Note: For information on this program after Fall 2020, please see the Creative Writing MFA.

This Master of Fine Arts program is a studio/academic program in which students’ own writing and craft (in workshops and craft seminars) is balanced with study of literature and the form and theory of nonfiction. The Nonfiction MFA emphasizes a small, intimate graduate experience that encompasses a wide breadth of literary traditions. The program fosters close working relationships with our accomplished, award-winning faculty and a supportive environment in which to grow as a nonfiction writer. The program emphasizes the essay, including narrative, personal, lyric, experimental, criticism, and hybrid texts. 

In an environment supportive of aesthetic and pedagogical diversity and, as a result of successfully completing program requirements, students should be able to:

• demonstrate a broad awareness of the genre over time;
• demonstrate a broad awareness of the genre in the present cultural landscape;
• develop a meaningful ability to participate in contemporary conversations on social and cultural change; and
• complete a substantial manuscript, the MFA thesis.