Optional-Residency MFA - How to Apply

MFA Optional-Residency Application deadline - early September each year for the following Academic Year.
The deadline for 2012 academic year has now passed. We are keeping the guidelines up for information purposes only.

""Information & Application Guidelines (full version, including program information)
""Application Guidelines (quick application guide)

 

How does the application process work?

Admission is based primarily on your manuscript submission. This is evaluated by members of the Optional-Residency Program faculty. We also take professional experience and publications into account. Students’ previous degrees may be in any discipline, but must include a 4-year Bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited university-level institution.

Faculty do not provide critiques of manuscript submissions. The evaluation procedure is confidential, and we do not disclose any details regarding the decision to accept or reject an application. We cannot provide pre-evaluation of portfolios. To find out if you will be accepted, you must apply.

It is important for applicants to clearly specify their primary (usually the strongest) genre in their personal cover letter. Faculty with experience in this genre will review the application for possible short-listing. If the application is short-listed, the portfolio will then be read by the entire faculty reading committee.

Between one in four and one in five applicants are accepted each year. Some applicants are successful in applying again after not being accepted a previous year.

Acceptance

Acceptance is a two-stage process, first by the Creative Writing Program and then by UBC’s Faculty of Graduate Studies. Once applications have been approved by the Creative Writing Program, they are forwarded to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptance into UBC. The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires the following for admission:

  • A four-year undergraduate degree. There are very few exceptions to this requirement, though students with three-year degrees and the equivalent of an extra year of third or fourth year credits have been accepted.
  • A B+ average in third and fourth year-level course work, or at least 12 credits of third-or fourth-year courses in the A- grade range (at UBC this is 80% or higher) in the field of intended graduate study. This may be waived in some circumstances.
  • Sufficient preparatory academic background to carry out graduate work in a chosen field.
  • Evidence of English-language proficiency. Note that Creative Writing students are expected to function at a very high level of proficiency in English.

On approval, UBC will issue a formal letter of acceptance. These offers are usually sent between January and March each year depending on how quickly application materials (transcripts/references) can be sent to Graduate Studies.

For complete application information you MUST download one of the guides listed at the top of this page.

For UBC Graduate Studies information, please see their website.

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