How to Apply

The online application can be found here. You will be asked to select your major. The New Writers Project M.F.A. can be found under Liberal Arts.

Please submit your Graduate School Application for Admission at least three days in advance of the deadline to ensure that you receive access to MyStatus in time to upload the rest of your materials.

Our decision to accept an applicant begins with their writing sample. Our admissions committees are looking for nothing in particular—except writing that is particular. We favor no style or school or tradition; we read with open minds to find work and writers who excite us. Submit the work you most believe in and that you consider finished. We're interested in a diversity of perspectives and approaches. 

For poetry, we accept a maximum of 15 pages of poetry of any style or form.

For fiction, we accept up to 9,000 words of prose (12-point font and double-spaced), which may be a short-story, short-story excerpt(s), or a novel excerpt.

Include your first and last name and "NWP" in the header and file name of your writing sample.

Your statement of purpose should be a short, single-spaced essay (1-2 pages), that gives us an idea of you as a person and a writer and why you're interested in pursuing an MFA. You can discuss your specific areas of interest and professional goals, your personal history of becoming a writer, and/or why you want to teach. You can also talk about published work that has been meaningful to you or life experiences that have had an effect on your writing. We're not looking for formal or academic writing. Don't take general advice from the internet about "good" statements of purpose: we want to hear about you, particularly.

Include your first and last name and "NWP" in the header and file name of your statement of purpose.

The Department of English requires three letters of recommendation. We suggest that at least two of your three letters of recommendation describe your writing ability and potential for teaching. Recommendations from your supervisors or colleagues can help us determine how well you would fit into the program. 

After you submit your application, reference request emails are sent to your recommenders with a link for them to upload their letters. The department will not accept letters from Interfolio. Recommenders must upload their letters to the applicant’s online application.

You will need to upload PDF copies of your official transcripts from each senior college that you have attended via your MyStatus profile. Transcripts must have been produced within the last calendar year. Please carefully read and follow the Instructions for Uploading Transcripts.

International Applicants: Transcripts written in a language other than English must be accompanied by an official translation. Each transcript (mark sheet) should contain a complete record of studies at the institution from which it is issued (i.e., the subjects taken and grades [marks] earned in each subject.)

Please address transcript questions to gradtranscript@austin.utexas.edu. Do not send transcripts directly to this address.

The New Writers Project does not require GRE scores.

International applicants must submit an official score report demonstrating an adequate knowledge of English. We accept both official TOEFL or IELTS score(s). 

More information about specific requirements for international applicants can be found here.

Applicants must pay the application fee by the deadline in order to be considered for admission ($65 for U.S. Students; $90 for International Students). Application fee waivers for eligible U.S. applicants may be available here.

Those applying to multiple graduate programs at UT do not need to pay the application fee twice. When submitting their second application, applicants should select the option that says, “I will pay The University of Texas at Austin directly.” Once the second application has been processed, the graduate school will automatically waive the application fee.

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Detailed instructions for submitting your application can be found here. (Please note: it can take up to 3 days after submitting the Graduate School Application for Admission to receive access to MyStatus, where you will be able to upload supporting documents. For this reason, we recommend submitting your Graduate School Application for Admission 1 week in advance of the deadline. If you do not receive the email with your EID and temporary password after 3 business days, please feel free to contact the Office of Admissions.)

Application fee waivers for eligible applicants may be available here. Applicants who apply to both the New Writers Project and the Michener Center for Writers do not need to pay the application fee twice. When submitting their second application, applicants should select the option that says, “I will pay The University of Texas at Austin directly, outside of ApplyTexas.” Once the second application has been processed, the graduate school will automatically waive the application fee.

After you submit your application and pay the fee, you will receive an email that includes instructions on how to access MyStatus, including your UT EID and temporary password. During peak periods, it can take up to 3 days to receive your EID. Using your EID and temporary password, log into MyStatus and upload the required supporting materials (i.e. writing sample, personal statement, transcripts). Your application is not complete until you have uploaded your supporting materials. You will track your application progress, and accept and decline admissions, through MyStatus.

Due to the high number of applications, the English Office cannot confirm the receipt of individual items. Applicants should check MyStatus to see admissions decisions and to confirm that all application materials are successfully processed.

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