The winter 2011 semester / spring residency will take place
December 31, 2010 to January 9, 2011.
The summer 2011 semester / fall residency will take place July 8 to
July 17, 2011.
Click below for downloadable guidelines and application forms:
Please see our deadlines page for information regarding when applications are due.
Anyone interested in the Solstice MFA Program is advised to apply well before the deadline. Generally, applicants can expect a response within six weeks of receipt of their application by the Solstice MFA Office. Applicants who submit materials by the final deadline should expect a response within three weeks of the start of the coming residency/semester *(applying late will leave less preparation time for the MFA Craft, Criticism, & Theory Classes, which often require advance reading and sometimes writing exercises).
For more information or to receive an application by mail, contact the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program office at Pine Manor College.
Note: Please allow two weeks for processing and mailing.
In order for your application to be considered:
- The manuscript, essay and application form must be submitted in triplicate. (Clean photocopies are acceptable.)
- Your manuscript must represent work in the genre in which you plan to concentrate: no more than 10 pages of poems or 25 typed pages of fiction or creative nonfiction. Applicants for the writing for children & young adults concentration may submit a combination of these genres, totaling no more than 25 typed pages. Material in excess of the stated page limits will not be read.
- Pages must be numbered, and your name should appear on each poem, story, or chapter.
- Your manuscript must be typewritten, in a 12-point font. Fiction and creative nonfiction must be double-spaced.
- The personal essay should state: literary influences, what the applicant sees as the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own work, experience with critical evaluation of his/her work, what she/he hopes to gain from an MFA program, and possible obstacles to carrying a 25-hour-a-week workload. The essay must not run over the limit of five typed, double-spaced pages.
You must arrange for the MFA Office to receive by the deadline date:
- *Three letters of recommendation sent directly (not enclosed with your application) to our offices: Meg Kearney, Solstice MFA Director, Pine Manor College, 400 Heath Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.
- Official college transcript(s) from any school(s) where you received a degree or transfer credits.
Please ensure that ALL materials are clearly labeled Solstice MFA Office to ensure proper on-campus delivery.
*Letters of recommendation need not be from a published author and/or former professor. We are looking for letters that vouch for the applicant's seriousness and dedication to the art of writing, as well as his/her ability to get along well in a community of writers. Letters are confidential and cannot be shared with applicants.
GREs are not required.
If you are applying for a fellowship, need-based scholarship, and/or government loans, please refer to our Financial Aid page.
If you are reapplying within 12 months from your last application, the MFA Office will still have your original file, including transcripts and letters of recommendation. In this case, you need send only a new or revised manuscript, a one-to-three page personal essay updating us on your life as a writer since you last applied, a new application form, and the $50 application fee.
The MFA Office will confirm receipt of your application, letters of recommendation, and transcripts by email (or mail, if applicant does not have email).
Our office cannot return applications or provide copies of applicants’ evaluations or letters of recommendation.
If you have any questions, please call the MFA in Creative Writing office at:
- (617) 731-7697/7684
or email mfa@pmc.edu
MFA Program of Pine Manor College
400 Heath Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (617) 731-7697 / 7684
Fax: (617) 731-7631
E-mail: mfa@pmc.edu