Thank you for your interest in the Sewanee School of Letters, a summer graduate program in literature and creative writing. The School of Letters offers the choice between the M.A. degree in English and American Literature and the M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Both programs are designed for degree-completion in 5 summers, and admission into either program begins here. Please feel free to download the application materials from this web site or contact the Sewanee School of Letters office and ask that an application packet be sent to you via the U.S. Postal Service.

The various application materials, once filled in and completed, should be returned in one package to the office of the Sewanee School of Letters. The checklist below will help you determine what forms and enclosures are expected. If mailing everything together in one package is not possible, please include a note in what you mail first listing what is missing and when we can expect to receive it.

The Admissions Committee will begin reading completed applications (those with all materials in hand) on January 28 and will continue to accept applications after that time until the entering class fills. The 2008 session will run from June 8 to July 18.

Check list of application materials you should complete and return:

1. Application form. You may print it out, fill it in and mail it to us or fill it in on your computer and email it back to us. Be certain to fill in every section, including the personal statement on the second page expressing why you wish to attend the Sewanee School of Letters. Please note that admission decisions are made without regard to financial need; the question concerning aid lets us know whether to ask the University’s financial aid officer to send you information about forms to file.

2. Writing sample. For applicants to the M.F.A. program, the writing sample should include 8 to 10 pages of poems or 15 to 25 pages of fiction or creative nonfiction. For applicants to the M.A. program, it should include 15 to 25 pages of critical prose, from one or more essays.

3. Application fee. Please enclose a check or money order in the amount of $40.00 made payable to the University of the South.

4. Two letters of recommendation, each in an envelope sealed and signed by recommender. These recommenders should be former professors or other persons able to evaluate your potential for graduate study.

5. Official transcripts from all colleges and graduate schools previously attended should be sent from those institutions directly to the Sewanee School of Letters.