MFA Student Fellowships

MFA Student Fellowships

Fellowship reading 2019

Thesis Fellowship | stipend w/tuition waiver

Three awards, one in poetry and two in prose.

Eligible students must be rising third-year students who will have a minimum of 9 credit hours and a maximum of between 9-12 credit hours remaining in their degree program.

Full-time student registration is required for the fall semester. Spring semester requires full-time registration unless a student has fewer than 9 credit-hours to complete his or her degree program, in which case the student registers for the number of credits he or she needs in order to graduate.

 

Heritage Writer Fellowship in Poetry | stipend w/ tuition waiver

One award, not open to prose students.

Eligible students must be rising third-year students who will have 9-12 credit-hours remaining in their degree program. Full-time student registration is required for the fall semester. Spring semester requires full-time registration unless a student has fewer than 9 credit-hours to complete his or her degree program, in which case the student registers for the number of credits he or she needs in order to graduate.

 

Notes:

-- The primary intent of the fellowships is to support students as they work on their theses, so the application process mirrors the thesis proposal process in that students submit a proposal and a writing sample, and the package represents the student’s proposed project for the coming year. The proposal should discuss the nature of the project, where the student is in their work on the project, and an expected completion schedule. The writing sample may come from a draft of the proposed project or, if that is not available, an applicant may submit a writing sample that closely resembles the writing they expect to carry out in the final version of the project.

-- GAs and non-GAs may apply. Students may not hold two positions. If a student holding a GA is awarded a fellowship, they must resign the assistantship to accept the fellowship.

 

Fellowship Application Guidelines: 

1. The AY2024-25 fellowship application deadline is 12pm noon on Monday, February 5, 2024. No applications can be considered if submitted after the deadline. Given the possibilities of technological glitches, applicants are advised to file well ahead of the deadline. 

2. Applications should be submitted electronically as email attachments. All documents included in the fellowship application must be merged into one PDF document before being attached and submitted. Attached applications should be sent to Jay Patel by the deadline.

3. All applications should include the following: one fellowship application cover sheet (download .pdf), one narrative statement describing the writing project or thesis idea, and one writing sample containing writing representative of what the faculty should expect to see later in the thesis project.

4. Poetry students should submit 8-10 pages of poetry (each poem starting a new page) as their writing sample. Poets should describe the vision for their project and how the included poems relate to the final project, assumed to be the student’s thesis. They also should indicate how much of the project currently is drafted, and any special considerations, such as whether research is planned, and they should estimate a completion date.

5. Prose students should submit 20-25 pages of prose, such as a book chapter or two short stories or essays, as appropriate to their genre. The sample should be sufficient to give all faculty reading applications an awareness of the applicant’s writing, whether the student has studied with all faculty yet or not. Applicants should discuss the project in some detail, explaining its scope and vision, how much of the manuscript is currently drafted, whether research is needed, and when they expect to complete it.

6. Students who have not yet started drafting a thesis project are not expected to have portions of the project to submit as part of a fellowship application. To submit a fellowship application, they should discuss the project as they envision it and submit a writing sample that represents the current status of their writing.

7. Fellowship applications are judged by MFA faculty, who give their selections to the creative writing director. Recipients are contacted via email prior to a formal announcement posted on the creative writing website and sent to the MFA student listserv. Contact Jay Patel with fellowship application questions.

2019 Fellowship recipients

2019 Fellowship Recipients Lisa DesRochers-Short, Abi Newhouse, Caely McHale, and Sofia Puente-Lay.

Thesis Fellows: 2023-24

Fiction: Chelsea Lebron
Nonfiction: Ashlen Renner
Poetry: Arpita Roy
Heritage (Poetry): Danny Coates-Finke

Thesis Fellows: 2022-23

Poetry: Victoria Mendoza
Fiction: Farheen Raparthu
Nonfiction: Myles Poydras
 
Thesis Fellows: 2021-2022

Poetry: Ian Cappelli
Prose: Jenny Fried
Prose: Shabrayle Setliff
Heritage (Poetry): Christian Stanzione
 
Thesis Fellows: 2020-2021
 
Poetry: Millie Tullis
Fiction: Melissa Wade
Nonfiction: Stephanie Buckley
Heritage (Poetry): Ana Pugatch
 
Thesis Fellows: 2019-2020
 
Poetry: Lisa DesRochers-Short
Fiction: Sofia Puente-Lay
Nonfiction: Abagail Newhouse
Heritage (Poetry): Caely McHale

Thesis Fellows: 2018-2019

Poetry: E. Rhodes Thompson
Fiction: Anney Bolgiano
Nonfiction: Katie Branca
Heritage (Poetry): Andrew Art

Thesis Fellows: 2017-2018

Poetry: Jesse Capobianco
Fiction: Ben Rader
Nonfiction: Liesel Hamilton
Heritage (Poetry): Alayna Nagurny
 
Thesis Fellows: 2016-2017

Poetry: Madeleine Wattenberg
Fiction: Sarah Bates
Nonfiction: Kerry Folan
Heritage (Poetry): Doug Luman

Thesis Fellows: 2015-2016

Poetry: Frank Harder
Fiction: Lina Patton
Nonfiction: Rajpreet Heir
Heritage (Poetry): Jeffery Allen

Thesis Fellows: 2014-2015

Poetry: Anya Creightney
Fiction: Ah-reum Han
Nonfiction: Alex Ghaly
Heritage (Poetry): Alyssa Dandrea

Thesis Fellows: 2013-2014

Fiction: Alexander Henderson
NonFiction:  Kyle Giacomozzi
Poetry: Amber Cook
Heritage (Poetry): Matthew Blakley in Fall '13, Darby Price in Spring '14

Previous Heritage Fellowship Recipients:

Sheila McMullin 2012-13 | Jack Snyder: 2011-12 | Alison Strub: 2010-11, Emily Viggiano: 2009-10, Danika Stegeman: 2008-09, Wade Fletcher: 2007-08, Scott Weaver: 2006-07, Meg LeBlanc: 2005-06, Carrie Pruitt: 2004-05, Lisa Renfro: 2003-04, Dani Sandal: 2002-03, Michael Pabich: 2001-02, Nelina Cabiles: 2000-01, Marian Ryan: 1999-00, Robyn Wright: 1998-99, Benard Bleske: 1997-98, Margaret Hutton: 1996-97, Lisa Page: 1995-96