MFA Program Information
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
- Completion of forty-eight (48) semester credits
- Completion of the following courses:
- E640—Graduate Writing Workshop: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry (12 credits)
- E513—Form & Technique in Modern Literature: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry (3 credits)
- One pre-20th Century literature course at the 500-level or above (3 credits)
- One course (300-level or above) outside the English Department (waived if your undergraduate degree is not in English or Creative Writing—3 credits)
- E699—Thesis (12 credits)
- Completion of portfolio
- Additional requirements for dual-genre thesis option
- For more details, consult the Guide to CSU’s MFA Program.
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) are available on a competitive basis. A required orientation and pedagogy seminar provide GTAs with extensive training in teaching college composition. The GTA application is separate from the application to the program, and includes a written statement that should speak to your qualifications and enthusiasm for college teaching. Emphasize any formal or informal teaching experience, such as tutoring, writing-center counseling, or even coaching. In addition, remind your references to speak to your potential for college teaching in their letters.
All applicants who are not awarded a GTA will be automatically considered for a number of other available fellowships. Other options for financial support are detailed in the Guide to CSU’s MFA Program, below.
Most MFA students, regardless of whether they hold a GTA, are given the opportunity to teach a (paid) section of Beginning Creative Writing during their third year in the program.
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
We offer a variety of for-credit internships (some paid) in such areas as college teaching, public education, arts administration in literature, and literary editing – including the Center for Literary Publishing and the Colorado Review. A paid internship as editor of Greyrock Review, a literary magazine staffed by CSU undergraduates, is also available to a first-year student selected by the faculty.
Click here for Colorado Review internship information.
Creative Writing MFA Faculty
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Andrew Altschul
- Associate Professor
- Director of Creative Writing
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Ramona Ausubel
- Assistant Professor
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Dan Beachy-Quick
- Professor
- Assistant Chair & Undergraduate Coordinator
- University Distinguished Teaching Scholar
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Matthew Cooperman
- Professor of English
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Camille Dungy
- Professor
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Stephanie G'Schwind
- Director, Center for Literary Publishing
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EJ Levy
- Associate Professor
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Todd Mitchell
- Assistant Professor, Director of Creative Writing Pedagogy
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Sarah Sloane
- Professor
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Sasha Steensen
- Professor
Retired
-
Leslee Becker
- Professor of English
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Debby Thompson
- Associate Professor
Recent Books
Below is a selection of recent books by Creative Writing MFA Faculty in the Department of English at Colorado State University. Click on the book cover for more information about each selection.
What do CSU Writers Do?
Our graduates have appeared in a vast array of prestigious publications including The Atlantic, McSweeny's, Cincinnati Review and many others. They have found success in equally many exciting fields including communications consultant, college dean, professor, research administrator, journal editor, and many others. And their accolades include awards like the Pulitzer Prize, Colorado Book Award in Poetry, Chicago Writers Association book of the year, and more!