MA in English

The Alumni/Mobil Fiction Fellowship Endowment was established in 1994 with a gift from an anonymous donor and additional funding by the Mobil Foundation to assist graduate students in fiction writing.

The Cynthia Wynn Herman Scholarship Endowment was established in 1995 in memory of Cynthia Wynn Herman, MA English ’90, by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Wynn, joined by others, to benefit students pursuing a degree in English (BA, BFA, MA) with an interest in women’s studies. Recipients may be full-time or part-time and in-state or out-of-state students and must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a FAFSA on file. Applicants must submit a brief statement (250 words) describing their interest in women and gender studies and a relevant writing sample. The scholarship may be renewable. Cynthia Wynn Herman, an alum of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, was assistant director of the Writing Center and editor of the women’s studies program newsletter.

Current students may apply for this scholarship and many other scholarships through the Office of Financial Aid's Academic Works portal.  

Recipients will qualify on basis of merit and/or need, and may be in-state or out-of-state students. 

The Mary Roberts Rinehart Fellowship Endowment was established in 1998 by Mrs. Rinehart’s granddaughter, Gratia Rinehart Montgomery, to encourage, promote, and develop creative writing by making awards to talented writers at George Mason University by providing or awarding, among other things, scholarships or fellowships for deserving students. 

The Mary Roberts Rinehart Scholarship Endowment was established in 1982 by the Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation to encourage and promote creative writing.

The purpose of the Wendi Kauffman Memorial Writer’s Endowed Fund is to provide financial support for students in their work as writers and to promote their success.  Examples of possible uses include, but are not limited to: support for attending conferences or other venues for getting connected with other writers, editors, or agents; retreats or similar venues that allow writers to engage in extended, uninterrupted periods of productive work; acquisition of writer tools such as printers, printing supplies, or computers; and payment of tuition or expenses related to attending the creative writing program.   

This fund was started in 2015 with donations from alums to honor the late alumnus whose short story collection, Helen on 86^th Street and Other Stories, became the first title published by Stillhouse Press in the summer of 2014. Stillhouse Press is an independent, student-run, non-profit press based in Northern Virginia.

The Aileen Walls Award provides a prize to an outstanding graduating English major. Questions about this award should be directed to the English Department.

Questions about the Alan Cheuse Fiction Award and Alan Cheuse Nonfiction Award should be directed to the English Department.

The Robert Karlson Award honors Robert Karlson, an early member of the George Mason English Department whose service spanned four decades, was an expert in the fields of American literature and, especially, spirituality and literature. His courses on altered states of consciousness, which combined meditative techniques with the close reading of mystical texts, were an inspiration to many students. A voracious reader who loved to converse about literature, religion, and politics, Professor Karlson made the life of the mind both serious and fun. The Robert Karlson Award provides funds to the year's outstanding graduate student in the English Department's MA programs.

The Sven Eric Molin Prize honors Eric Molin, a professor of 18th century studies, a devoted teacher of writing, and an authority on the writing and life of British novelist and essayist T. H. White. A discriminating and sympathetic judge of the writing of students as well as that of his colleagues in the English Department, Molin willed to the department funds to reward a student who produced an especially able essay on literature.  The prize supports the education of a continuing graduate student in English of exceptional merit. Questions about the prize should be directed to the English Department.