Scholarships & Awards

All our students are fully funded for all 3 years.

We offer two main sources of funding: John and Renee Grisham Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships. These are supplemented by other financial aid opportunities and fellowships. In recent years, total funding packages have allowed us to offer every MFA student free tuition, subsidized health care, and annual stipends that range from $16,500-20,000.

GRISHAM FELLOWSHIPS IN CREATIVE WRITING
Each year we award two incoming students with John and Renée Grisham Fellowships (one in fiction and one in poetry). These fellowships include full tuition, subsidized health care, and an annual stipend, renewable for three years. Grisham fellows have no teaching responsibilities. They devote their time here to reading, writing, coursework, and engaging our lively and supportive literary community. Though Grisham fellows are not required to teach, optional teaching opportunities are available for those who want teaching experience.

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
All other incoming students receive Teaching Assistantships, which include full tuition, subsidized health care, and an annual stipend, renewable for three years. For the first two years of the MFA, Teaching Assistants usually serve as section leaders and graders in the English Department’s 200-level literature classes. In the third year, TAs teach 100-level composition courses in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric or work as consultants in the Writing Center. TAs may also teach Introductory Creative Writing courses or serve as research or program assistants when opportunities are available. Teaching assistantships offer pedagogical training and experience that can be invaluable for those interested in pursuing academic jobs after the MFA.

OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING

Students can make additional income by teaching summer courses when available, and by applying for funding opportunities through The UM Graduate School, such as the Summer Graduate Research Assistantships and the Dissertation Fellowships, which provide up to $8,000 for select third year students so that they may forgo teaching for one semester while completing their thesis manuscripts. Find out more about these opportunities here.

CONTESTS & AWARDS
The English Department and the MFA Program administer several contests that come with cash awards, including The Bondurant Prize, The Ann Fisher-Wirth Bright Spirit Award, The Ella Somerville Prize, the Evans-Harrington Prize, and the D.C. Berry Awards.

The DC Berry Prize (formerly known as “Elvis Meets Einstein”) is open to full-time University of Mississippi MFA students in Creative Writing for one page of writing in any genre that is “funny and smart.” Submissions are assessed by a judge outside the department. Three prizes are awarded: First Prize is $1,500, Second Prize is $1,000 and Third Prize is $500. The first place winner will read the winning entry on the Thacker Mountain Radio show.