Portfolio & letter of intent

Students applying for a program in Creative Writing (major, minor) must upload the following:

• An English-language portfolio of your best writing.
  The portfolio must not exceed 15 pages in length and must include at least two genres (chosen from fiction, poetry, drama, and creative non-fiction), although the portfolio does not have to be divided equally between the genres.
  
• A brief Letter of Intent (LOI) 
  • Address it to “Coordinator of Creative Writing”
  • State the program for which you are applying
  • Outline your background as a reader and a writer
  • Discuss your goals for study in creative writing, as well as one or more literary works that have influenced you.
  • Include complete contact information (name, email, mailing address, phone number, and your Concordia University student ID number, if you have one). 
  • If you are applying for a major, state whether creative writing is your first, second, or third choice program. 

Only one portfolio is required for submission, whether you are applying for the major or minor. 

Honours program

The Honours program is open to only Concordia students who have completed 24-30 credits at Concordia with a GPA of 3.30 or higher, including some courses in Creative Writing and/or English literature.)

Students who are not in a Creative Writing program but who wish to apply for admission to a single Creative Writing course must upload the following:

• An English-language portfolio of your best writing in the genre of the course for which you are applying, (i.e. fiction for a fiction class). The portfolio must not exceed 10 pages.
  
• A brief Letter of Intent (LOI) 
  • Address it to “Coordinator of Creative Writing.”
  • State the course for which you are applying.
  • Outline your reasons for the request, along with any writing experience relevant to the course.
  • Include complete contact information (name, email, mailing address, phone number, and your Concordia University student ID number, if you have one). 

Please advise the creative writing program at angela.alleyne@concordia.ca when you have uploaded your documents, and include your student ID. You will receive an email decision from the CW program within 4-6 weeks.

Portfolios should take the follow format:

• Twelve-point font, numbered. 
• All contact information (name, email, mailing address, phone number, and, if you have one, your student ID number) should appear on the first page. Subsequent pages should include your name and the page number.
• Undergraduate: 
  • Fiction should be double-spaced. Drama spacing may vary but should be internally consistent. 
  • The format of a poem is at the writer’s discretion; the only rule is to consider your choices.
• Graduate: 
  • Double spaced, in a standard font (Times New Roman 12pt / Arial 11pt), with 1 inch margins.
  • The title page, signature page, abstract and acknowledgement/dedication page must be numbered in roman numerals. 

Undergraduate application deadlines:

• September admission: March 1
• January admission: November 1

If you are a:

Current Concordia student in a BA program in the Faculty of Arts and Science, your deadlines are:

• June 1 for courses starting in September 
• November 7 for courses starting in January.
• Please advise the creative writing program at angela.alleyne@concordia.ca when you have uploaded your documents and include your student ID number in your email.
• You will receive an email decision from the CW program within 4-6 weeks

A Concordia student in another Faculty (e.g. Fine Arts) or Degree (e.g. BSc) program:

• Complete a Degree transfer process. A fee will apply.
• Adhere to the deadlines for NEW students:
  • September admission: March 1 
  • January admission: November 1
• You will receive a decision from the Admissions Office.

If you are in another Faculty or Degree program, and wish to add Creative Writing as a minor:

• September admission: June 1 
• January admission: November 7
• Please advise the creative writing program at angela.alleyne@concordia.ca when you have uploaded your documents and include your student ID number in your email.
• You will receive an email decision from the CW program within 4-6 weeks.

You must first have written permission from your home university and be officially registered as a Visiting Student at Concordia.

Once you are officially registered:

• September admission: June 1
• January admission: November 7

Please advise the creative writing program at angela.alleyne@concordia.ca when you have uploaded your documents and include your Concordia University student ID number in your email.

You will receive an email decision from the CW program within 4-6 weeks.

Exchange students

If you are an Incoming Student Exchange student and are interested in taking creative writing courses, you must upload your creative writing portfolio and LOI with your Exchange application. The Creative Writing program will advise the Exchange Office of the decision.

Once you have been officially registered as an Undergraduate Independent Student at Concordia:

• September admission: June 1
• January admission: November 7

Please advise the creative writing program at angela.alleyne@concordia.ca when you have uploaded your documents and include your Concordia University student ID number in your email.

You will receive an email decision from the CW program within 4-6 weeks.

No. The creative writing program receives over two hundred portfolios each year and so the page limit is necessary.

No, but the LOI and the portfolio must be uploaded together as ONE PDF document. Be sure to read your documents carefully before submission as NO subsequent uploads will be considered.

Yes. Please ensure the excerpt is long enough for us to evaluate the writing properly. A paragraph or two is not sufficient. An excerpt chosen from the beginning of the work is best, as there is no need to provide a synopsis for context.

A good portfolio is one that represents the best writing of which you are capable.

Be yourself. Concentrate on a literary work that has influenced you – focussing not on its content but on how it is written – and on the reasons why you wish to enter our program. 

No. Trust your portfolio and your letter of intent to speak for themselves. Any letters of recommendation submitted with the portfolio/LOI will render the application ineligible.

We accept approximately 30% of the applications we receive.

How to communicate. How to read analytically, think cogently, and write elegantly.

All good writing is creative. Therefore, any job/career that demands writing skills may be open to you.

Yes, to your Student Centre, as one PDF document. If you are a Visiting, Exchange, or Independent Student, please follow the instructions on the Department of English website.

If you have applied on a university application, you will hear from Admissions. If not, you will be contacted by the Creative Writing program. 

On occasion, depending on the circumstances. However, if materials arrive significantly past the deadline, your application will be considered for the next admissions period.

Unfortunately, no. Due to the high volume of applications, it is not possible to offer feedback.