Workshop Tuition
Tuition of $2,500* includes all Institute activities: daily workshop, a variety of craft sessions, readings and Q&As by faculty and visiting poets/writers, and community breakfast and dinners on weekend dates. Optional housing and meal plan is not included with tuition.
A limited amount of scholarships are available.
Independent Writing Residency Tuition
The independent writing residency includes all the Institute activities listed above, except morning workshop time is swapped for self-directed writing time and brief 1:1 meetings with visiting writers. The cost of the residency is $1,500* plus optional housing and meal plan.
Juniper Alumni who have previously participated in a weeklong Juniper workshop can apply for the Alumni Residency Scholarship.
*all payments are subject to a 3% transaction fee
Meals
Tuition includes 5 community meals; for other meals, participants can utilize kitchens in their suites, dine out in Amherst, or visit any of the on-campus eateries, including the dining commons at UMass Amherst, which was named Best Campus Food by the Princeton Review in 2025 for the ninth consecutive time. If you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, UMass Dining dieticians are available to help you. The dining commons at UMass Amherst offer Juniper participants and faculty a wide range of culinary fare.
Housing
Tuition does not include housing. Information on our on-campus housing options are below. For those interested in booking their own off-campus accommodations, please note that the University of Massachusetts campus is 1.5 miles from the center of Amherst, and 8 miles from the center of Northampton. Both towns are accessible by bus, road, and bike trail. The area is popular with vacationers in the summer, so we encourage you to make housing arrangements as soon as possible. You’ll be able to reserve on-campus housing during registration. Conference Services is still finalizing numbers for housing availability, but we anticipate being able to offer these options:
- $67/night for a shared dormitory room in the North Apartments;
- $199.00 – $319.00 (plus applicable fees) for a room at Hotel UMass
- $199.00/standard room/weeknight, $219.00/standard room/weekend night;
- $249.00/junior suite/weeknight, $269/junior suite/weekend night;
- $299.00/full suite/weeknight, $319/full suite/weekend night.
To learn more about the amenities of our on-campus housing, please check out our Housing page.
Payment Information
Submitting a Credit Card Payment:
- During the online registration process, you may select to pay by check or to pay by card. If you select to pay by card, you will be brought to a secure online payment gateway and will be able to use a Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express credit or debit card. If you wish to provide card information over the phone, you should contact the Registration Office at 413-577-8102 (open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Only submit your payment information using the online payment gateway or with the Registration staff at 413-577-8102 — for your security, we will only accept payment/card details from the attendee, cardholder, or authorized purchaser.
Mailing Payments:
- All payments by check should be mailed to the Registration Office at the address below. Checks must be made payable to UMass Conference Services/Juniper to be deposited.
Juniper Summer Writing Institute c/o University Conference Services
810 Campus Center
1 Campus Center Way
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
Payment Policy
If you are offered acceptance to the Institute, you must register with a $200 non-refundable enrollment deposit at the link provided in your acceptance message to confirm your spot within one week. One week after sending out acceptance notices, we will accept our next wave of applicants into any unclaimed spots. We are unable to hold your spot in your given genre or your residency without the enrollment deposit. If you are planning to enroll but need time to gather the deposit funds or make other arrangements (e.g. child care) before making the deposit, please be in touch with us as soon as possible so that we can best assist you.
A second non-refundable deposit is due on April 1. This $500 deposit is considered part of the payment plan and must be paid by April 1 to continue to hold your spot in your workshop or residency.
Both non-refundable deposits count toward the total cost of your tuition.
The remainder of your balance, including any optional housing or manuscript consultation fees, is due by May 14.
If you cancel your enrollment before May 15, you will forfeit all non-refundable tuition deposits ($200 deposit due at enrollment and the $500 deposit paid by April 1). There will be no tuition refunds for cancellations after May 15 and no refunds in the event of early departure.
Housing Cancellation Policy
If you cancel your North Apartments lodging reservation before June 4, 2027, you will receive a refund less a one-night lodging cancellation fee of $67.00. North Apartments lodging cancellations received after June 4, 2027, including cancellations made on-site or no show reservations, will be ineligible for a refund. For more information or questions, please contact Conference Services at 413-577-8102 or registration@umass.edu.
Juniper partners with UMass Summer Housing for our on-campus housing option, and all housing payments are made directly to UMass Summer Housing through UMass Conference Services. As a result, we’re unable to accommodate any refunds for housing cancellations.
Please note that program details and personnel are subject to change as necessary. The University of Massachusetts reserves the right to cancel any program it deems necessary. In the event of program cancellation, payment will be refunded in full.
All payments are subject to a 3% transaction fee