Scholarships and Graduate Assistantships

Hamline University recognizes the important role that scholarships and graduate assistantships serve in helping students finance their education. The assistantships also give students valuable teaching, editing, and marketing experience that increases their competitiveness in the job market. See the Student Accounts tuition and fees page for current tuition rates.

Scholarships

Merit Scholarships—25% of overall tuition 

• Hamline offers annual scholarships to those incoming students whose application materials demonstrate the most promise. The scholarship is awarded to 10% of incoming students, and one scholarship is offered to a student who identifies as a writer of color.

Deborah Keenan Poetry Scholarship--$1,000

• The Deborah Keenan Poetry Scholarship is offered annually to a poet in the program whose work shows considerable promise.

 Judi Shaw Memorial Scholarship--$1,000 

• The Judi Shaw Memorial Scholarship, named for former MFA student Judi Shaw, is offered bi-annually to an incoming MFA student who shows considerable promise as a writer.

 Richard P. Bailey Endowed Scholarship—$1,000

• This scholarship, named for former Hamline president Richard Bailey, assists a writer in the MFA program who has demonstrated financial need and excellent writing ability.

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate Assistants work primarily with staff members in running communications and specific programming associated with the CWP and its journals.

Water~Stone Review assistant editors—$1,000 stipend  

Assistant managing editor of CWP literary journals per semester—$1,000 stipend*

Communications Assistant—$1,000 stipend* 

Hamline Young Writers Workshop Assistant—$1,000 stipend

Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop Assistant—$1,000 stipend*

*Renewable positions upon review every six months based on student/supervisor needs and course work timeline.  

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistants work primarily with faculty members. 

T.A.s are paired with a faculty member and assist in teaching an undergraduate creative writing course such as Forms and Elements, Intro to Creative Writing, Multigenre Workshop, Runestone: Introduction to Literary Publishing, etc.—$1,000 stipend  

Prerequisite for these positions: completion of the course Composition Theory & Pedagogy.  

Learning Partnership Discount

Employees of our Learning Partners receive a 10% discount on tuition and a waiver of application and processing fees when newly enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Apply for this discount when applying for admission. To learn if you qualify, see our list of learning partners and eligibility requirements.

Service Scholarships - 10% Tuition Discount

All Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing students, who demonstrate service to AmeriCorps (including Minnesota Reading Corps and Math Corps), the military, or the Peace Corps, are eligible to receive service scholarships. To apply, simply indicate your service as part of your admission application.

Alumni Discounts

Hamline alumni are eligible to receive a 10% tuition discount when they enroll in any master’s program.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available to all MFA candidates in creative writing. It is not necessary to have an admission decision to begin the financial aid process. For information, please go to the Hamline financial aid website. You can also email the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@hamline.edu and a financial aid counselor will contact you.