Complete the Graduate School Application and pay the application fee at least 3 days before the deadline in order to receive access to the MyStatus admissions portal, where you’ll submit the rest of your materials (Writing Sample, Statement of Purpose, Transcripts). Credentials to login to MyStatus will be emailed to you 1-3 business days after submitting your ApplyTexas application.

Note:

• In the online application, the Michener Center for Writers M.F.A. program is listed under “Intercollegial” as “WRITING – Michener Center for Writers.” 
• In MyStatus, the Michener Center application is labeled “Writing.”

The application fee is $65 for U.S. Graduate Students and $90 for International Graduate Students. Applicants must pay the application fee before the deadline in order for their application to be considered. Applicants to multiple degree programs need only pay the fee on their first application. Application fees cannot be refunded after they have been processed.

The Office of Graduate Admissions oversees all application fees and application fee waivers. At this time, waivers are only available for U.S. students. Information on requesting a fee waiver can be found here. Our program is unable to waive the application fee for individual applicants; applicants must request fee waivers through the Office of Graduate Admissions.

Make sure to review the Office of Graduate Admissions transcript guidelines before submitting your transcripts.

Applicants must provide an official transcript from every senior college they have attended, no matter how briefly. Transcripts from U.S. colleges or universities must have been produced within the last calendar year. Failure to list all colleges on the application and provide those transcripts will be considered an intentional omission and may lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

If you are applying to multiple UT graduate programs, you need only submit your transcripts once.

Please direct all questions regarding the submission of transcripts to gradtranscript@austin.utexas.edu. Do not send transcripts to this address. The Michener Center cannot answer questions about the upload process, transcript eligibility, or other transcript issues.

The online application will ask you to input contact information for 3 recommenders. After you submit your online application, automated emails are sent to each of your recommenders, directing them to a website where they may fill out the reference questionnaire and upload their letters.

UT does not accept hard-copy letters, Interfolio, or other similar services. 

At any time after submitting your application, you may login to MyStatus to manage, update, or revise your recommendation requests.

You will upload your Personal Statement to the MyStatus portal. Limit your statement to 750 words.

Think of this statement as a lens through which other elements of your application can be brought into focus for us. What you include is your call, though it’s not uncommon for writers to discuss the work (books, films, plays, etc.) that has shaped their writing lives. If you’ve had jobs or travels that seem relevant to who you are as a writer, we’d be glad to hear about them. If you have some special preparation or background in the secondary field, it’s worth briefly mentioning in the statement.

Include a header with your name, your declared primary and secondary genres, and “Michener Center for Writers.” 

Please submit a writing sample in your proposed primary genre only. You’ll upload your writing sample to the MyStatus portal. Specify “Michener Center for Writers” in the header of your writing sample.

Writing samples should conform to these standards:

• Fiction: stories, a novel excerpt, or a combination of these not to exceed 9,000 words. Double-spaced and formatted with a readable text font (12pt minimum) and standard margins.
• Poetry: at least 10 poems, not to exceed 25 pages. Those writing long-form poetry should submit 10-25 pages of work.
• Screenwriting: a feature-length (90-120 pages) original screenplay or a 30- or 60-minute TV pilot. Please do not send adaptations unless it is your own work that you have adapted.
• Playwriting: a full-length play or two one-act plays.

International students whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores. International students should review the UT Graduate Admission: International Students page for degree and language score requirements and exemptions. Please note that our department cannot waive these requirements.

GRE scores are not required.