How to Apply

On May 12, we hosted an Open House to share more information about the program, and we answered many frequently asked questions. Watch the recording here.

Submit Online

Complete the Division of Lifelong Learning and Professional Studies online application:

• Academic history 
• Official transcripts from all postsecondary studies. (If you’re currently enrolled in a degree program, you may submit an unofficial transcript. An official transcript will be needed to enroll. All Master’s applicants must have completed, or be on track to complete, a Bachelor’s degree by the term for which you are applying.) 
• Resume 
• Two letters of recommendation 
• Personal Statement
• Creative Portfolio
• $65 application fee 

Application Deadlines

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis after the priority deadline. Please see below for specific application deadline information. 

Recommendations

We encourage you to contact your recommenders before submitting your application, as they receive notice of your request immediately upon submission of the online application. 

We also recommend informing your recommenders whether you have waived your right to view the recommendations should you enroll. Applicants should seek out recommenders who can address their academic qualifications, creative capacities, and personal or professional character. 

Personal Statement

Applicants to the MFA in Creative Writing program are required to submit a personal statement using the following questions as a guide: 

• Describe yourself as a storyteller. What motivates you? What forms of storytelling compel you? What challenges do you face within your work, or in your work’s relationship to the world? 
• What are your goals for your time in the program? Specifically, how do you hope to grow as a writer and as a human? What aspects of this program do you believe will support those goals?  If you work across genres and mediums, or aspire to, how do you hope to develop your work and practice over the course of this program? 

Creative Portfolio

Applicants to the MFA in Creative Writing program are required to submit at least one sample of written work, following the guidelines below: 

• Submission must be formatted as a PDF, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman 
• Sample should consist of: 
  • 15–25 pages if prose or 8–12 pieces of poetry. 
  • Dramatic writers should submit 20–30 pages from a full-length stage play or feature film, or the complete script of a one act play, or short film. 
  • Graphic novelists/comic book writers should submit 15–20 pages of a comic book script. Artwork for the piece can be submitted in addition, provided that it is also the original work of the applicant. Please do not submit visual work by a collaborator. 
  • Performative storytellers (songwriting, spoken word, solo theatre performers, etc.) should submit video of a performed work or works no longer than seven (7) minutes. 

Additional samples of work are also welcome, especially if you work in other styles/mediums. Additional samples should be formatted using the appropriate guidelines listed above and should be clearly labeled as additional material. 

We welcome and encourage narrative art of all kinds. If you have questions about your sample, or are unsure if your work meets any of these guidelines, please reach out to us at mfainfo@jtsa.edu. 

Required Exams and Score Reports 

GRE and/or MAT results are welcome but not required for admission to the MFA Writing program. 

If you have completed testing, we encourage submission of your scores as this information can be a valuable addition in our review. JTS has always practiced a holistic, individualized approach to reviewing our applicants and selecting individuals who are the best fit for our unique graduate programs. Consideration of an applicant includes many factors beyond test scores; we are confident our applicants will continue to demonstrate those qualities to us through their applications again this year. 

• All applicants who have completed testing must submit official scores on the general test of the GRE (JTS GRE code is 2339) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Please note the above update to JTS’s testing policy. 
• Official scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the Duolingo English Test for applicants whose native language is other than English and who have not been educated at a college where English is the language of instruction. These test scores are valid for two years from the date taken. 

Testing may be waived for one of the following reasons and is at the discretion of the admissions director or dean: 

• Applicant is a graduate of List College at JTS with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. 
• Applicant holds a relevant graduate degree from an accredited university and can provide an official transcript that indicates successful completion of all required course work. 
• Applicant has completed non-degree courses at JTS with a GPA of 3.3 or higher (excluding courses in Hebrew language and the summer Nishma program).