Georgetown University Summer Programs Creative Writing Academy

Long. On weekdays, academic programming runs from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., in two blocks of lectures, off-site visits or lab work (9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.) and then a two-hour evening slot for your capstone project after dinner. Georgetown's sample weekday starts with breakfast between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m., with lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The outings are part of the writing. The week includes a responsive writing exercise at the National Gallery of Art and prompts at other spots around the city, and Georgetown lists visits to monuments, theaters, museums and literary organizations. After 9:00 p.m. there are optional activities, free time and residential life events until curfew, and the Academies also put on evening events such as movies on the lawn, concerts and cookouts. Georgetown's sample schedule is for weekdays only and doesn't show what the weekend days look like.

Graduate student instructors run the daily workshops. The week also includes lectures on craft and readings by published authors, who lead interactive classes and group discussions, and you get feedback from classmates through peer critiques.

Georgetown lists John James, Academic Director of its Summer Programs, as the faculty member for this Academy. He's a poet whose collection The Milk Hours (Milkweed, 2019) was selected by Henri Cole for the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, he holds an MFA from Columbia, and he's completing a PhD in English and critical theory at the University of California, Berkeley. Georgetown doesn't say how much of the week he teaches himself, or how many students share a workshop.

You leave with a non-credit transcript from Georgetown showing a single grade: Pass, Fail or Withdrawn. A Pass means you completed all the course and attendance requirements the faculty set, so missing sessions or coursework can cost you the Pass.

The Academy carries no college credit, so don't expect it to count toward a degree. The writing is the more useful thing to bring home: the poems, stories and essays you draft during the week, plus whatever comes out of the evening capstone sessions, which Georgetown schedules but doesn't describe in detail. Academy students also get access to The Edge, a soft-skills learning platform from Ascend Now.

You can apply if you're in 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade during the school year before the program and have at least a 2.0 GPA. The 15-and-over age rule Georgetown sets for some Academies doesn't cover this one, and international students don't need a student visa (I-20, F-1 or J-1) or TOEFL scores, although Georgetown recommends English strong enough to follow complex texts and talk easily with native speakers.

The application asks for two things: a 300- to 500-word personal statement on why you want to attend, and a School Official Reviewer Form from a counselor (Georgetown's preference), advisor, teacher or principal who can speak to your readiness and confirm your GPA. That person gets an automatic email once you submit, and homeschooled students can't use a family member or paid tutor. Georgetown weighs your grades, the courses you've taken, the reviewer form and the statement, admits on a rolling basis and emails a decision within three weeks of receiving a complete application.

Getting in doesn't hold your place. One application covers every Academy, but seats go first come, first served and your registration only counts once you've paid full tuition, so register soon after you're admitted.

For Summer 2026, the residential week cost $3,725, covering tuition, housing and 19 meals a week. The commuter option cost $3,095 for tuition only, and commuters can buy a meal plan from Georgetown Dining if they want one. Georgetown hasn't yet published Summer 2027 prices.

On top of that there's a $50 application fee, which isn't refundable and is waived if you apply by 31 January 2027, and international students pay a $45 health insurance fee. Full tuition is due by credit card when you register.

Georgetown offers a limited number of need-based scholarships, which cover tuition only and aren't guaranteed, because funding is limited and competitive. You can apply only after you've been admitted, and the application includes two essay responses. Georgetown says the 2027 scholarship application opens in late December 2026. The Academy deadline has been 2 March, with decisions by the last week of March, and late applications aren't reviewed.

If you drop out, your refund depends on how close to the start you withdraw. Drops 3 or more weeks out can be made in the student portal, while later ones have to be emailed to Georgetown, and the date it receives your request sets the refund.

Resident counselors live in every residence hall and supervise all students, with one on duty throughout the day, and Georgetown sets a 10:30 p.m. floor curfew with bed checks at 11:30 p.m. Residential students are placed automatically in air-conditioned double rooms.

The program runs under Georgetown's Protection of Minors Policy, campus police patrol regularly, and the Student Health Center is staffed by physicians and nurse practitioners. Alcohol and drugs mean immediate dismissal from the program and the residence halls, and that includes just being around them. Campus leave rules are in Georgetown's Academy Welcome Packet, and Georgetown is upfront that students need the self-discipline to manage their own time, sleep and laundry.

Commuters are assigned a resident counselor too, but they have to live with a parent, guardian or an adult the parent designates, no more than 45 minutes from campus at any time of day, rush hour included. Georgetown reviews a Commuter Form and can turn down a request to commute, with no appeal.