Enrollment/Admissions
Apply online now.
Enrollment information (pdf to print)
Paper application, if preferred to applying online
Faculty list (pdf to print)
FAQs (pdf to print)
If you'd like us to mail you a packet of information about our brief-residency MFA in Writing via postal mail, email us your address. If you prefer, these same materials are available for you to download, read, and print out. See links, above.
Admission to the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program is based primarily on the quality of the applicant's original creative writing in one of the particular areas of fiction (short story and/or novel), creative nonfiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, (picture book, middle grade, or young adult), playwriting, and screenwriting. The quality of the writing, which must demonstrate a level of proficiency appropriate for the commencement of graduate work, is judged by a committee of MFA faculty members and the Program Director.
How do I apply?
What is the deadline for admission?
When will I find out if I have been accepted?
Do you accept transfer credit or "life experience" credit?
Do you offer post-graduate semesters?
How do I apply?
The formal application consists of
the Spalding University Application for Graduate Admission, $30 application fee, application checklist (including a
list of any publications and prizes), and institution-to-institution official transcripts from every college attended. A bachelor’s degree is required. For exceptions, contact the Program Director. The GRE is NOT required. MFA students may apply
online.
a writing sample in the applicant's chosen area of concentration only: fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, or playwriting (17-25 pages); poetry (7-10 pages); writing for children and young adults (17-25 pages of middle-grade or young-adult prose or 2-3 picture book stories). The sample is typed copy (12 pt., easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman), double-spaced with 1" margins and include page numbers. Poetry may be double-spaced. Screenwriting or playwriting may use conventional format.
Applicants should put their name on a cover sheet and not on the manuscript. Identify the area of concentration on the cover sheet: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, screenwriting, or playwriting. The anonymous samples are read by a faculty committee. Prospective students who wish to apply in more than one area of concentration send the appropriate writing samples in each area. See FAQs for more information.
two personal essays
First essay: Write a 2-3 page commentary on a work you have admired. Choose a work that best demonstrates your critical thinking in the area in which you are applying: this may be a book, a story, an essay, a pair of poems, a script of a play or a screenplay.
Second essay: Write a 2 -3 page essay that summarizes your background in writing and your openness to receiving instruction in creative writing. Also discuss your willingness to learn to critique the creative writing of other program members, your high motivation, and your ability to work independently.
Applicants should put their name and area of concentration on a cover sheet, but not on the essay itself. The essays are typed copy (12 pt., easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman), double-spaced with 1" margins and include page numbers. The anonymous essays are read by a faculty committee. See FAQs for additional information about what to include in the essays.
two letters of recommendation concerning the student’s ability to read literature and to write both creative and critical prose at a graduate level. Letters from former or current creative writing instructors are preferable; however, if this is not an option, applicants should ask another professor or someone who is familiar with their writing, love of writing and reading, ability to accept and give critiques, motivation to participate in the program, and/or ability to work independently. (Applications requesting a waiver of the bachelor’s degree requirement must have three letters of recommendation.) A letter of recommendation form may be used, but letters without the form are accepted. Top
To email materials, attach the documents as a .doc or .rtf or .pdf documents, and email to mfa@spalding.edu. Emails should include the subject line "Documents for application of (applicant's full name)" As with the printed writing sample and essay, the name should appear on the cover sheet only. Follow the instructions above for formatting. Emailed letters of recommendation are acceptable if the from email address is identifiable as belonging to the sender. For example, a letter from Susan Sanders emailed from ssanders@xxxx.edu (or xxxx.com) is acceptable, while an email from an anonymous address, such as from writersnest@yahoo.com, is not. Applicants mail materials to Graduate Admissions-MFA, Spalding University, 851 S. Fourth St., Louisville, KY 40203, and not to the MFA Office.
Students may begin work in the program in the spring, summer, or fall. We review applications on a rolling basis, so they may be submitted at any time. The deadline for the fall semester is July 1; the deadline for the spring semester is January 15, and the deadline for the summer semester is February 1. Prospective students who miss the deadline may inquire with the MFA Office about the possibility of late application. Top
Decisions are usually made four to six weeks after the complete application has been received; however, in some cases a decision may be delayed. Within thirty days of official notification of acceptance, a $500 deposit is required to hold a place in the program. This deposit is nonrefundable and is applied to tuition. Students accepted for admission for a
particular semester may defer enrollment for one year with the permission of the Program Director.
If a student is denied admission, he or she is advised
to seek additional instruction at a local undergraduate program,
to take adult education courses in creative writing,
to seek instruction in a workshop-style writing class through a university course or writers' conference,
to read contemporary literary magazines, available through a local bookstore or public library,
to keep a journal of ideas about improving one's writing,
and/or to work privately with a publishing writer or writing group
and to reapply for admission to the program after such additional experience, submitting a new writing sample. If more than a year has passed since the original application, other items in the application process may need to be resubmitted. Top
Do you accept transfer credit or "life experience" as credit?
Students in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program may transfer one semester (12-16 credit hours) from another brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program, if the semester was completed satisfactorily. Students may transfer one semester (12-16 hours) from a traditional Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program if the Program Director determines that the course work completed is equivalent to the work completed in a semester at Spalding and the application writing sample warrants the advanced placement. Work from MA programs or previous publication is not accepted for transfer credit.
While the Program does not accept "life experience" as credit, students who have published a book or produced a play or screenplay may apply for acceleration in their second semester. For more information about acceleraton, see our Special Features page.
Do you offer post-graduate semesters?
The MFA in Writing Program accepts post-graduate degree students holding the PhD, MFA, or MA, who have written creative writing theses. Such students register for either English 610 or 620 for a Post-Graduate Semester(s). Some post-graduate students may wish to use the semester to progress toward completing a book. The Post-Graduate Semester is also available for Spalding brief-residency MFA graduates who wish to study in an additional area of concentration. Application procedure and tuition are the same as for MFA students, except the applicant need supply a transcript verifying only the graduate degree. Top
Spalding University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to 
award the Master of Fine Arts in Writing. Spalding University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing is a member of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
last updated 07/06/09, information is subject to change without notice
Spalding University
851 South Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40203
MFA Office: (502) 585-9911, ext. 2423 or (800) 896-8941, ext. 2423
mfa@spalding.edu
FAX: (502) 585-7158
Top of Page