University of Houston

University of Houston
Houston, TX
Three-year program (36 credits)

Funding & Training: All 16 entering students received either a Graduate Tuition Fellowship or Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center Fellowship to remit and/or cover the cost of tuition. In addition, 15 students received Inprint fellowships for $10,000, and 7 students received UH Presidential or Provost Fellowships for $4,000. MFA students can receive a teaching assistantship for 3 years (6 long semesters). The teaching load is 1/2 the first year and then 2/2 the following years. Starting salary for MFAs is $15,000/9 months. In addition, as part of the assistantship, the University of Houston will pay up to 50% of the costs of medical insurance.

Faculty: James Kastely, Giuseppe Taurino, Robert Boswell, Chitra Divakaruni, Nick Flynn, Tony Hoagland, Mat Johnson, Antonya Nelson, Alex Parsons, Kevin Prufer, Martha Serpas, Roberto Tejada, Peter Turchi

Application (Deadline Dec. 31):

• Manuscript: 20-25 double-spaced pages for fiction; 10 pages for poetry
• Personal statement: 1,000 words or less stating why you wish to pursue graduate study in creative writing: which writers in your genre you are reading and their import to you and your work: and whether you have taught before and intend to pursue teaching as a career.
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts
• GRE scores
• $85 application fee

Admission rate: “We admit between 3% and 7% of those who apply.  Last year we had 350+ applications and admitted 8 in fiction, 8 in poetry, and 1 in nonfiction.” -J. Kasteley, MFA Director [May 10, 2015]

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