Admissions

The Rona Jaffe Foundation Establishes Fellowships in Creative Writing

“The Rona Jaffe Foundation is very pleased to provide support to Brooklyn College in the form of these fellowships to incoming female graduate students in the M.F.A. program,” said Beth McCabe, director of The Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards and a board trustee. “They will, we hope, not only provide much-needed funding within the program, but also help attract the strongest writing candidates to apply.”

Deadline: January 15, 2020

Applications are accepted only for the fall semester and must be submitted by our postmark deadline of January 15, 2020.

Requirements

Applicants must meet Brooklyn College requirements for admission to the Division of Graduate Studies; hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution; and have completed an approved undergraduate program of study—including at least 12 credits in advanced courses in English—with a minimum average of B. Applicants who do not meet course requirements but whose manuscripts show unusual talent are considered for admission.

Applicants to the creative writing program in fiction or poetry must have completed at least 12 credits in advanced courses in English as undergraduates. Those applying to the playwriting program must have completed 12 credits in advanced courses in English or theater.

Applicants whose native language is not English are required to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 650 on the paper test, or 280 on the computer-based test, or 114 on the internet-based test.

Applicants are required to submit an online application form, official transcripts, two letters of recommendation (we strongly prefer receiving these letters via our online application system), a manuscript in the genre they intend to pursue (for fiction, about thirty pages; for poetry, about twenty pages; for playwriting, one full-length play, or two or more one-act plays), and a personal statement (one to two pages). In addition, a personal interview may be required.

Submitting Application Materials

All application materials should be uploaded via our online application system. This includes manuscripts, personal statements, transcripts, and the names and email addresses of your recommenders. Recommenders will be emailed a link and prompted to submit their letters online.