of your work in each genre you are applying: no more than 10 pages of poetry or 10-15 pages of creative nonfiction or fiction (fiction and creative nonfiction writing samples should be double-spaced. All writing samples should be in 12-point font).  Acceptable formats include .doc, .docx, or PDF.

• A personal statement should be at least two (2) but no more than five (5) double-spaced pages. In it, please describe in detail your background and current interests as a writer, as well as how you might contribute to our generative, inclusive community. If there is a particular faculty member you'd like to work with or if there is a specific reason you'd like to study at SMC, please also indicate this in your statement. If you're applying to two genres, please address your abilities and experiences with regard to both. If you would like to be considered for our Teaching Fellowships, our MARY Journal Managing Editor Fellowship, or one of our community partnerships, please express your interest in your personal statement.
   
• ​​A minimum of two (2) but no more than three (3) letters of recommendation (LOR) from people who are familiar with you and your work. If possible, and if you are applying to the Teaching Fellowship in Composition, at least one of your letters should address your desire to teach. The online application will ask you to provide the names and contact information of the people who are recommending you and their contact information. Once this information is supplied, the online system contacts them directly, with instructions about how to upload the LOR's.
   
• One copy of unofficial  transcripts from the colleges you have previously attended, with proof of a Bachelor's degree from your degree-granting college. Please upload unofficial copies of transcripts via the online application system in order to start the review process ASAP. (Please note on your application if the name on your transcript is different from your current name.)  If your bachelor's degree is in-progress, send an unofficial transcript now; then send the official transcript after your degree is posted.

• Upon admittance, we also require one set of official transcripts from only your degree-granting institution. You can mail these to:

  Saint Mary's College of California
  Office of Admissions
  PMB 4800
  Moraga, CA 94575-4800

  Official electronic transcripts can be e-mailed directly to Saint Mary's at smcadmit@stmarys-ca.edu.
   

• OPTIONAL: An essay of up to 1,000 words to be considered for a Teaching Fellowship in Composition. The essay should include a reflection on why you want to teach first-year writing at Saint Mary's College, as well as describe your experience learning to write in college and how that experience may inform your own values and approaches to teaching academic writing. One of your letters of recommendation should address your desire to teach.
   
• Your resume or CV
   
• A $50 application fee. Pay by credit card via the online application or make checks payable to Saint Mary's College of California. The online application will provide further instructions for applicants who want to pay by check.
   
• Please note that the MFA Program does not require applicants to submit Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores.

Saint Mary’s MFA in Creative Writing deeply values the intellectual and cultural diversity that International students bring to the classroom. As such, we strongly encourage International students to apply to our program.

Due to the federal requirements involved in providing our International students with educational visas, International applicants will be required to submit the additional documents with their application. Please refer to Saint Mary's International Graduate Admissions page for more information.

How many applicants are admitted each year?
We admit no more than eight new students in each genre (creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry) every year. The program is full-time and cohort based with no more than sixteen students in each genre.  

Is your application deadline hard and fast?
Yes, the priority application deadline for fall admission is December 12th, 2022.

The final application deadline is January 30th, 2023.

If you missed the deadlines, but are prepared to submit your application please contact the Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment as soon as possible. 

Do you allow students to enter in the spring as well as the fall?
Students are admitted in the fall semester only.  

When are acceptances announced?
Acceptances are announced mid to late-March at the earliest. All notifications will be sent by April 15th.

I am an international student. How can I apply? 
International applicants must submit all the same application materials as national applicants. There are additional requirements for our international applicants. Please see the additional information above.

I am assembling my writing sample and wanted to gauge whether it was best to submit new work, published work or a mix?
Your writing sample is most important element of your application. We encourage applicants to send their best and most polished work. The admissions committee will not consider whether or not your sample has been published, whether it is new or old—they base their decision on the quality of your work.

Should my letters of recommendation be geared more toward my work as a writer, how I would be as a workshop participant, or how I am as a student?
Letters of recommendation typically address the applicant's creative work and your potential for success in a graduate creative writing program. Sometimes these types of letter writers are not available to an applicant or an applicant may want letters to address both their creative work and their professional capabilities (i.e., a letter written by a former employer). 

Would more than two letters of recommendation or publications help my chances?
We require a minimum of two (2) letters of recommendation and do not accept more than three (3). While it's always wonderful to know more about you, additional letters of recommendation will not affect your chances of admission.

What if I am interested in applying to more than one genre?
Applying to more than one genre is an option. You must submit one manuscript in each genre and clearly indicate on the manuscript itself which genre it pertains to (see online application).

Ideally, your personal statement also addresses your abilities and experiences with regard to both genres.  

For more information, please take a look at the Application Checklist above.

If I have an undergraduate or post graduate degree in economics, business or science, it is possible to apply to an MFA in creative writing?
Yes! We celebrate diversity and encourage applicants from all educational and professional backgrounds to apply.

How important is my undergraduate GPA?
The admissions committee will look at your transcripts to determine that you have completed an undergraduate degree and are in good academic standing. Unlike other graduate-level programs, the MFA in creative writing puts more importance on the writing sample and personal statement.   

Can you tell me more about the dual-concentration option?
If you are interested in deepening your study in another genre after completing two years in the program, you may consider applying to the dual-concentration. This is a unique opportunity afforded to very few students. Dual-concentration applicants will complete an additional, accelerated year of study in the second genre of their choosing. In one year they will complete a new thesis in that genre, as well as all relevant course work.  

Dual-concentration students will complete their degrees after the completion of their third year. They have the option to participate in graduation ceremonies upon completion of year two or three, but can participate in commencement only once.

How can I apply for the dual concentration?
There are two ways to apply for the dual-concentration:

1) In your initial online application by indicating your primary and secondary genre and submitting a manuscript in each. Your manuscript in each genre is reviewed separately--one does not affect the other. If accepted, you will be offered admission to the genre where you ranked higher. A very select number of applicants may be admitted to both genres whereby you enter a three-year program, spending the first two years in your primary genre and the third year in your secondary genre. 

2) Once an admitted student and in your third semester you will work with your academic adviser to submit a dual-concentration application. This is an abbreviated application process and all materials are due by the January 30 deadline. Your application is considered with the entire applicant pool that year. You will be notified of your admission into the dual-concentration in your fourth semester. 

How can I waive my application fee?

Email our Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment to find out your options. 

All applicants are automatically considered for the Program's merit-based scholarships by way of their application materials.  No additional materials are required. Every accepted applicant receives some scholarship award. 

When are scholarships announced?
We do our best to announce scholarships in conjunction with acceptances. We work year round to raise scholarship monies and it is common for amounts to change for the better between the time of acceptance and the first day of classes.  

What are my funding options?
Funding is always a crucial component to consider when applying to MFA's. While we are not a fully funded program, all of our students receive the same partial scholarship during their two years in the program. Also, every matriculated student is locked into their tuition rate for the two years they are enrolled full-time. 

Federal unsubsidized graduate student loans are available to all students. You'll want to be sure to complete a FAFSA and a Saint Mary's application for financial aid. You can find out more about federal graduate student loans on the financial aid website.

Additionally, there are many campus jobs, including the opportunity to work in our writing center, and other grants associated with the college at large and other outside funding opportunities that are available to our graduate students.  

How much is tuition?
$30,765 for the 2023-2024 academic year.

What is the entire cost of attendance?
You can find out more information about the associated costs of attendance by visiting the financial aid website.

Does the typical time of day that Saint Mary's offers graduate classes usually enable people who work during the day to still keep their job?
The program holds classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; we never hold classes on Monday or Friday. Typically, classes are held in the late afternoon (3 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. to around 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m.).  Workshop is held on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. all four semesters. 

Many of our students hold down jobs and are able to maintain their academic, professional, and personal schedules while in the program.  

What are the program requirements? 
You can find out more about our curriculum on our Course of Study web page.. You must earn 42 units to graduate and complete the following:

• 4 Writing Workshops (including tutorial focus in the genre)
• Writer in the World: Practical Perspectives on Writing
• Contemporary Creative Nonfiction/or Fiction/or Poetry
• 2 Craft Seminars in Creative Nonfiction/or Fiction/or Poetry
• 2 Electives
• 1 Thesis

Can a student concentrating in Fiction take a Poetry workshop or other Poetry course?
Yes, you may take craft courses outside of your genre. Unfortunately, students are not allowed to take workshops outside of their genre. Any craft course taken outside of your genre will satisfy one elective credit.  

How big are your classes?
Our class sizes are small that allow students and faculty have the time and attention to shape meaningful creative relationships. This is one the very special aspects of our program. Class sizes will typically be no larger than sixteen students.

If I am accepted to the program, can I choose to defer my enrollment?
Accepted applicants who wish to defer their enrollment can do so for one academic year.

A deferred student does not have to reapply via the online application or submit an additional $50 application fee. The program will hold on to your current application materials.

A deferred student has the option to resubmit any portion of their application materials (manuscript, personal statement, letters of reference, teaching fellowship essay) for teaching fellowship consideration. The program would need to receive any updated materials by the application deadline, January 31st.

Deferred students must reconfirm their intention to apply and/or enroll by January 31st.

Note, that by submitting your request to defer admissions you forfeit all awards, scholarships, fellowships, tuition rates, and dual-genre acceptances. 

What happens to my scholarships/fellowship if my petition to defer my enrollment is granted?
If your deferment is granted, you will forfeit any awarded scholarships and fellowships. 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 (manuscript, personal statement, letters of reference, teaching fellowship essay) for merit-based scholarship and teaching fellowship consideration for the following year. The program will need any updated materials by the January 31 application deadline of the year they intend to enroll. 

Is your student body diverse?
We welcome writers from all walks of life. We are diverse in terms of age, ethnic background, experience, aesthetic, you name it. It is one of the wonderful aspects of our program. Our students come from many different backgrounds, cultures, and disciplines with undergraduate degrees from English to Biology. They are from many parts of the world and range in age from 22 to 75!

I'm attracted to Saint Mary's because of its Lasallian tradition. Could you tell me about these opportunities?
The MFA Program is proud to keep with the Lasallian mission of the college. We invest in the student as a person and emphasize diversity, shared inquiry, and community engagement, and we pay a deep respect to unique ways of knowing.  

I am a Christian interested in your program.  Are all your faculty and students Christians?
One of the strengths of Saint Mary's is its intellectual and spiritual diversity. Not all of our teachers are Catholic; some are Jewish, Arab and Hindu. We have spiritual diversity. We don't require that all our students, faculty, staff be practicing Catholics, though some are.

We are grateful for the range of experience in the lives of our student body, faculty and staff, and we have no doubt that you would find your place in our community. 

How can I get a better feel for the Saint Mary's culture?
There are a number of ways to get a better feel for the Saint Mary's culture. If you are local we encourage to visit our campus and sit in on one of classes. Please contact the Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment to make arrangements. You can attend one of our Creative Writing Reading Series events or Afternoon Craft Conversations to get a glimpse of the literary culture. Both are free, open to the public, and regularly attended by our current students, faculty, staff, and alumni. 

We can get you in touch with a faculty member in your genre that are happy to chat over email, phone, or even Skype. We're also happy to get you in touch with current students and/or graduates of our program. Or, you can take a virtual tour of our beautiful campus!

Questions left unanswered?
If you have any questions about the program or application process, please contact our Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment, Collin Skeen.