Financial Aid
Assistantships
I. Graduate Research Assistants
These are George Mason graduate students who participate directly
in research or research support activities under faculty
supervision for not more than 20 hours per week. The
number of available assistantships vary from academic
year to academic year. In order to maximize opportunities
for students and faculty, some of these positions are
split into two, in which case students work a maximum
of 10 hours work per week.
II. Graduate Teaching Assistants
A few Graduate Teaching Assistantships are available.
Assistants work either in the writing center helping
students with their writing or in the classroom as instructors
for freshman English and sophomore level literature
classes.
The state of Virginia requires that Graduate Teaching Assistants have completed 18 hours of graduate courses and be enrolled for at least six hours of graduate courses the semester in which they are teaching. In addition, the Department requires assistants who teach freshman composition to have taken a proseminar in the teaching of writing; assistants who teach sophomore literature classes must have taken a proseminar in the teaching of literature.
Individuals who have taken the requisite hours and courses for assistantships indicate their interest by informing the director of graduate studies in the academic year before they wish to act as teaching assistants.
Fellowship Money
Each fall the department is given a small amount of fellowship money to support its graduate students. The total amount in the past has never been more than $2500. The Department urges graduate students to seek out their own form of financial assistance. The State of Virginia sometimes has assistance for minority students or students who meet very specific criteria. For other funding opportunities for graduate students, see http://chss.gmu.edu/chss/forgraduates/graduatefunding.cfm
Department Prizes
The Eric Molin critical essay contest was established
to commemorate Professor S. Eric Molin, a specialist in
literature of the Augustan age and in the writing of T.
H. White. Eric Molin taught at George Mason from 1972 until
his death in 1987. The winner receives an award of $250
and a certificate of recognition. Submissions must come from a graduate
student in English and have been written for an English
graduate seminar. The writer must be enrolled in one of
the four MA concentrations. Students ordinarily submit
one essay but may submit two.
Please contact Jennifer Hostler (jhostler@gmu.edu) for
information on this contest.
The Cynthia Wynn Hermann award, named for a beloved undergraduate
instructor, is given to a woman undergraduate or graduate student
25 years or older for the best essay written during the school year.
The award of $2500 must be used to cover tuition or other university
expenses. Please contact Jennifer Hostler (jhostler@gmu.edu)
for information on how to apply.