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Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts

This program, which involves completing a creative thesis, allows you to balance academic course work in English with the serious study of creative writing.

Requirements Accordion Open

  • To receive a master's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject areas, consisting of at least 30 units of graduate-level courses. Many master's degree programs require more than 30 units.

    You must additionally complete:

    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s). This may include a thesis.
    • All graduate work with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
    • All work toward the master's degree must be completed within six consecutive years. The six years begins with the semester and year of admission to the program.

     

    Individual degree programs may exceed the baseline University Policy for a master's degree. The program-specific requirements are provided on the Details tab below.

    Read the full policy here.

Overview Accordion Closed

In addition to University Requirements:

  • Complete individual plan requirements.
Minimum Units for Completion36
Additional Admission Requirements

Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

ThesisThesis is required.
Oral DefenseOral Defense is required.
ResearchIndividualized research is required.
Progression Plan LinkView Program of Study

Purpose Statement

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing balances the study and practice of creative writing with academic coursework in English. Students participate in writing workshops in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, undertake coursework in literature, and study critical theory. MFA candidates will present a creative thesis of between 45 to 120 pages, depending on genre. 

The MFA Program at Northern Arizona University allows you to:   

  • live and write in the beautiful, vibrant city of Flagstaff
  • focus on poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction
  • participate in intensive writing workshops with dedicated professors


Student Learning Outcomes
 
Upon completion of the Creative Writing MFA students will be able to:

  • Examine, explicate, analyze and evaluate literary texts of considerable difficulty in order to determine the place of the student's own work within a literary tradition.
  • Develop the student's own critical and aesthetic position, based on recognizing, understanding, and interpreting critical positions and literary arguments of other authors.
  • Read and respond thoughtfully and thoroughly to work by other MFA students in order to hone the critical, intellectual, and analytical skills that are crucial to success in a broad range of literary, artistic, cultural and professional fields.
  • Investigate the world of literary publishing in order to discover suitable journals, magazines and/or quality trade book publishers to which the student author can submit his/her own finished work.
  • Refine skills in drafting, revising and editing in a primary literary genre with the goal of producing a polished creative manuscript of marketable quality.
  • Actively participate and network in a community of writers and cultivate a professional identity through performing one's work in both written and oral forms to include:
    • public readings,
    • interviewing other writers,
    • attending outside readings,
    • writing book reviews,
    • serving on editorial boards, and
    • organizing literary events.
Upon completion of the thesis manuscript, students will develop a professional presentation of an excerpt to their community of writers in a public reading.

 

Details Accordion Closed
Graduate Admission Information

  • The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.

    Admission requirements include the following:

    • Transcripts.
    • Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale ("A" = 4.0), or the equivalent.


    Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies.

    Ready to apply? Begin your application now.

    International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.

Additional Admission Requirements

  • Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

    • Essay/Letter of Intent/Personal Statement*
    • Recommendation(s)/Reference(s)*
    • Writing Sample*

  • For those applying for fall 2026 and beyond, the following will be required:

    • Essay/Letter of Intent/Personal Statement*
    • Recommendation(s)/Reference(s)*
    • Resume or Curriculum Vitae*
    • Writing Sample*
Master's Requirements

  • This Master's degree requires 36 units distributed as follows:

    • Creative Writing Courses: 12 units
    • Supportive Coursework: 12 units
    • Electives: 6 - 9 units
    • Thesis: 3 - 6 units

     

    Take the following 36 units:

    • Students completing a thesis are required to complete 18 units of formal letter-graded coursework.

  • Creative Writing Courses (12 units)

    • 500- and 600-level creative writing courses, some of which may be repeated for 9 units of credit (12 units)

  • Supportive Coursework (12 units)

    • Coursework in literature, literary criticism, literary theory, and/or readings in creative writing (12 units) 

  • Electives (6 - 9 units*)

    • Students who complete 3 units of Thesis:
      • Electives chosen with your advisor's approval (9 units)
    • Students who complete 6 units of Thesis:
      • Electives chosen with your advisor's approval (6 units)

  • Thesis (3 - 6 units*)

    • Students who complete 6 units of electives:
      • ENG 699 for the research, writing, and revision of an approved thesis (6 units)
    • Students who complete 9 units of electives:
      • ENG 699 for the research, writing, and revision of an approved thesis (3 units)

     

    You may end up taking more than the 6 units of thesis credit you can count toward your degree because you must register for it each semester while you are working on your thesis.

    *Students who complete 6 units of thesis will be required to complete fewer units of electives.

  • Up to 6 units of 400-level literature courses may count toward degree, with advisor approval.

Additional Information

  • Some courses may have prerequisites. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

Availability Accordion Closed
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’s vibrant literary culture includes the literary journal Thin Air and the bi-weekly Cinder Skies Reading Series. Graduate teaching assistantships are available to a select number of students. 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.

Funding and tuition

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 under "Resources." 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.

Additional information

To apply Accordion Closed
The deadline to apply for admission with funding is February 1. Applications after that date may still be considered for admission, but cannot be considered for tuition waivers or graduate teaching assistantships.  The most important part of the application is the writing sample. 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. 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 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. If you are applying for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, be sure your recommender comments on your ability or potential for teaching. Information and the link to apply can be found here: https://legacy.nau.edu/graduate-college/admissions/. 

The MFA program of study Accordion Closed
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: • Four graduate workshops—500- and 600-level creative writing courses (which may be repeated up to three times) (12 units of credit total) • Two courses in literature, critical theory, and/or readings in creative writing (6 units) • Four electives—additional workshops, lit courses, and other graduate courses across the university—chosen with your advisor’s approval (12 units) • Two course blocks of thesis hours (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) THE MFA THESIS 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.

Where we are Accordion Closed
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 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. 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.
Additional questions? Contact the MFA program director at creativewriting@nau.edu.
Department of English
Location
Room 140 Building 18
Liberal Arts
705 S. Beaver Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6032
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 6032
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6032