Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
Three-year program
Funding: Presently, all full-time students funded. The Graduate Teaching Assistantship is the creative writing program’s primary source of funding for its students. 12-month assistantships include a full tuition waiver plus a stipend of $22,000; 9-month assistantships include a full tuition waiver plus a stipend of $11,500.
Tuition: $6,199.73 per academic semester for residents and $11,922.23 nonresidents; 48 credits to complete the program
Faculty: Susann Cokal, Tom De Haven, Gregory Donovan, Claudia Emerson, Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, Kathleen Graber, Clint McCown, David Wojahn
Application (Deadline Feb. 1):
- Manuscript: 20-50 double-spaced pages of any combination of fiction, drama or nonfiction for porse; 8-10 poems for poetry
- Online application
- Statement of purpose: an essay addressing reading habits; writing habits; experiences with criticism of your own work and the work of others, in workshops, perhaps, but in the study of literature as well; as we as what you see as your responsibilities in the community of writers of which you are a part.
- Professional paper: either undergraduate or graduate
- Brief personal essay: (2-3 pages) in which you discuss your relevant teaching experience, educational background and your particular interest in a graduate degree, suggesting where your education seems to be leading.
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official transcripts
- General GRE scores (Institution: 5570)
- $65 application fee
Admission rate: n/a
Affording the MFA 