Nature Writing – MA or MFA in Creative Writing

The Nature Writing concentration is founded on the belief that writing can be an agent of change. Here, creative practice is not only a craft, but a catalyst for environmental protection, cultural awareness, and social justice.

Students are encouraged to move beyond observation toward ethical engagement—developing work that responds to ecological realities and contributes to conversations shaping our collective future.

As a graduate program in nature writing, the concentration centers storytelling as both artistic practice and ethical responsibility.

• Writing as Advocacy: We empower you to use your passion as a force for positive change, exploring how literature can move from the page into real-world action.
• An Ethically-Alert Curriculum: This cutting-edge program dives deep into contemporary ecological writing, with a sharp focus on environmental and social justice.
• Creative Versatility: While you focus on your genre of choice, we explore essential subgenres through both traditional and experimental forms, helping you find the exact shape your message needs to take.
• A Supportive Community of Change-Makers: You will join a welcoming environment where diverse authors and styles are celebrated, and where your commitment to the planet is met with expert mentorship.

Whether you are writing a memoir of the land or an experimental piece on ecology, we provide the supportive community you need to turn your observations into impact

Graduate study in nature writing is immersive, reflective, and transformative. Over the course of the MA or MFA, students move from attentive observation to impactful expression—supported by faculty mentors who are leading voices in environmental and place-based literature.

The program cultivates a deep relationship between the written word and the living world, helping writers articulate work that is both aesthetically compelling and ethically grounded.

Guided by Masters of the Craft

You will learn under the direction of award-winning writer and Concentration Director Laura Pritchett. Our faculty represents a diverse range of voices across fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including Karen Auvinen, Claire Boyles, Laura Resau, Ana Maria Spagna, Erica Reid, Stephen Coughlin, and Maya Jewell Zeller. This team, along with incredible guest speakers, provides the high-level mentorship needed to refine your vision.

Your Professional and Creative Path

• A Flexible, Low-Residency Model: Our program is built for working professionals, combining live virtual classes with intensive summer residencies in the heart of the Colorado Rockies.
• Genre Fluidity: While you focus on your primary genre, you will be exposed to a diverse range of authors and styles, covering essential forms such as memoir, personal essay, fiction, poetry, and experimental writing.
• The Summer Residency: Each June, you will join a supportive community of change-makers in Gunnison. These residencies provide the space to workshop your work, attend craft lessons, and forge the creative bonds that sustain a writing life.
• Real-World Impact: Throughout your studies, you will learn how to turn your passion for environmental and social justice into a force for positive change, graduating with a body of work that serves as a catalyst for a more just and sustainable world.

The Ecopoetry track blends the program’s Nature Writing and Poetry concentration into a single path focused on language, place, and the living world. Available within the MA or MFA, the low-residency program pairs virtual workshops with summer residencies and close mentorship from practicing writers as students explore how poetry can respond to ecology, environment, and human experience. Through craft study, creative practice, and environmental awareness, writers develop a polished body of work grounded in both artistic voice and sense of place. Learn more by visiting the Poetry concentration page below.