How to Prepare a Creative Nonfiction Portfolio for a Writing Program

A creative nonfiction portfolio does the same job as a fiction or poetry sample: it shows an admissions committee how you write when the work is finished enough to show strangers. What makes nonfiction different is the range of forms programs accept — personal essays, memoir chapters, lyric and flash pieces, literary journalism — and the way limits are counted. This guide walks through what programs actually ask for, using requirements published on official program pages, and how to assemble a sample that fits each one. Requirements change between application cycles, so confirm every detail on the program's own admissions page before you submit.

What programs ask for

Creative nonfiction is offered widely but not everywhere. In our directory (October 2026), 84 of 126 programs list creative nonfiction among their genres, and the 35 creative nonfiction page limits we have recorded range from 15 to 50 pages (how we count). Within that range, programs describe the sample in noticeably different ways:

• A page range with a floor. The University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program asks for a 20- to 30-page sample of literary nonfiction; Portland State asks for 20 to 30 pages and names magazine articles as well as creative nonfiction as acceptable.
• A ceiling only. Columbia's Writing program accepts no more than thirty double-spaced pages; Hunter College accepts up to 20 pages of prose, either an essay or an extract from something longer.
• A minimum number of pieces. George Mason asks for at least two complete essays (or the equivalent) totaling no more than 50 pages.
• A word count instead of pages. Pacific University's low-residency MFA caps nonfiction at 4,000 words, double-spaced.
• A second genre. LSU asks nonfiction applicants for about 20 pages of nonfiction plus a writing sample in an additional genre.

Because "20 pages" at one school and "4,000 words" at another are not the same amount of text, convert each limit into your own manuscript format before deciding what to include.

Choosing the pieces

Programs are explicit that more than one shape of sample is acceptable. The University of Arizona says nonfiction applicants typically send a couple of essays or an excerpt from a longer work, up to 30 pages. Virginia Commonwealth's creative nonfiction concentration accepts 20 to 25 pages in any combination of essays, memoir chapters or flash nonfiction. Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA names a memoir excerpt, a personal essay or a piece of literary journalism, with a 20-page maximum.

A few practical ways to decide:

• Complete beats partial when you can. A finished essay shows that you can shape an arc, land an ending and control pacing over the whole piece. If a program asks for complete essays, as George Mason does, an excerpt may not meet the requirement at all.
• If you send a book excerpt, choose a section that stands on its own. A memoir chapter that depends on fifty earlier pages asks the reader to fill gaps the committee cannot fill. A brief note at the top identifying the larger project is usually enough context, if the program permits one.
• Show range only if it is real. Two essays in different modes — say, a researched piece and a lyric one — can demonstrate range, but two strong pieces in one mode are better than one strong and one weak piece in two.
• Lead with your best page. The first piece sets the reader's first impression of your work, so put the strongest one first unless the program asks for a particular order.

Fitting the sample to each limit

If you apply to several programs, you will probably build more than one version of the portfolio. A 50-page George Mason submission and a 15-page submission elsewhere are different documents, not one document trimmed at a random point.

• Build a core of your strongest 15 to 20 pages, then decide what to add for programs with higher limits.
• Never exceed a stated maximum. "Up to 30 pages" is a ceiling, not a target, and a shorter sample of better work is a legitimate choice.
• Where a program names a range (20 to 30 pages at Iowa and Portland State), stay inside it.
• Where a limit is stated in words, count words, not pages.
• If a program asks for a second genre (as LSU does), prepare that sample to the same standard; it is read, not skimmed.

For comparison with how fiction samples are usually structured, see preparing a fiction portfolio.

Formatting and presentation

Formatting rules are usually short, and they are easy to get right:

• Spacing and type. Prose is almost always double-spaced. Bennington's low-residency MFA, for example, asks for double spacing in a readable font such as 12-point Times New Roman; Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program asks for double spacing, a 12-point font and one-inch margins.
• Identification. Some programs want your name and other details on each page. Queens University of Charlotte asks for numbered pages with your name, the title and the genre in a header or footer. Others review samples without the writer's identity — Spalding's catalog says its faculty committee reads the sample without knowing who the applicant is — so check whether your name belongs on the pages at all.
• One file, clearly labeled. Combine multiple pieces into a single document if the portal accepts only one upload, with each piece starting on a new page and titled.
• Proofread as if it were for publication. Typos do not disqualify anyone, but a clean manuscript signals the care the committee is looking for.

Genre questions specific to nonfiction

Two issues come up more often for nonfiction writers than for poets or fiction writers.

Not every program has a nonfiction track. The University of Washington's FAQ states that its MFA has no separate literary nonfiction track; nonfiction can be submitted in the prose category and brought into fiction workshops. That can work well for some writers, but it means your workshop peers and faculty may be primarily fiction writers. Look at how a program structures nonfiction before you apply — the creative nonfiction genre page lists programs in our directory that offer it, and choosing faculty and genre fit covers what to check.

Funding can differ by genre at the same school. Hunter College's financial aid page states that admitted fiction and poetry students receive two years of tuition coverage, while creative nonfiction is not funded. If cost matters to your decision, read funding pages for genre-specific language rather than assuming one policy applies to every track. Our full-funding guide explains how to read those pages.

A final checklist

Before you submit, confirm for each program:

1. The limit and how it is counted (pages, words, number of pieces).
2. Whether excerpts are allowed or complete essays are required.
3. Spacing, font, margins and whether your name belongs on the pages.
4. Whether a second-genre sample or a critical essay is also required — Columbia, for instance, asks for a separate 1,000-word essay responding to a recent work of literature in your concentration.
5. The deadline for the current cycle, which you should take from the program's own page, not from a previous year's notes.

Your statement of purpose will be read alongside the sample; writing a statement of purpose covers that part of the application.