Funding Opportunities

Assistantships, Scholarships, and Awards

Graduate Assistantships:

Graduate assistants receive $1426 per semester and pay only $37.50 in tuition per semester (plus the health, activity, and athletic fee). Duties include working fifteen to seventeen hours per week, as assigned by the department head. This award is contingent upon acceptance into the graduate program.

Teaching Assistantships:

Teaching assistants receive $1,600 per semester and pay only $37.50 in tuition per semester (plus the health, activity, and athletic fee). Duties of teaching assistants include teaching one section of ENGL 1101 or 1102 each semester. This award is contingent upon successful completion of eighteen hours of graduate coursework in English, including successful completion of English 8800, Seminar for Teaching Assistants, the Spring semester before assistants begin to teach. 

The Graduate English Department Scholarship:

The Graduate English Department Scholarship is awarded annually to one candidate for the Master of Arts in English who has completed at least nine hours of coursework in graduate English and linguistics courses, who has a GPA of 3.5 or better, and who has made consistent progress toward the degree. The monetary amount of this award varies from year to year.

The Graduate Award:

The Graduate Award is awarded annually to one candidate for the Master of Arts degree in English who has completed at least 50 percent of the coursework (18 hours or more), who has a GPA of 3.5 or better, and who has made consistent progress toward the degree.

Study Abroad

International Teaching Assistantships:

The Office of International Programs and the Graduate School have a limited number of international teaching assistantships available. These assistantships help fund students' work as teaching assistantships at VSU's exchange institutions in Syktvkar, Russia, and Eger, Hungary. At these institutions, students will lead conversational English discussion groups as teachers. They will also work with faculty members at those institutions on selected projects for credit. Students interested in these assistantships must apply through the Graduate School after having obtained permission from the Department of English.

International Study:

Opportunities for affordable graduate study abroad also exist, both during summers as well as during the academic year.