Financial Aid

The English Department administers a number of financial awards and prizes for graduate students, details of which are described below. Other sources of financial aid, including tuition waivers, loans, and work-study positions, offered on the basis of need, are administered by the Financial Aids Office in the Student Services Center on the University of Hawai‘i campus. Applicants should inquire there to find out what aid they may be eligible for. The Graduate Division maintains a Fellowships and Scholarships Office in Spalding Hall, Room 354D, where students may obtain information about grants and fellowships offered by external agencies. There is also a Student Employment Office in the Student Services Center, which offers help in finding both on- and off-campus jobs.

Students, both American and foreign, who are interested in participating in the educational and research programs of the East-West Center should inquire about East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowships by writing to Award Services, East-West Center, 1601 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96848-1601.

Assistantships. For Ph.D. students, the principal form of financial aid that the Department provides is its graduate assistantships. In addition to financial support, these assistantships offer instruction and experience in teaching composition and literature at the college level. Graduate assistantships are normally offered for a four-year period, subject to the continued availability of funding and to the student's maintenance of a satisfactory academic and teaching record. An assistantship includes both a half-time appointment as a member of the faculty and a full tuition waiver. (Graduate Assistants must pay their own fees.) Graduate Assistants are required to take English 605, Theory and Practice of Teaching Composition, their first semester, with exceptions granted those students who submit evidence of prior, relevant course work. The teaching load is two courses in the first year and three courses per year in each of the remaining three years. Apprenticeships with experienced full-time faculty members--in English 100 in the first semester and in a 200- or 300-level literature class in the third semester--count as part of the teaching load for Graduate Assistants without previous college-level teaching experience. Assistants must maintain a half-time course load (six credits per semester).

Assistantships are normally awarded at the same time that decisions are made regarding admission to the program, and students apply at the same time that they file applications for admission.

More information on the graduate assistantships is contained in a separate "Graduate Assistants Guide" that is available from the English Department graduate office.

Fifth-year Support. Graduate Assistants who are completing or who have completed the four years of their assistantship and other Ph.D. candidates who have finished their comprehensive exam may apply for a one-year position as lecturer in the Department. Usually two lectureships are available each year, and they are awarded competitively, with progress towards one's degree being a significant factor. Lecturers teach two courses per semester and are compensated at the rate determined by the University's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Lectureships may not be renewed.

M.A. Teaching Assistantships. For M.A. students, the Department offers five teaching assistantships. These offer compensation as a quarter-time faculty appointment and a full tuition waiver for two years, subject to the availability of funding and the student’s maintenance of a satisfactory academic and teaching record. T.A.'s will act as assistants in one large course per semester or tutor students in the Writing Workshop. These assistantships are normally awarded at the same time that decisions are made regarding admission to the program, and students apply at the same time that they file applications for admission.

Graduate Division Tuition Waivers. Another form of financial aid for Master's candidates is the tuition waiver. The English Department is given a small number of tuition waivers by the Graduate Division that it awards to entering students competitively on the basis of their academic records and recommendations. These awards may be held for a maximum of four semesters, subject to the continued availability of funds and the student's maintenance of a satisfactory record. Awardees must be enrolled in course work full-time (at least eight credits). Though awardees must pay their own fees, their tuition is waived. Students are automatically considered at the time of admission and need not submit a separate application. If a vacancy occurs, it may be awarded to a continuing student on the basis of academic performance in the program. Again, no application is necessary.

The Red Mandarin and Lady Yi-suen Shen Scholarship.This scholarship was endowed by a former English Department faculty member, Yao Shen, in honor of her mother and her father, a high official in the Chinese court. It provides the equivalent of resident graduate tuition for a Master's candidate in English. The Red Mandarin and Lady Yi-suen Shen Scholarship is awarded in the same manner as the Graduate Division Tuition Waivers.

Internships. The Grace K.J. Abernethy Apprenticeship with Manoa offers a $10,000 stipend and the opportunity to gain professional experience in editing and publishing by working in the editorial offices of the literary journal Manoa. Both Master's and Ph.D. candidates with interest or experience in creative writing are eligible to apply. Details of the competition for the following year's award are announced each spring.

It is also possible to arrange an internship with the Center for Biographical Research, which will provide experience in every aspect of the editing and publishing of Biography, a professional journal of international scope. Those interested in an internship should contact the Director, Center for Biographical Research, care of the English Department.

Prizes. A number of prizes are offered each year to graduate students in English, including the Abernethy Creative Writing Award for Master's candidates in Creative Writing (which includes a $4,000 stipend); the Biography prize, a cash award for the best publishable paper in biography by a Ph.D. student; and a number of other writing prizes and awards. Details are announced in the Department at the appropriate time.