In progress. We will finish this page by November 1, 2020.
The following creative writing MFA programs are listed as fully funded almost, but do not quite meet The Workshop’s definition of a fully funded MFA in creative writing. In practical terms, this means that although all or nearly all students in the program are funded, tuition remission and a stipend for the full length of the MFA is not guaranteed upon admission to all accepted students. While there’s usually little practical difference between these MFA programs and those on the fully funded list, we still feel the distinction is important to make,
A
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Tracks: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Dramatic Writing
GRE Required: No
Students receive funding through teaching assistantships and scholarships. Assistantship duties include teaching one section of first-year writing per semester and tutoring in the Writing Center. The stipend also carries a tuition waiver. MFA students may receive up to three years of financial support through this program.
Other opportunities, such as travel grants, are available through the Graduate School.
Graduate student insurance is provided as a benefit to graduate students who are on a stipend.
B
Boston University
Last updated November 1, 2020
Deadline: February 1, 2021
Tracks: Playwriting
GRE Required: GRE scores are now considered optional.
Student Parents: No student family housing, child care center with state subsidy, school vacation and summer camps, child care referral services, lactation rooms
TOEFL/IELTS/PTE: TOEFL or IELTS, and due to the pandemic, results are accepted from the online Duolingo test and the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition for the Fall 2021 admissions cycle, exceptions for citizens or permanent residents of the United States, or a citizen of Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom and recipients of an undergraduate or graduate degree from an institution where the official language of instruction is English (if your transcript does not clearly state that the language of instruction is English, then please upload supporting documentation on institutional letterhead along with your transcript, note that dual-enrollment or foreign-exchange study at English-language institutions does not qualify)
Application Fee: $95
Application Fee Waiver: Yes
Interfolio: No
Accessibility: The campus is “large, diverse, and historic” and “the achievement of complete architectural access is a work-in-progress.” Descriptions of campus accessibility features and a map are available. MFA playwriting facilities accessibility information TBD. The city of Boston itself has wheelchair accommodations on buses and elevators in subway stations, but can be difficult to navigate during the winters, when sidewalks are often obstructed by snow.
Three-Year Indian Degree: If earned in First Division from an institution accredited by India’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a grade of A or better
While the poetry and fiction programs at BU are fully funded, the playwriting program only guarantees funding in the first two of three years.
University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside Posts
Except in rare circumstances, students who apply by the fellowship deadline receive a full fellowship and stipend for their first year. The fellowship pays full tuition and all fees except course fees of approximately $24 per quarter and a one-time $160 single document fee in the fall. We also include a stipend to go toward living expenses. The stipend is variable each year, dependent upon our budget and the add-ons that the Graduate Division might give individuals who meet certain criteria, such as a high undergraduate GPA. Our base stipend in 2019 was $4,371 for the year. Students with add-ons from the Graduate Division received stipends as high as $12,000. As a second-year student, you may apply to be a teaching assistant in the program. While an assistantship is not guaranteed, we do try to plan so that all qualified students are funded.Your teaching assistantship will pay full tuition and all but approximately $200 of your quarterly fees. You will receive a monthly salary of $2,507 for teaching one course per quarter. If you are a second-year student, you may apply for an additional one to two quarters of funding for an optional third year. Our faculty select a maximum of two applicants to present to the Graduate Division.
Supplemental Funding TBD.
Insurance TBD.
I
University of Iowa
Last updated November 10, 2020
NOTE: University of Iowa applications require the creation of a Hawkeye account, which can take several days. Starting your application within 48 hours of the deadline is an excellent way to miss it completely.
Deadline: Translation February 1, Playwriting January 15
Tracks: Playwriting and translation
GRE Required: No
Student Parents: No student parent housing, partners with several childcare centers for children ages six weeks to five years with backup care to nine years and school subsidies, free childcare during exams, overnight spring break camp for children seven to 17 with scholarships, lactation rooms, support group for student caregivers
TOEFL/IELTS/PTE: TBD
Application Fee: $60 domestic, $100 international
Application Fee Waiver: Institutional and via FreeApp
Interfolio: Yes
Accessibility: TBD
Three-Year Indian Degree:
While the poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and Spanish creative writing programs at Iowa are full funded, the playwriting and translation programs do sometimes accept students without financial assistance.
K
University of Kansas
Last updated November 11, 2020
Deadline: December 31, 2020
Tracks: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Playwriting
GRE Required: No
Student Parents: No student family housing, childcare with sliding scales fees and scholarships for children ages one through five with after-school care for elementary schoolers, lactation rooms
TOEFL/IELTS/PTE: TOEFL/IELTS/PTE or completion of the university’s Applied English Center coursework, with waivers for anybody with a previous degree with instruction in English or for officers with rank of major or higher in the U.S. military, and a spoken English test from the university for assistantship
Application Fee: $65 domestic, $85 international
Application Fee Waiver: Contact the department, not the grad school
Interfolio: Yes (if ApplyWeb doesn’t work, send to maryj@ku.edu)
Accessibility: TBD. Student Access Center website down November 11, 2020.
Three-Year Indian Degree: Yes, if earned in First Division from an institution accredited by India’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a grade of A or better
The program offers tuition remission, half of fees, and a stipend of $17,750/year (minimum) to every graduate teaching assistant. While the program does its best to fund every student, it does not guarantee funding with admission, and the university no longer allows it to make multiple-year offers at the time of admission. Students teach two courses per semester (not including summer), composition in their first and second years and creative writing in their third years.
The English Department provides $500 for travel to conferences and for other professional development to students who have been turned down for graduate school funding or used theirs up, as well as a series of graduate/undergraduate awards for creative writing and for teaching assistants. The Office of Graduate Affairs administers another travel fund. Graduate Studies also administers travel funding, as well as need-based scholarships and scholarships for international students, tribal members, the children of public safety officers killed in the line of duty, etc. The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction has a writing award and a scholarship. Emergency funding is available via the Vice Provost’s Graduate Retention Fund and the Graduate Student Emergency Fund. Summer Research Scholarships are available, along with Graduate Studies Teaching Assistant Awards, Graduate Student Service Awards, Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Awards, Outstanding Master’s Thesis Awards, and scholarships for women from the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equality.
Health insurance is subsidized to the tune of 75% by the university, meaning single students without dependents paid about $235.25 per semester in fall 2020.