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Academic ProgramsAbout This Program
Students in the 19-credit Creative Writing Minor study and write poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction in workshops and studios. Workshop is at the heart of the program: you will write, share, and revise in a supportive community of fellow writers, with individualized attention from faculty and collaboration with your peers.
The program is structured around choice. After the introductory course, you build your own pathway through workshops, bootcamps, and journal courses, then studio courses in forms ranging from poetry and short stories to screenwriting, speculative fiction, and video game writing. You will also have the support of the Center for Creative Writing, which provides space, activities, and resources for students engaged in the study and practice of creative writing.
Why Choose This Minor
Writing strengthens every degree. The Creative Writing Minor complements a wide range of majors: communication and marketing students building narrative skills, education majors preparing to teach writing, STEM and business majors who want to write clearly and imaginatively about their fields, and any student with stories to tell. Coursework built around imaginative and purposeful thinking, writing, and reading leads students to deeper examinations of their lives and communities.
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Declare your Minor
Our programs offer exciting, hands-on, and career relevant courses that set you up for success. Don't delay, declare today.
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Get Rowdy Ready
Follow the semester-by-semester steps outlined in the CLAS Student Success Roadmap to ensure your success at MSU Denver.
Take me to the CLAS Student Success RoadmapBenefits of Earning Your Creative Writing Minor at MSU Denver
Learn in the workshop tradition
Our courses are built on the workshop model, bringing together individualized attention from professors and peer collaboration within a strong community. You will get direct feedback on your work and learn to read as a writer.
Build your own pathway
Choose your route through the minor: workshops in poetry, fiction, drama, and creative nonfiction; bootcamp and journal courses; and studios in forms including screenwriting, speculative fiction, adaptation, novels, micro narratives, and video game writing. Students may also participate in producing The MSU Roadrunner Review, one of the few biannual undergraduate creative writing journals in the country.
Write beyond the classroom
The program includes instruction on the marketing of finished manuscripts, and students and alumni have an excellent publication record, with accomplishments ranging from small press publications to recognition as a National Book Award finalist. Alumni have gone on to MFA programs and carried their skills into fields such as the arts, business, medicine, and law. The Center for Creative Writing, housed in the Department of English in King Center Room 421, supports your work along the way.
Center for Creative Writing
The Center for Creative Writing provides space, activities, and resources for students, faculty, and community members engaged in the study and practice of creative writing. Housed in the Department of English in King Center Room 421, the Center is also home to the Creative Writing Club, a collaborative space where anyone who wants to come to write is welcome.
Featured Faculty
Cynthia Kuhn, Ph.D., Professor of English
Dr. Cynthia Kuhn teaches creative writing, literature, and film, and aims to offer student-centered courses that invite energetic and meaningful engagement with different texts, viewpoints, and voices. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Copper Nickel, Literary Mama, and other publications. Her novels include The Semester of Our Discontent, The Art of Vanishing, and How to Book a Murder.
Jason Miller, Ph.D., Professor of English
Dr. Miller grew up in the mountains of Colorado and Montana and has been a professor of creative writing since 2000. He is a faculty advisor for The MSU Roadrunner Review. His book-length publications include Animal Rights and Pornography, Bloodletting and Fruits of Lebanon, and Decomposition, which have been published in languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, and Russian. His short story “Invisible Fish” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Rebecca Gorman O'Neill, MFA, Professor of English
Professor Rebecca Gorman O’Neill is a playwright who teaches playwriting, screenwriting, dramatic literature, cinema studies, the graphic novel, adaptation, and creative writing. She earned her B.A. in Drama and English from Dartmouth College and her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. Her original plays have been produced across the country and in Canada, and her recent plays include South Star and The Way Station.
Alumni at Work
MSU Denver Creative Writing alumni have earned national recognition, including:
- Crisosto Apache, Colorado’s Poet Laureate
- Kali Fajardo-Anstine, whose debut short story collection Sabrina & Corina was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the American Book Award
MSU Denver Creative Writing students have been accepted to graduate programs including:
- Columbia University (MFA)
- Syracuse University (MFA)
- Old Dominion University (MFA)
- University of Wyoming (MA)
Why Choose MSU Denver
Hispanic Serving Institution
MSU Denver serves more Hispanic/Latinx students than any other institution of higher education in Colorado. In Fall 2025, 37% of undergraduates identified as Hispanic/Latinx.
Learn more about MSU Denver's Designation
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
MSU Denver is dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion and has received the Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from Insight Into Academia for 12 consecutive years.
Learn more about DEI at MSU Denver
Transfer Student Leader
MSU Denver has been the top transfer destination for Colorado students for over 20 years. Our students make an immediate impact on our workforce and community.
Learn more about MSU Denver's Excellence
Campus Map
Campus Location:
King Center
4th floor
Hours:
Mon-Thurs 8:00-5:00 PM
on campus
Friday 8:00-3:00 PM
by phone and email
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 173362
Campus Box 32
Denver, Colorado 80217-3362
Phone: 303-615-1800
For general and advising questions, please email: [email protected]