Financial Info & Opportunities
Financial aid is a layered operation at UNCW.
There is the departmental funding, handled separately and managed by MFA Coordinator Melissa Crowe, in the form of paid teaching assistantship positions and jobs with smaller stipends that come with tuition remissions (the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition). You can think of this kind of ‘funding’ as wages paid for work completed for the department. More about that process and timeline here.
Then there is the university financial aid that comes in the form of:
- federal loans and grants, managed by the Office of Financial Aid and for which you fill out the FAFSA, and
- Graduate School scholarships.
Many incoming students do not get teaching assistantships or fellowships, and most hold other jobs. You'll find detailed the level of financial support we have available (including assistantships) in our funding FAQ for prospective students, as well as links for housing, parking, student insurance, etc. — review the residency and financial section carefully.
In addition, for a more comprehensive look beyond just tuition and fees, UNCW Financial Aid offers their Cost of Attendance webpage.
The federal student loan limit is currently $20,500 (per academic year) for degree-seeking graduate students. Your FAFSA application, once completed, should begin processing once your official acceptance is processed at the Graduate School (i.e., once your decision letter is available to view in your application).
Much of the other university funding for graduate students comes from outside the department. We have students with graduate assistant positions in the UNCW Graduate School, Housing and Resident Life, Campus Entertainment, and International Programs. Several students each year hold paid internships at our local public radio station, WHQR. Students also have found part-time jobs on campus in admissions, UNCW Library, student media, the UNCW Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and as writing tutors with the UNCW Learning Center.
Available assistantships across the UNCW campus are posted by Student Affairs as well as the Graduate School; look under the assistantships section. (You’ll also find handy information on that page about travel grants and other available scholarships and fellowships.) As we hear about any job positions that become available, we send out notification emails, and then students apply. Most are announced at the beginning of the campus fiscal year: July 1 through mid-fall, though we forward opportunities throughout the year as we receive them.
Once enrolled at UNCW, you would be able to apply for part-time positions in campus departments, and you will be able to set up a Handshake account to connect with employment opportunities both on campus and in the area.
While we do not normally offer teaching assistantships in the second- or third-year, there are other opportunities to get teaching experience for pay or internship credit:
- UNCW Learning Center hires writing consultants and part-time tutors (accompanied by national tutor certification)
- A semester-long Directed Individual Study (DIS) in the Department of Creative Writing (3-credit) allows the student to participate in teaching a section of CRW 201, Introduction to Creative Writing, along with the first year GTAs. (You must also enroll in the three-credit graduate pedagogy course). Our FAQs for current students will give more pedagogy and DIS details.
- MFA students volunteer to teach a creative writing class to area middle schoolers (and are paid for) a couple of hours a week in our Writers in Action outreach program.
A final consideration to note: UNCW’s graduate tuition & fees rates are very reasonable when compared to other programs across the nation. Additionally, all out-of-state MFA students are able to apply for in-state residency for the purpose of tuition and fees starting in their second year. (A few students have, in the past, opted for part-time rates in the first year until they could apply for residency.)
It’s a lot to think about, and we want you to make the decision that’s best for you. Please let us know if you have any questions, or if we can be of further help.
Lisa Bertini, MFA Program Assistant
Kenan Hall 1202
Department of Creative Writing
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
601 South College Road Wilmington, NC 28403-5938
910.962.3070
bertinil@uncw.edu
Melissa Crowe, MFA Program Coordinator
Kenan Hall 1207
Department of Creative Writing
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
601 South College Road Wilmington, NC 28403-5938
910.962.3331
crowem@uncw.edu