Admission to the B.F.A. program in Creative Writing is by portfolio review.
Once you have been accepted to the College, you can submit your online portfolio for a review by the Creative Writing Faculty. If you receive a positive review on your portfolio, you will be accepted directly into the B.F.A. program.
Important Note: If after faculty review, a student’s application is deemed to require additional study and practice, they will be counseled to reapply to the B.F.A. program after taking and performing well in Introduction to Creative Writing, COMP 202.
Overview of the B.F.A. application process:
- New Students: Apply to SUNY Potsdam using the SUNY or Common Application. Select B.F.A. Creative Writing for the choice of academic program.
- Current SUNY Potsdam students: If you are currently a SUNY Potsdam student and are not yet a Creative Writing major, please declare the English: Creative Writing B.A. major by emailing onestop@potsdam.edu for instructions. While you wait for that change to register, you can submit your B.F.A. application.
- Student submits the internal B.F.A. Creative Writing portfolio requirements listed below. This will be reviewed by SUNY Potsdam’s Creative Writing faculty.
- Student is notified if accepted into B.F.A. Creative Writing program. Please review the important note at the top of this page.
Portfolio Requirements
Please review these requirements carefully. We cannot review incomplete applications or incorrectly formatted files.
Cover letter/Statement of Intent
Include a cover letter/statement of intent introducing yourself and your portfolio pieces.
- Please provide your contact information (email and/or cell phone number) in case we have questions.
- Talk about your writer’s background as well as your goals and aspirations. Do you have a favored genre? Why did you select the pieces you included, and what do you hope they reveal about you as a writer? Each cover letter will look different from any other.
- In discussing your pieces, mention the title of each, its genre, and when you first wrote it.
- Address your letter to Professor Benjamin Landry, and place it at the beginning of your portfolio document.
- Your cover letter should be single-spaced, standard business letter format, Times New Roman 12-point font, three pages or fewer.
Admissions Portfolio
- Submit 10 pages of edited, polished writing that represent some of your best efforts.
- Include at least two pieces (or parts of pieces) from two genres.
- Clearly present the title for each piece. If you choose to give us part of a longer work, indicate where you have removed material.
- Merge your pieces into one document and insert page numbers. Use Times New Roman 12-point font, and double space your text.
Submission
Combine your cover letter and portfolio into one document with page numbers, save it as a .pdf file, include your last name in the file name and submit using our secure file upload folder below.
Questions?
Contact Professor Sharmain Van Blommestein at vanblos@potsdam.edu with questions.