M.F.A. in Nonfiction Curriculum

Hear Melani Martinez M.F.A. ’05 Read From Her Memoir ‘The Molino’

Melani “Mele” Martinez, a senior lecturer in English at the University of Arizona, published The Molino, a hybrid memoir about the tortilla factory her family operated in Tucson for nearly seventy years, in September 2024. The book, published by the University of Arizona Press, began as her M.F.A. manuscript.

Listen to Melani read from ‘The Molino’

Required Courses

The low-residency format of the M.F.A., with its curriculum of reading, writing, and mentoring, allows students to complete the program in two years. The 49-credit degree requirement consists of these components:

  • Participation in four residencies. During these week-long sessions, students and their faculty mentor meet each morning to workshop their writing and discuss craft; in the afternoons, all students and faculty meet to participate in lectures, presentations, panel discussions, and other elements to inform their work off-campus during the online semesters.
  • The four-week residency course, with a week of it in person as explained above, and the rest spent online reflecting and planning for the semester ahead. Each July, students meet on Goucher’s campus in Baltimore. In January, they gather in New York City. Students may begin in either January or July.
  • Four semesters of critical and creative work completed off campus, most of it self-paced. During those fully online semesters, students work one on one with a faculty mentor, take at least one elective course, and build their final manuscripts. The work at residency carries into the online term, with the same faculty mentor and workshop group.
  • An optional fifth semester with or without the residency, if students wish to continue work on their projects.

If for some reason a student cannot attend residency, the program director works with them to create an alternate plan.

RESIDENCY AND ONLINE SEMESTER I

CNF 607. The Nonfiction Residency NYC (Winter) or

CNF 608.The Nonfiction Residency (Summer)

(5 credits in each course)

CNF 621. Nonfiction I 6 credits
Students develop and propose the manuscript topic, with a focus on theme. In this and each semester that follows, students write 12,500 words of new creative work and up 5,000 words about literary craft. They work one on one with a faculty mentor and continue the workshop that began at residency.

RESIDENCY AND ONLINE SEMESTER II

CNF 607. The Nonfiction Residency NYC (Winter) or

CNF 608.The Nonfiction Residency (Summer)

(5 credits in each course)

CNF 624 Nonfiction II | 6 credits
Students delve deeper into the manuscript project, with an increased focus on structure. Students write 12,500 words of new creative work and 5,000 words about literary craft. They continue close collaboration with a new faculty mentor and the workshop that began in residency.

RESIDENCY AND ONLINE SEMESTER III

CNF 607. The Nonfiction Residency NYC (Winter) or

CNF 608. The Nonfiction Residency (Summer)

(5 credits in each course)

CNF 627. Nonfiction III | 6 credits
Students complete the first draft of the manuscript for editing and polishing in the final semester. Work continues with a third faculty mentor and the workshop that began at residency.

RESIDENCY AND ONLINE SEMESTER IV

CNF 607. The Nonfiction Residency NYC (Winter) or CNF 608. The Nonfiction Residency (Summer)| 5 credits each

CNF 632. Workshop IV: Final Manuscript | 8 credits
In the capstone course, students revise, edit, and submit a final manuscript of 38,000 to 45,000 words. They complete their projects by working their last faculty mentor and the workshop they began at residency.

CNF 637. Nonfiction V | 6 credits
This is an optional semester that allows students more time to research, write, and polish their manuscripts. They may choose to focus solely on the manuscript or continue one-on-one work with a faculty mentor and a workshop group; residency is not required in the fifth semester.