How to Apply
MFA Creative Writing & Poetics
Currently accepting applications for August 2025 start. Admissions is rolling and applications will be accepted until the program is full.
Submit an Application
Apply online by creating a new account or signing in to an existing account.
Naropa University requires that application materials and essays be the applicant’s own work, factually true, and honestly presented, and not created with the use of AI.
At the end of your application, you will be prompted to pay a $60 nonrefundable application fee. If your current financial situation warrants waiving of your application fee, you may submit a fee waiver request.
Please note, only one application will be accepted per applicant. Do not apply more than once. Application fees are nonrefundable.
Application Status
We encourage you to be actively engaged in the admission process. Once you have submitted your application online, you can log back in anytime to check the status of your application and documents.
Transcripts
Naropa University requires transcripts from any and all institutions where undergraduate or graduate coursework was completed, and it is very important that you successfully complete the coursework entered on your application. An official transcript of a conferred bachelor’s degree must be received by the Office of Admissions prior to beginning graduate coursework.
Transcripts that are uploaded as part of your application are not considered official; however, we encourage electronic submission at time of application to expedite an admissions decision.
If mailing, official transcripts should be sent to:
Naropa University
Office of Admissions
2130 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder CO 80302
Electronic transcripts from your university may be emailed to admissions@naropa.edu.
Electronic official transcripts are acceptable if submitted through a secure document sending service used by your university. If you submit your transcripts by email, as an attachment, they will not be accepted as official.
If you completed any coursework at a foreign college or university (other than a study abroad program), an international education evaluation is required.
Statement of Interest
Naropa University requires that application materials and essays be the applicant’s own work, factually true, and honestly presented, and not created with the use of AI.
Statement of Interest
In a concise statement of interest please address:
- Your writing goals and any personal information that you feel sheds light on your commitment to writing (e.g., details of your writing and reading practices, service to writing communities, artistic, professional, or academic objectives).
- How does pursuing an MFA prepare you to accomplish your goals as a creative writer? You may also address why you are interested in pursuing your MFA in Naropa’s experiential and contemplative academic setting.
- 1000 words or less in a standard 12-point font, double-spaced.
Creative Writing Sample
- Submit 10–15 pages of innovative prose, poetry, cross-genre work, or some combination thereof. Please indicate the genre(s) submitted. Please note: the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics offers workshops in innovative prose, poetry and cross-genre work; we do not offer courses in children/young adult literature, popular/genre writing (fantasy, romance, mystery, etc.), playwriting, or screenwriting.
Resume/CV
Your resume/CV should detail all pertinent academic, employment, and volunteer history with exact dates of participation.
Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required. Recommendations must be from academic or professional sources and may not be from family members, spouses, friends, or current or former therapists or spiritual advisors.
Applicants will use Naropa’s application system to send out requests for recommendations. Recommenders will be emailed a request to complete a short form and prompted to either type their recommendation into the form or upload it as a separate document.
Recommendations must come directly from the recommender and cannot be provided by the applicant.
Financial Aid
Domestic applicants: learn more about how to apply for financial aid.
International applicants: learn more about how to apply for financial aid.
International Applicants
English Proficiency Testing
International applicants must document their English language proficiency by submitting scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests. Applicants must earn the following required scores:- TOEFL
- Internet test (iBT): 80 or higher
- Computer test (cBT): 213 or higher
- Paper test (pBT): 550 or higher
- IELTS
- 6.5 or higher
Non-U.S. Education Records
Applicants (including U.S. citizens and permanent residents educated outside of the U.S.) must have all non-U.S. records of secondary and/or post-secondary education evaluated by a professional international education evaluation service. In this case, all non-U.S transcripts should be sent to one of the below evaluation service providers, not to Naropa University. Once the evaluation is completed, the applicant should request that the report be sent directly to: Naropa University, Office of Admissions (2130 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302). Naropa works with the three following credential evaluation services. Evaluations will not be accepted by other services.- Global Academic Evaluators (www.aevaluators.com, 720-298-9564)
- Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. (www.jsilny.com, 305-273-1616)
- World Education Services (www.wes.org, 212-966-6311)
- SpanTran (www.spantran.com, 713-266-8805)
Connect
with your counselor
Rachel Thompson
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions
- 303-970-9831
- rachel.thompson@naropa.edu
- Schedule Appointment
