Graduate Programs Graduate Financial Aid MFA Financial Aid Support for Graduate Students

Financial Aid Support for MFA Graduate Students

Financial Aid Support for Graduate Students in the
MFA Program in Creative Writing

In the first year, all MFA students accepted into the program are offered a full tuition waiver and a stipend of $16,000, either through a fellowship or a combination of a gradership and a fellowship, as well as $6,000 in summer funding through the generous support of Helen Zell, whose gift also funds many of the first-year fellowships. The total first year package equals $22,000. Applicants will also be considered, where appropriate, for Rackham Merit Fellowships, which offer, together with English Department funding, a stipend and summer-funding package equalling $22,000, as well as health insurance. Second year support includes a complete tuition waiver, stipend (currently for 2011-2012 $17,702), and health care benefits through a Graduate Student Instructorship teaching an undergraduate creative writing or introductory composition course. Additionally, several fellowships and prizes are awarded each year to MFA students. Specific opportunities are described below.

Supplemental Funding Opportunities:

Civitas Fellowships

Civitas Fellowships are awarded to a small number of MFA students after an application process. Participating graduate students will be expected to work an average of 10 hours a week for 30 weeks for InsideOut Detroit (travel time and preparation time included). The work may include team-teaching creative writing classes in the Detroit Public Schools, helping the writers at InsideOut with their classroom work in the Detroit schools, helping the administrators at InsideOut prepare annual literary magazines and readings by the students in Detroit , and helping with the production of the literary magazines in the Detroit schools. Civitas Fellowships are the result of efforts made by InsideOut Detroit, the MFA Program in Creative Writing, the Office of the Provost, and the Dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

Summer Internships

Students with a summer internship in education, arts administration, or publishing may apply for supplemental funding between the first and second years of the MFA Program. Thanks to the support of Helen Zell, the Program is able to offer student interns up to $2,000 for out-of-state internships. In the past, MFA students have interned at FSG, Small Press Distribution, 826michigan, Another Chicago Magazine, The Poetry Foundation, Time Asia, Tupelo Press, Copper Canyon Press, Mid-Atlantic Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review, among other organizations.

Prague Summer Program

Each year the Prague Summer Program offers one Teaching Assistantship and one "work-study" scholarship to University of Michigan MFA students, allowing those two students to attend PSP tuition-free.  The MFA Program also gives each of those students $2,000 of supplemental internship funding for travel costs and living expenses.

Thesis Research/Travel Grant

MFA students can apply for a Thesis Grant to help support travel necessary to complete research for their thesis. There are two times during the academic year when students may apply for the Thesis Grant, October (to be used over the winter break or spring break), and March (to be used over the summer break after the first year in the program).

Moveen

Thanks to the generosity of Thomas Lynch, we have established a May residency at the Lynch ancestral home in Moveen, Ireland. All MFA students are eligible to apply.

Vermont Studio Center

Thanks to the generosity of Helen Zell, we have established a summer fellowship opportunity for one month at the Vermont Studio Center for a poet between the first and second years of the MFA program.

Prizes:

The Hopwood Awards

Each year Hopwood Awards are given in several categories, including novel, drama, screenplay, nonfiction, short fiction, and poetry. Go to the Hopwood Program homepage to learn more about the Hopwood Awards, donor Avery Hopwood, and the Hopwood Program's annual lectures and guest readers.

The Meijer Award

Established through the generosity of Hendrik Meijer and the Meijer Corporation, this fellowship is intended to support the work of a promising writer who is completing graduate study in the University of Michigan MFA Program. Meijer Fellows are expected to stay in Michigan during the academic year following graduation and to continue to contribute to the Michigan writing community. The Meijer is given in the amount of $25,000.

The Zell Postgraduate Awards

Established through the generosity of Helen Zell and the Zell Family Foundation, these fellowships are intended to support the work of promising writers who are completing graduate study in the University of Michigan MFA Program. Zell Fellows are expected to reside in Ann Arbor during the academic year following graduation and to continue to contribute to the MFA community. The Zell is given in the amount of $25,000.

The Henfield Prize in Fiction

The $10,000 Henfield Prize in Fiction, supported by an endowment given by the Henfield Foundation, is to be awarded to a continuing or graduating student in the University of Michigan MFA Program. The contest will be judged by a writer of national prominence who does not teach in the MFA Program.

The Farrar Memorial Playwriting Grant

Although we do not offer a concentration in playwriting, thanks to the generosity of the Wilma L. Farrar estate, the MFA Program is able to offer up to $5000 to a current first year MFA student or students who are working on playwriting and stagecraft in addition to their specific genre. Although previous accomplishments in dramatic writing will strengthen your application, this funding is not designed primarily to reward prior achievement, but to support specific, ongoing playwriting projects. The project you propose need not be limited to the summer months, but must take place while you are enrolled in the MFA Program. However, successful applicants must submit at least 50 pages of the proposed play to the Assistant Director of the MFA Program by the start of the next term. Applications will be judged by the Assistant Director of the MFA Program.

The Frederick Busch Prize in Fiction

Established to commemorate the work and teaching of Frederick Busch, who passed away while serving as the Zell Distinguished Visiting Professor in 2006, this $1000 prize is intended to support the work of a promising fiction writer in the midst of graduate study in the University of Michigan MFA Program. The entries will be judged by local judges who do not teach in the MFA Program.

The Tyson Award in Fiction

The contest for the $1000 Tyson Award in Fiction is open to all continuing graduate students in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan. The contest will be judged by a faculty member in the Department of English who does not teach in the MFA Program.

Additional Funding:

Conference Travel

Every MFA student is guaranteed up to $350 toward conference travel. Many students choose to use these funds to help pay for a trip to the annual AWP conference.

Submission Reimbursement

MFA students are eligible to receive up to $50 in the first year and up to $100 in the second year to reimburse them for the costs of sending work to publications and contests.