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New Mexico State University
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of English

Graduate Programs

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M.A. Degree in English: Emphasis in Creative Writing

The Department of English at New Mexico State University offers the Master of Arts Degree in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. Students electing this emphasis choose a major genre: poetry or fiction. Students must complete 36 hours of graduate-level course work, demonstrate a knowledge of a second language, submit a creative writing portfolio, and pass an oral examination. Admission to the M.A. in Creative Writing is contingent upon approval of one’s application; the application must include creative work (six to eight poems, 15-25 pages of fiction) and a letter of intent. The application materials will be read and assessed by faculty in creative writing. Applicants should complete the following application procedure by February 1 for Fall admission, October 1 for Spring admission. All applicants to the MFA program may be considered for the MA program.

Faculty | Course Work | Second Language | Portfolio & Examination | Assistantships | Applications


Faculty

Course Work (36 Semester Hours)

  1. 12 hours of workshop courses in the major genre (poetry, fiction).
  2. 3 hours of workshop in a second genre.
  3. 3 hours of form and technique courses in the major genre.
  4. 9 hours of graduate literature courses in the Department of English.
  5. 3 hours of English 585: Preparing a Professional Portfolio
  6. 6 hours of elective courses. Note: Graduate assistants must take 3 hours of English 571, Composition Theory and Pedagogy, during their first semester of teaching.

Second Language
Second Language proficiency must be demonstrated by one of the following:

  1. achieving a minimum score of 62 for French, 63 for German, or 66 for Spanish on the CLEP foreign language exam (College Level Examination Program)
  2. successfully completing one hour of 449 in a chosen language through the Department of #languages and Linguistics
  3. completing an upper-division literature course in a chosen language with a grade of at least a B (typically, as an undergraduate student)
  4. completing the final course of a four-semester sequence of one language with a grade of at least a B (typically, as an undergraduate student) or
  5. petitioning the Graduate Studies Committee. Students who have multilingual skills that can be verified by credentials other than the ETS score or the course described above may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to certify their second language proficiency. Normally this petition will be submitted before the end of the student's second semester in the M.A. program. The petition, a memorandum with supporting evidence, should be submitted through the student's adviser to the Graduate Studies Committee.

Portfolio & Examination
The portfolio is a collection of your essays, stories, poetry, and other projects from you work in the program. Together with the oral exam, the portfolio is meant to demonstrate that you have strong writing skills. A portfolio also provides writing samples for use in applying for jobs or for M.F.A or Ph.D. programs.  

Generally, a portfolio should contain 5-8 separate writing samples and total 25-50 pages of material. It might include several distinct genres of written communication: creative work, a seminar paper, a book review, a brochure, a newspaper or newsletter article, a book design, or other documents. It might excerpt longer works to demonstrate familiarity with a certain kind of writing. It might point to online publications: a website or hypertext, for example. Students are required to take a course in portfolio design and presentation. The portfolio will be discussed and evaluated during the student’ oral examination. 


Assistantships
Each year a limited number of graduate assistantships are available for qualified students; however, assistantships at the MA level are exceptionally competitive. Applicants to the MA in Creative Writing should not apply with the expectation of receiving a GA.

To be eligible, students must have regular admission status certified by NMSU's Graduate School. An assistantship requires that you work twenty hours per week, typically teaching one course and performing additional duties such as working in the writing lab, working on the department's publications, or on the department website.  For the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for paying tuition at the in-state tuition rate. After the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for establishing their New Mexican residency so that they can continue to pay tuition at the in-state rate.  All new Graduate Assistants are required to attend a weeklong teaching orientation that begins the week before classes start.


Applications

  1. Submit an application for admission to the Graduate School using the form at the back of the Graduate Catalog or register online at: http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/.
  2. Submit a completed Application for Study in English form: http://www.nmsu.edu/~english/apply/application.html
  3. Arrange to have your undergraduate and graduate transcripts sent to the Graduate School. (Note: the Graduate School requires transcripts from all institutions attended, not just degree-granting institutions.)
  4. Write a letter of application to the English Department indicating when you wish to be admitted and including a statement of your objectives for your graduate program. Include with this letter the completed application for financial support if you wish to apply for a graduate assistantship.
  5. Submit creative work (six to eight poems, 15-25 pages of fiction) of creative work to the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English. Note: all applicants to the MFA program in Creative Writing may be automatically considered for the MA program in Creative Writing.
  6. Have three persons submit letters of reference directly to the English Department. They may write on their own stationery; however, there is a standard letter of reference form available from the Department and the Graduate School. Those writing letters of recommendation are customarily former or current professors of the student; however, people who know the candidate in other capacities are also appropriate. Students applying for an assistantship should consider asking someone who has observed their teaching (if this is possible) or someone who has supervised their work.

NOTE: Although the Graduate School and the English Department no longer require students to present scores on psychometric examinations (e.g., the Graduate Record Examination), applicants are encouraged to submit scores to the English Department if they have already taken these exams.