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Fall 2024 Admissions
Admissions for Fall 2024 entry to the Michener Center for Writer’s M.F.A. program will open late August.
Please note that we receive hundreds of applications each year for twelve spaces in the program. We accept only full-time, in-residence candidates for our three-year program. There is no low-residency or part-time option.
The deadline to apply is 11:59pm on December 1st, 2023.*
*Please note: you must submit the ApplyTexas application and pay the application fee before receiving access to the admissions portal where you’ll submit your writing sample and statement of purpose. It can take up to three business days to receive access to the portal after you submit the ApplyTexas application. We recommend submitting the ApplyTexas application no later than 11:59pm on November 28th. We offer a grace period for the receipt of transcripts and letters of recommendation, but applications that are not otherwise complete by the deadline will not be considered.
We recommend reviewing the following pages before applying:
- UT Graduate School Minimum Eligibility for Graduate Admission Consideration
- UT Graduate Admission: How to Apply
- UT Graduate Admission: International Students
- MCW Admissions FAQ
Application Requirements
Please complete this application and pay the application fee no later than 11/28/23 in order to receive access via email to the admissions portal by 12/1/23. You will submit the rest of your materials through the admissions portal.
In the ApplyTexas system, the Michener Center for Writers M.F.A. program is called “WRITING (M.F.A.-MICHENER CENTER)” and is listed under “Intercollegial Programs,” near the bottom of the list of programs.
Note: Our M.F.A. is separate from that of UT’s Department of English, which has its own M.F.A. program called “Creative Writing/New Writers Project.”
2. Transcripts
You must provide an official transcript from every senior college you 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.
Review the Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) guidelines before submitting your transcripts. 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 GIAC: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/admissions/contact. The Michener Center cannot answer questions about the upload process or other transcript issues.
3. Letters of Recommendation
After you submit your ApplyTexas 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. If you are applying to multiple UT graduate programs, your recommenders must submit letters for each application.
4. Statement of Purpose
You will upload your Statement of Purpose to the MyStatus portal.
Limit your statement to 750 words. Create a header that includes your name and your declared primary and secondary genres. Specify “Michener Center for Writers” in the header of your statement.
5. Writing Sample
Please submit a writing sample in your proposed primary genre. 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 or a novel excerpt which do not 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.
- 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.
6. Test Scores (International Students only)
International students whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores. International students should also review the UT Graduate Admission: International Students page.
GRE scores are not required.
Questions?
Please review the Admissions FAQ page for answers to common questions about our program and admissions process. If, after reviewing the FAQ page, you have further questions, reach out to us at mcw@utexas.edu.