Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Program Highlights
- College
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Degree Total for Tuition and Fees
- Residents: $33,432
Non-Residents: $82,476
- Course Requirements
- 54-63 Graduate Credits
- Admission Requirements
- 54-63 Graduate Credits
* 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 offers the Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, a 3-year program. It’s an intensive immersion in the writing life, with workshops in poetry, fiction, in nonfiction writing, screenwriting, writing for digital media, and others.
Our mission is to emphasize the creation and critical analysis of literature, so that our students can be part of the national conversation about writing, graduating with a publishable manuscript. Our graduates have gone on to media, education, and publishing careers. Dozens of books have been published, numerous awards and fellowships have been awarded, and since the degree’s founding in 2001, we have prepared our MFA students to contribute to their communities as writers, publishing professionals, and teachers.
Application Requirements
- Personal Statement
- Writing Sample
- Resume or CV
- Minimum of 3 Recommendation Letters
- Application Deadline: Admit for Fall semesters only with a February 21st deadline.
For more questions, please email Connie Voisine cvoisine@nmsu.edu.
Program Requirements
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. 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, and television. Our distinguished faculty are active in their fields, have won numerous awards, and are committed MFA mentors. For three years, you will write, read, participate in our Nelson Boswell Distinguished Visiting Writers Series, and work on our internationally recognized literary journal http://www.puertodelsol.org to develop artistically and professionally.
- 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, and
- pass an oral examination in the final semester.
| Course List | ||
| Title | Credits | |
| Required Coursework 1 | ||
| MFA workshop in the major genre (poetry, fiction) | 12 | |
| FDMA 570 - MFA Workshop (subtitles will vary) | ||
| At least one will need to be a workshop in a second genre | 3 | |
| FDMA 550 - MFA Form & Technique (major genre) | 6 | |
| FDMA 592 - MFA Theory, Practice and Profession | 2-4 | |
| FDMA 594 - MFA Thesis Workshop | 6 | |
| FDMA 599 - MFA Thesis Hours | 4 | |
| Graduate Elective courses* | 21 | |
| Total Credits | 54-56 | |
* Students will take 21 credits (7 classes) in various areas of study of interest. A student might take a mix of graduate level classes in other genres within the Creative Media Institute (Writing for Television, Playwriting, etc.) to develop a solid subspecialty, scholarly classes in the English Department, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program or the Borderlands and Ethnic Studies Program. Others have taken graduate History classes, Geography classes, and Art classes. Internships are available with small presses (Zephyr Press), literary nonprofit (Zoeglossia, an organization for disabled writers) 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 your own interests and a coherent program of study should be developed with your advisor.
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 tuitionn.