Colorado State University-Fort Collins · Department of English, College of Liberal Arts

M.F.A. in Creative Writing

MFAMaster of Fine Arts in Creative WritingCompetitive full funding

Overview

A three-year, 48-credit campus MFA in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction combining 12 credits of genre workshop, a form and technique course, literature and elective courses, and a 12-credit thesis, with a comprehensive portfolio at the end. Graduate Teaching Assistantships with a tuition waiver and monthly stipend are awarded competitively.

Official program name: M.F.A. in Creative Writing
Awarded degree: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Source: catalog.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
School: Colorado State University-Fort Collins — Department of English, College of Liberal Arts
Source: catalog.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Delivery / residency: Campus-based
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Study intensity: Not verified
Duration: Three years
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Required credits: 48 credits
Source: catalog.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Teaching language: English (not separately stated)
Start: Fall
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Why this degree is listed

The catalog lists the awarded degree as Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Source: catalog.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

We list dedicated creative writing degrees only. Eligibility rules

Curriculum, genres and faculty

Genres

Fiction Poetry Creative Nonfiction

Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Workshops

12 credits (four courses) of graduate writing workshop in one genre.
Source: catalog.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Craft courses

One Form and Technique in Modern Literature course (fiction, poetry, or essay).
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Literature courses

One pre-20th-century literature course at the 500 level or above.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Thesis / dissertation

Thesis (collection of poetry, stories, or essays, or a novel or memoir) plus a comprehensive portfolio; a dual-genre thesis option exists.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Teaching opportunities

Most MFA students teach a paid section of Beginning Creative Writing in their third year.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Internships

For-credit internships, some paid, in college teaching, public education, arts administration, and literary editing.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Community and outreach

Organization of Graduate Student Writers organizes readings, workshops, and visiting speakers.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Faculty listed by the program

Andrew Altschul — Professor
Ramona Ausubel — Associate Professor
Dan Beachy-Quick — Professor
Harrison Candelaria Fletcher — Professor
Matthew Cooperman — Professor of English
Camille Dungy — University Distinguished Professor; Director, Creative Writing Program
Stephanie G'Schwind — Director, Center for Literary Publishing
Dana Masden — Master Instructor
Nina McConigley — Associate Professor
Todd Mitchell — Associate Professor, Director of Creative Writing Teaching Program
Sarah Perry — Assistant Professor

As listed on the program's official page on October 9, 2026. Listing does not mean a faculty member is teaching or supervising new students in a given year.

Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Admissions

Required, optional, waived and not-required items are shown exactly as the school states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Statement of purpose: RequiredTwo-page statement of purpose
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Recommendation letters: Required2 letters — Two letters of reference
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Application fee waiver: OptionalGraduate application fee waivers are available
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Transcripts: RequiredTranscripts
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Other requirement: OptionalSeparate GTA application (background form and 500-600 word statement of interest in teaching writing) for assistantship consideration
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Writing portfolio

Genre	Length	Requirement as published
Poetry	12–20 pages	12-20 pages of poemsSource: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Fiction	—	Two short stories or a chapter or two of a novelSource: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Creative Nonfiction	—	Two short essays or a chapter or two of a memoirSource: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Tests

GRE and English-language test policy: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate competitiveness: programs rarely publish comparable figures.

Deadlines

Dates are shown with the admissions cycle the school printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Application deadline
January 1 · for Fall
The school does not print a year with this date.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Year not printed
Funding / priority deadline
January 1 (separate GTA application) · for Fall
The school does not print a year with this date.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Year not printed

Tuition and fees

Each amount keeps its applicant category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-year and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other.

Tuition: not verified. We publish this only when the school states it on an official page.

Funding

Full funding (tuition and stipend) is available to selected students only. Admission does not guarantee it. “Fully funded” never means every personal expense is covered. How we classify funding

Competitive full funding

Funding guarantee: GTAs are available on a competitive basis and are the primary funding for MFA students.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Tuition coverage: First-year GTAs receive resident or non-resident tuition; second- and third-year GTAs receive resident tuition (non-residents are expected to establish Colorado residency).
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Stipend: GTA positions come with a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend for the 9-month academic year.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Years guaranteed: GTAs may be awarded to incoming MFA students for three years.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Expected workload: Half-time position of 20 hours per week; three sections of CO150 per year.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026
Other: Applicants not awarded a GTA are considered for other fellowships.
Source: english.colostate.edu · verified October 9, 2026

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 9, 2026.

catalog.colostate.edu/general-catalog/colleges/liberal-arts/english/english-mfa-creative-writing/ — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 9, 2026
english.colostate.edu/graduate/gta/ — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026
english.colostate.edu/mfa-in-creative-writing/ — Official program page, verified October 9, 2026

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Creative Writing Programs is independent and not affiliated with Colorado State University-Fort Collins. Information is collected from official pages and can change; confirm requirements, costs and deadlines with the school.