Checklist: Creative Nonfiction

When applying to Creative Nonfiction as a domestic student (if you are an international student please refer to the bottom of the page) you will need to submit the following:

• Online Application, with application fee
  
• Self-Assessment essay: Your essay should describe your background, your interests in studying literary nonfiction at Columbia College Chicago, the kinds of work you see yourself pursuing, and why an MFA program in Nonfiction is the best course of action for you right now.
  
• Three letters of recommendation
• An official transcript from any and all colleges/universities attended
• Work Sample: 20-30 pages of nonfiction prose, consisting of at least two samples of work from applicant. These should be creative, not critical essays. Submissions should be typed and double-spaced.
• The GRE exam is recommended but not required
• Optional: Application for Graduate Student Instructorship: Students may apply to take the Composition Theory & Praxis course, which, upon successful completion, qualifies you to teach Writing and Rhetoric courses as a Graduate Student Instructor. To apply, students should include a 1-2 page essay with their admission application materials (typed, double spaced) that addresses the following questions:
• 1. Why do you want to become a GSI?
• 2. Why do you believe that you are well suited to be an instructor of writing?
• 3. What challenges do you imagine you may face in the classroom?
• 4. How might you, at this point, describe your understanding of a productive and healthy student-teacher relationship?
  

The online application and corresponding materials can be accessed on our Apply page.