graduate funding your education
Graduate Appointments | Teaching Assistantships | Awards | Financial Aid
GRADUATE APPOINTMENTS
Ordinarily graduate appointments are made on an annual basis.
Fellowships and tuition-and-fee waivers are awarded competitively
by the Graduate
College to students nominated by the departments. Students
wishing to compete for fellowships, assistantships, or tuition-and-fee
waivers may obtain the necessary forms, which are in addition
to
those required for admission to the Graduate Program, in
person or by mail from the departmental graduate office or
the Graduate
College. Three letters of recommendation and a statement
of professional aims and purposes are required in support of
the application for
awards. The statement and letters may be the same as those
used for admission.
Download the Application for Graduate Appointment.
• Fellowships: The deadline
in the first competition (for incoming graduate students) is
mid-February; the deadline for the second competition
(for continuing graduate students) is early in April. Announcements
of awards are customarily made in March and May. Students
with
fellowships must carry 12 hours per semester. Departmental nomination is
competitive, with preference for PhD students who have completed
coursework. Visit the UIC Fellowship Office online for more information.
• Tuition-and-Fee Waivers: Although applicants
should have submitted their materials by the middle of May, the department will
accept applications up to 1 July. The announcement of these awards
is customarily made in August. These waivers are awarded on a semester-by-semester basis.
Students
on waivers must carry a minimum of 12 semester hours each
semester. Students awarded tuition-and-fee waivers specifically for the
summer
session must take a minimum of 6 credit hours. Preference
is given to PhD students and to outstanding MA students.
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
1. Ordinarily, these are awarded by the department
for the academic year. In addition, depending upon the availability of funds,
department needs, and student qualifications, a limited number may be awarded
for one semester only.
2. For new PhD students, the announcement of these
awards is usually made at the time of admission.
For continuing students,
the announcement
of these awards is usually made before the end
of spring semester. Additional announcements may be made
in June
or later in the
summer if assistantships are still available. In
selecting candidates at
the MA level, the department considers not only
academic performance and GRE scores, but also a student's potential
for becoming a good
teacher, as exemplified by course work, experience,
interests,
and recommendations.
3. All teaching assistantships involve teaching freshman
composition, other lower-division English courses appropriate
to the assistant's
background, or tutoring in the Writing Center. All teaching
assistants are required to carry at least eight hours
of course work per semester.
Students holding TA-ships in Spring semester automatically
receive a tuition and fee waiver for the Summer term,
but are not required
to register unless they hold a summer teaching appointment.
4. Normally, teaching assistantships at the MA level
are one-third time for the first year and one-half
time for the
second. At the
PhD level, appointments are one-half time. All
doctoral students qualify for such awards by virtue of having
been admitted into the
program, and are required to serve as Teaching
Assistants
for at least four semesters, unless they are exempted
by the Director
of
Graduate Studies on the basis of other teaching
experience. The requirement reflects the departmental conviction
that teaching experience is
an integral component of training at the doctoral
level.
5. Teaching assistantships are available, on an annual
basis, to PhD students for a maximum of six years,
and to a small
number
of MA students for a maximum of two years. Students
with additional fellowship assistance within or
outside the university
are not provided
with an automatic extension of assistance from
the department beyond the sixth year. Extensions of assistance
are awarded at
the discretion of
the DGS, the Department Head, and the Associate
Head.
6. Students in their 5th year of PhD study complete a
Fifth Year Review in order to ensure that sufficient
progress is
being made
towards the degree.
AWARDS
The Department of English acknowledges excellence in writing and
teaching through several different awards. Specific application procedures
are distributed to graduate students each year.
Anne Hopewell Selby Award. Relatives, colleagues, and other friends
of the late Anne Hopewell Selby, Assistant Professor of English at
the University of Illinois at Chicago, have established a fund in
her memory for awards for distinction in Graduate Studies in English.
Annually the department of English designates one graduate student
enrolled in the department who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship
in English to receive an award, which is paid from the income derived
from the memorial fund. The student so designated is selected by
a committee appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies on the
basis of a substantial critical essay (an essay written for a course
during the academic year, an MA Qualifying Paper, or a PhD Dissertation
chapter) submitted to the committee; recommendations by faculty members
familiar with the student's academic performance; and the student's
total academic record. Students in all specializations are eligible
for the award, presented at the department's annual spring celebration.
Kogan Bonus Award. The Scholarship Association of the University
of Illinois at Chicago has established the Kogan Bonus Award for
doctoral students in English. This $1,000 award is non-renewable.
The recipient of the Kogan Award is chosen by a committee appointed
by the Director of Graduate Studies. The award is designed to enhance
a student’s professional development, and selection of the
winner is based upon the strength of a student’s work, with
particular emphasis on the quality of the PhD dissertation.
Frederick Stern Award. Named in memory of the late Frederick Stern,
UIC Professor of English and teacher par excellence, this award is
presented annually to an advanced doctoral student whose performance
as a Teaching Assistant, as judged by department faculty, ranks at
the highest level of professional competence. The award consists
of a cash prize of $500 for the recipient. Students
construct a dossier of teaching materials submitted to a committee
appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Betty Stuart Smith Award. Given annually to recruit an entering PhD
graduate student in creative writing, this award acknowledges and
encourages significant accomplishment in either poetry or prose.
The incoming student is awarded $2500 a year for two years (a total
of $5000); selection is based upon the application for graduate admission,
and is made by a committee appointed by the Director of Graduate
Studies.
Charles Goodnow Endowed Award. Given annually for an outstanding
work of prose or poetry written by a student in the Program for Writers.
Past practice has been to divide the award evenly between the two.
Students should contact the Director of the Program for Writers in
order to obtain specific directions on how to apply for the award.
FINANCIAL AID
For other fellowship and/or financial
aid information, please visit the UIC Graduate College's section on Funding Your Education.
