The Graduate Program

Assistantships and Fellowships

The English Department is committed to supporting the graduate students who shoulder much of the department's teaching and support its research mission with financial aid that recognizes the value of their work and allows them to make good progress through their degree programs. Most students offered admission to any of our programs--MA, MA/PhD, or PhD--will be offered an assistantship package that provides tuition benefits plus a stipend for teaching or research done in the Writing Center or the English Department. In addition to departmental support, the Graduate School offers a resource on the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of Graduate Assistants that should be consulted.

Incoming MA and MA/PhD students in the English Department can expect two years of support: a first year in the Writing Lab and a second year teaching English 1000. Incoming PhD students can expect five years of support. It may be possible in some circumstances for students to receive additional teaching. Assignments beyond the period of normal expectation will be made according to departmental curricular needs, good standing in the program, and recommendation by advisers. The offer letter sent to, and then signed, by incoming students represents the department's contractual obligation to support its students.

Writing Lab

First-year MA and MA/PhD students are assigned to ten hours per week in the Writing Lab. Under the supervision of the director of the writing lab, graduate students will tutor university members with help on their writing. Many students continue their association with the writing lab after their first year of MA work.

Teaching Assistantships

Most graduate students in the English Department will serve as a teaching assistant for part, or all, of their graduate careers. Teaching in the department provides a measure of colleagueship with other faculty and serves as crucial professional preparation for a career in the academy. MA students are thoroughly prepared for the teaching of English 1000: Exposition and Argumentation during their first year in the program. In the second year, MA student instructors are responsible for their own sections and have considerable freedom in choosing their texts. MA students in Creative Writing also teach the introductory poetry and fiction writing courses. In addition to English 1000, PhD students teach introductory courses in literature, creative writing, folklore and film. Students may also be assigned teaching assistantships in partnership with faculty members for courses such as the surveys in British and American literature and in large sections of the Topics in Literature courses. The standard schedule for graduate students in the program is two courses per semester.

Undergraduate workshops in Creative Writing are assigned to qualified students by the Creative Writing Program. Literature courses are assigned to advanced graduate students on the basis of applications made to a committee consisting of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the Departmental Adviser, and the Director of Composition, who acts in an advisory capacity. Eligibility to teach literature classes is determined by good standing in the department as recorded by the DGS.

Rights and Responsibilities of Teaching Assistants

Graduate TAs will be held to the same high standards of performance as faculty in the department. GTAs will teach their classes in a professional manner: they will show up on time, treat their students respectfully, and grade assignments in a reasonable time. The Composition Committee will have direct oversight of GTAs who teach English 1000, and the Director of Composition has final say over whether a graduate student will be assigned teaching in English 1000. If the Director of Composition determines that a graduate student is ineligible to teach English 1000--usually on the basis of a demonstrated and continued failure to improve even under supervision--support for the student may be withdrawn. The DGS will attempt to mediate but cannot reverse a decision made by the Director of Composition.

GTAs who wish to find coverage for their classes while they are away at conferences or for other reasons may be able to do so through an informal network established by EGSA. In all cases the Director of Composition (in the case of English 1000) or the Director of Undergraduate Studies (in the case of other classes) should be informed if a GTA will not be present to teach a class.

GTAs will have access to a photocopy machine in the basement of Tate Hall for course materials. Book orders are handled by the Graduate Studies Secretary. Questions regarding teaching resources should be directed to the Director of Composition or the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Orientations

Incoming GTAs must attend an orientation sponsored by the Program for Excellence in Teaching in mid-August before their first year of teaching. The English Department holds a series of orientations during the same week, aimed at introducing new teachers to English 1000 and to the department. Participation is required.

International Students

By state law, new students from countries in which English is not the single most used language must pass a teaching demonstration organized through the Program for Excellence in Teaching. PET offers a number of programs for students interested in being certified to teach in the Mizzou classroom, including summer workshops.

Other Assistantships

The department offers a number of other assistantships and internships, based on the availability of funds and demonstrated needs. Currently the department funds a 1/4 time position for a technology intern who is responsible for maintaining the department web site and advising faculty members on technology needs. The technology intern, chosen each year in an open application process, reports to the Associate Chair. There is also a 1/4 time position for an Assistant to the DGS, who holds daily office hours, maintains records, and advises fellow students on the completion of forms and requirements. This student is chosen each year in an application process with priority being given to students who have completed their comprehensive examinations and dissertation proposals.

Fellowships

The Graduate School and the English Department offer a number of fellowships for incoming and continuing students.

Department Fellowships

These are awarded annually by the DGS, in consultation with the PhD admissions committee:

• Four PhD Fellowships of $12,380 per year ($13,040 after the first year) to teach three, instead of the usual four, sections per year for three years.

These are awarded annually by the DGS, in consultation with faculty from the appropriate areas of study:

• Three Creative Writing PhD Fellowships of $12,380 per year ($13,040 after the first year), one each in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction to teach two, instead of the usual four sections, per year for four years.
• Mary-Joe Purcell Fellowship: For an incoming PhD student pursuing a degree in seventeenth- or eighteenth-century literary studies, a one-time grant of $5,000.
• Donald E. and Mary Frances Hayden English Fellowship Award in 19th-Century British Literature. for an incoming PhD student, a one-time grant of $1,000.
• John and Cynthia Shaw Fellowship in American Literature. for an incoming PhD student, a one-time grant of $1,000.
• Winifred Bryan Horner Fellowship: For an incoming graduate student in rhetoric and composition, a one-time grant of $1,000.

These are awarded annually by the DGS, in consultation with the department chair:

• Two Dissertation Fellowships which provide a 1-1 teaching load to students for the year in which they are completing their dissertations.

This is awarded annually by Professor Richard Hocks, the department chair, and the DGS:

• Harry J and Richard A Hocks Dissertation Fellowship of between $2500 and $3000 to support a doctoral student at the dissertation-writing stage. Preference is given to students with dependents, especially young children.

Collaborative Research Fellowship

The English Department Collaborative Research Fellowship is awarded to a graduate student working with a faculty mentor on a joint project that will result in submission of a co-written scholarly article to a peer-reviewed journal. The fellowship provides a one-course teaching release for one semester for the student to work on the project. The first CRF was awarded for Winter 2006. The fellowship is determined by a committee appointed by the chair of the department.

University and College Fellowships

For a complete listing, see the Graduate School's descriptions. Nominations for University and College Fellowships are made by the DGS in consultation with the Graduate Admissions Committee to especially promising applicants to the department. Prospective students cannot apply on their own. These fellowships include:

Five-Year Doctoral-Level Fellowship and Scholarship Programs

The Graduate School provides $8,000 for each of five years in addition to the department assistantship (at the current rate, $8,000 + $12,380 for a total of $20,380).

• William Gregory Fellowships: Awards can be made to doctoral students in any discipline.
• Adeline Hoffman Fellowships: For newly admitted doctoral students, who have and maintain a 3.3 GPA.
• G. Ellsworth Huggins Scholarships: Awards can be made to doctoral students in any field, who must have and maintain a 3.5 GPA.
• Ronald E. McNair Fellowships: The program is designed to support newly admitted doctoral degree graduate students in any field who have successfully completed a Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at a university other than MU, who have and maintained a 3.5 GPA.
• Gus T. Ridgel Fellowships: This fellowship program assists qualified underrepresented minority graduate students in any field at the University of Missouri-Columbia

Masters or Doctoral-Level Fellowship/Scholarship Programs

• David R. Francis Fellowships: Awards are for graduate students newly admitted into master's or doctoral degree programs in either public affairs or creative literature. The nomination materials for this fellowship program from creative literature applicants must include an original composition. At the master's level, the stipend is $5,000 from the Graduate School with an equal amount of matching support required from the department, either concurrently or for a second year of support, which may consist of a teaching or research assistantship or other support. At the doctoral level, the support is equal to other doctoral programs as described in the above section.
• Thurgood Marshall Academic Scholarships: This program is designed to assist departments in recruiting and retaining graduate students from underrepresented ethnic minority populations (African American, Native American or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Mexican American). The stipend is $5,000 for one year from the Graduate School with an equal amount of matching support required from the department.

Benefits for All Recipients of Awards

All fellowship/scholarship awards include a waiver of both resident and nonresident educational fees, but not incidental fees (health, computing or student health, or departmental supplemental fees), and eligibility for a graduate student insurance subsidy. For information on fee waivers, taxes and fellowships, and student health insurance, please see the following pages: Graduate Student Support Program; Taxes and Fellowships; Health Insurance.