Funding (GAs)
The primary vehicles for funding are Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) and Graduate Professional Assistantships (GPAs). Not every student in the MFA Program is funded. However, those who are fully funded receive a stipend, tuition waiver, and optional subsidized healthcare for each year they are in the program, provided they remain in good academic and professional standing. Budget allocations from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences allow for a 4:1 ratio of GTAs to GPAs.
Mason MFA students staff the exhibit booth at AWP 2024 in Kansas City.
Typically, these appointments are part of the initial application process to the program, but may be offered any time during the course of a student’s tenure in the program, provided they meet the eligibility requirements (18 credits earned and ENGH 615 successfully completed are required to be eligible to teach the classroom). Decisions are based on numerous factors, including interview results, teaching or tutoring needs of the English Department, applicant’s background and preparation, etc. GTAs take courses in the teaching of composition (ENGH 615) and literature (ENGH 610) and work for the department as writing tutors and instructors of composition and literature. Depending on demand, GTAs may also have the opportunity to teach creative writing courses in their third year.
Graduate Professional Assistantships (GPAs) were established to support the work of Watershed Lit and its member entities. GPA positions are assigned to various units such as Poetry Daily or Stillhouse Press. GPA positions might include Outreach Coordinator, Poetry Daily; Production Coordinator, Poetry Daily; Operations Assistant, Stillhouse Press; Poetry Editor, Stillhouse Press; Submissions Manager, Stillhouse Press; Administrative Assistant, Cheuse Center; Marketing and Social Media Coordinator, CW Program (with assignments involving Fall for the Book, Stillhouse Press, and the Cheuse Center as necessary).
Benefits, terms, and conditions of GTAs and GPAs are identical.
GA Priorities and Other Work
Northern Virginia, or NOVA as we call it, is a swath of piedmont sandwiched between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the nation's capital. The region’s 3.5 million people account for 37% of the entire Commonwealth's population, with the national cost of living composite indexed at 140. With a fantastic parks system, wildly diverse cultures and food, and easy access to D.C. and three international airports, NOVA is a wonderful place to live.
But it can be expensive.
We get your desire or, frankly, need to work other jobs during your time in Mason's MFA Program. While the program is willing to discuss how you can accommodate those needs, all students in the MFA program need to prioritize the study and creation of literary art, and those who are funded by the program as Graduate Teaching Assistants or Graduate Professional Assistants need to prioritize their work in those capacities for which they receive their funding benefits.
Like most other jobs, being a GA is a job for which you receive benefits. These benefits include a "salary" in the form of a stipend, additional compensation in the form of free tuition (the tuition waiver), and optional health insurance. GAs also have "bosses": GTAs report to either the Director of the Writing Center or the Director of Composition in their first and second years, while GPAs report to their supervisor and the associate director of Watershed Lit.
Both GTAs and GPAs enter into a 9-month contract signed by the English Department chair. As with other jobs, performance will be evaluated by supervisors. Recurring issues will be brought to the attention of the Creative Writing Program Director and, perhaps, the department chair. Poor performance may lead to consequences; although rare, GAs have had their funding withdrawn.
Again, such scenarios are rare, but George Mason University has policies in place.
GAs cannot work any additional job at Mason that will exceed 9 hours/week because, combined with their 20 hours/week as an English Department GA, they risk being in violation of the Affordable Care Act and seriously risk losing ALL FUNDING. Full-time work outside of Mason is highly discouraged for GAs, and part-time work needs to accommodate your Mason MFA course schedule and GA schedule (not the other way around).
Any student funded as a GA who wishes to retain or obtain additional work on or off campus must first consult the Creative Writing Program director.
Time-Budget Estimates
20 hours/week = GA contract
For GTAs in their teaching years, that equals 5 hours/week teaching (two 75-minute class periods per week repeated twice for two sections); 2 office hours/week (1 hour per course); 5 hours/week prep time; 10 hours/week grading and responding to student emails
8 hours/week of in-class time (assuming 9 MFA credits/semester)
16 hours/week writing/art making
16 hours/week of reading/assignments
4-6 hours/week for a workshop to read and thoughtfully comment on peers' work