When to apply

Application Deadlines

• Fall Admission: Applications are due Aug. 1. Fall quarter typically begins the last week of September. 
• For instance: If you would like to start school Fall of 2024, your application is due by August 1st, 2024 
• Spring Admission: Applications are due Feb. 1. Spring quarter typically begins the last week of March
• For instance: If you would like to start school Spring of 2025, your application is due by February 1st, 2025 

How to apply
 

Submit an online application to the UCR Graduate Division. Under the program, select “Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts: PD/LR" 

Completing your application includes submitting: 

• An application fee 
• A statement of purpose 
• A personal history statement
• A 25-page writing sample for your intended major (fiction, playwriting, poetry, nonfiction, or screenwriting). Your writing sample must be for your major. Do not send work outside of your intended major. A faculty committee will read your submission. It will be evaluated on the grounds of quality, originality, academic prowess, and creative potential.
• Three letters of recommendation. Non-academic recommendations are accepted. Your referrers will submit their letters of recommendation for you online, after you submit your application.
• Original transcripts from all institutions. Electronic and mailed submissions are fine. Transcripts may arrive after the deadline.

Mail your transcripts directly to:

Kathryn McGee
Palm Desert MFA
UCR Palm Desert Center
75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92211

Email to: Kathryn.McGee@ucr.edu