Literary Arts

Admission

Breadcrumb

Admission

Admission is highly selective, and is based primarily on the quality of the applicant’s literary 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.

Application review update, March 2026

Offers of admission have been made to ten candidates (five in poetry, four in fiction, one in digital/cross-disciplinary); 18 others have been notified that they have been placed on a waitlist (10 in poetry, six in fiction, 2 in digital/cross-disciplinary). All others who applied have been notified of the university's regrets.

Writing Sample

Suggested Length

Writing samples may comprise a single work; an excerpt (or multiple excerpts) from a longer work; or multiple short works; or some other combination.

30 – 40 pages (double-spaced is typical; you may use an alternative format if integral to the work.)

15 – 20 pages (any format)

One or two electronic projects (provide links); or a 30-50 page portfolio (any format).

Applying for Multiple Tracks

If you want to be considered in more than one track, you may indicate on the application each of the tracks to which you wish to apply. You will need to provide two or (if choosing to apply to all three tracks) three  separate writing samples. If applying to multiple tracks, clearly label each writing sample within the cover page with the track name (fiction, poetry, digital/cross-disciplinary).

Submission

Applicants submit a writing sample in plain-text format (preferably as a PDF document) less than 5 megabytes in size as part of the online application. If your work cannot easily be sent in this format (i.e., it has sculptural elements that you do not feel you can document in any but three-dimensional models), send it by regular mail to: Graduate School, Brown University, Box 1867, Providence, RI 02912. You may also include web address links for works that are best read online.

Review

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

Additional information

Application Requirements

Admission is highly selective, and is based primarily on the quality of the applicant’s writing.

Campus Visits

Some candidates find it useful to visit schools to get a feel for each particular program in advance of applying.

International Applicants

The Literary Arts Department welcomes applications from candidates from around the globe — in recent years, students from abroad have accounted for around 10 to 30% of the students enrolled in the MFA program.