Writing Program Fellowship Support

In 2011-12 over half of entering Writing Program students, and all of our second-year students with need, received fellowship support.  Fellowships are awarded based on merit, or a combination of merit and financial need.  Fellowships generally range from $5,000 to $30,000. The average award among those who received aid in 2011-12 was $20,000.

Read more about Financing Your Degree.

There are several other opportunities available to students in the Writing MFA Program. Here's a little more about them.

All students in the Program are given opportunities to teach both at the high school and college levels through the Columbia Artists/Teachers (CA/T) program, directed by Alan Ziegler.  Professor Ziegler, Writers-in-the-Schools veteran and author of The Writing Workshop, also offers a course each semester, “Writer as Teacher,” offering training for those who want to teach creative writing.

There are also a limited number of Teaching Assistantships available to writing students to teach expository writing under the auspices of the English Department; these appointments offer two-year positions with full tuition remission and a stipend of $22,500.  On average, 12 Writing Program students have received these appointments each year. 

Students who opt to take a third year after coursework to complete their thesis are eligible to apply for adjunct positions to teach a beginning workshop for one semester in the Undergraduate Writing Program.  This year, 16 third-year students received these $10,000 teaching fellowships.

10 Hertog Research Fellowships, providing students the opportunity to assist distinguished writers on their book projects, are offered each year.

In return, the writers counsel their research interns on the writing life, and the students receive $7,500 in supplementary fellowship support.

The Writing Program, in conjunction with the School of the Arts Office of Global Programs, has recently launched a new initiative developing opportunities for students to travel abroad. 

This year, students traveled to Reid Hall in Paris to take summer writing courses, and are participating in literary translation programs in Amman, Jordan and Leipzig, Germany.  We anticipate multiplying such opportunities in other countries over the next several years.