Graduate Study Application Process

Effective August 2016, you may complete our graduate program application online. Details follow.

Ideally, begin the online application and take any required test three months before the English Department deadline for the term in which you wish to enroll. Once all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose, writing sample, optional GTA application), your recommenders’ letters, your transcripts, and English proficiency scores (if required for international applicants)—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review. Please note that the English Department does not admit students for the summer term.

The deadlines listed below vary, depending on the program. All documents and any test score required for your application must be uploaded by the deadline specified for that program in order for your application to be considered complete.

The M.F.A. Creative Writing Program admits new students only for the fall semester; the application deadline is January 1. The Rhetoric and Composition Program admits new students only for the fall semester; the application deadline is February 15. The application deadlines for the M.A. programs in Creative Nonfiction and Literature are February 15 for the fall term and September 15 for the spring term. The application deadlines for the M.A. programs in English Education and TEFL/TESL are April 1 for the fall term and September 15 for the spring term.

If you want to be considered for a teaching assistantship: The M.F.A. deadline to complete both your program application and your GTA application is January 1. The M.A. deadline to complete both your program application and your GTA application is January 15.

GTA applications are considered only in the spring for the fall semester.

Fall program deadline*

Spring program deadline*

GTA application deadline

M.F.A. in Creative Writing

M.A. in Creative Nonfiction

M.A. in English Education

M.A. in Literature

M.A. in Rhetoric Composition

* English Department application completion deadline

Domestic Applicants

Please follow these steps to apply to our graduate program:

• Review the Department’s graduate programs (see english.colostate.edu/grad/ ) to determine which program best fits your interests.
• For additional application process information, contact the Department’s Graduate Programs Assistant, Marnie Leonard, at Leonard@colostate.edu or 970.491.2403.
• Begin the online application process at gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply .
• Follow the directions to create your application record and pay your application fee. Once your account record has been created and confirmed, you may begin your application.
• Read all directions. Go through the entire application—don’t skip any sections.
• Must select Degree. Select MFA for Creative Writing and MA for all other English Department programs.
• Must select Program. When entering the program code in the online application, please select from the following:
• Creative Writing—for either Fiction or Poetry: CRWR-MFA
• Creative Nonfiction: ENGL-CNFZ-MA
• English Education: ENGL-MA
• Literature: ENGL-LITZ-MA
• Rhetoric Composition: ENGL-RHAZ-MA
• TEFL/TESL (Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language): ENGL-TSLZ-MA
• When all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose and writing sample), as well as your recommenders’ letters. your transcripts, and any required test scores—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

The application documents needed to complete your application are:

• Your Statement of Purpose: single-spaced, no more than one page; introduce yourself and state your goals while in graduate school. Upload this form online.
• Your writing sample, pertinent to your program: contact Marnie.Leonard@colostate.edu for details. Upload this form online.
• Optional: The GTA application. There is a separate application required for the GTA position.

• The instructions and form are online at english.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/07/gta-app.pdf .
• Prepare all three parts of your GTA application as one Word document in this order:
• the Background Experience form—please limit to one page;
• your Statement of Interest—discuss your teaching-related training and/or experience to explain how the GTA position will enhance your graduate studies;
• your writing sample— a recent example of academic, expository and/or persuasive writing that is different from your program writing sample;
• and send this Word attachment to Leonard@colostate.edu .

• Three letters of recommendation:

• Online, provide the e-address of each recommender who has agreed to write a letter.
• Your recommenders will be e-mailed instructions to upload their letters.

• Transcripts from each university or college you attended that represent the course work you completed for your bachelor’s degree and any advanced degrees since then. Use institution code 4075 and ask each institution to send them directly to this address:

Colorado State University
Office of Admissions
1062 Campus Delivery
Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1062

Check your application status

• You may view the status of your application at gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply/status at any time to ensure your application checklist is complete or to check on updates.
• Once the decision has been made, you will receive an e-mail from the system, asking you to log in to view the official decision letter.

International Applicants

Please follow these steps to apply to our graduate program:

• Review the Department’s graduate programs (see english.colostate.edu/grad/ ) to determine which program best fits your interests.
• For additional application process information, contact the Department’s Graduate Programs Assistant, Marnie Leonard, at Leonard@colostate.edu or 970.491.2403.
• Begin the online application process at gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply .
• Follow the directions to create your application record and pay your application fee. Once your account record has been created and confirmed, you may begin your application.
• Read all directions. Go through the entire application—don’t skip any sections.
• Must select Degree. Select MFA for Creative Writing and MA for all other English Department programs.
• Must select Program. When entering the program code in the online application, please select from the following:
• Creative Writing—for either Fiction or Poetry: CRWR-MFA
• Creative Nonfiction: ENGL-CNFZ-MA
• English Education: ENGL-MA
• Literature: ENGL-LITZ-MA
• Rhetoric Composition: ENGL-RHAZ-MA
• TEFL/TESL (Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language): ENGL-TSLZ-MA
• When all of the documents have been uploaded—those that you provide (statement of purpose and writing sample), as well as your recommenders’ letters. your transcripts, and any required test scores—your application will be considered complete and eligible for review.

The application documents needed to complete your application are:

• Your Statement of Purpose: single-spaced, no more than one page; introduce yourself and state your goals while in graduate school. Upload this form online.
• Your writing sample, pertinent to your program: contact Marnie.Leonard@colostate.edu for details. Upload this form online.
• Optional: The GTA application. There is a separate application required for the GTA position.

• The instructions and form are online at english.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/07/gta-app.pdf .
• Prepare all three parts of your GTA application as one Word document in this order:
• the Background Experience form—please limit to one page;
• your Statement of Interest—discuss your teaching-related training and/or experience to explain how the GTA position will enhance your graduate studies;
• your writing sample— a recent example of academic, expository and/or persuasive writing that is different from your program writing sample;
• and send this Word attachment to Leonard@colostate.edu .

• Three letters of recommendation:

• Online, provide the e-address of each recommender who has agreed to write a letter.
• Your recommenders will be e-mailed instructions to upload their letters.

• Transcripts from each university or college you attended that represent the course work you completed for your bachelor’s degree and any advanced degrees since then. Use institution code 4075 and ask each institution to send them directly to this address:

Colorado State University
Office of Admissions
1062 Campus Delivery
Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1062

• Scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). An official TOEFL score, taken within two years prior to admission, must be submitted directly from the Educational Testing Service. The minimum TOEFL score is 550 (paper-based), 80 (Internet-based), or 6.5 (IELTS). Students are exempted from the TOEFL or IELTS requirement if the official language of their country is English or if they have recently earned a degree at an American university.

Check your application status

• You may view the status of your application at gradadmissions.colostate.edu/apply/status at any time to ensure your application checklist is complete or to check on updates.
• Once the decision has been made, you will receive an e-mail from the system, asking you to log in to view the official decision letter.
• Please see isss.colostate.edu/i-20ds-2019/ for information on the required documents for Immigration Document Issuance.

Criteria for Admission for all Applicants

The Graduate School and English Department base admission on the following:

• Your complete application and accompanying information
• A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, with a minimum grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale. If your average is below 3.00, you will be considered for conditional admission if sufficient evidence indicates that you can perform well in a graduate program.
• Your statement of purpose
• The quality of your writing sample
• Letters of recommendation

Depending on your background, you may be required to take some courses in addition to the regular program. Recommended backgrounds for Department programs are:

• Literature: a major in English or equivalent background.
• Creative Writing, Rhetoric and Composition, TEFL/TESL: a major in English, foreign languages, linguistics, speech, journalism, anthropology, and other fields. If you are a native speaker of English interested in the TEFL/TESL program, you should have experience with a foreign language or culture prior to admission.
• English Education: a major in English and teacher licensure obtained before admission to the program or while working toward the M.A. degree. Licensure credits cannot be counted toward the degree.

If you wish to live off campus, you should contact the office of Off-Campus Life in the Lory Student Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, 970-491-2248.

Financial aid information is available: sfs.colostate.edu .