Do you need an MFA to get a literary agent?

Short answer: Ismita Hussain’s advice: No. Ismita calls that idea categorically false; today you reach largely the same agents whether or not you have an MFA.

Answered by Ismita Hussain, Senior Literary Agent, Great Dog Literary.

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The agent’s answer

Ismita is unequivocal: the idea that you need an MFA to land an agent is categorically false. It may have been true 40 years ago, but today writers have access to largely the same agents whether or not they hold one. The bio paragraph is where credentials go, so if you have an MFA you can mention it, but plenty of other credentials count, from literary magazine publications and academic work to journalism or longtime Wattpad writing. She has signed many first-time writers, so if you do not have these credentials, that is fine.

In Ismita’s words

You have access to pretty much the same agents as writers with MFAs.
Ismita Hussain, 34:21

Source: Query Letters 101.