Admission Prerequisites

Academic Preparation

Applicants for graduate admission must present official evidence of receipt of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education or the equivalent, with training comparable in standard and content to that provided by the University of California. This must be provided by the beginning of the first academic year of study at UCSD.

A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (or its equivalent, if the letter grade system is not used) is required for course work completed in the final two years of undergraduate study and any post-baccalaureate study.

An international student whose postsecondary education is completed outside the U.S. must hold the equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate degree, with above average scholarship, granted by a non-U.S. university or university-level institution.

The baccalaureate degree does not have to be in Literature, English, or Writing.

Tests

GRE

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for admission to the MFA Program in Writing.

English Language Test

International applicants whose native language is not English and whose undergraduate education was conducted in a language other than English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System academic exam (IELTS) and submit their test scores to the Office of Graduate Admissions.

The minimum TOEFL score for admission is 550 for the paper-based test (PBT), 213 for the computer-based test (CBT), or 80 for the Internet-based test (IBT). The minimum IELTS score is 7.0. Applicants are strongly advised to take a Speaking test.