Admission

Admission

Admission to Brown’s Graduate Program in Literary Arts is highly selective, and is based primarily on the quality of the applicant’s writing. Your writing sample, therefore, is the most important part of your application. In putting your sample together, you should emphasize quality rather than length. Your writing sample should be in a single genre; to make sure that it is reviewed by the proper committee, you should clearly label the cover sheet of the writing sample either “Fiction,” “Poetry,” “Playwriting” or “Electronic.” Make sure your name appears on every page (or disk) that you submit. The suggested length of a writing sample is 30 – 40 pages of fiction; 15 – 20 pages of poetry; either one full-length play or several one-act plays; or one or two electronic projects.

If you want to be considered in more than one genre, you must complete two separate applications, including two separate application fees and two separate writing samples. You may send one set of transcripts.

Applicants’ writing samples are reviewed for admission by at least two members of the faculty. Because the Literary Arts Program receives a large number of applications, faculty members cannot provide critiques of individual samples. The Program does not grant interviews to prospective students.

A completed application should include:

Graduate School application fee
Application form
Personal statement
Writing sample

These items must be postmarked by December 15 in order to be considered. No late additions or revisions will be accepted.

Additionally, the Brown Graduate School requires the following: original, official transcripts from each college and university you have attended; three letters of recommendation, sent directly to the Graduate School by the referee or a dossier service; and, for international students, official TOEFL or IELTS results. GRE general and subject test scores are not required.

Applicants who have previously completed all or part of an advanced degree in creative writing at another university should include a separate letter explaining what special circumstances lead them to pursue another MFA at Brown. Without this explanatory letter, the faculty will not review the application. (The primary accepted basis for completing a second MFA is the stated desire to pursue work in a different genre).

Applications are available from the Graduate School, Box 1867, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. Applications are also available electronically at the Graduate School web site.