Program Overview

Overview

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA) program at the University of British Columbia is a studio program with the writing workshop at its heart. The program focuses on the work created by students as the primary text, and through intensive peer critique and craft discussion, faculty and students work together with the same goal: literary excellence.

What makes the program unique?

UBC's Creative Writing program was the first writing program in Canada, and is the largest and most comprehensive in the country. It is highly ranked internationally, and draws students from around the world for its multi-genre approach to writing instruction. Students are required to work in multiple genres during the course of the degree. As a fine arts program rather than an English program, students focus on the practice of writing rather than the study of literature.

Quick Facts

• Faculty: Faculty of Arts
• Academic Unit: School of Creative Writing
• Specialization: Creative Writing
• Mode of delivery: In person at UBC Vancouver
• Program Components: Coursework + Thesis required
• Tuition (First Year): Domestic: $5,626.02 | International: $9,883.98
• Median Funding: 50% of students receive $13,192 or more funding per year in the first 2 years, before tuition and fees

Admission Information & Requirements

Program Instructions

The residency MFA program only has a September intake.

1) Check Eligibility

• Minimum Academic Requirements: The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC).
• English Language Test: Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application.
  • TOEFL: Overall score requirement: 90, Reading: 22, Writing: 21, Speaking: 21, Listening: 22
  • IELTS: Overall score requirement: 6.5, Reading: 6.0, Writing: 6.0, Speaking: 6.0, Listening: 6.0

2) Meet Deadlines

• Program Name: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)
• Intake: September 2026
• Canadian Applicant Deadline: 6 January 2026
• International Applicant Deadline: 6 January 2026

3) Prepare Application

• Transcripts: All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study.
• Letters of reference: Applicants have to submit 2 references to apply to this graduate program.
• Statement of Interest: Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.
• Supervision: Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

• Fees:
  • Application Fee: $118.50 (Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat), $168.25 (International)
  • Tuition per installment: $1,875.34 (Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat), $3,294.66 (International)
  • Tuition per year: $5,626.02 (Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat), $9,883.98 (International)
  • Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year: $3,200.00 (if eligible)
• Other Fees and Costs:
  • Student Fees (yearly): $1,144.10 (approx.)
  • Costs of living: Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool

Financial Support

• Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based and need-based opportunities.
• Funding Statistics: Based on the criteria outlined below, 56 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards with a mean of $13,199 and a median of $13,192.

Career Options

Graduates of the MFA program have found success in varied fields related to writing and communication. The MFA qualifies graduates for teaching at the university level and many graduates have gone on to teach at colleges and universities in Canada, the United States and overseas as well as holding writing residencies.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

• Enrolment Data:
  • Applications: 248 (2023), 302 (2022), 368 (2021), 233 (2020), 248 (2019)
  • Offers: 37 (2023), 41 (2022), 43 (2021), 44 (2020), 54 (2019)
  • New Enrolment: 29 (2023), 24 (2022), 27 (2021), 29 (2020), 30 (2019)
  • Total Enrolment: 118 (2023), 131 (2022), 140 (2021), 160 (2020), 175 (2019)
• Completion Rates & Times:
  • Graduation rate: 90% based on 202 students admitted between 2015 - 2018
  • Minimum time to completion: 0.68 years
  • Maximum time to completion: 14.35 years
  • Average time to completion: 3.76 years

Research Supervisors

• Supervision: Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor.
• Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program: Applicants should apply without contacting individual faculty members prior to the application.

Related Programs

• Same specialization: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Distance Education (MFA)
• Same Academic Unit: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre (MFA), Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing (MFA)
• At the UBC Okanagan Campus: Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Further Information

• Specialization: Creative Writing
• UBC Calendar: graduate-and-postdoctoral-studies/degree-programs/creative-writing
• Program Website:
• Faculty: Faculty of Arts
• Academic Unit: School of Creative Writing
• Program Identifier: VGMMFA-FV
• Classification: Humanities and the arts » Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music), architecture and design » Creative writing