Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Degree

MFA (Master of Fine Arts)

Program Type

Thesis

Delivery

On-campus

Entry Terms & Deadlines

Fall (September): December 1

Duration

Full Time: 24 months

Admission Average

70% - 72%

Program Structure

Directed by internationally celebrated poet and writer Canisia Lubrin, winner of the 2025 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize, the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program is a University of Guelph satellite program located in Toronto on the University of Guelph-Humber campus. Over two years our program nurtures and supports a diverse array of emerging voices as graduate students work toward completing a full-length manuscript in fiction or creative nonfiction, a collection of poems, or a full length play or screenplay. Our faculty and supervisors include writers Canisia Lubrin, Catherine Bush, Carrianne Leung, Judith Thompson, Alicia Elliot, Blain Watters, Shyam Selvadurai, Kevin Connolly, Kyo Maclear, Michael Winter, Margaret Christakos, Hoa Nguyen, Gary Barwin, and Damian Rogers.

With workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, screenwriting, poetry, and mixed mode narrative, defining characteristics of the MFA include a semester-long mentorship with a well-established writer from Canada or abroad, six masterclasses per year, as well as collaborations with a variety of cultural organizations in the Toronto area such as Harbourfront Centre and The International Festival of Authors, Toronto theatres, and the Eden Mills Writers Festival. MFA students gain experience working with a professor, teaching, and grading creative work as teaching assistants (TAs) in the Creative Writing Bachelor of Arts program at the University of Guelph. The MFA program also hosts a monthly reading series, called Speakeasy, at Another Story Bookshop in downtown Toronto every second Wednesday of the month, from October to April.

The deadline for consideration for Fall 2027 entry is December 1, 2026 at 11:59pm.

All Creative Writing MFA-related questions should be directed to Program Administrator Libby Johnstone: cwmfa@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Academic Calendar

Tuition and Fees

Speakeasy Reading Series

OUAC Application

Submit Admissions Portfolio to SlideRoom

Take a Closer Look at the Creative Writing MFA

Program Structure

The MFA in Creative Writing is a two-year program organized over six semesters.

Mandatory Courses:

Writers on Writing (CRWR*6000)
Writers in the World (CRWR*6010)
Individual Study Mentorship (CRWR*6400)
Three writing workshops

Visit the Graduate Calendar for more information on the program courses.

Program Design

Workshop Courses

Plenary Courses

These courses are called “plenary” courses because all students enrolled in the program take them at the same time. One plenary is offered each year, in the fall semester, and students are required to take both. These reading-based courses are intended as a forum for the lively discussion of a range of ethical, aesthetic and practical issues pertinent to the writing life. Students are encouraged to examine the choices that writers make on the page and in the world. Discussions are augmented by visits from writers and other literary professionals including editors and agents. Reading for the plenaries is drawn from the literature on writing by writers and primary texts in a variety of genres.

Writers on Writing (CRWR*6000)

This plenary course allows students to acquaint themselves with and vigorously debate the varied ways in which writers describe their art and practice, and includes readings from such writers as Italo Calvino, Anne Carson, Sheila Heti, Dennis Lee, Harold Pinter, and David Shields, among others. We will examine how writers understand and describe their creative processes, techniques, and aims, and engage with a range of subjects including the competing roles of experience and imagination, the place of theft and influence in creativity, the usefulness of the idea of perfection, questions of representation, including the nature of realism, and the use of formal structures in poetry and prose.

Writers in the World (CRWR*6010)

This plenary course involves students in significant, often highly contentious debates on the role of writing in the world—debates that form a context within which the solitary writer creates his or her own imaginative worlds. Issues to be considered include varying conceptions of the writer’s role and responsibilities, the idea of a national literature, the way value is assigned to a work of literature, transgression in writing, the changing copyright climate, and the impact of the internet on writers’ professional lives. Work by writers including Chinua Achebe, Margaret Atwood, Dionne Brand, J.M. Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie among others will be examined.

Individual Study Course

The individual study course, required in the third (summer) semester of the program, offers students the opportunity to work one-on-one with a professional writer. For the majority of students, it is likely to be an intensive writing course conducted through a twelve-week mentorship with a professional writer chosen by the student in consultation with the program coordinator. Many students use the mentorships as an opportunity to begin focused work on their thesis manuscript, although this is not required. The writing is supplemented by readings chosen by the student and writer/mentor in consultation with the coordinator. Occasionally, the mentorship will be primarily a reading course, with practice in writing in relation to particular models or readings.

Great care will be taken to achieve a good match between student and mentor. The mentorship is designed to accommodate the variable learning needs of individual students. The design and schedule of the individual study course will be arrived at through consultation between the coordinator, the student, and the mentor. Students work closely with their mentors and have regular contact with them through email and Zoom.

Thesis

The thesis is the single most important component of the MFA program. The thesis might be a novel, a book-length manuscript of poems, a collection of short stories, a full-length play or screenplay, or a work of creative nonfiction. The standard to be applied is that the thesis should be a substantially revised manuscript of creative work approaching publishable quality in the estimation of the examiners.

Each student will have a thesis advisor and a two-person advisory committee made up of the advisor and one additional faculty member. When it has been determined by the advisory committee that the thesis is ready for examination, the thesis will be evaluated by a three-person examining committee. An oral examination is the final phase of the thesis requirement. The examining committee, whose first and most crucial task is to assess the merits of the thesis itself, will conduct this examination.

Our faculty includes Catherine Bush, Carianne Leung, Canisia Lubrin, and Judith Thompson, and associated faculty Blain Watters, Alicia Elliott, Kevin Connolly, Kyo Maclear, and Michael Winter, among others. We offer workshops in the following genres: creative nonfiction, drama/screenwriting, fiction, poetry, and hybrid and mixed-mode narratives. Defining characteristics of the program include the innovative plenary courses “Writers on Writing” and “Writers in the World,” a semester-long mentorship with a professional writer, the participation of a wide range of well-established writers from Canada and abroad as associated faculty, mentors and visitors, and alliances with a variety of cultural organizations in the Toronto area. We emphasize reading as essential to the art of writing and promote the idea of an engaged writing practice. We attract a diverse student body and are proud of the trail-blazing publication and production accomplishments of our growing number of alumni. Through the program, we aim to offer students stimulating, challenging, and engaging ways to shape a writing life.

The MFA forced me to wrestle with important questions that continue to shape the stories I tell and the process I use to arrive at a finished product. The most meaningful part of the program was the workshop discussion with peers, facilitated by established writers. I got hard questions and helpful advice. I also recieved positive feedback and encouraging words that I still think about when my own self-doubt is overwhelming.

Jael Richardson, AlumniMFA Creative Writing, 2008 - Author of Gutter Child, The Stone Thrower: A Daughters lessons, A Father's Lie; and founding Executive Director of the Festival of Literary DiversityProfessional Website

The Guelph MFA was instrumental in helping me build the skills I now rely on in both writing and dramaturgy: rigorous self-reflection, a disciplined creative process, and a deep respect for collaborative development. The program supported my growth as an artist and a contributing member of Canada’s theatre community.

Scout Rexe, AlumniMFA Creative Writing, 2012

The University of Guelph’s MFA in Creative Writing program offered me an invaluable opportunity to study under some of the most brilliant minds working in CanLit today. Having the time to read and think deeply about the elements of effective storytelling has improved my sense of craft immensely, and the friendships I’ve made here have given me a writing community for life.

K.R. Byggdin, AlumniMFA Creative Writing, 2025

At the MFA program at the University of Guelph, I was part of one of the most supportive and loving cohorts, with supervisors who fostered the best possible social environment for writing to happen.

Sheung-King, AlumniMFA Creative writing, 2018. Headshot: Nina SubinAuthor of Batshit Seven

Meet Our Faculty

How To Apply

Application Deadlines

Creative Writing MFA applicants must complete the University of Guelph's online OUAC application as well as submit the supplementary application materials required for the program in SlideRoom.

Both the online OUAC application and the writing portfolio portion must be submitted by December 1st in order to be considered for fall admission. Your CV, letter of intent, and writing portfolio must be submitted via SlideRoom. Read more about this in the "Application Instruction" accordion below.

If you have any other questions—not already answered on our website--contact cwmfa@uoguelph.ca.

Admission Requirements

Requirement for admission to the MFA program is a baccalaureate degree, in an honours four-year program or the equivalent, from a recognized degree-granting institution. There is no requirement as to the discipline in which the degree was earned. Successful applicants will be expected to have achieved an average standing of at least second-class honours (B-) in their last four semesters of study. Note, however, that a limited number of students may be admitted to the MFA without having satisfied the degree requirement or academic standing requirement, if they apply with an exemplary writing portfolio and are assessed as qualified to undertake graduate studies in creative writing on the basis of other experience and practice.

Application Instructions

The MFA application process involves multiple steps, in two separate portals.

Applying to the Creative Writing MFA program requires that you submit an online application through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) portal, as well as a CV, a letter of intent, and a writing portfolio to the University of Guelph SlideRoom portal.

Step One: Complete the OUAC application

To complete Step One of your application, go directly to the OUAC portal website.

The OUAC portal offers the convenience of submitting your application and paying the application fee online.
Go to the OUAC portal at the link above, and fill out the application and pay the fee.
- Note that for the Creative Writing MFA program, you DO NOT need to speak to a faculty member, or have a faculty advisor lined up, in order to apply. Our students are paired with an advisor in the second year of the program. Please disregard that section on the standard OUAC form.
After you submit your online OUAC application, and it has been received by the University of Guelph, within five (5) business days an account will be created for you in WebAdvisor. WebAdvisor is the University of Guelph student information system.
Once this account is created, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access WebAdvisor.

In WebAdvisor, you’ll see a checklist of required documents. This checklist will include:

TRANSCRIPT(S)

A transcript is required, with the institution grading scale and degree confer date, for EVERY degree-granting institution in which you’ve been previously enrolled. Transcripts must be provided for every degree-granting institution you’ve attended, and for all full or partial programs you’ve completed.

Scans of your unofficial transcript(s) can be uploaded using the online application portal, or electronic transcripts can, in many cases, be ordered from your previous academic institution. If you prefer to submit a hard copy transcript, it can be sent to the Office of Graduate Studies, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, ON N1G 2W1.

‘Official’ transcripts are not required at this time but, if admitted, applicants will have to provide official transcripts to the Office of Graduate Studies before their studies begin.

REFEREES

For the application to the Creative Writing MFA program, you must provide at least two referees.

Referees do not submit hard copies of letters of reference but, rather, they fill an electronic form that is sent by email from the Admissions Office. Your referees will get an email with a link to the assessment form and then 'submit' the form. The applicant is not involved in this process.

You, as the applicant, will declare your referees on your OUAC application and then your referees will receive an email 1-5 days after you submit your OUAC application, around the same time you receive your WebAdvisor information.

Your referees do not have to be academic references, but we recommend that you choose referees who can speak about your writing practice and your ability to navigate a graduate program successfully. They should be familiar with your current writing work, and it's recommended that you share relevant information about your application with them before you apply (including your CV and portfolio) so that they can write an informed statement. You may also use a professional reference in the writing field: a publisher, agent, author, or writing workshop facilitator.

Please contact your referees prior to submitting your application.

If your referees have any trouble with the form, let them know they can reach out to gradapps@uoguelph.ca.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TEST

Applicants who indicate on their application that English is not their first language are required to submit the results of a standardized language test, such as TOEFL, or IELTS. Find the list of standardized tests we accept, and the score requirements, here.

In short, it is your responsiblity as applicant to upload transcripts and, if required, your English proficiency test results to WebAdvisor. But note that the Admissions department will reach out to your referees via email and the applicant is not involved in obtaining reference letters for their file. The applicant is only required to declare the referee names and provide their referees' email addresses on the OUAC application.

Please also note that as long your OUAC application, and all of your SlideRoom materials (see step two below), are submitted by 11:59pm on December 1st, you will be considered for admission. If you apply a couple of days before, or on the day of the deadline, you will have to wait 1-5 days for access to WebAdvisor to upload your transcripts and, if required, your English proficiency test results. Do not be concerned. Your referee assessments will also come to the Admissions department beyond the deadline date of December 1st.

If you have any further questions about the OUAC application process and its requirements, please visit us here.

Or reach out to the program administrator, Libby Johnstone at cwmfa@uoguelph.ca.

Step Two: Submit your CV, letter of intent, and writing portfolio to SlideRoom

Once you submit your online application through the OUAC application portal, you must submit an admissions portfolio which is made up of three documents: your CV, a letter of intent, and a writing portfolio.

This portion of your application must be submitted to the SlideRoom platform by December 1, 2026, or you will not be considered for admission. The SlideRoom portal will open on September 1, 2026 and close at 11:59 pm on December 1, 2026.

Please note that SlideRoom will allow you to log in and edit your admissions portfolio as much as you like, but no further changes are allowed after you click submit. A US$5 fee will be charged to each applicant at the time of submission.

To complete step two of your application, go to the University of Guelph Slideroom portal website.

Then click on the ‘Creative Writing MFA Program’ from the list of programs to which you may apply.

Once you access the SlideRoom portal for the Creative Writing MFA, you will be required to answer a short series of questions and upload the following:

CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)

The curriculum vitae should outline professional work, education, and awards, as well as all relevant publications, presentations, residencies, collaborations, community initiatives, and grants. You must upload your CV to SlideRoom as a PDF.

LETTER OF INTENT

In no more than three (3) pages, 1.5 or double-spaced, describe your aspirations as a writer, your reasons for applying for this program at this time, and the genre(s) in which you are most interested. Please be as specific as you can. It’s important to let the admissions review team know exactly why our MFA program at the University of Guelph feels like the best fit for your studies. You must upload your Letter of Intent to SlideRoom as a PDF.

WRITING PORTFOLIO

Upload to SlideRoom 25-40 pages of published work, unpublished work, and/or works-in-progress. Your portfolio must include a minimum of two separate works, or two excerpts from separate works.

It is highly recommended that you submit work in more than one genre, so the admissions committee can see a range of material.

Your portfolio must be uploaded to SlideRoom as a PDF. Poetry and drama submissions may be single-spaced. Fiction and creative nonfiction submissions must be double-spaced. Please use 12 pt. font for all submissions.

You are also required (via a series of questions in SlideRoom) to indicate your primary genre—the genre in which you intend to write your thesis manuscript. Possible genres include fiction, creative nonfiction, drama/screenwriting, poetry, or mixed-mode narrative.

MFA students are still required to take at least one workshop outside of their primary genre and are not ‘locked in’ to the genre they choose as an applicant. This information simply helps us with considerations of balance over the program, in terms of the number of students we take per genre.

Note that ‘mixed-mode narrative’ (also known as ‘hybrid’) does not mean that you have included works of two or more genres in your portfolio. A mixed-mode narrative is a single work that includes multiple genres. Please declare your genre ‘mixed-mode narrative’ only if you intend to write a hybrid thesis (a singular work) written in two or more genres.

Find help with SlideRoom here.

For further questions about the application process, contact Libby Johnstone at cwmfa@uoguelph.ca

International Students

If you are an International student, visit the University of Guelph International Student Experience website for information about pre-arrival resources, orientation programs (including START International) and counselling help.

Reach out to an International Advisor
Find out more about our Global Pre-Arrival Support (GPS) Team

Please visit the University of Guelph’s Guelph Graduate Tuition and Fees website to find tuition and fee information.

Funding and Scholarships

Guaranteed Funding

Most Offers of Admission that we make for our graduate programs include an offer of funding. As part of your admission offer you will receive a detailed break-down of what that funding will include over the duration of your program. Most funding consists of a mix of a guaranteed offer of paid work for the University, usually as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and scholarship income. Once you enroll in your program, you will be set up with an account with Student Financial Services; your funding will be paid into this account (every two weeks in the case of employment income) and you can pay your tuition and fees from this account and then move the rest into your own bank account.

Internal Awards for Incoming Students

The Constance Rooke Scholarship

Upon acceptance to the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts Program, each writer is granted a Constance Rooke Scholarship. This scholarship provides each writer with a total of $8,000 in funding over a two-year period, which is the duration of the program. In year one of study, a writer receives $4,000, and in year two of study, an additional $4,000. In both years of study, the $4,000 is allocated at the beginning of each semester (Fall, Winter and Spring/Summer) in lump sums of $1333.33. While this funding does cover a good deal of tuition, it does not cover all expenses.

The McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Scholarship

Every year, one incoming poet is awarded The McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Scholarship. The recipient is selected by the program’s coordinator and core faculty and all poets accepted into the program are considered for this award. There is no formal application. This scholarship has been generously donated by McClelland & Stewart Ltd. and the award amount is $3000.00, allocated on a yearly basis.

The Edward Y. Morwick Graduate Scholarship in Creative Writing

The $4,500 Edward Y. Morwick Graduate Scholarship in Creative Writing is usually awarded to two entering graduate students who are registered full-time in the Creative Writing Program. This award is meant to encourage and reward students who have shown developing skill and dedication to the craft of Creative Writing. The recipients must exhibit excellence in Creative Writing as evidenced by the portfolio submitted to the Creative Writing admissions committee. No application is necessary.

Additional Funding Opportunities

Board of Graduate Research Scholarships

Every year, the Creative Writing MFA program receives several Board of Graduate Research Scholarships, which are funded, internally, by the university. The recipients of these awards are nominated by the program's coordinator and each award is $2000. An application is not required.

The University of Guelph has established a number of awards which provide bursaries for students in financial need. To be eligible for these bursaries, students must complete a needs assessment application available from Student Financial Services website.

External Scholarships

The main sources of external funding for MA students are the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS), and the SSHRC/CGS Master’s Scholarships. MA students are strongly encouraged to apply for all sources of external funding for which they are eligible. For more information about terms and conditions of these awards, please consult the respective websites:

Work Opportunities

Our program has a relationship with the Humber Writing Centre: each year, the Writing Centre hires four Creative Writing MFA students to work as tutors for three academic terms. Remuneration is equivalent to that of a teaching assistant; however, all students complete their weekly hours assisting students in the Writing Centre, rather than grading papers outside of the classroom — as is the case for most teaching assistants.

Libby Johnstone, the program's administrator, is the main point of contact for these work opportunities. A call for applications is forwarded by Libby to all students in the month of October.

For more information, please contact Libby Johnstone: cwmfa@uoguelph.ca or (519) 824-4120 ext. 53882

Tuition and Fees

Accomodations

See What Our Writers Are Doing

Bluesky

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Have Questions?

All Creative Writing MFA-related questions should be directed to Program Administrator, Libby Johnstone.

Graduate Program Assistant:

Libby Johnstone
cwmfa@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Program Coordinator:

Canisia Lubrin

Please direct all hard copy correspondence to the following address:

Attn: Libby Johnstone
Creative Writing MFA
SOTEC - University of Guelph
50 Stone Rd. E.
432 MacKinnon Bldg
Guelph ON N1G 2W1

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Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Degree

MFA (Master of Fine Arts)

Program Type

Thesis

Delivery

On-campus

Entry Terms & Deadlines

Fall (September): December 1

Duration

Full Time: 24 months

Admission Average

70% - 72%

Program Structure

The deadline for consideration for Fall 2027 entry is December 1, 2026 at 11:59pm.

All Creative Writing MFA-related questions should be directed to Program Administrator Libby Johnstone: cwmfa@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Academic Calendar

Tuition and Fees

Speakeasy Reading Series

OUAC Application

Submit Admissions Portfolio to SlideRoom