Degree Requirements

The limited-residency format of the program, with its integrated reading/ writing/mentoring curriculum, allows students to complete the program in two years. The 38-credit hour degree requirement breaks down as follows:

● Participation in two spring mini-residencies and three summer residencies over a two-year period.  The third and final residency lasts five days and includes commencement. 

● Four semesters of off-campus critical and original artistic work which includes mentorships, a critical paper, an internship, and a final manuscript.

CNF 601. Mentorship I (6 credits, summer and fall)
CNF 602. Mentorship II (4 credits, spring/6 credits, fall)
CNF 603. Mentorship III (4 credits, spring/6 credits, fall)
CNF 604. Mentorship IV (4 credits, spring/6 credits, fall)

Mentorship I is combined with a summer residency and offers six credits.

Mentorships II, III and IV offer  four credits when completed  in the spring and combined with a three-day mini-residency; six credits  when completed in the summer/fall.

Each semester, students take one mentorship and the corresponding course from the following 620 sequence listed below.  After their first year, they have the option of taking CNF 625: Independent Study: Research and Reporting, during which they conduct in-depth research, reporting, and interviews under the one-on-one supervision of a faculty mentor. 

CNF 620
Workshop I: Creative Writing (3 credits)
Personal essay, memoir, autobiography, narrative nonfiction, immersion journalism, literary journalism, etc. 50 pages required.

CNF 623
Workshop II: Manuscript: Beginning (4 credits)
Develop a manuscript proposal and begin the actual manuscript.

CNF 626
Workshop III: Manuscript: Work in Progress (4 credits)
Develop, draft, and revise the manuscript.

CNF 630
Workshop IV: Final Manuscript (4 credits)
Final writing, revising, editing and submission of 150-page bound manuscript; reading of work at summer residency.

CNF 610
Internship (3 credits)
Experience at a literary journal, a national or regional magazine, daily or weekly newspaper, a recognized publishing house or a web-based publisher, or work with a published writer, agent or editor; 45 contact hour minimum.

Elective Course Offering

CNF 625
Independent Study:  Research & Reporting (2-3 credits)
Conduct in-depth research, interviews, and reporting under the one-on-one supervision of a faculty mentor.
Prerequisites: 601 and 620