How to apply

The programme has its stated mission to provide the best education possible for aspiring creative writers and teachers of creative writing. The main criterion for admission is the quality of applicants' creative work, and applicants are advised to send their best work for consideration. Candidates are admitted to specialize in one of three genres: creative non-fiction, fiction or poetry. In exceptional cases, students may be admitted to study in more than one genre, but this will require additional work, and is subject to approval.

The programme will accept applications once a year, and the application deadline is March 31 of each year for entry into the summer residency of the same year. All applicants MUST apply online and submit all writing samples, letters of references and copies of transcripts and degrees via the online system. We review applications and offer acceptances on a rolling basis; however, only applicants who have submitted ALL required materials will be considered for admission. For the 2013 cohort, we begin accepting applications on November 15, 2012. Please follow the link below to apply.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your application will not be available for review by the admissions committee until you have opened an online application and paid the application fee of HK$300.

To be eligible for admission, applicants must have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited university.* Applicants also must submit the following as supplementary materials (please note that items 1 - 3 must be submitted online by the applicant along with all other application materials):

1. A sample of creative work consisting of 25 pages of creative non-fiction or fiction, or 10 pages of poetry.**
2. A personal essay of 3 to 5 pages on the applicant's desire to be a writer and creative philosophy.**
3. A critical essay of 3 -5 pages on some aspect of writing craft.**
4. Two letters of recommendation, from writing teachers, editors, established writers, former professors in any academic discipline or professional associates (bosses and colleagues) who can attest to the candidate's writing ability and/or the candidate's abilities to undertake a post graduate program that requires a high degree of commitment, initiative and independence. These letters should be emailed directly to mfawriting@cityu.edu.hk with the candidate's name in the subject line.

Applicants without the specified qualifications may still be considered for admission to the programme, if they are able to present equivalent qualifications and artistic credentials. All applicants must have a demonstrated capacity to pursue and complete the programme within the specified time span.

* Applicants whose entrance qualification is obtained from an institution where the medium of instruction is not English should also fulfill the following minimum English proficiency requirement:

• TOEFL score 550 (paper-based test) or 213 (computer-based test) or 79 (internet-based test); or
• Overall band 6 in International English Language Testing System (IELTS); or
• Score 450 in the new College English Test (CET-6) of Chinese mainland or a pass in the old CET-6 test; or
• Other equivalent qualifications.

** Page submissions for supplementary materials should be standard manuscript pages, i.e.: A-4 or letter-size, double spaced, 12 point font (basic font such as Times or Helvetica), with at least 1" margins on all sides. The only exception is poetry submissions which may be single spaced and in the format required for the poems.

Click here to apply