Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Program Highlights
- College
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Degree Total for Tuition and Fees
Residents: $18,976
Non-Residents: $57,510Graduate Assistants receive full tuition waivers but still pay fees (see graduate fee table here)
- Course Requirements
- 54 Graduate Credits
- Admission Requirements
Complete NMSU Graduate School Application, including
- Writing Sample
- 3 Letters of Recommendation
- Transcripts
- Statement of Purpose or Application Letter
* Tuition numbers include university base tuition, college differential tuition, and university mandatory fees.
Creative Writing at the Creative Media Institute
The Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University hosts the Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. The MFA is for dedicated students who want to hone their writing with the support of their professors and the community of writers at NMSU. While we focus on fiction and poetry, since joining the Creative Media Institute, creative writing students have increased opportunities to engage with genres of writing for digital media such as web series, animation, film, and television as well as electives and graduate minors outside of our department. We pride ourselves on the sense of community shared by students and faculty. Professors meet regularly outside the classroom and work with students on the many extracurricular activities in the arts and humanities on campus.
For three years, you will read and write, working toward completing a book-length manuscript suitable for publication. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to meet a range of writers through our Nelson-Boswell Reading Series, teach for Writers in the Schools, and work on our internationally recognized literary journal Puerto del Sol in order to develop artistically and professionally. Since the program's founding in 2001, our graduates have published dozens of books, won awards and fellowships, and have become active members of literary communities.
Our MFA students receive Graduate Assistantships which entail serving various roles in the NMSU community, including teaching undergraduate courses in composition, creative writing, and storytelling; working as program assistants; and holding Puerto del Sol editorships.
Application Requirements
- Personal Statement
- Writing Sample
- CV
- 3 Recommendation Letters
We recommend that all applicants apply for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship in order to receive a full tuition waiver (as of fall 2026). MFA Program Graduate Assistants also receive a stipend for their teaching and other labor. You can find more information on the Graduate School website and in the Graduate Student Union collective bargaining agreement. Please reach out if you have questions about cost.
Admit Fall semesters only with a February 1st deadline and complete letters of recommendation due no later than February 10th.
For questions or additional information, please email Director of Graduate Studies, Richard Greenfield at rgreenfi@nmsu.edu.
Program Requirements
- complete 54 hours of graduate-level coursework
- present a book-length thesis of original work with an introduction or afterward
- perform a public reading from the thesis
- pass an oral examination in the final semester
| Course List | ||
| Title | Credits | |
| FDMA 570 - MFA Workshops (4 in major genre) | 12 | |
| FDMA 570 - second genre | 3 | |
| FDMA 550 - MFA Form & Technique Courses | 9 | |
| FDMA 592 - MFA Theory, Practice, & Profession | 2-4 | |
| FDMA 594 - MFA Thesis Workshop | 6 | |
| FDMA 599 - MFA Thesis Hours | 4 | |
| Graduate Elective courses* | 18-21 | |
| Total Credits | 54-56 | |
*Students will take 18 credits (6 classes) in various areas of study of interest in any department, as long as those classes have course numbers above 500. A student may take a mix of graduate-level classes in other genres within the Creative Media Institute (Writing for Television, Screenwriting, etc.) to develop a solid subspecialty, scholarly classes in the English Department, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program or the Borderlands and Ethnic Studies Program. Graduate-level coursework in History, Geography, and Art may also be considered. Internships are available with small presses, literary nonprofits, and Film and Digital Media projects on campus when available. These electives can be used to build creative writing training that will be unique to the students interests and a coherent program of student should be developed with your departmental advisor.
*Any additional Form and Technique classes will count as electives.
*Graduate assistants in the English Department are required to take English 571: Composition Pedagogy during the first semester of teaching. This class may count as an elective.
Learn how we’re helping students build memorable experiences.
"With the encouragement of the faculty and my fellow students, I was able to put on the page the people and places that meant so much to me. I had wanted to write since I was a girl but I became a writer at NMSU.”
“I became a more confident reader and writer during my time at NMSU. I learned how to slow down, hone in at the sentence level, and be a more critical editor of my own work."
"I developed a real love for the effort of writing, even if the outcome wasn't always what I'd hoped for. And I became a better reader, and a better friend. NMSU was an amazing community, and I've been able to carry it with me ever since.”
Related Programs
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
NMSU participates in WICHE, a tuition exchange 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.