About

The Juniper Institute for Young Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a residential summer creative writing immersion for rising high school sophomores, juniors, seniors, and the class of 2026. Hosted on the UMass Amherst campus within the College of Humanities & Fine Arts, the institute offers two two-week residential sessions (July 12–25 and July 26–August 8, 2026) and a one-week online program (August 3–7, 2026). The residential program is capacity-limited and competitive, requiring a writing sample (3–5 pages), a personal statement, and a teacher recommendation. Tuition for 2026 is $5,100 for residential participants and $2,200 for commuters; the online program costs $1,325 and there is no fee to apply. Approximately 30% of participants receive scholarship funding based on the strength and promise of their application.

Daily sessions are structured around Writing Labs, Craft Sessions, and "Writer’s Life Talks," designed to encourage experimentation and risk-taking. In the residential sessions, students participate in "Writing Adventures"—field trips to local sites like the Emily Dickinson Museum and the Amethyst Brook Conservation area—to spark new work. Faculty include published authors and graduate students from UMass’s nationally ranked MFA Program for Poets & Writers, providing high-level individualized feedback.
The curriculum emphasizes the generation of new drafts over the perfection of old ones, utilizing structured "write-ins" and peer workshops to build a close-knit literary community. While the program does not confer academic credit, participants live in campus dorms and eat in UMass’s award-winning dining halls, offering a genuine taste of the collegiate creative experience.