Welcome to The Forever Workshop’s MFA Newsletter, a monthly column about career advancement in the literary space. Everything published here is free to enjoy, courtesy of our partnered universities. (Not interested? Turn off emails from this column here.)
Ciera here. Wiping the sweat off my brow in this August humidity. Cracking my fingers. Taping the broken stem connecting the lenses of my glasses.
I’ve spent the last month scouring the websites of a bunch of MFA programs to curate an application deadline megalist, and sometimes, finding the MFA’s deadline meant clicking through 15 different pages and reading through a giant paragraph until finally, the deadline jumped out at me. I needed a machete to whack through the webpage jungle. How are you meant to create a quality writing sample, a succinct resume, a thorough statement of objectives, and to plead for recommendation letters when you’ve spent all of your time in search of a deadline?!
Locating an application deadline shouldn’t take up all your time and energy. Here’s a list of the upcoming deadlines for our MFA partners I’ve made so that you can focus on creating the best MFA application ever. If these 20 programs aren’t the best fit, visit the Chill Subs blog and check out this other list I cobbled together, which features 30+ more programs from all around the world.
I promise, you won’t need a machete to find your way through.
Full Residency Program Deadlines
University of Minnesota
Deadline: December 1
In addition to mentorship by their stellar faculty, the top-tier MFA program at the University of Minnesota offers writers three years to fully devote themselves to the creation of a manuscript. Students form a close-knit community of writers, readers, and scholars.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Deadline: December 15
Among the oldest and most respected MFA programs in the country, the MFA for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst champions the creation of new and important writing, and for over fifty years has been a place for writers to concentrate on their work and to write their books.
Colorado State University
Deadline: January 1
The MFA in Creative Writing at Colorado State University is for students with advanced abilities in the writing of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Their program offers a balance of intimate and intensive writing workshops with courses in literature, form and technique, and related electives.
Florida Atlantic University
Deadline: January 1
The MFA in Creative Writing at Florida Atlantic University is a place for community, experimentation, and exploration. They encourage students to take classes across the genres and to take risks in their writing. It’s home to the Swamp Ape Review.
Bowling Green State University
Deadline: January 15
Founded in 1967, BGSU is home to Mid-American Review and the undergraduate journal Prairie Margins. Graduates have won such awards as the Yale Younger Poets Award, the Guggenheim, NEA Individual Artist Fellowships, and the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
University of Idaho
Deadline: January 15
Situated in the panhandle of Northern Idaho in the foothills of Moscow Mountain and the Palouse Range, the Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Idaho offers the time and support to train in the traditions, techniques, and practice of nonfiction, poetry, and fiction.
University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Deadline: January 15
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s MFA joins students who share a common passion with faculty members who provide critical support. While students focus on one genre, cross-genre study is required. Publishing experience is offered through Lookout Books, and the literary magazines, Ecotone and Chautauqua.
Emerson College
Deadline: February 1 (priority), April 1 (final)
In the Emerson Creative Writing MFA, you can pursue your passion, choosing from the genres of literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and explore writing as both an art form and a professional career.
Northern Michigan University
Deadline: February 1
Create in a supportive community next to big, beautiful Lake Superior, by writing at Granite Island lighthouse or rustic cabin weekend residencies; studying special topics courses such as nature writing and experimental literature; or interning with acclaimed journal, Passages North.
Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop
Deadline: February 1
The Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop is an intentionally small, deeply engaged program that nurtures a vibrant community of literary artists. Emphasizing mentorship, publication, and pedagogy, it provides a supportive home for your writing journey—now and for years to come.
McNeese University
Deadline: February 21
Louisiana’s oldest MFA program in Creative Writing provides a multifaceted path toward creative and academic growth: small class sizes, teaching and editorial experience, one-on-one conferences with visiting writers, and the opportunity to earn a concurrent MA degree in English.
University of Alabama
Deadline: February 21
The University of Alabama MFA Program has long been considered among the best in the nation, renowned for its visiting writers series, for its spirit of experimentation and flexibility, and for housing the award-winning Black Warrior Review, which is run entirely by graduate students.
Butler University
Deadline: May 31
At Butler, writers find a home—a figurative one in our community of mentorship and support, and a literal one in the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing. Students join a vibrant literary ecosystem that includes Booth, an acclaimed visiting writers series, and rich connections to the literary life of Indianapolis.
Low Residency & Online Program Deadlines
Warren Wilson College
Deadline: September 1
The MFA Program at Warren Wilson emphasizes student writing, revision, critical thinking, and reading, and encourages students to see themselves as writers and active participants in the creation and study of literature.
Whitworth University
Deadline: November 1
Launched as the new home for the former Seattle Pacific University MFA, the Whitworth Writers Workshop preserves that program’s excellence while embracing a vibrant, intentionally Christian community.
Brooklyn Writers Foundry
Deadline: November 1
The Brooklyn Writers Foundry seeks writers from across the country and around the world who dedicate themselves to excellence in creative writing, and who want to take advantage of the literary life in New York City.
Wilkes University
Deadline: December 1
The Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University empowers writers through craft, community, and career support, no matter where they are in their writing journeys, in an affordable, low-residency format.
Emerson College
Deadline: March 1 (priority), May 1 (final)
Emerson College’s Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing MFA program is a flexible, online graduate program that allows you to work on your writing from anywhere in the world, with online workshops, literature seminars, and publishing courses that fit your schedule.
University of Nevada, Reno
Deadline: March 1 (priority), May 1 (final)
Each January and August, writers gather on the Lake Tahoe campus, where the surrounding natural beauty becomes a catalyst for literary exploration that dovetails with the environmental stewardship and research efforts across the Tahoe Basin.
Lesley University
Deadline: March 2 (priority), May 1 (final)
The MFA in Visual & Literary Arts program combines both art forms in one MFA degree. Through communal residency work and in-depth semester study, students discover the urgency that drives their stories and train in their ability as makers and thinkers to blend word and image into original new stories.
Western Colorado University
Deadline: May 31
At Western Colorado University, they believe that becoming a writer shouldn’t be a lonely endeavor. Their low-residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing is designed as a literary home, a place where your unique voice is met with the warmth of a vibrant, deeply human community.
You made it to the end! (I hope no machetes were needed to navigate this list.) As a reward, here’s a sneak peek from the list of deadlines featured on the Chill Subs blog—head over now to find even more MFAs and their application deadlines.
DePaul University | Deadline: Rolling
Chicago, IL | Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction | Full residency
Tell your story in long form. DePaul’s MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing will prepare and empower you to write a novel, memoir, or poetry collection. With the opportunity to take publishing and pedagogy courses, you’ll have the choice of a career in publishing or teaching.
Tell us which MFA program you’re hoping to be accepted into!
I really hope you add University of Washington Bothell MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics to this list. It is a hidden GEM. I just completed the program and it was amazing.
These are all in the US. What about MFAs in other countries? UBC offers a low-residency MFA. Northwestern University (London, UK) has a low-residency MA in creative writing. There's also creative writing MAs at University of Toronto, University of Concordia, and University of Dalhousie. There are MFAs at University of Guelph, and the University of King's College.