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Washington University in St Louis · Department of English

MFA Program in Creative Writing (The Writing Program)

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in WritingFully funded (all admitted)Editorial selection: Best MFA Creative Writing Programs

Overview

A two-year, campus-based MFA in fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction requiring 42 semester hours (24 in genre workshops), a mentored teaching experience, a thesis and an oral examination. All students receive an Arts & Sciences Fellowship with full tuition remission and, in 2025-26, a $34,510 stipend for 12 months.

Official program name
MFA Program in Creative Writing (The Writing Program)
Awarded degree
Master of Fine Arts in Writing
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
School
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Location
St. Louis, MO
Delivery / residency
Campus-basedClasses and workshops meet in person on campus throughout the program.
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Study intensity
Not verified
Duration
Two years
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Required credits
42 semester hours
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Teaching language
English (not separately stated)
Why this degree is listed

Awarded degree is the Master of Fine Arts in Writing; the program is a dedicated creative writing MFA in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction.

Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We list dedicated creative writing degrees only. Eligibility rules

Curriculum, genres and faculty

Genres

FictionPoetryCreative Nonfiction

Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Workshops

  • 24 of the 42 credit units are the graduate workshop in the student's genre, taken every semester.
    Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Teaching opportunities

  • Mentored Teaching Experience: students teach their own sections of a 200-level undergraduate creative writing workshop in both semesters of the second year.
    Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Thesis / dissertation

  • Thesis (e.g. a volume of poems, story collection, novel or essay collection) with a three-member committee and an oral examination.
    Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Internships

  • One-year internship at Dorothy, a publishing project, for one MFA student.
    Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Readings and visiting writers

  • Visiting Hurst Professors give a public talk and reading and meet one-on-one with MFA students in their genre.
    Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Faculty listed by the program

  • Danielle Dutton — Director of Creative Writing; Professor of English
  • G'Ra Asim — Assistant Professor of English
  • Mary Jo Bang — Professor of English
  • Jessica Baran — Lecturer
  • Eduardo C. Corral — Associate Professor of English
  • Marshall Klimasewiski — Senior Writer in Residence
  • Edward McPherson — Professor of English
  • Heather McPherson — Senior Lecturer in English
  • Martin Riker — Director of the Publishing Specialization; Teaching Professor in English
  • David Schuman — Director of the Creative Writing Concentration; Teaching Professor in English

As listed on the program's official page on October 9, 2026. Listing does not mean a faculty member is teaching or supervising new students in a given year.

Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

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”.
Statement of purpose
RequiredStatement of purpose (or personal statement), 2-3 double-spaced pages
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Recommendation letters
Required3 letters — 3 letters of recommendation
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
CV / résumé
RequiredCurriculum vitae
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Application fee
RequiredApplication fee
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Transcripts
RequiredTranscripts
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Other requirement
Not verifiedApplicants who already hold an MFA are very rarely accepted
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Writing portfolio

GenreLengthRequirement as published
Creative Nonfictionup to 35 pagesUp to 35 double-spaced pages of nonfictionFormatting: double-spaced, 12-point type, standard marginsSource: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Fiction20–30 pages20 to 30 pages; more than one story or chapter preferred when possibleFormatting: 12-point type, standard margins, double-spacingSource: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Poetryup to 20 pages10-12 poems, 20 pages maxSource: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Tests

GRE and English-language test policy: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

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.

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.
CategoryAmountBasis and year
All students — Value of full tuition remission (covered by the A&S Fellowship)$66,850per academic year · 2025-2026Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

These are the published rates. The program also states tuition coverage for funded students — see Funding below for what is covered.

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)Policy year: 2025-2026

Published stipend: $34,510 (12 months) · 2 years

Funding guarantee
Full and equal funding for every accepted student; both years funded by an A&S Fellowship
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Tuition coverage
Full tuition remission valued at $66,850 in 2025-26
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Stipend
A&S Fellowship stipend of $34,510 for 12 months (2025-26)
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Assistantship duties
Students lead two introductory creative writing classes in their genre in the second year
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026
International students
No special awards for foreign applicants
Source: english.washu.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We do not judge whether a stipend is sufficient: living costs differ by city, household and year.

Named scholarships, fellowships and assistantships

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 9, 2026.
  1. english.washu.edu/mfa-fellowships-and-funding — Official funding / aid page, verified October 9, 2026
  2. english.washu.edu/mfa-program — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
  3. english.washu.edu/mfa-program-structure — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
  4. english.washu.edu/people?cat=424&letter=All — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
  5. gradstudies.artsci.washu.edu/node/14751 — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026

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Similar programs

Same degree level, nearby or in the same format. Listed for discovery, not ranked.

Lindenwood University logo

Lindenwood University

Writing, MFA

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Writing
Location: Saint Charles, MOSchool location; study is online.
Format: Fully onlineAll coursework is completed online and the school does not require in-person attendance. · Flexible pace
Genres: Fiction · Poetry · Creative Nonfiction
Duration: From one and a half years to a maximum of five years, depending on credit hours per term
Funding: Funding not verified
Tuition: $630 per credit · All students — Graduate tuition (online and on-campus), MFA · 2026-2027
Deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
View program

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