College of Arts & Sciences Graduate Admission

The MA in Communications program welcomes students from all academic and professional backgrounds. Students who hold a bachelor's degree in any field from a regionally accredited college or university (or the international equivalent) are encouraged to apply.

Admission Deadline: Rolling for fall and spring admission.

Personal Statement: Please briefly introduce yourself, discuss your reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in Communication, and detail your goals following graduation. Please discuss why you are interested in Fairfield’s program specifically (e.g., fit with faculty & courses). This should be about 2 pages.

GPA Requirement: A minimum of a 3.0 overall GPA is desired; those falling under that with compelling personal statements and experiences may be considered for conditional admittance.

Admission Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
For the Winter Residency, please apply for the spring semester.
For the Summer Residency, please apply for the fall semester.

Sample Portfolio: Students must submit online a sample of their work (20-30 pages of fiction, non-fiction, or screenwriting or 6-8 poems).

Personal Statement Guidelines: Students should describe why they want to be a writer and emphasize their commitment to their craft. While students in the program can work in more than one genre, they should specify which of the three genres they are applying for in their personal statement. Submit online.

Special Admission Options

Prior Learning Assessment
Our Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) option offers highly qualified students the opportunity to receive up to one full semester credit for the work they have already written or published. Students receiving the PLA can finish the MFA in three semesters instead of four.

Some of our very best students come to our program after years of working as writers. They have advanced skills in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or screenwriting. Some have significant publications or have worked as professional writers. The PLA concept is intended to give academic credit (up to one full semester or 15 credits in the Fairfield MFA) to creative writers for significant prior learning experience, i.e. both for previous formal creative writing training in an MFA or MA in creative writing program, or a sustained, high level of skill in writing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction or screenwriting. The following are some of the examples of work that would be considered for PLA:

• Successful completion of one full semester of graduate-level creative writing in an MFA or MA program
• Significant publications (for example, a book of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or a screenplay/play that has been produced, or significant individual publications in literary journals)
• Prizes or awards received for creative writing work already written
• Unpublished work in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting that, in the opinion of Fairfield’s MFA review board, demonstrates work that is of publishable quality.

A student interested in applying for PLA for up to 15 credits must complete the following:

• Apply to the MFA program.

• Upload a copy or copies of published work, or an extended piece of highly polished unpublished work (90 pages; or the equivalent of one semester of one-on-one work in the MFA).

• Write and upload a 3-5 page analysis of how your prior learning experience developed your ability as a writer.

Fairfield’s MFA Admission Committee will review applicants seeking PLA consideration and make the decision to award prior learning credit to the student, up to 15 academic credits (i.e., one semester in the MFA program). Students will be notified about PLA credits at the time of admission.

Admission Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Personal Statement

Students should describe why they want to undertake graduate studies in IO Psychology (submitted online).

Interview: Applicants who meet the above criteria will be invited for an Admission interview.

Admission Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Admission Deadline
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Admission Deadline
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.