Admissions - MFA in Creative Writing

The 2025-26 Graduate Admissions Application is closed.
Applications will be available in October 2025.

Apply | UC Davis Graduate Studies
https://grad.ucdavis.edu/apply
 

The deadline to apply to our program for the 2025-2026 academic year is January 5, 2025

Graduate Studies' Applications Page covers most campus-level admissions questions, but feel free to contact our graduate program staff for more details and specific guidance. Applications are reviewed once all supporting materials have been received. For more information about your application status, please check online or contact our graduate program staff.

Application Requirements:

• Writing sample
• Statement of Purpose
• Personal Statement
• Three letters of recommendation
• TOEFL or IELTS scores, if applicable
• Copies of transcripts
• Pay the application fee
• Admissions Requirements and Eligibility as set by UC Davis Graduate Studies

• Writing sample in your preferred genre
• To apply for admission to our Creative Writing MFA program, you are encouraged to submit your very best creative writing. Either ten to twelve poems (maximum of fifteen pages) or up to thirty pages (double-spaced) of prose. Hybrid-form work must not exceed thirty pages.
• Statement of Purpose
• Describe your academic preparation, relevant experience, motivation for applying, research interests/intended focus of your studies, and professional goals as they relate to the graduate program and major field.
  
  Academic preparation refers to educational background, practical learning, extracurricular activities, self-directed research, and academic accomplishments/qualifications that demonstrate your potential for success as a master’s or doctoral student in the graduate program. Examples: related coursework, academic research and writing, fieldwork, internships, laboratory activities, scholarships/awards, independent study, presentations, publications, teaching, faculty or peer mentorship, studio projects, organizational membership, and study abroad.
  
  Interests, specializations, and career goals may include your research interests, disciplinary subfields, area/s of specialization, and professional objectives.
  
  Alignment may include how your preparation, experiences, and interests match, specific faculty or resources and characteristics of your graduate program at UC Davis. Please include specific faculty within your desired graduate program with whom you would like to work and how your interests align with the identified faculty member/s.
   
• Personal Statement
• 2026-27 prompt information coming soon.
  
  While the Statement of Purpose is primarily focused on academic preparation, research interests/concept, and alignment with the graduate program, the Personal Statement is an opportunity to share the unique background, experiences, perspectives, and abilities that you will bring to a graduate program.
  
  Please describe how your background and life experiences shaped your academic and/or professional path and influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. This may include formative experiences, environment, values, motivations, interactions, decisions, etc.
  
  We encourage you to consider these potential scenarios when developing your Personal Statement: 
  • Commitment to overcoming significant obstacles despite economic disadvantage, challenging social environment, or other specific experiences of hardship.
  • Unique talents, abilities or skills relevant to personal growth.
  • Employment experiences, extracurricular activities, or community participation that inspired further education.
  • Evidence of growth, maturity and commitment to graduate study and/or a major field.
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• Letters should be from professors or other persons situated to speak about your potential for graduate Creative Writing study. You might also think of potential letter-writers in terms of their ability to speak to your participation in a dedicated community.
• TOEFL or IELTS scores, if applicable
• Applicants must submit TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo scores unless they have earned or will be earning a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from either a regionally accredited or foreign college/university which provides instruction solely in English. See the English Language Requirement section for details.
• Transcripts
• Transcripts are required from each post-secondary institution you have attended.
   Copies or unofficial transcripts are allowed. If admitted, you’ll be required to send official transcripts for every institution listed on your application.
• Application fee
• The application fee is set by the UC Davis Office of Graduate Studies. Waivers of this fee are only available to participants in one of several graduate preparatory programs. The MFA program has no ability to grant application fee waivers.
• Funding your MFA
• We aim to fully fund both years of your MFA through teaching. For first year students, funding generally comes in the form of TAships in literature courses in the English Department. For the second year, students generally work as an AI (Associate Instructor) for ENL 5, an introductory creative writing workshop.
  
  For in-state students, tuition is covered as part of the terms of employment. For out-of- state students, a limited number of tuition waivers are available. Out-of-state students who come to UC-Davis are expected to establish residency in their first year.
  
  Though teaching support is the program norm, there are university-wide fellowships for which incoming students are eligible. In recent years, MFA first years have been awarded University fellowships – the Provost’s Fellowship, which funds the first year with a stipend (without teaching) and the Cota-Robles Fellowship, which funds both years with a stipend (without teaching).

For additional information, please contact:

they/he/she
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of English
ambarstow@ucdavis.edu