Students entering the 芭乐视频 Master of Arts in Writing program are eligible for a variety of merit scholarships. These scholarships are granted based on the quality of the creative manuscript and supporting application materials students submit when applying for the program. No additional application is required.
The MFA in Writing Endowed Scholarship (FAFSA required);
This scholarship is offered to writers of exceptional merit who have demonstrated financial need. Founded in 2017 by the Friends of the MFA in Writing program, a group of alumni, faculty, and staff organized as a fundraising committee, this Endowment was created to provide the MFA substantial means, through bold and meaningful financial assistance, to pursue the University mission of inspiring writers to think, care, create, and pursue justice in our world.
The Marvin Bell Endowed Scholarship
Poet Marvin Bell (1937-2020) was a beloved teacher and founding member of this program. Bell鈥檚 phrase 鈥淎rt is the big Yes鈥 has become a kind of credo and guiding light of the Pacific MFA in Writing program. This scholarship was established in his memory, and is awarded to students who show distinct originality and exceptional promise in poetry.
The Kwame Dawes Mapmakers Scholarship
The Kwame Dawes Mapmakers Scholarship fund is named after Mapmaker, an early collection of Dawes鈥檚 poems. Kwame Dawes has been a leader in our program鈥檚 mission to reveal the power and necessity of a multiplicity of voices coming together. This current use fund offers partial tuition scholarships to applicants who write in the spirit of Kwame Dawes.
The Mapmakers scholarship also brings the opportunity to apply for the Mapmakers Teaching Assistantship, eligible to MFA students in their third semester and above who are recipients of the Mapmakers Scholarship. Recipients of the Mapmakers Scholarships are also invited to host public conversations after they graduate as part of the Mapmakers Alumni Institute.
The Katherine Dunn Scholarship (FAFSA required);
Katherine Dunn (1945-2016) taught in the Pacific MFA program and we created this scholarship to honor her unforgettable teaching, her inimitable work, and the great care she showed for the world in which she lived and the worlds she created. This scholarship is awarded to exceptional applicants who write in the spirit of Katherine Dunn and who have demonstrated financial need.
The Washburn Scholarship
The Washburn award is given to honor the transformative imagination and efforts of longtime former program director Shelley Washburn. In offering you this award, we are inspired by Shelley鈥檚 work over nearly two decades of fostering the MFA鈥檚 鈥淕rand Conversation.鈥
The Robert Kelleher 鈥淎 Room of One鈥檚 Own鈥 Scholarship
This fund was recently established by an MFA alum, a writing mother, in memory of her husband, Robert Kelleher, who passed in 2021. She wanted to honor her husband鈥檚 lifelong generosity toward others, and she was inspired by re-reading Virginia Woolf鈥檚 鈥淎 Room of One鈥檚 Own.鈥 (Essay required: 300-500 words):
Essay prompt: How would additional financial support make it easier for you to pursue the MFA in Writing program, given your experiences with parenting school-age (or younger) children?
If you have interest in supporting these scholarship funds and opening doors to future MFA writers, we welcome gifts with incredible gratitude.