Tuition, Assistantships, Fellowships

Tuition and Fees

Tuition rates are set by the Board of Visitors as part of its budget-setting function. Rates are always fluctuating, but for graduate courses in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, they are approximately $700 per credit (in-state) and $1,500 per credit (out-of-state). Go here for the latest information:

https://studentaccounts.gmu.edu/tuition-fees/#Tuition

In addition to tuition, students are required to pay certain fees that are not covered by the allocated tuition waiver. These fees may include:

Educational Resource Fee: This fee is charged each semester upon registration. This fee ranges from $60-$100 depending on student registration.
New-Student Registration Fee: This fee is charged one time only upon each student’s first registration.
Late Fee: This fee is charged when a student registers for credit hours after the first day of classes.

Student Accounts: Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and Graduate Professional Assistants (GPAs), please note that tuition almost always posts to a student's account before the tuition waiver is applied against it. Don't stress, but if the tuition waiver doesn't appear before the start of classes, please reach out to the Graduate Academic Coordinator.

Graduate Assistantships

There are two types of Graduate Assistantships: Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) and Graduate Professional Assistantships (GPA). Both positions are fully funded under the same benefits, terms, and conditions. The university's budget allocation for these positions allows for a 4:1 ratio of GTAs:GPAs, meaning there is a greater chance to support a student as a GTA.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are employed through the English Department. Typically, these appointments are part of the initial application process to the program, but can at times be offered any time during the course of a student’s tenure in the program, as long as they meet eligibility requirements (18 credits earned and ENGH 615 successfully completed). 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 ENGH 101 Composition and ENGH 201 Literature. Depending on demand, GTAs may also have the opportunity to teach ENGH 396 Intro to Creative Writing and possibly other creative writing courses in their third year.

Graduate Professional Assistantships (GPAs), also formally contracted with the English Department, 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 Cheuse Center as necessary).

Each GTA/GPA appointment includes a stipend and a tuition waiver for graduate courses that meet degree requirements. GTAs/GPAs are also eligible for optional subsidized health insurance.

For the latest in health insurance options, see here:

https://graduate.gmu.edu/financial-support/assistantships-lecturers/subsidized-health-insurance

Tuition Waiver and Course Loads

All full-time TAships and PAships held by MFA students come with a tuition waiver. However, the waiver is subject to the allocation of waiver funds by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and is only good for up to 48 total credit hours of coursework that meet the requirements of the MFA. The waiver is managed by the Creative Writing Program to provide for the completion of the program in three academic years. Because of the close management of waivers, TAs and PAs are required to inform the Graduate Academic Coordinator of their enrollment plans ahead of each semester.

The annual waiver is based on funded students taking up to 18 credits in a budget year (that includes courses taken in the summer prior to the academic year, the fall semester, and the spring semester). Reporting intended registration is necessary in managing waivers and ensuring the fairest distribution of available waiver funds. Students who intentionally or inadvertently register for and complete more than 18 credits in a budget year or 48 credits cumulative over the course of the program should expect to be responsible for paying for those credits according to their domicile status at in-state or out-of-state rates.

All incoming TAs must register for nine credit hours each of their first two semesters for a total of 18 credits so that they are eligible (by Commonwealth of Virginia regulations) to teach. Thereafter, all full-time TAs (and PAs) must enroll in at least six credit hours of graduate coursework each semester except in their final semester, when, if they have fewer than six credits left, they may register for a smaller number of credit hours. Students may register for coursework during the summer session; however, following the academic year in which they received a tuition waiver and have the hours covered by the waiver, but those waiver dollars are part of the student’s total for that year.

Third-Year Fellowships

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences has allocated three Graduate Research Assistantships that serve as fellowships to support students as they focus on thesis work in the third year of study. These Thesis Fellowships offer students a level of support to focus on their work, and all fellowship recipients receive a stipend and a tuition waiver equal to that of graduate assistantships.

To Apply for a Fellowship: A fellowship application is analogous to a thesis proposal, including a statement of the project the student intends to undertake and a writing sample. The sample should serve to update faculty with whom the student has not worked recently on the status of their writing. Applications are only accepted electronically and should be submitted to the Graduate Academic Coordinator. More details about available fellowships, deadlines, and application specifics can be found on the creative writing site.

Travel Grants

Grants from the Cheuse Center for International Writers (cheusecenter.gmu.edu) are designed to help Mason’s MFA students pursue international research for creative projects they are either currently working on or hope to begin. Students submit proposals of 1500 words for the opportunity to travel to a country or region that fits their research needs. Proposals are then evaluated by a three-person review team. Usually between 2-4 students are selected as Cheuse Center travel grant recipients, and each awardee receives approximately $5,000 toward their international travel. In return, students must deliver a piece of creative writing from their travels and a secondary project designed to engage with the local population.

Provost Summer GRA Opportunity

The Provost’s Office also sponsors Summer Graduate Research Assistantships, which several MFA students have received in recent years. This opportunity is for rising third-year MFA students only for the summer between their second and third year in the program. An info session is presented in the Fall of each year, and the application deadline is late January. Look for information in emails. An Info Session for second-year students interested in the Summer GRA is held in mid-November.

https://graduate.gmu.edu/financial-support/grants-fellowships-awards/internal

MFA Scholarships

Michael and Robin Kelly Endowed Scholarship for 1st- or 2nd-year students with financial need and whose work engages topics of social justice, access, equity, or another social/cultural relevant topic. (Application deadline December 1.)

Anthony and G. Louise Otto Endowed Scholarship for 3rd-Year students' thesis support (one in each genre) with financial need (third-year fellowship recipients are ineligible). (Application deadline December 1.)

Robert Raymond Scholarship Fund for a 1st-Year student with financial need and representing an underrepresented community. (Application deadline May 1.)

Scholarship information and links are circulated via email before the College opens the application portal for that round of applications.

Spring Writing Contests

GMU Rinehart Fiction Award | $500-$,1000

GMU Rinehart Nonfiction Award | $500-$,1000

GMU Rinehart Poetry Award | $500-$,1000

Dan Rudy Fiction Award (MFA Students Only) | $500-$,1000

Mary Roberts Rinehart Nonfiction Award (MFA Students Only) | $500-$,1000

Mark Craver Poetry Award (MFA Students Only) | $500-$,1000

Prizes, terms, and conditions can vary, so please see Spring Writing Contests news for that year's opportunities.

Student Requests for Funding

Mason Creative Writing has access to limited sources of funding that can be used to help MFA students in modest ways, such as writers' conference registrations, online workshop fees, and opportunities to conduct research or creative activity outside of the GMU community. The simplest way to explore how to access this support is by asking, so a Student Request for Funding Form has been developed to manage such requests.

We suggest that you follow up your request form submission with an email to the MFA Director and Graduate Admissions Outreach Manager.