MFA in Writing Admissions
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Admission Requirements

  • A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants should have completed — or be close to completing — their undergraduate degree at the time of application.
  • Completed application, including a creative manuscript, personal essay, critical analysis, and two letters of reference.

Admission is based primarily on the quality of the applicant's original creative writing in one of the program areas: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. In addition, the Admissions Board looks for promise exhibited in the critical and personal essays. In the latter, applicants should address their ability to participate productively and supportively in a writing community and to sustain commitment through extended independent work periods during the guided study. 

Admissions Due Dates

  • September 1 is the priority due date for writers applying to start the program in January. We will accept applications until December 1, as space allows.

  • March 1 is the priority due date for writers applying to start the program in June. We will accept applications until May 15, as space allows.

  • Our priority due dates mark the moment each term when we begin offering admissions and awarding scholarships.

How to Apply

Submit your application form, creative manuscript, personal essay, and critical analysis directly to the MFA Program through the online portal or by email at mfa@pacificu.edu. You may also mail hard copies to the Pacific University MFA Program at 530 NW 12th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209.

Application Form 

Complete the fillable PDF (best opened in Adobe Acrobat). Don't have Adobe? Print and complete a standard Application Form (pdf)

Creative Manuscript

Submit work in the genre you wish to study. Students in the MFA program must major in one primary genre. If you are not sure which genre to choose, you may submit work in two genres and let the Admissions Board guide you.

  • Poetry: 10 pages (no more than one poem per page)
  • Fiction: Up to 4000 words maximum (double-spaced)
  • Nonfiction: Up to 4000 words maximum (double-spaced)

Creative manuscripts should be typewritten in Times, 12 point, with page numbers and your name on each poem, story, essay, or chapter. With the exception of poetry manuscripts (which should be single-spaced, one poem per page), all pages should be doubled-spaced. 

Personal Essay

Maximum of three pages, addressing the following:

  • Your background in the study of creative writing and literature
  • Additional writing or workshop experience
  • Literary influences on your writing, including the titles of books in your genre by writers you feel have shaped your thinking (not including our MFA faculty)
  • How your schedule will accommodate devoting 20 to 25 hours per week to your writing and to the completion of program requirements
  • Reasons why a low-residency MFA program suits your level of experience and your goals for future development as a writer

Personal essays should be typewritten in Times, 12 point, double-spaced with page numbers and your name on each page. 

Critical Analysis

Much of the learning within the MFA calls on students to engage with art crafted by others, both published texts and writing shared by colleagues in workshop. As part of your application, we ask you to submit a short critical essay about a piece of published writing—most likely in the genre you wish to study—that reveals your ability to write thoughtfully and with focus on another writer's work while exploring some aspect of craft.

For example, maybe you consider the writer's use of dialogue; perhaps you discuss the power of metaphor. Is there something you notice in the way the writer develops plot or setting? How has the work been structured, or, how is meaning organized in the work? These are just a few examples of approaches you might take. You could look at a single poem or an entire collection, a story or essay or a longer text, ideally by a writer whose work you admire.

We encourage you to consider this element of the application as an extension of the personal essay, written from the same point of view, only with a focus on work other than your own. You may find it useful to consider texts or writers that exemplify, through their craft, the kinds of strategies you are attempting to develop in your own writing. Maximum of three pages. You should feel free to use examples from the text.

Critical analyses should be typewritten in Times, 12 point, double-spaced with page numbers and your name on each page. 

Two Letters of Reference

Complete the fillable Reference Form (best opened in Adobe Acrobat)

Don't have Adobe? Print and complete the standard Reference Form (PDF).

Fill out the top portion of the form and email or mail to your references. They should send the completed form directly to the MFA office via email at mfa@pacificu.edu or by postal mail at 530 NW 12th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209.

References should be able to assess your qualifications for graduate study in writing. These can be from teachers, other writers, or professional associates.

Transcripts

Arrange for official transcripts of your undergraduate and/or graduate studies from the institutions where you earned degrees to be sent directly to the MFA office from your previous school(s), either in hardcopy or electronically. Mailing transcripts to Pacific’s undergraduate admissions office or other departments may cause your application to be delayed. Have your official transcripts sent to the Pacific University MFA Program, 530 NW 12th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209.

Application Fee

A non-refundable fee of $50 is required for an application in one genre. A non-refundable fee of $75 is required for an application in two genres.

Payment options:

  • Go to our online marketplace
  • Call 503-352-1531 to use your credit or debit card
  • Mail a check payable to Pacific University

 

International Students

The MFA in Writing Program welcomes international students and values diverse ideas, perspectives, and aesthetics. The low-residency format requires students to be present for a 10-day residency at the beginning of each semester. After the residency, students return home to complete the guided study portion of the semester with their faculty advisor.

FAQs for International Students

Contact Us

Pacific University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program
503-352-1531 | mfa@pacificu.edu

530 NW 12th Ave., Portland, OR 97209
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday

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Media Mentions

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Jan. 24, 2025 | The Gleaner newspaper in Kingston, Jamaica, covered the investiture ceremony for Kwame Dawes, a professor in Pacific's Master of Fine Arts in Writing program, who has been named the Poet Laureate of Jamaica.

Upcoming Events

Forest Grove, Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center, McCready Hall

June Commencement celebrates degree candidates in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program, during its annual summer residency in Forest Grove. Pacific University celebrates the Class of 2025 on June 28.