CSU’s Creative Writing MFA
3 Years | 3 Genres | Infinite Possibilities
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is for students with advanced abilities in the writing of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
Welcome
Our three-year program offers a balance of intimate and intensive writing workshops with courses in literature, form and technique, and related electives both in and out of the English Department. Writers work closely with a distinguished faculty of publishing writers that includes winners of prestigious national awards and fellowships. Coursework culminates in a thesis—a collection of poetry, short stories, or essays; or a novel or memoir—and the completion of a comprehensive portfolio. A dual-genre thesis option is available to students with exceptional promise in a second genre of writing.
Ready to apply?
Applicants should familiarize themselves with the program and the department, including course offerings and degree requirements. A complete application includes a two-page statement of purpose; a writing sample (12-20 pages of poems; two short stories or a chapter or two of a novel; two short essays or a chapter or two of a memoir); two letters of reference; and transcripts. Those applying for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship must also complete a separate GTA application.
The MFA Program at CSU is a WICHE Western Regional Graduate Program. Residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are eligible for in-state tuition.
CSU supports options for students to apply for free as part of our commitment to access. We have options for graduate students to apply for free through fee waivers.
The application deadline is January 1.
Learn More About Our Program
The Creative Writing Program at CSU recognizes and affirms the value of, and the need for, stories from people of all backgrounds. We believe that a healthy literary culture must seek out and support work from communities whose voices have historically been marginalized. Our pedagogy, including close mentoring in a supportive community and an embrace of wide-ranging approaches, strives to hear these stories, to respect them, and to bring them into the world.
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
Funding Opportunities
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) are available on a competitive basis and are the primary funding opportunity for our graduate students. To be eligible you must complete the separate application. These positions are fully funded and come with a tuition waiver and monthly stipend for the 9-month academic year.
A required orientation and pedagogy seminar provide GTAs with extensive training in teaching college composition. The GTA application 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.
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.
Are you a current student? Quickly access essential academic, professional, and well-being resources, as well as important information about graduate student responsibilities via the Graduate School Student Handbook below.
What Students Are Saying
Creative Writing MFA Faculty
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Andrew Altschul
- Professor
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Ramona Ausubel
- Associate Professor
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Dan Beachy-Quick
- Professor
- Interim Chair &
- Undergraduate Coordinator
- University Distinguished Teaching Scholar
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Harrison Candelaria Fletcher
- Professor
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Matthew Cooperman
- Professor of English
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Camille Dungy
- University Distinguished Professor
- Director, Creative Writing Program
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Stephanie G’Schwind
- Director, Center for Literary Publishing
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Dana Masden
- Master Instructor
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Nina McConigley
- Associate Professor
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Todd Mitchell
- Associate Professor, Director of Creative Writing Teaching Program
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Sarah Perry
- Assistant Professor
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Sasha Steensen
- Full Professor of English
Creative Writing Reading Series
Each semester at Colorado State University, the Department of English welcomes major literary voices to the Lory Student Center to share their work live and to engage with the local community. Visiting writers hold audience question and answer sessions, book signings, class visits and other outreach activities.
The series features Pulitzer Prize winners, U.S. poets laureate, National Book Critics Circle Award winners, Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winners, NAACP Image Award nominees, Oprah’s Book Club selections, National Book Award finalists and recognized voices in young adult literature among others.
Recent visitors include: Dorothy Allison, Julie Carr, Ross Gay, Eduardo C. Corral, Jennifer Egan, Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Pam Houston, Yusef Komunyakaa, Dinty W. Moore, Gregory Pardlo, Khadijah Queen, Susan Steinberg, Cheryl Strayed, Ira Sukrungruang, Mary Szybist, and Brian Turner.
Recent Books
Below is a selection of forthcoming and recently published 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!
Organization of Graduate Student Writers
The OGSW consists of representatives from the Creative Writing MFA and is dedicated to providing students with opportunities to practice, enjoy, and participate in the creative writing community. We do this by organizing readings, workshops, visiting speakers, and other free events and services for the MFA/CSU community.
“If there’s a book that you want to read but it hasn’t been written yet then you must write it”
– Toni Morrison
Creative Writing MFA Blog
The Creative Writing MFA blog is written by graduate students at various stages of degree completion and features posts by writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction about their lives as writers and members of the CSU community. Scroll through the carousel of entries below or click the button for a full listing of blog submissions.
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And to the West, Mountains
Read More: And to the West, MountainsIn Fort Collins, the mountains usually mean west. As I walk to campus, I walk north, west, then north again. True north is usually Eddy Hall – home of the English department. I suppose I will not yet stop having the thought as I walk to campus, I am in…
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When You Know, You Know
Read More: When You Know, You Know“The biggest mistake you can make is going before you’re ready.” I remember feeling absolutely crushed when someone who I looked up to, someone who I admired, said those words to me. We were on the phone, I was asking her questions about the life she had made for herself…
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The Cold Shock
Read More: The Cold ShockI received an email in March of 2021 from Andrew Altschul announcing that I had been accepted to the MFA program in Fort Collins, CO. I was more shocked than happy, and I’ll explain why. A month prior to that email I had sat my mother down and explained to…