The English Department is committed to funding all students we admit and admitting only those students we are able to fund. Funding is in the form of Graduate Assistantships.*

Funding for MA students is for two years and provides full tuition and a stipend of $14,000.

Funding for doctoral students with prior MA degrees is normally for five years and provides full tuition and a stipend of $22,500; the university provides full-time doctoral students with subsidies covering the full cost of student health insurance.

The award of a graduate assistantship represents a significant investment by the university; in return, students are expected to devote their full attention to their degree programs, to their intellectual and professional development, and to their teaching and related obligations at CWRU. The department expects that Graduate Assistants will not accept employment outside the University during the academic year. Teaching overloads at CWRU and other university employment will require the advance approval of the Director of Graduate Studies in English.

A Dean’s Fellows program furnishes all PhD students in their first two years with research funds. Beginning in the third year, the program enables up to two students to develop interdisciplinary and inter-institutional projects that engage both Cleveland and major research sites worldwide, providing additional stipend, travel, and writing support.

Competitive Arthur Adrian and Roger B. Salomon Dissertation Fellowships release one or more advanced doctoral students from Graduate Assistantship duties for a term, to devote full-time attention to the dissertation project. For more information: The Arthur Adrian and Roger B. Salomon Dissertation Fellowships.

The Neil MacIntyre Memorial Prize, an annual award, recognizes the best scholarly paper written by an English Department graduate student. For more information: The Neil Macintyre Memorial Prize.

The Graduate Alumni Fund, initially created by donations from alumni, supports travel students undertake to conduct research in collections, as well as conference and symposia expenses. It also provides subventions to students traveling to the annual Modern Language Association convention for job-market interviews.

*CWRU employees admitted to graduate study with the support of the university’s tuition benefit are not appointed as Graduate Assistants.