Vanderbilt MFA

ABOUT

Vanderbilt's MFA in Creative Writing has been part of the English Department for nearly a century, though the program's current shape—a three-year, fully funded course of study—is a more modern iteration. Each year the program admits a small, deliberately limited cohort: six writers in poetry and six in fiction, for a total enrollment of eighteen students at any given time. Poets and Writers has ranked it among the top 15 MFA programs nationally, and the program markets itself on faculty quality, Nashville's affordable cost of living, and the depth of its funding. Students can serve on the editorial board of Nashville Review, teach an introductory workshop in their second year, and take part in the Gertrude and Harold S. Vanderbilt Visiting Writers Series, which brings in outside writers for readings and craft talks each semester.

Applicants apply through Vanderbilt's central graduate application portal by December 1 for fall admission, indicating poetry or fiction as their area of interest. The packet requires a statement of purpose (3-5 pages), a writing sample (up to 15 pages of poetry or 25 pages of fiction/prose), three letters of recommendation, unofficial transcripts, and a $95 application fee (with waivers available through the Graduate School). No GRE is required; non-native English speakers need TOEFL scores (minimum 570 paper-based / 230 computer-based / 88 internet-based), submitted early enough to arrive before the deadline given the 4-6 week processing lag. The program's chief selling point is full funding for all three years, making it a genuinely low-cost, income-generating option relative to many peer programs — the tradeoff is a very small, hyper-competitive admit pool of just six poets per year.