MA in English | MFA in Creative Writing
Four 2-year MAs | One 3-year MFA
Innovative & Engaged
Our MA and MFA fields of study speak to our core values: academic excellence; innovative instruction; a collaborative, creative, and engaged learning environment; and commitment to the professional success of each student. We offer four different two-year graduate programs and a three-year MFA within the English Department.
Why pursue an MA or MFA at CSU?
CSU English is for you if any of the following statements identify you:
- You are looking for small programs that allow individualized attention to students.
- You want to study with nationally and internationally recognized faculty and programs.
- You are seeking a strong community of scholars and teachers engaged in interdisciplinary work and devoted to supporting graduate education.
- You want robust professional development opportunities including career support workshops and colloquia, internships, teaching opportunities, and certificate programs.
- You are seeking a nationally recognized GTA program.
- You prefer a campus in a vibrant small city committed to fostering active engagement with the arts and humanities through public art, speaker series, first Friday celebrations, social action and poetry slams.
TEFL/TESL Student Association
Additional Graduate Opportunities
The purpose of the TEFL/TESL Student Association (TTSA) is “to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and raise awareness about the field of TEFL/TESL in the Colorado State University community and the greater Fort Collins community.” Members are active throughout the year arranging social and professional events, and organizing their annual “Advocacy Week” event, which takes place during the spring semester and features a keynote speech from a leading figure in the TESOL field. This event offers students an opportunity to conduct events on and off campus to advocate for the field of TEFL/TESL and English language learners. Past speakers who have delivered talks during this event have been Andrew Cohen, Dana Ferris, Eli Hinkel, Paul Matsuda, Fredricka Stoller, and Bill Van Patten (among others).
Within the Department there are a number of extra-curricular activities. There's our stellar Center for Community Literacy, which does outreach education at the Larimer County Correctional Facility, or The Strophe Project, working with our local homeless population. Our Literacy Through Prose and Poetry initiative teaches creative writing to 4th through 8th graders in the Poudre School District. The OGSW, the Organization of Graduate Student Writers, organizes, supports, and participates in activities designed to represent graduate students and facilitate student engagement. Whatever your interests, we think you'll find opportunities and support during your time at CSU. And it doesn't stop when the semester ends. Fort Collins is humming all year round, with summers packed with activities and events. Students are enthusiastic about their time in "the Fort," and with five undergraduate concentrations and five graduate programs (four MA and one MFA), you'll find a built-in community of engaged scholars, writers and teachers, as well as plenty of alumni glad to share their experiences. The English Department at CSU in Fort Collins is a lively nest from which to grow.
Benefits of an Internship
"I personally felt like CSU’s program reached out to me instead of vice versa. I had made connections before I even began the program with both faculty and other students thanks to the English Department’s accepted-graduate student day, and it felt like home. CSU was the clear choice for my graduate education, offering ongoing opportunities for funding smaller endeavors like conference travel, as well as options for funding the degree through internships of all kinds. I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked, and I’ve had the most fun at the same time—I can’t say that about anything else!”
~Joni Hayward, MA English: Literature
"Eight short months into my MFA in Creative Writing, I can say with conviction that I am a radically altered poet and thinker, led by faculty and peers both to new vantages as to new fathoms. My time here affords me a deeply considered, even ethical understanding of the real work of the poem that has moved me out of the sole limits of the written word into the world itself.”
~Kylan Rice, MFA: Creative Writing