Vanderbilt University · Department of English

MFA in Creative Writing

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Creative WritingFully funded (all admitted)

Overview

A three-year MFA in fiction or poetry requiring 48 hours of coursework over four semesters, followed by a third-year creative thesis and oral defense. Every MFA student receives a University Fellowship with full tuition remission, health insurance and a $36,500 stipend.

Official program name: MFA in Creative Writing
Awarded degree: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
School: Vanderbilt University — Department of English
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Location: Nashville, TN
Delivery / residency: Format not verified
Study intensity: Not verified
Duration: Three years
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Required credits: 48 hours of graduate coursework
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Teaching language: English (not separately stated)
Start: Fall
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Why this degree is listed

The awarded degree is the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, with specialization in fiction or poetry.

Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We list dedicated creative writing degrees only. Eligibility rules

Curriculum, genres and faculty

Genres

Fiction Poetry

Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Workshops

One workshop and two seminars in each of the first four semesters.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Thesis / dissertation

Third-year creative thesis (novel, story collection or poetry collection) with oral defense.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Teaching opportunities

Teaching Creative Writing seminar in the first year; opportunity to teach an introductory creative writing workshop.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Other

Six students per class, eighteen in residence, split between poetry and prose.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Faculty listed by the program

Faculty list: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

Admissions

Required, optional, waived and not-required items are shown exactly as the school states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Application fee: Required$95 — Graduate School application fee of $95.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Transcripts: RequiredUnofficial transcripts; official transcripts on admission.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Writing portfolio

Genre	Length	Requirement as published
Fiction	up to 25 pages	Fiction sample of no more than 25 double-spaced pages; story or novel excerpt.Formatting: double spacedSource: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Poetry	up to 15 pages	Poetry sample of up to 15 pages.Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Tests

TOEFL iBT: Required — minimum 88Internet-based minimum 88 for non-native speakers without a degree from an English-speaking university
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate competitiveness: programs rarely publish comparable figures.

Deadlines

Dates are shown with the admissions cycle the school printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Application deadline
December 1, 2026 · for Fall 2027
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Upcoming

Tuition and fees

Each amount keeps its applicant category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-year and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other.

Tuition: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

Funding

The program states that every admitted student receives tuition coverage and a stipend for the normal length of the program. “Fully funded” never means every personal expense is covered. How we classify funding

Fully funded (all admitted)

Funding guarantee: University Fellowship for every MFA student: full tuition remission, health insurance and a $36,500 stipend.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Years guaranteed: Three-year, 12-month funding package for every MFA student.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Assistantship duties: Part-time departmental responsibilities such as teaching or tutoring.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Other: Graduate School travel grants up to $1,000 per trip for students in good standing.
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Named scholarships, fellowships and assistantships

Provost's Graduate Fellowship fellowship
$5,000 annual top-up · Renewable
Eligibility: Merit-based; competitive across all graduate programs
Source: as.vanderbilt.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 9, 2026.

as.vanderbilt.edu/english/mfa-admissions/ — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
as.vanderbilt.edu/english/mfa-degree-requirements/ — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
as.vanderbilt.edu/english/mfa-financial-aid/ — Official funding / aid page, verified October 9, 2026

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Creative Writing Programs is independent and not affiliated with Vanderbilt University. Information is collected from official pages and can change; confirm requirements, costs and deadlines with the school.