Financial Aid, Awards, and Assistantships

When you apply for admission to the graduate school, you may also wish to apply for financial aid. The most common form of financial aid awarded to students in the English department's graduate programs is a teaching assistantship.

Teaching Assistantships

The English Department offers teaching assistantships to all students entering the Ph.D. program. Students applying to or enrolled in the M.A. program may also apply for assistantships, which are awarded to highly qualified applicants on a competitive basis. (Please note: February 1 is the priority deadline for M.A. program applicants with an interest in assistantships.)

Students who enter the Ph.D. program holding a bachelor's degree may expect four years of support while completing their course work; students who enter holding a master's degree may expect two years of support while completing their course work. Doctoral students who have completed their coursework are eligible for senior teaching assistantships.

Teaching assistants' duties are divided between teaching courses in the English department's writing programs and tutoring students in the Department's writing center.

The 2009-2010 stipend rate for all teaching assistants in the M.A. program, and for all teaching assistants in the Ph.D. program actively taking courses, is $15,550 for two semesters, as well as full tuition remission and health insurance. Senior teaching assistantships are awarded at a higher stipend rate than entry-level teaching assistantships and provide students with the option of teaching a course during the summer for extra compensation. The senior teaching assistant award covers health insurance and remission for continuation and dissertation registration, but not for additional coursework.

All teaching assistants are expected to make satisfactory progress in their studies and to be effective teachers.

If you are interested in a TA position, please check the appropriate box on the online application form. The Terms of Award brochure contains additional information about teaching assistantships.

Graduate Student Scholarships

The Department also awards a limited number of Graduate Student Scholarships to qualified applicants. These scholarships offer aid toward tuition but are not accompanied by a stipend. If you are interested in a GSS, please check the appropriate box on the online application form.

Please note that assistantships and scholarships are not based on financial need and are offered/awarded directly by the graduate school to which you are applying. The receipt of an assistantship may result in reduced eligibility for need-based financial aid.

Need-Based Financial Aid

The Northeastern University Student Financial Service Office can determine your eligibility for a variety of Federal Loans and Federal Work-Study if you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien. African-American students may also qualify for scholarships that pay tuition and fees under the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Program.

To be considered for any of these awards, you must apply for financial aid. Visit the Student Financial Service Office's website at www.financialaid.neu.edu for the application and more information. Students who are applying for financial assistance are encouraged to complete financial aid applications at the same time as they apply for admission or by the priority date of March 1. (Although you may apply for financial aid at any time throughout the year, to receive priority consideration you must be accepted to your program and have your financial aid forms in by March 1.)

Expenses

Applicants who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States are required by both United States Immigration and Northeastern University to provide documentation via a Declaration and Certification of Finances (DCF) form that indicates their ability to cover all expenses associated with the first nine months of graduate study. International applicants should visit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website for special instructions on applying to the graduate programs. From this page, applicants can also download the DCF form as a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you are a U.S. resident and require further financial aid information, please contact the Student Financial Service Office.

Questions about the graduate programs? Send an e-mail to the English Graduate Programs office at gradenglish@neu.edu.