Rhetoric Funding

Support for Students Pursuing the PhD Concentration in Rhetoric

Our department has regularly at its disposal two forms of financial aid for graduate students in Rhetoric: Associate Instructorships and Fellowships. Loan and work-study eligibility are determined by the Office of Student Financial Assistance.

Students accepted into the program with an M.A. in hand generally will teach W131: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry in their first year and then P155: Public Oral Communication in their second year. For students accepted into the program without an M.A. this sequence generally is reversed, so that they will teach P155 in their first year and W131 in their second year. Generally, these first-year appointments will be succeeded by at least three years of Associate Instructorship, in which AIs will teach their own sections of Composition or Rhetoric courses, provided the student makes reasonable progress toward fulfilling degree requirements. For students admitted in 2024, stipends for Associate Instructors in the Rhetoric concentration will be $23,000 plus full tuition and fee remission.

Rhetoric and Writing fellowships + awards

This fund supports awards for graduate student instructors of rhetoric and writing, including travel to composition-specific conferences and events. It also provides occasional research funding, as well as occasional funding for administrative positions for graduate students within the composition program.

Annual awards given to students in the Department of English, with preference for creative, commercial, or public writing, and composition.

Fellowship for an Associate Instructor in our Composition program who has achieved outstanding results with innovative, stimulating teaching methods.

This award is given yearly to the top paper written in a Rhetoric seminar, and carries a $1000 prize.