Application to MA, MFA, or PhD in Creative Writing

Applicants should be aware that admission is competitive and that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the Creative Writing Program (M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D.). Before entering the M.A. or M.F.A program a student must have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with at least a "B" average (3.0) in the undergraduate major. Before entering the Ph.D. program, students are expected to have completed a master’s degree in English, creative writing, or a closely related discipline from an accredited college or university. The Department of English admits students to its graduate programs for the fall semester of each academic year. The Director of Graduate Studies in English will consider only complete admission files. Applicants are responsible for seeing that their admission files are complete by the deadlines for admission published in the current edition of the Graduate Catalog (a link will allow you to download the catalog as a PDF file).

Applicants can submit an Application for Graduate Study either as a paper application or as an online application. Both options can be found at The College of Arts & Sciences' Graduate Admissions page.

The deadline for fall admission is February 15th.

Please note that this deadline is firm and not subject to waivers and/or extensions. All application materials must be RECEIVED in the Graduate Office of Arts & Sciences by that date (packages merely postmarked by that date will not be accepted). The Graduate Office will not release any files to the English Department after that date. You may check the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Studies website for further information.

Applications for graduate study in Creative Writing must include the following:

• 1. Two official transcripts of all previous college or university work.
• 2. Three letters of recommendation, collected directly from recommenders in sealed envelopes, with the recommender's signature across the sealed portion of the envelope. Applicants must submit the letters unopened with the rest of the application packet.
• 3. Competitive scores (no more than five years old) on General portion of the GRE.
• 4. An essay composed by the applicant stating goals and career objectives.
• 5. A 10-15 page critical writing sample. (The critical sample is not required for the M.A., Concentration in Creative Writing or the M.F.A.)
• 6. A portfolio consisting of a minimum of 10 poems; or 3 short stories totaling no fewer than 30 and no more than 50 pages; or 50 pages of a novel in progress.

The portfolio should NOT be sent with the rest of the application to the Graduate Office of Arts and Sciences. Instead, it should be sent to:

Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English
Georgia State University
38 Peachtree Center Avenue, Suite 923
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083

With the portfolio, the student must submit a cover letter stating the applicant’s desired degree program, intended semester of enrollment, and social security number.