Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing is a two-year, in-person program that immerses you in an innovative and supportive environment designed to refine your writing skills and foster your creative voice.
Located at the Guelph-Humber campus in Toronto, Canada’s most richly diverse city, the program connects you with a vibrant community of established writers, mentors, and fellow creatives. With workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and poetry, alongside innovative plenary courses, a semester-long mentorship with a professional writer, and hands-on teaching experiences, you’ll gain the tools needed to navigate the literary world and develop a rewarding writing life.
Our distinguished faculty and acclaimed graduates emphasize the transformative power of language, welcoming a multitude of voices and imaginative perspectives.
Program Overview
- Study Option: Thesis
- Delivery: In-Person at the University of Guelph-Humber. MFA classes are strictly in person and there is no remote option.
- Duration & Start Terms: 2 Years
- Admission Average: 70% (B-) average
- Deadlines: December 1
- Application: the application process requires an OUAC application and a SlideRoom application. Read more about the full application process below.
School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing situated in the College of Arts
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)
With permission, students may take up to two courses from the MA programs in the School of Theatre, English and Creative Writing during their final two semesters.
Visit the Graduate Calendar for more information on the program courses.
Program Design
Complete three workshops: 1-2 in your primary genre with at least one in a different genre.
- Fall: Drama, fiction, poetry.
- Winter: Creative nonfiction, fiction.
The workshops are strongly focused on writing, but each also involves a substantial reading component. It is worth noting here that the most consistent and urgent advice given to new writers by established professionals is to read—widely, voraciously, and well. Through the reading component of the workshops, students learn to read as writers. They grow in an understanding of the writer’s craft; they will be able to discuss technique knowledgably and to incorporate insights gained from their reading into the writing they produce for the workshop.
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.
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.
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 stellar 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 offer students such pedagogical initiatives as the Parkdale Project, the opportunity to design and teach creative writing workshops in downtown Toronto schools, and 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 Creative Writing MFA takes full advantage of its location in Toronto, an international literary and cultural centre. The program has been designed to provide students with a wide range of opportunities to interact with the community, and especially to connect students with well-established writers from across Canada and abroad as workshop instructors, mentors, and visitors. Our partnership with Harbourfront’s International Festival of Authors is a distinctive feature of the program. Through the IFOA we offer annual Master Classes with authors visiting the festival. We offer additional winter Master Classes and panels on such topics as structuring the novel, teaching writing, and writers and money. Our partnership with the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival offers MFA students annual reading spots at the Festival. We host a monthly program reading series, Speakeasy, in downtown Toronto. We also offer a teaching practicuum, the Parkdale Project: MFA students co-teach six once-a-week writing workshops to Grade Seven and Eight students at Parkdale Public School, or act as solo instructors for two high school level workshop sessions with Parkdale Collegiate students. There are play reading opportunities for our playwriting students and intensive voice workshops to train students in how to read their work. Additional partnerships with the Humber School for Writers, Humber College, and Toronto theatres provide extraordinary extracurricular, volunteer, and work opportunities for our MFA students.
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.
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.
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Meet our Faculty
How To Apply
The deadline for receiving your complete application package for Fall admission is December 1.
- 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.
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
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.
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
Please visit the University of Guelph’s Guelph Graduate Tuition and Fees website to find tuition and fee information.
Have Questions?
Graduate Program Coordinator:
Canisia Lubrin
519-824-4120 Ext 53263
clubrin@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Assistant:
Libby Johnstone
cwmfa@uoguelph.ca
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Contact Us
College of Arts, Dean's Office
MacKinnon Extension (MCKX)
87 Trent Lane, Guelph, ON, N1G 1Y4
coado@uoguelph.ca