Creative Nonfiction Requirements
Coursework
A total of 36 credits are required. Students take three writing workshops, one seminar in Structures and Techniques, and two seminars in nonfiction Readings courses—one in shorter forms and one in book-length forms. In addition, three literature courses are required, which may be chosen from among the courses offered in our PhD program, or in literature courses offered by our foreign language departments.
Three elective courses are required in other areas of interest, including courses outside the department, deemed appropriate for the individual student’s particular endeavors. These electives may, of course, be taken entirely within the English department.
During their final year students take an additional three credits for the preparation of their final manuscript. The remaining credits can be earned in a variety of readings and literature courses. Scheduling is arranged so that MFA students can enroll on a part-time basis. There are no foreign language requirements.
Final Manuscript
During the last year in residence, MFA students prepare a final manuscript of their work. Each student will form a final manuscript committee consisting of three English department faculty members: two graduate writing faculty members in the student’s area of major interest, and one member of the graduate literature faculty. Creative nonfiction students may choose a fourth committee member from another department within the University whose expertise relates to a student’s particular subject matter. We expect students in creative nonfiction to work in any of a wide variety of styles and sub-genres such as autobiography, biography, history, speculative or personal essay, new journalism, investigative reporting/analysis and quality feature writing of the quality that appears in publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, and literary quarterlies. We do not accept more traditional journalism as material for workshops and/or final manuscripts.
We have the following additional guidelines for the final manuscript: it should be aimed at a general, literate audience; it cannot consist of ephemeral journalism, academic reports, scholarly papers, extended term papers, instructional manuals, or "in-house" public relations efforts; it must focus on a single subject; collections of articles and/or essays will be acceptable only if they have a unifying theme; the manuscript must be composed of work written while the student is matriculated in the program; and acceptance of work in a particular sub-genre or style by one or more workshop teachers does not guarantee that the same work will be acceptable by the final manuscript committee.