In addition to full tuition remission, faculty-level health insurance, and other direct financial support, all MFA candidates have the opportunity to teach one section of “ENGL 207: Intro to Creative Writing” each semester of their first year. The program provides significant pedagogical support from the get-go, and our MFA instructors often end up winning teaching awards and going on to successful writing and teaching careers.
In their second year of the MFA, graduate students will teach “ENGL 100: Freshman Composition,” which is a core requirement for undergraduates at the University. Here, too, there will be ample training prior to the start of the semester, and a wealth of ready-made assignments for instructors to use if they choose.
Financial Aid
There is no application process for financial aid. All accepted MFA candidates regardless of residency or nationality receive tuition remissions (i.e., free tuition), teaching assistantships, generous health insurance (the same as faculty) and other financial support. Each MFA receives at least $30,000 in support each year, through TAships and scholarships.
Renk Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Poetry
One poet will be awarded a Martha Meier Renk Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Poetry upon admission to the program. During each semester of the first year, the Renk Fellow will receive the same teaching assistantship (i.e., teaching English 207), tuition remission, and generous health benefits as the other MFAs in Poetry. During the Renk Fellow’s second year, they will continue to receive total financial support equal to their peers, but unlike their peers they will be relieved of the responsibility of teaching.
The Marr & Derleth Prizes and the Stern & Knowles Awards
Each spring, a combination of outside judges and Program faculty award two prizes and two awards to MFA candidates on the basis of exceptional writing samples and demonstrated teaching expertise. The deadline for the Marr and Derleth Prizes is typically in early March, and these prizes are given out in a ceremony at the end of April. There is no application procedure for the Stern & Knowles Awards, which are also awarded in April.
The Marr Prize in Creative Writing ($1,500) is awarded annually for the best poetry or fiction submission by an MFA candidate in creative writing at the University of Wisconsin.
The August Derleth Prize ($1,500) is awarded annually to a graduate student in any discipline for work on Wisconsin regional literature, or for writing in any genre to which August Derleth contributed (fiction, poetry, essay, creative non-fiction, etc.).
The Jerome Stern Teaching Award is awarded to an MFA student for outstanding teaching in “English 207: Intro to Creative Writing.”
The Richard Knowles Teaching Award is awarded to an MFA student for outstanding teaching in “English 100: Freshman Composition.” The exact amounts of these two awards can vary, but is generally no less than $200.
Alumni Spotlight: Steven Wright
MFA alum Steven Wright's debut novel, The Coyotes of Carthage (Ecco, 2020) received wide praise and was shortlisted for the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, which recognizes achievement by African American fiction writers. The novel was also a runner-up and finalist for the Hurston/Wright prize for best debut fiction.
Now a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Wright also teaches intermediate fiction writing, introduction to creative writing, freshman composition, and an occasional Fantasy and Science-Fiction Workshop in the UW creative writing program. While an MFA he won both The August Derleth Prize and The Jerome Stern Teaching Award.