American University

MFA Program

See writers who attended this program
Program Established: 
1980
Location: 
Washington, DC
Genre: 
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residency: 
Full
Duration: 
2 Years
Incoming Class Size: 
15
Application Deadline: 
February 15, 2024
Application Fee: 
$55
Contact E-mail: 
Contact Name: 
Stephanie Grant
Core Faculty Includes: 

Poetry: Kyle Dargan, David Keplinger
Fiction: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Stephanie Grant, Patricia Park
Nonfiction: Rachel Louise Snyder

Funding/Employment Opportunities: 

The program offers partial funding to all accepted applicants. Funding usually consists of a combination of tuition waivers plus a stipend. The stipend is given in exchange for work on the programs that sustain our community, including the Visiting Writers Series, our national literary journal Folio, and Café MFA, a website that focuses on the DC literary arts scene and graduate life.

Affiliated Publications/Publishers: 
Other Features: 

This program is affiliated with writing organizations around Washington, D.C., and features a Visiting Writers Series where award-winning writers, both emerging and established, give public readings and, when possible, master classes. Opportunities include internships in editing, publishing, and arts administration. 

The application deadline for merit awards is February 15. After February 15, the program continues to consider applications on a rolling basis. The priority application deadline for spring is November 1.

Graduates: 

Abdul Ali, Derrick Weston Brown, Sandra Beasley, Yohanca Delgado, Glen Finland, Vince Granata, Harvey Grossinger, Valzhyna Mort, Carolyn Parkhurst, Leslie Pietrzyk, Chet'la Sebree, Amy Stolls, Philip Dean Walker