{"id":978,"date":"2018-05-07T17:44:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T17:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/english\/?page_id=978"},"modified":"2025-09-17T14:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:31:08","slug":"mfa-creative-writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-english\/programs\/masters-degrees\/mfa-creative-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"MFA Creative Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The MFA in Creative Writing at NAU is an interdisciplinary, full-time, two-year program in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. Students participate in writing workshops, undertake coursework in literature, and study critical theory. MFA candidates present a creative thesis of between 45 to 120 pages, depending on genre. Our program\u2019s vibrant literary culture includes the literary journal Thin Air<\/em> and the bi-weekly Cinder Skies Reading Series. Graduate teaching assistantships are available to a select number of students.<\/p>\n

Located at an elevation of 7,000 feet on the Colorado Plateau, and among the traditional homelands of several indigenous nations, Flagstaff is a multicultural city of mountains, ponderosa forests, trails, observatories, coffee shops, excellent public libraries, craft breweries, historic Route 66, a temperate four-season climate, astonishing geological diversity, and a strong and supportive arts community.

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Funding and tuition<\/h2>\n
MFA in Creative Writing students are eligible to teach composition during their first year and creative writing during their second year in the English Department. Furthermore, a limited number of tuition waivers are available to out-of-state or in-state students who can demonstrate financial need. More information on graduate teaching assistantships and tuition waivers is available on our “Graduate Assistantships” page<\/a> under “Resources.”
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Non-academic graduate assistantships are available through many university-wide offices. They are awarded with stipends that vary by office, job duties, and degree-level. The NAU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies provides more information about “at-large” graduate assistantships<\/a>.
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Additional information<\/h2>\n\n
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To apply Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
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The deadline to apply for admission with funding is <\/span>February 1.<\/b> Applications after that date may still be considered for admission, but cannot be considered for tuition waivers or graduate teaching assistantships. <\/span><\/p>\n
The most important part of the application is the writing sample. <\/span>Your writing sample should be 10 pages for poetry and 20 pages for prose or a multi-genre application. Poetry should be single-spaced; prose should be double-spaced. Submitting a longer sample is acceptable, but the committee might not read beyond the 10- or 20-page minimum—basically, it will neither hurt nor help your chances.<\/span><\/p>\n
Submit strong, fresh work that best represents your writerly voice and current artistic interests and impulses. It may be in a single genre or multiple. Your application will also include a personal statement, which is typically one to two pages, and at least two letters of recommendation, along with the regular requirements for NAU graduate admission (transcripts, etc.) Recommendations can be uploaded directly from recommenders, or you can use a dossier service such as Interfolio (have them sent to creativewriting@nau.edu <\/a><\/span>and we will get them added to your file). Most people solicit one or both of their recommendations from former professors and teachers, but we are flexible and open to a wide range of life experiences that may draw upon other sources of recommendation who can speak accurately to your intellectual curiosity, your character, and your work ethic. <\/span>If you are applying for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, <\/b>be sure your recommender comments on your ability or potential for teaching.<\/span><\/p>\n
Information and the link to apply can be found here: <\/span>https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/graduate-college\/admissions\/<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The MFA program of study Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
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Our program balances writing workshops with literary study to build well-rounded writers and readers. The MFA program of study consists of the following 36 units of credit:
\n• Four graduate workshops<\/strong>—500- and 600-level creative writing courses (which may be repeated up to three times) (12 units of credit total)
\n• Two courses <\/strong>in literature, critical theory, and\/or readings in creative writing (6 units)
\n• Four electives<\/strong>—additional workshops, lit courses, and other graduate courses across the university—chosen with your advisor’s approval (12 units)
\n• Two course blocks of thesis hours<\/strong> (ENG 699) for the research, writing and revision of your thesis (6 units; most people take all 6 in the spring of their second year, but some split it 3-3 between fall and spring)<\/p>\n
THE MFA THESIS <\/strong>is a creative work of substantial depth and focus that typically spans anywhere from 40 pages (for a poetry collection) to upward of 200 pages (for a long-form prose manuscript.) An accumulation of what you’ve experienced throughout your MFA, the thesis may include new work as well as writing that has benefitted from the workshop experience. It may take the form of a novel, a memoir, an extended nonfiction narrative, a story collection, an essay collection, a poetry collection, or a multi-genre collection.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Where we are Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
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Writing about place is intrinsic to the practice of many of us in the program, faculty and students alike, and northern Arizona is a unique, complex, and beautiful place in which to live and write. Known as Kinłání<\/span> in the Diné (Navajo) language, present-day Flagstaff was founded in 1882; Northern Arizona University was founded in 1899, and Arizona was declared a state of the U.S. in 1912. Long before and ever since these settler establishments, this land and its surroundings are the homelands of Diné, Hopis, Apaches, Yavapais, Hualapais, and many other Indigenous people who have always lived and continue to live here, and whose practices and spiritualities have always been tied to the land and continue to develop in relationship to the land and its other inhabitants today. Cultural humility, conscientiousness, and respect are paramount for those of us who are guests in this land.<\/span><\/p>\n
Located at 7,000 feet, Flagstaff today is a complex and multicultural city of mountains, forests, extensive trails, observatories, independent bookstores, coffee shops, excellent public libraries, craft breweries, a strong and supportive arts community, small theater companies, readings and spoken word series, Indigenous activism, historic Route 66, elite athlete training, and astonishing geological diversity. The temperate four-season climate, proximity to the Grand Canyon, walkable historic downtown, and abundant natural beauty contribute to a substantial summer-resident and tourist population—and thus a fairly high cost of living. A detailed and ever-growing list of community resources, arts organizations, recreation, and volunteer opportunities is compiled in our MFA Student Handbook and is available upon request. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Additional questions? Contact the MFA program director at creativewriting@nau.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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Questions? Please contact\u2026<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n
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