The Department of English is committed to supporting the academic and professional development of our graduate students through comprehensive funding. Graduate students are typically awarded Teaching Assistantships which provide competitive stipends, health insurance, and tuition. Additional sources of graduate funding support include:
Betty Combs Owen Graduate Recruitment Scholarship in Creative Writing: This scholarship is awarded to incoming MFA students who demonstrate excellence in creative writing.
B.W. Black Graduate Summer Awards in British Studies: Typically awarded to rising third- and fourth-year PhD graduate students, these awards support students researching British literature and culture.
Doty Graduate Summer Awards: Typically awarded to rising third- and fourth-year PhD graduate students and rising second-year MFA students, these awards support students who are preparing for qualifying exams, working on their dissertations, or developing their MFA theses.
MA and PhD Conference and Research Travel Awards: Awards range from $250-$1250 depending upon the size and scope of the proposed travel.
Nikky Finney Graduate Fellowship: This award honors a first- or second-year MFA student for outstanding academic performance. This award is given in honor of Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing Nikky Finney, whose poetry on the Southern cultural and political heritage of Black people speaks to the Commonwealth, country, and world.
Wagner-Adler Distinguished Graduate Scholar Awards: These awards provide a semester of teaching release and research support for two advanced PhD. candidates in the English Literature & Film PhD. program, with the aim of assisting the completion of the PhD. dissertation and preparation for the job market. The awards provide a full semester of teaching release with stipend support, health care, and tuition coverage.
Wagner-Adler Summer MFA Thesis Development Awards: These awards provide support to rising second-year MFA students working on their thesis projects. At least one award is given in each genre.