Admission

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Eligibility for Admission

Applicants must hold a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Applications will be accepted during an applicant's final semester or quarter of study for a Bachelor's degree, but the degree must be completed prior to enrollment in MFA classes, assuming admission to the program. Most importantly, the student's portfolio of writing samples will demonstrate both achievement and potential for growth as a writer.

Applying for admission

Applications are due by April 1 for the fall semester and by October 1 for the spring semester. Applications will be accepted at any time of the year but may not be considered for the next term if they arrive later than ninety days before the beginning of that term. An application must be accompanied by a $50.00 application fee.

Graduates of non-English-language institutions

• Applicants who do not possess a degree from a postsecondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction must submit evidence of having achieved a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 80 on the IBT or its equivalent.
• Transcripts from institutions where instruction and the transcript are not in English must be evaluated by (a) an appropriate, competent third party service; or (b) translated into English by a trained, qualified transcript evaluator fluent in the original language on the transcript. The Institute requires a course-by-course evaluation. We recommend ACCRAO for this service. Their web site is www.aacrao.org.

Send application to:

Whidbey Writers Workshop
Northwest Institute of Literary Arts
P.O. Box 639
Freeland, WA 98249

Admission Package

Submit the following (your application will be considered complete only when all elements have arrived):

• $50 application fee payable to Whidbey Writers Workshop.
• Typewritten manuscript of your original work (2 copies) and one electronic copy. Send work only in the genre which you plan to focus (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction or Children/Young Adult). 20 pages maximum. Fiction candidates may send short stories or chapters; non-fiction candidates may send short pieces or chapters of longer works. Double-space prose; single-space poetry (one poem per page). Send electronic copy as an attachment to an e-mail to mfa@whidbey.com.
• Short essay (under 1500 words) which discusses your background in writing and literature courses, workshops, conferences, and other experiences relevant to study for the MFA Program. Also explore your own writing: themes, strengths and weaknesses, etc. Mention any problems which might prevent you from spending at least 25 hours a week on your writing, reading, and participation in online courses. Are you a self-starter who will participate effectively in a low-residency program? Send one hard copy with application and one electronic copy as an attachment to an e-mail to mfa@whidbey.com.
• Please have official college transcripts from all schools attended sent directly to the MFA Program, Whidbey Writers Workshop.
• Please also have three letters of recommendation sent by the recommenders directly to the MFA Program, Whidbey Writers Workshop.

Credit for experience will not be granted. While writing experience might be relevant to our Graduate Workshops, it is our intention that our students write and study writing intensively with our instructors and program, and the granting of credit for writing experience would undercut that aim.

Contact MFA