Financial Support

Students may have guaranteed financial support during the summer months, but only if this is detailes in their financial support letter at admission.  The guarateed support may come in the form of campus employment, fellowship/stipends, or a combination of the two.

Students without a guarantee of summer support should plan accordingly.  Students may apply to available employment opportunities across campus (including Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistant positions), however they may also need to pursue off-campus employment opportunities.

All UCSD graduate students are charged tuition and fees each quarter.  These can vary slightly year-to-year, and students can view the detailed breakdown of fees for specific years on the GEPA website: http://grad.ucsd.edu/financial/tuition-fees.html.  Several types of support will cover the cost of tuition and many of the fees.  In those cases, the fees students must pay will be reduced significantly:

• Teaching Assistantship or Readership position of 25% time or greater: will cover most or all of the tuition and fees per quarter (depending on the student's year of admittance)
• Research Assistantship of 25% time or greater: will cover most or all of the tuition and fees per quarter (depending on the student's year of admittance)
• Fellowships: vary, students should refer to the details of a specific fellowship to see what tuition and fees it may cover

Students should refer to the Enrollment & Registration calendar for the fee payment deadline each quarter: https://students.ucsd.edu/academics/enroll/index.html.  Tuition & fee payments from employment positions will post approximately ten days before the fee payment deadline.  Students may access their bill online (https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/billing-payment/index.html), and tuition & fee payments from campus sources will appear in a “Pending Awards” box.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all tuition & fees are paid by the fee payment deadline, to avoid late fees and possible dropped enrollment.  Students should check their bill online well in advance of the fee payment deadline, and they should reach out to the advising staff at mfawriting@ucsd.edu if they do not see an expected tuition & fees payment posted.

Non-California residents are required to pay Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition each quarter, which is charged in addition to the tuition and fees that all students pay (see GEPA’s website for details: http://grad.ucsd.edu/financial/tuition-fees.html). 

• For domestic non-California residents, the Department covers the cost of Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition for one year. These students must establish California residency after their first year at UCSD.  If a student fails to establish (or elects not to establish) California residency after their first year, the student will be responsible for paying the Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition going forward.
• For international students, the Department covers the cost of Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition for the three years following admissions (or completion of the degree, if less than three years). If an international student fails to graduate within those three years, the student will be responsible for paying the Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition each subsequent quarter.

The Department considers apprentice teaching a beneficial part of professional training for the MFA degree.  Every student is required to be a 50% teaching assistant for at least one academic quarter.  Duties of a teaching assistant usually include attending the lectures for the course, reading and grading papers and examinations, meeting with the supervising professor to discuss the progress of the course, conducting discussion sections, and holding office hours.

Students who are not native-English-speakers may be required to pass an English Screening Examination before they can teach courses conducted in English.  Courses designed to enhance English language skills are available to assist students in passing the screening so that they may teach.  Contact the advising staff for detailed information.

Full-time MFA students in good standing are eligible for 50% Teaching Assistantships on campus.  However, the maximum number of quarters a student may have Teaching Assistant appointments is eighteen, according to UC policy.  Appointments during Summer Session do not count towards this total.  While it is highly unlikely that MFA students will approach this maximum, it is an important policy to be aware of (as time spent as a TA in previous and future graduate programs within the UC-system is included in this total). 

The maximum academic employment appointment a student may accept is 50%.  Anything over that must be petitioned as an exception and only up to 75% time.  No first-year students will be considered for over-50% exceptions.  International students may not be employed over 50% during the academic year.

MFA students generally find employment in one of the six campus College Writing Programs or in Literature.  Most of these programs offer pedagogical training.  These positions are generally filled each Spring Quarter, and students will be sent application instructions via the Department listserv. 

Supervising professors write formal teaching evaluations for each teaching assistant who works with them, and students enrolled in the course will often complete online evaluations of their assigned TA.  Students may access completed teaching evaluations by logging in with their Single Sign-On or Student PID/PAC: http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/Modules/Evals  (be sure to select “Student SSO” as the “Sign on with:” option).  If you cannot access your evaluations for any reason, please contact the advising staff at mfawriting@ucsd.edu for assistance. TAs should download and review their evaluations after final grades have been posted, and then correct any significant weaknesses by the end of the following quarter. Please seek advising from the MFA director.  It is the student’s responsibility to download and save their evaluations each quarter, as they will not be able to access them after graduation (and the department will not be able to provide copies).

Teaching assistants are expected to take very seriously their responsibilities to their students, and the evaluations are very important. The ratings and comments may impact the graduate student's—

• Teaching apprenticeship grade.
• Annual Spring Evaluation.
• Eligibility for future employment as a TA or reader.
• Eligibility for future merit-based scholarships or fellowships.

Instructors expect TAs to have a positive attitude and professional work habits, and to follow instructions for grading and conducting sessions. Undergraduate students have similar expectations. Here are common reasons why TAs receive unsatisfactory teaching apprenticeship grades or evaluations:

• Arriving late for lectures, discussion sections, or office hours.
• Canceling discussion sections with little or no notice.
• Disregarding instructions for conducting section or grading student work.
• Failing to return graded work to students in a timely manner.
• Behaving disrespectfully, inappropriately, or dismissively when interacting with the instructor or students.
• Failing to keep accurate academic records or submit grades on time.

Readerships

Each quarter some departments hire Readers to assist professors who teach large courses by grading papers and examinations.  Their workload is prorated according to the enrollment of the courses.  Readers are paid an hourly rate for their work, and it is recommended that Reader positions be considered as a possible supplement to a Teaching Assistantship (rather than a primary source of income).

To be considered for a Readership, please apply online to the open positions.  Email notifications will be sent to the Department listserv to keep students up-to-date on when these positions become open, but students should also refer to the full list of available positions posted on the IA System Open Positions page (https://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/Modules/ASES/OpenPositions.aspx). 

Other Employment

The Graduate Office regularly receives requests during the academic year for tutors, editors, writers, translators, and other various positions across campus (and off-campus).  Announcements of this type will be sent via the Department listserv.

Students working as Teaching Assistants and Readers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the University and the UAW.  Their names and addresses will be released to the UAW each term that they are employed in the bargaining unit.  The Union Agreement can be retrieved electronically at: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/bx/contract.html.

Students are encouraged to apply for relevant fellowships through the University and through other granting institutions. 

A number of fellowships (both UC-based and extramural) are available annually.  Information about these fellowships is available from GEPA.  The GEPA website: http://grad.ucsd.edu/financial/fellowships/funding-opportunties/index.html lists a wide variety of information about UCSD and UC need-based and merit-based financial assistance, as well as numerous extramural fellowship opportunities.  These sites are regularly updated.  Please contact GEPA for information on extramural fellowships at 534-3555.

There is also a list of funding opportunities for graduate students posted on the Division of Arts & Humanities website (http://ah.ucsd.edu/_files/Final%20Calendar%20UC%20Internal%20Grants%2018-19%20graduate%20students.pdf).  Information about extramural fellowships and awards is also available in the reference section of the Central University Library under Contracts and Grants.

A wide variety of local (system-wide and UCSD) awards are available from various agencies, Departments, and programs.  Enrolled graduate students receive regular notification about available fellowships from the Graduate Office and from GEPA through the Department listserv.

When funding is available, the Department may also offer mid-year and summer research grants or support awards.

Beginning on July 01, 2022, the MFA Program has set aside a number of funds to support graduate students who require travel for research purposes. As literary artists, research comes in many different shapes and sizes, from academic conferences to artist residencies, from visiting archives to conducting interviews. Each student may apply for up to a maximum of $1,000 per fiscal year (i.e. July 1^st – June 30^th). None of these funds will carry-forward to future years, if unused.  These funds are available to students who are currently enrolled in the program, in good academic standing, and within their normative time. For MFA, normative time to degree is three years.  A completed application (online form found on the "Forms" page) must be submitted at least two weeks prior to your trip. If you have any questions about the application and/or proper use of funds, please consult the MFA Director before submitting the application.

The funds can be used to reimburse the cost of:

• City-to-city transportation (airfare, train, mileage reimbursement if you drive your own vehicle)
• Specific ground transportation for minor travel needs (home-to-airport, airport-to-hotel, hotel-to-conference, etc.). This must be a formal type of ground transportation with receipts (taxi, airport shuttle, Uber, Lyft, subway).
• Formal lodging (hotel only)
• Conference registration fees

Funds cannot be used for informal lodging (room rental, hostel, vacation rental, etc.), rental car, food or supplies.

Within the application, you must attach:

• Clear, itemized receipts (showing the total cost and your method of payment) for all reimbursements you are requesting. Reimbursements can only be processed if the costs were paid for out-of-pocket (not with credits, gift cards, airline miles, etc.).  For ground transportation, you must submit those receipts to the department immediately upon your return.
• For airfare, we also need a copy of your flight itinerary.
• If you drove your own vehicle and are getting a mileage reimbursement (based on a university-set rate), we need your starting address and the address of the conference location.
• For travel to present at a conference, you also need to attach the letter of acceptance from the conference organizer, including the title of your panel and presentation and officially inviting you to present your work (or a copy of the conference agenda/schedule, showing your name and UCSD affiliation).

POLICY GUIDELINES

• You must apply for reimbursement (and be approved) prior to your trip. The online application form (including all necessary attachments) should be filled out online at least two weeks before your trip.
• Funds are to be used during normative time only; no funding after the 3^rd year will be approved.
• Funds must be used for conference or research travel only and cannot be combined with any other activity (vacation, for example). You must travel immediately before and return to UCSD immediately after the conference/research to qualify for the reimbursement.
• Funds may be used for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) annual conference with a classification of “research” instead of conference. This is approved only for the AWP; any other requests for research travel funds to attend a conference are exceptions to policy and require additional justification.
• Graduate student institutes may count as conferences for travel reimbursement purposes if and only if they include student presentation of their own work and a formal Q&A or feedback component.
• For ground transportation costs, you will estimate your costs and request the amount you plan to need. The amount you enter, once approved, will be the maximum amount reimbursed once receipts are submitted (after the travel is complete). If the total of the receipts is less than the original estimate, only the total of the receipts will be reimbursed.
• Funds are available in the form of reimbursement after travel has been completed; no advance funds are available.

Tax Liability

Teaching Assistantships, Readerships, Research Assistantships, and most fellowships and stipends are taxable.  For additional tax information, refer to the following pages:

• 1098-T Tax Form Information (ucsd.edu)
• Tax Resources (ucsd.edu)
• Form 1042-S (ucsd.edu)
• Taxation of Fellowship Payments to Internationals (ucsd.edu)

Employment Documentation & Benefits

Graduate students employed by UCSD have access to benefits and employment information through the UCPath Online Self-Service Portal (https://ucpath.ucsd.edu/self-service/index.html) and the At Your Service Online website (https://atyourserviceonline.ucop.edu/ayso/).  For instructions on how to setup your access to At Your Service Online, students should follow the instructions here: https://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/benefits/AYSO/SSO.html.