Graduate Study Application Process

Thank You for Your Interest in the English Department Graduate Programs

In CSU’s English Department, our faculty members are accomplished in their respective fields, as well as dedicated and supportive educators. Our department is a wonderfully collaborative and creative environment fostering successful educational journeys for our students. We are excited to see your application and get to know you!

HEADS UP! We recommend you begin the online application and take any required test(s) three months before the English Department’s deadline for the term in which you wish to enroll. Once all of the required documents that are outlined on the application have been uploaded, your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

Please note that the English Department does not admit students for the summer term.

 

Deadlines

The deadlines listed below vary, depending on the program. All documents and any test score required for your application must be uploaded by the deadline specified for that program in order for your application to be considered complete. The GRE is not required in order to apply.

The M.F.A. Creative Writing program (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, or Poetry) admits new students only for the fall semester; the application deadline is January 1. The Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change program admits new students only for the fall semester; the application deadline is February 15. The application deadline for the M.A. program in Literature is February 15 for the fall term and September 15 for the spring term. The application deadline for the M.A. program in English Education is April 1 for the fall term and September 15 for the spring term. The application deadline for the M.A. program in TEFL/TESL is May 1 for the fall term and November 1 for the spring term.

If you want to be considered for a teaching assistantship: The M.F.A. deadline to complete both your program application and your GTA application is January 1. The M.A. deadline to complete both your program application and your GTA application is January 15. GTA applications are considered only in the spring for the fall semester.

M.F.A. in Creative Writing:
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction,
or Poetry

  • Fall program deadline*:  January 1
  • Spring program deadline*:  N/A
  • GTA application deadline*:  January 1

M.A. in English Education

  • Fall program deadline:  April 1
  • Spring program deadline*:  September 15
  • GTA application deadline*:  January 15

M.A. in TEFL/TESL

  • Fall program deadline*:  May 1
  • Spring program deadline*:  November 1
  • GTA application deadline*:  January 15

M.A. in TEFL/TESL

  • Fall program deadline*:  April 1
  • Spring program deadline*:  September 15
  • GTA application deadline*:  January 15

M.A. in Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change

  • Fall program deadline*:  February 15
  • Spring program deadline*:  N/A
  • GTA application deadline*:  January 15

* English Department application completion deadline

Program

Fall Program Deadline*

Spring Program Deadline*

GTA Application Deadline*

M.F.A. in Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction, Fiction,
or Poetry (CRWR-MFA)

January 1

N/A

January 1

M.A. in English Education (ENGL-ENEZ-MA)

April 1

September 15

January 15

M.A. in Literature (ENGL-LITZ-MA)

February 15

September 15

January 15

M.A. in TEFL/TESL (ENGL-TSLZ-MA)

May 1

November 1

January 15

M.A. in Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change (ENGL-WRHZ-MA)

February 15

N/A

January 15

* English Department application completion deadline

Domestic Applicants

Please follow these steps to apply to our graduate program:

Overview

  • Review the Department’s graduate programs (see http://english.colostate.edu/grad/) to determine which program best fits your interests.
  • For additional application process information, contact the Department’s Graduate Programs Assistant, Emily Dailey, at Emily.Dailey@colostate.edu or 970.491.2403.
  • Begin the online application process at http://gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply.
  • Follow the directions to create your application record and pay your application fee. After your account record has been created and confirmed, you may begin your application.
  • Read all directions. Go through the entire application—don’t skip any sections.
  • Must select Degree. Select MFA for Creative Writing and MA for all other English Department programs.
  • Must select Program. When entering the program code in the online application, please select as follows:

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

  • Area of Study:  Creative Nonfiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

  • Area of Study:  Fiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

  • Area of Study:  Poetry

English (M.A.) (ENGL-ENEZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  English Education

English/Literature (M.A.) (ENGL-LITZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  ---

English/Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TEFL/TESL) (M.A.) (ENGL-TSLZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  ---

English/Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change (M.A.) (ENGL-WRHZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  ---
  • After all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose, writing sample, optional GTA application), as well as recommenders’ letters, transcripts, and any required test scores—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

Program

Area of Study

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

Creative Nonfiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

Fiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

Poetry

English (M.A.) (ENGL-ENEZ-MA)

English Education

English/Literature (M.A.) (ENGL-LITZ-MA)

---

English/Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TEFL/TESL) (M.A.) (ENGL-TSLZ-MA)

---

English/Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change (M.A.) (ENGL-WRHZ-MA)

---

  • After all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose, writing sample, optional GTA application), as well as recommenders’ letters, transcripts, and any required test scores—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

Document Details

The application documents needed to complete your application are:

  • Your Statement of Purpose: single-spaced, no more than one page; introduce yourself and state your goals while in graduate school. Upload this statement online.
  • Your writing sample, pertinent to your program: contact Emily.Dailey@colostate.edu for details. Upload your writing sample online.
  • Optional: The GTA application. There is a separate application required for the GTA position. When you apply online, please indicate that you intend to submit a GTA application.
  • Three letters of recommendation:
    • Online, provide the e-address of each recommender who has agreed to write a letter.
    • Your recommenders will be e-mailed instructions to upload their letters.
  • Transcripts from each university or college you attended that represent the course work you completed for your Bachelor’s degree and any advanced degrees since then. Use institution code 4075 and ask each institution to send either electronic transcripts to gradadmissions@colostate.edu or hard copies directly to this address:

Colorado State University
Office of Admissions
1062 Campus Delivery
Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1062

International Applicants

Please follow these steps to apply to our graduate program:

Overview

  • Review the Department’s graduate programs (see http://english.colostate.edu/grad/) to determine which program best fits your interests.
  • For additional application process information, contact the Department’s Graduate Programs Assistant, Emily Dailey, at Emily.Dailey@colostate.edu or 970.491.2403.
  • Begin the online application process at http://gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply.
  • Follow the directions to create your application record and pay your application fee. After your account record has been created and confirmed, you may begin your application.
  • Read all directions. Go through the entire application—don’t skip any sections.
  • Must select Degree. Select MFA for Creative Writing and MA for all other English Department programs.
  • Must select Program. When entering the program code in the online application, please select as follows:

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

  • Area of Study:  Creative Nonfiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

  • Area of Study:  Fiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.) (CRWR-MFA)

  • Area of Study:  Poetry

English (M.A.) (ENGL-ENEZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  English Education

English/Literature (M.A.) (ENGL-LITZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  ---

English/Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TEFL/TESL) (M.A.) (ENGL-TSLZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  ---

English/Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change (M.A.) (ENGL-WRHZ-MA)

  • Area of Study:  ---
  • After all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose, writing sample, optional GTA application), as well as recommenders’ letters, transcripts, and any required test scores—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

Program

Area of Study

Creative Writing (M.F.A.)

Creative Nonfiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.)

Fiction

Creative Writing (M.F.A.)

Poetry

English (M.A.)

English Education

English/Literature (M.A.)

---

English/Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TEFL/TESL) (M.A.)

---

English/Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change (M.A.)

---

  • After all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose, writing sample, and optional GTA application), as well as recommenders’ letters, transcripts, and any required test scores—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

Document Details

The application documents needed to complete your application are:

  • Your Statement of Purpose: single-spaced, no more than one page; introduce yourself and state your goals while in graduate school. Upload this statement online.
  • Your writing sample, pertinent to your program: contact Emily.Dailey@colostate.edu for details. Upload your writing sample online.
  • Optional: The GTA application. There is a separate application required for the GTA position. When you apply online, please indicate that you intend to submit a GTA application.
  • Three letters of recommendation:
    • Online, provide the e-address of each recommender who has agreed to write a letter.
    • Your recommenders will be e-mailed instructions to upload their letters.
  • Transcripts from each university or college you attended that represent the course work you completed for your bachelor’s degree and any advanced degrees since then. Use institution code 4075 and ask each institution to send either electronic transcripts to gradadmissions@colostate.edu or hard copies directly to this address:

Colorado State University
Office of Admissions
1062 Campus Delivery
Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1062

  • Scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). An official TOEFL score, taken within two years prior to admission, must be submitted directly from the Educational Testing Service. The minimum TOEFL score is 550 (paper-based), 80 (Internet-based), or 6.5 (IELTS). Students are exempt from the TOEFL or IELTS requirement if the official language of their country is English or if they have recently earned a degree at an American university.

Check Your Application Status

  • You may view the status of your application at http://gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply/status at any time to ensure your application checklist is complete or to check on updates.
  • After the faculty decision has been entered online, you will receive an e-mail from the system, asking you to log in to view the official decision letter. Please see http://isss.colostate.edu/i-20ds-2019/ for information on the required documents for Immigration Document Issuance.

Criteria for Admission for all Applicants

The Graduate School and English Department base admission on the following:

  • Your complete application and accompanying information
  • A Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, with a minimum grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale. If your average is below 3.00, you will be considered for conditional admission if sufficient evidence indicates that you can perform well in a graduate program.
  • Your statement of purpose
  • The quality of your writing sample
  • Letters of recommendation

Depending on your background, you may be required to take some courses in addition to the regular program. Recommended backgrounds for Department programs are:

  • Literature: a major in English or equivalent background.
  • Creative Writing, TEFL/TESL, or Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change: a major in English, foreign languages, linguistics, speech, journalism, anthropology, and other fields. If you are a native speaker of English interested in the TEFL/TESL program, you should have experience with a foreign language or culture prior to admission.
  • English Education: a major in English and teacher licensure obtained before admission to the program or while working toward the M.A. degree. Licensure credits cannot be counted toward the degree.

If you wish to live off campus, you should contact the office of Off-Campus Life in the Lory Student Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, 970-491-2248. Financial aid information is available at http://sfs.colostate.edu.