Prospective Graduate Students
Funding
USF English fully funds tuition costs of all full-time Graduate Assistants (GAs) through multi-year graduate assistantships (students are responsible for fees). PhD students are guaranteed five years of funding; MFA students are guaranteed three years of funding, and MA students are guaranteed two years of funding, when available.
- GAs take three classes per semester covered by tuition remission
- GAs teach two classes per semester paid by the stipend
The total compensation for new GAs effective Fall 2026 is broken down below:
Financial Support for PhD students
- 5 years of tuition
- 5 years of coverage under Academic HealthPlans (AHP)
- 5 years of a competitive stipend for each academic year. The PhD stipend for 2026-2027 was $22,056
Financial Support for MFA students
- 3 years of tuition
- 3 years of coverage under Academic HealthPlans (AHP)
- 3 years of a competitive stipend for each academic year. The MFA stipend for 2026-2027 was $15,650
Financial Support for MA students*
- 2 years of tuition
- 2 years of coverage under Academic HealthPlans (AHP)
- 2 years of a competitive stipend for each academic year. The MA stipend for 2026-2027 was $15,650
*Please note:
Additional Funding
USF English students are eligible for fellowships and scholarships. Graduate students in English Studies at USF may be eligible for competitive funding from several sources to offset their conference travel, including the Department of English, the First-Year Composition Program, and the University's student government. We offer many internal financial scholarships every year, recognizing students in creative writing, literary studies, and writing & rhetoric.
Travel Funding
The Department of English awards travel grants each year to enhance research, creative, and professional activities at the graduate level. Priority will be given to graduate students in their last or second-to-last year before graduation.