Graduate Progam Information:
Marnie Leonard (970) 491-2403 Marnie.Leonard@colostate.edu

Graduate Study

M.A. in Creative Nonfiction

The Creative Nonfiction Program offers graduate students an opportunity to develop writers and readers of creative, or literary, nonfiction. The program is innovative in that students can focus as much on reading and theorizing creative nonfiction as they can on writing it. Investigating the art and craft of creative nonfiction as practitioners and theorists, students encounter and engage genres as different as the personal essay, literary journalism, science writing, memoirs, and lyric essays. Recently the genre of creative nonfiction has expanded in exciting ways, and students are given the opportunity to study hybrid forms as well. Theses within the program range from a critical analysis of a work of creative nonfiction to a student’s own creative nonfiction essays or a single long work.
Students who have studied nonfiction here have had a wide range of careers subsequent to earning their degrees. Some have become technical writers, freelance writers, magazine and newspaper staff writers and editors, anthology editors, developmental editors, ghost writers, literary agent associates, grant writers, and professors.
English Department faculty members have recently published nonfiction books, essays, articles, and contributions to creative nonfiction anthologies, and their expertise has contributed to a vibrant writing community in the department. Department members who do work in creative nonfiction include Dan Beachy-Quick, Gerald Callahan, SueEllen Campbell, John Calderazzo, Matthew Cooperman, Pattie Cowell, Sue Doe, David Milofsky, David Mogen, Sarah Sloane, and Debby Thompson.

Application Deadlines

We accept applications for fall and spring semesters. To apply, please see our Application Process information or contact the Graduate Programs Assistant.
The application deadline for the fall term is February 15 and the application deadline for the spring term is September 15. Teaching Assistantships are available on a competitive basis. Assistantships begin in the fall semester. Please apply by January 15th for full consideration.

Faculty Profiles

Requirements for the Degree:

Completion of 31-36 semester credits, including six credits of thesis
Completion of the required courses listed below
Oral defense of your thesis

Most students complete their degrees in two years (four to five semesters of course work)

Course of Study

Two E640C Graduate Writing Workshop: Essay – 4-6 credits
E513C Form and Techniques: Essay – 3 credits
Two additional writing workshops – 4-6 credits (select from the following: E640C Graduate Writing Workshop: Essay, E641 Writing Nonfiction: Variable Topics, or E642 Writing Hypertext).
Two additional reading courses chosen in consultation with advisor – 6 credits (select from the following: E505 Major Authors, E506 Literature Survey, E615 Reading Literature – Recent Theories, E630C Topics in Literature (may select A-D), E631 Crossing Boundaries, E632 Professional Concerns in English, or E633 Special topics in Discourse Studies)
One relevant course, 300-level or above, outside English Department – 3 credits
One additional English course at the 500- or 600-level – 3 credits (may include E 607A Teaching Writing – Composition and Rhetoric, required for all GTAs, or E687 Internship)
Additional course chosen in consultation with advisor – 2-3 credits (select from the following: E687 Internship, one English course at the 500- or 600-level, or one relevant course, 300-level or above, outside English Department)
E699 Thesis – 6 credits (critical or creative: a book-length, extended work or collection of essays)

Please click here to access course descriptions.

For additional details, see Graduate AdvisingNotes: MA Programs.
For a brief overview of all major requirements, see Program Requirements Checklist.

For information about course offerings and registration procedures for the upcoming semester or summer session, please view the Rambler, the Department's student newsletter.

This information is not intended to replace your advisor or the information in the CSU General Catalog, the Class Schedule, or the Department Checklists.

Contact us: Attn: Marnie Leonard – Through the mail at 1773 Campus Delivery Eddy Hall, Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1773. On the phone at (970) 491-2403. By e-mail at Marnie.Leonard@colostate.edu.

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