MFA Funding Opportunities

In accordance with MFA and university policies, to be eligible for funding, MFA students must be in good academic standing and achieving “progress towards the degree,” i.e., successfully moving towards the fulfillment of degree requirements in a timely manner. Failure to maintain good standing and progress towards the degree may result in not being recommended for funded positions.

MFA students receive funding through a range of appointments, including Teaching Associate (TO), Teaching Assistant (TA), and Research Assistant (RA). A TO is a graduate student who is responsible for teaching a class. A TA is a graduate student who assists a faculty member in teaching a class.

A “funded” position is defined as an appointment that includes a tuition and curriculum fee waiver, and a stipend of at least $6,205.40 per semester. It may or may not include the health insurance fee.

Teaching Associateships with the Writing Program are the only funding opportunity facilitated by the MFA program at the time of admission. Additional funding opportunities can be found on the Graduate School’s website.

Funding & Progress Towards Degree

The MFA Program administration, along with the Writing Program and the Graduate School, tracks candidates’ progress towards the degree by making note of incompletes, grades, and completion of degree requirements.

Incompletes:

• If a student elects to take an incomplete in a class, the student is responsible for establishing and fulfilling a timeline for completion of all coursework in collaboration with the course instructor/independent study sponsor.
• Incompletes (INC) automatically turn into Incomplete/Failure (IF) after one year. An IF will negatively impact a student’s GPA, which may make a student ineligible for TO reappointment.
• Typically, anyone with more than one INC or IF will not be recommended for continued funding.