At least 5 scholarships of up to $4000 will be awarded each year to Creative Writing students in the following areas:
In order to be eligible for a scholarship, students must submit an 5-25 page sample of their best writing in poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or drama by March 15. Additionally, incoming students must complete their application and financial aid applications prior to the financial aid deadline (April 1). Incoming Freshmen must have a minimumm ACT of 20 or an SAT of 950. Current Students and incoming Transfer Students must have a minimum college GPA of 3.0.
Scholarships for Incoming Freshmen may be renewable for an additional year, provided the student maintains at least a 3.0 GPA and makes progress toward a major in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing. Previous recipients continue to be eligible for scholarships, though they must reapply with a new writing sample each year after the sophomore year.
The number and amount of awards will be determined by a selection committee of creative writing faculty, based on the strength and promise of the writing sample, the quality of the student's work in creative writing classes (for current students), and the student's overall academic excellence. Priority will be given to one Freshman, one Sophomore renewal of a previous award, one Transfer Student, and at least two current students working in different genres. If there is no qualified applicant in an area, additional scholarship funds may be awarded in another area (Freshman, Transfer, or Current Student). When equally qualified applicants exist in any area, the award may be split at the discretion of the selection committee.
The amount of awards will be determined based on other financial aid awards each student receives and available funds. In general, the base award amount will be $4000 to be used during a nine-month period; however, some funds may be applied toward study abroad during the summer or other summer programs administered through MUW, and smaller awards may be made to those with other scholarships or in years where additional funds are available. The selection committee may also grant awards above $4000 to individual students if funds are available.
All scholarship recipients must declare an English major with a Concentration in Creative Writing and maintain continuous fulltime enrollment in at least 24 hours per academic year at MUW and maintain a 3.0 or higher MUW cumulative grade point average each semester. Students may receive more than one type of scholarship to attend MUW. However, total MUW award package, including state, federal, institutional, and private funds may not exceed total cost of attendance. Scholarship awards will be adjusted should the total amount exceed this cost. The total amount of institutional scholarships awarded by the university may not exceed the total cost of tuition, room, board and a book stipend.