Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Writing and Literature

Application Deadline

The MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literature accepts applications for admission on a rolling basis. To receive full consideration for admission with financial support, your admission and financial aid applications should be filed by January 15 for the fall semester and October 1 for the spring semester.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the program is based primarily on the evaluation of your creative writing, made in conjunction with a review of your statement of purpose, your academic and non-academic career, and your three letters of recommendation.

The writing sample may include works in any written form including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or scriptwriting. Please send up to 10 pages of poetry, single-spaced, or 20-30 pages of prose, double-spaced, with your name on every page. Send your best work, and disabuse yourself of any requirement to submit the maximum number of pages if they are not all of equally high quality. Please prepare a cover sheet for your writing sample, listing your address, phone number, e-mail address, and title(s) of submission(s).

In addition to the writing sample, you will need to prepare the following:

• Three letters of recommendation from three instructors or writing professionals familiar with your written work.
• A statement of purpose discussing your reasons for study and your evolution as a writer. This should be one to two pages, the length of a good letter.
• A copy of your résumé or C.V.
• Official transcripts from undergraduate and graduate institutions you have attended.
Results from the Graduate Record Examination are not required.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. The program accepts applications from candidates whose undergraduate degrees were taken in areas outside of the humanities. Sometimes the program admits a candidate with outstanding promise in creative writing but a less-than-stellar academic transcript (i.e., below 3.0 on a 4.0 scale) on a conditional basis. Conditional admission requires program recommendation and Graduate School approval. Once admitted conditionally, students are on probation during their first semester and must earn an overall GPA of at least 3.0 to be permitted to continue. A student on probation who fails to earn or maintain a 3.0 average will not be permitted to reenroll. Other deficiencies in the program or Graduate School admission requirements do not automatically bar admission, but it is understood that inadequacies in undergraduate preparation normally will require the student to take additional work, the amount to be determined by the appropriate graduate advisory committee. Additional work may not be used to fulfill MFA degree requirements. Further information on such admissions will be provided by the program and/or Graduate School as needed.

Application Process

Your application to the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature has two destinations, the Graduate School and the MFA Program.

1. The first stop for your application is the Graduate School, to which you apply online. You create and submit it at http://www.grad.sunysb.edu/admissions/app_info.shtml. Paper applications are not available. Have your statement of purpose, c.v., and writing sample, beautifully presented with your cover sheet, ready to upload, but be aware that formatting can be altered by the software and header/footer information deleted or printed over. If formatting is an issue, send a hard copy of your writing sample directly to the MFA Program (address below). Your recommenders can submit their letters online as well, though you may also elect to print out the recommendation forms for them to fill out and mail directly to the MFA Program.

2. The second stop for your application is the MFA Program. If you’ve uploaded your writing sample and your recommenders have uploaded their letters, the only materials you’ll need sent directly to us are transcripts. Ask your undergraduate and graduate institution(s) to send an official transcript to:

MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literature
Chancellors Hall, Room 238
Stony Brook Southampton
239 Montauk Highway
Southampton, NY 11968

If you prefer, you may mail a hard copy of your writing sample, statement of purpose and C.V. to this address as well. And if your recommenders would like to mail their letters rather than upload them to the Graduate School site, this is the address they should use.

Costs & Benefits

Tuition
As of Fall 2011, the cost per credit is $370/credit for New York State Residents and $632/credit for Non-residents (more information is available at: http://www.stonybrook.edu/bursar/tuition/grad.shtml
A New York resident who takes three courses for 12 credits would pay $5,540 per semester.

Financial Support and Benefits
Qualified graduate students in their second year are eligible to apply for teaching assistantships. Graduate students are also eligible for limited financial assistance in the form of awards, including partial scholarships to the Summer Creative Writing Workshops. Applicants are also encouraged to explore opportunities for external funding independent of Departmental and University resources. For more information on other types of financial aid, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid Services at (631) 632-6840, or visit www.stonybrook.edu/financialaid.

Transfer Credits
The program permits the transfer of up to 12 hours of credit in related graduate work done elsewhere that resulted in a grade of B or better. To obtain transfer credit, the student must make special application to the program, submit official transcripts and provide course descriptions or syllabi. Transfer credits are only approved at the discretion of the academic department and the Graduate School. Courses older than five years will be accepted only in rare circumstances. No courses that have been credited toward another degree, such as an MFA in a different field or an MA, can be transferred.

After the Application

Time Limits
An offer of admission to graduate study at Stony Brook is for a specific semester. An applicant who is unable to enroll for the semester specified should request a deferment of admission from the MFA program. If the request is granted, the student will be sent a new offer of admission for the subsequent semester and the Graduate School will be notified accordingly. Students who do not enroll within 12 months of the original offer of admission must submit a new application and fee.

The time limit for earning the MFA is three years for full-time study and five years for part-time study. Student’s full- or part-time status is based on registration, and the time limit may be modified if their enrollment switches between part- and full-time. The student may petition for an extension of time limit for the degree. Requests for extension of time limit must be filed before the limit is exceeded and must contain a significant justification.

Health Records
All accepted students are required by New York State law to file a completed health history and physical examination with the Student Health Service. Transfer students may submit copies of their health forms from their former schools provided they contain the information required by the Student Health Service and are less than two years old.

English Proficiency Requirements for Non-Native Speakers of English
Students are expected to read, write, and speak English. They are also expected to comprehend the spoken language. Applicants whose first or native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency prior to matriculation. To be considered for admission, an applicant must present a passing score for either the TOEFL or IELTS tests. Students who fail to meet this requirement cannot be admitted and must enroll in a course at the Intensive English Center (IEC) and achieve satisfactory grades before admission to graduate study. Students who have taken either of these tests more than two years ago must retake the test. A minimum score of 550 (paper)/213 (computer) is considered passing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). All doctoral students and master’s students who wish to be considered for a teaching assistantship must have a Test for Spoken English (TSE) or Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) score of 55 or better. These tests are given at centers throughout the world several times each year; applicants should forward their scores directly to the Graduate School (the Stony Brook code is 2548). Further information is available by contacting the Education Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA, or at www.toefl.org. Students who take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests instead of the TOEFL are not required to take the TSE. A score of 7 will be considered passing. Further information is available by contacting the IELTS Web site at www.ielts.org. Admission to the Graduate School is contingent upon satisfactory fulfillment of the English proficiency requirement.

Performance in the IEC and on the SPEAK test will determine whether a student will be cleared or assigned to an ESL (English as a Second Language) course. All non-native English speakers will be required to pass a test of spoken English before being allowed to teach as a Teacher’s Assistant.

Advising
Incoming students will meet with the program director or faculty advisor before the start of classes to discuss her or his first semester’s coursework. At the end of the first semester, each student should consult with a faculty member to help them plan coursework. The role of the academic advisor (who may or may not serve as thesis advisor) is to monitor the progress of the student, to review with the student issues of course selection and course load, and to serve as an advocate for the student in administrative matters.

International Students

Financial Verification
Applicants who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States must provide the University with verification that the necessary funds are available to finance their education at Stony Brook and for living expenses. The University form SUSB103R2 must be submitted for this purpose before immigration documents will be sent to the admitted students. (The form SUSB103R2 may also be downloaded at www.grad.sunysb.edu under the heading “Applying.”)
I-20 Documentation

Government regulations require that every international student attend the institution that issued the I-20 used for entry into the United States. Transfers between institutions may be possible if a student can show that he or she reported to the original institution with the appropriate clearance.
If an international student defers admission beyond a year, he or she must submit a new “Request for Certificate of Eligibility and Declaration and Certification of Finances” form to request an updated Form I-20 or IAP- 66 valid for the updated semester of admission. Unused Forms I-20 or IAP- 66 must first be returned.

Special Circumstances

Waiver of Application Fee
All applicants are required to pay the application fee. Exceptions include:
• Students who reapply for admission within one academic year;
• Students who are U.S. citizens and have current documentation from a financial aid administrator of an appropriate college or university official substantiating that they are currently enrolled and that the payment of the application would create a financial hardship (complete financial information for the current academic year must be provided, including total cost of education and amount and types of financial aid received);
• Currently enrolled undergraduate students in a U.S. institution who hold a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or better.

To qualify, the waiver request must be submitted with the application for admission, including official copies of all transcripts.

Readmission
Graduate students who have interrupted their attendance at Stony Brook by withdrawing from the University or by taking a leave of absence must be readmitted to graduate study. The student initiates the process by submitting a completed “Readmission” form to their program. The form is available at the Graduate School or may be downloaded at www.gradsunysb.edu.

• Students not on an official leave of absence must submit a $500 readmission fee, as well as the first two pages of the admission application.
• International students must also submit a new financial affidavit and be cleared by an international student advisor before the readmission process can be concluded.

If the program approves the request, the readmission form is submitted to the Graduate School for final approval. The program or the Graduate School may set specific requirements to be fulfilled by the readmitted student during the first year of admission.

Conditional Admission
In exceptional cases where certain admission requirements are not met or the undergraduate preparation is inadequate, an applicant may be admitted conditionally. Such applicants will be considered on probation during the first semester. Program recommendation and Graduate School approval are required for conditional admission.
• Students admitted conditionally for a low cumulative GPA must earn an overall graduate average of at least a B (3.0) during the first semester of enrollment to be permitted to continue. In this case, the student is considered to have achieved regular status.
• A student admitted conditionally because of a low cumulative GPA who fails to earn a B (3.0) average in the first semester will not be permitted to reenroll. Both the student’s program and the Graduate School may set conditions that the student must satisfy during the early period of graduate work.

Non-Matriculated Status (GSP)
Any person holding a bachelor’s degree, its equivalent, or an advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher learning is eligible to be considered for admission to the University as a nonmatriculated graduate student. Such students may enroll in graduate courses through the School for Professional Development (SPD) as non-degree students after submitting a completed application form to SPD. Contact SPD for additional information at (631) 632-7050 or at http://ws.cc.sunysb.edu/spd/. Non-degree students who later wish to pursue a graduate degree will need to make a formal application for admission to the Graduate School and a degree program and may transfer a maximum of 12 credits taken in non-matriculated status to the graduate degree program.

For More Information
Prospective graduate students can also find useful information about the MFA Program at www.stonybrook.edu/mfa.

Information about Stony Brook University is available at www.stonybrook.edu.

Contact us:
MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literature
Chancellors Hall, Room 238
Stony Brook Southampton
239 Montauk Highway
Southampton, NY 11968
Phone: (631) 632-5030
Fax: (631) 632-2576
E-mail: southamptonwriters@stonybrook.edu
Web: www.stonybrook.edu/mfa