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APPLYING TO THE NEW WRITERS PROJECT

The New Writers Project, the MFA Program of the Department of English at The University of Texas at Austin, admits students for the fall semester only. The Fall 2013 application deadline is 11:59 PM, December 15, 2012.

To apply, you will need to submit the following materials:
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Writing Sample
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Official Transcripts
  • General GRE

Please continue reading for specific details about each of these items before applying to the program.

Statement of Purpose

In this short essay (1-2 pages), discuss your specific areas of interest and professional goals. You may also want to explain some of your personal history in becoming a writer and why you want to teach.

Writing Sample

We accept a maximum of either 15 pages of poetry or 6,500 words of prose (12-point type and double-spaced). We are interested in what you consider to be your best work. Our decision to accept an applicant begins with his or her writing sample.

Letters of Recommendation

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.

Submitting letters:
After submitting the completed ApplyTexas application and its receipt at the University, an email will be sent to each of the addresses of the recommenders you provided in your application, and your recommenders will be asked to visit a website where they can complete a questionnaire. Your recommender will be informed if you have not waived your right to view his/her letter of recommendation.

The department will not accept letters from Interfolio. Recommenders must upload their letters to the applicant's online application. We will accept those uploaded recommendation letters until 11:59 pm on December 20.

Official Transcripts

To begin graduate study at UT Austin, you must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited United States institution or proof of equivalent training at an institution outside the United States. If you are a college senior and have not graduated yet, please use your current transcript. If you are admitted, the Graduate School will require you to send a final official transcript that states you have received the bachelor's degree by the time you enroll.

Important information about transcripts:
You must provide one copy of the official academic transcript from every senior college you have attended. Even if courses taken at one institution are recorded on another college's transcript, transcripts must be submitted from the institution at which the courses were taken. Failure to list all colleges on the application and provide those transcripts will be considered an intentional omission and may lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission. The sending institution must produce transcripts from the past calendar year. Transcripts from junior and/or community colleges are not required.

Two methods for submitting your transcript(s):
1) If your college or university is on the Texas Electronic Transcript Network (SPEEDE), you can have your transcript(s) sent electronically. Check with the registrar of your institution to find out if transcripts can be sent via the SPEEDE server. We cannot accept electronic transcripts sent by registrars or third-party entities in any other format, i.e., by mail or by links to secure web sites.

2) After you have submitted your application and paid the application fee, you will receive an email that contains a link to the Status Check website where you will be able to upload a PDF of your transcript(s). The uploaded material is considered to be unofficial but will be used to process your application for admission. Please do not mail official transcripts or paper copies of your transcripts before you are offered admission. Sending paper copies of documents you have uploaded will significantly delay the processing of your application.

Before uploading a transcript you must read these instructions

A note about international transcripts:
If documents are written in a language other than English, complete and official English translations to date must be uploaded together with the original language records. 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 do not upload your college or university syllabi with your transcript(s) or mark sheets.

Before uploading a transcript you must read these instructions

NOTE: If you are offered admission, you will be required to submit official transcripts BEFORE you will be allowed to enroll. Official transcripts are those that bear the facsimile signature of the registrar and seal of the issuing institution. The official transcript will be compared to the document you uploaded. Any alterations or omission of information on the transcripts submitted to The University of Texas at Austin could be grounds for cancellation of your application and/or the withdrawal of the offer of admission.

Send official transcripts for all your coursework. To begin graduate study at UT Austin, you must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited United States institution or proof of equivalent training at an institution outside the United States. If you are a college senior and have not graduated yet, please send your current transcript. If you are admitted, the Graduate School will require you to send a final official transcript that states you have received the bachelor's degree by the time you enroll.

General GRE

The General GRE (verbal and quantitative) is a requirement for all graduate applicants at UT Austin. All applicants must take the general GRE and submit an official score report to UT. The GRE school code for UT is 6882.

It is not necessary to use a department code for the New Writers Project when submitting your test scores to UT Austin. All test scores are sent to the Graduate and International Admissions Center where they are matched to your application materials and made available to NWP whether you designate a department code or leave it blank. For your reference, the department code is 2503.

STEPS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
  • Complete the ApplyTexas application
  • Pay the application fee
  • You will then receive an email with an EID and temporary password
  • Using your EID and temporary password, log into the Application Status. Check website and upload the required supporting materials (i.e. writing sample, personal statement, transcripts).

Please note there are two separate application procedures that need to be completed:
1) the ApplyTexas application; and 2) Uploading your supporting materials through the Application Status Check. Your application is not complete until you have uploaded your supporting materials.

As many as two days can pass between your submission of the ApplyTexas application and your receipt of the email with your EID and password to log into the Application Status Check. Please be patient and plan to submit your application with this process in mind. If you do not receive the email with your EID and temporary password after two business days, please feel free to contact GIAC or the department, but it is not helpful to do so any earlier.

Upload Deadline:
All application materials under the applicant's control (i.e. personal statement and writing sample) must be uploaded by 11:59 PM on December 15 for the application to be considered for Fall 2013 admission.

We will accept letters of recommendation, test score reports, and transcripts after the upload deadline, but it is the applicant's responsibility to make sure these materials are here by the time we begin our review of the applications in early January.

Due to the high number of applications, the English Office cannot confirm the receipt of individual items. Applicants are normally notified of the Program's decision by early March.

Applying to more than one M.F.A. Program at UT

Although students may apply to both the New Writers Project and The Michener Center for Writers, each application must be conducted separately. The New Writers Project and the English Department cannot answer questions about The Michener Center for Writers, nor can The Michener Center for Writers answer questions about the New Writers Project. Students interested in applying to the New Writers Project can find more details about admissions on this site. Students interested in applying to The Michener Center for Writers can learn about the program by contacting them through the university's main website.