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MFA Costs of Attendance

Updated 9/1/17

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees are based on the student's California residency status, as follows:

  • California residents are charged regular tuition/fees.
  • Non-California residents who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are charged regular tuition/fees + nonresident supplemental tuition unless eligible for an exemption or waiver.
  • International students are charged regular tuition/fees + nonresident supplemental tuition.

View tuition/fees chart

The MFA Program offers financial support to help students cover regular tuition/fees and nonresident supplemental tuition. Please refer to our Financial Support section for details.

Establishing Residency for Tuition Purposes

Domestic nonresident students who are eligible to establish California residency for tuition purposes are expected to so during their first year in the program to avoid owing nonresident supplemental tuition in sequent years. The same applies to international nonresidents whose immigration status allows them to establish residency. Under no circumstances will the university waive or pay nonresident supplemental tuition for students who are eligible to establish residency.

International nonresidents whose immigration status precludes them from establishing residency may be offered MFA scholarships to help cover nonresident supplemental tuition for 1-2 years of their program. Please refer to our Financial Support section for details.

Budgets for Graduate Students

Click to view a 9-month budget for graduate students.

International students should also refer to the 12-month column of the Budgets and Costs for International Graduate Students (for I-20 and DS-2019 Purposes).. International students applying for an F-1 student visa must demonstrate to the American consulate or embassy that they have sufficient fellowships, scholarships, on-campus employment, grants, or personal resources to cover 12 months of support for each year of their 2-3 year program.

The MFA Program offers financial support to help both domestic and international students cover costs. Refer to our Financial Support section for details.

MFA in Writing


Program Director
Anna Joy Springer

Graduate Coordinator
Tania Mayer
(858) 534-8849
mfawriting@ucsd.edu

2019 Application Period
Sep. 4 - Dec. 12, 2018

Decision Notifications
February - March 2019

Program Begins
September 2019