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Posted

Any? I want to study English at the Masters level. I have clear goals, a decent mind, high GPA, and very high GRE scores. I also am the first in my family to attend college (and the first to receive a H.S. Diploma). I am financially dependent upon my mom, who is my only financial resource aside from grants and loans, who has made less than $10k in the past ten years and who has no assets.

Are there scholarships out there that look for future graduate students such as me? I ultimately want to enter a Ph.D. Program but am not going directly into one because I was unsure of my goals as an undergraduate and was not much of a "scholar" until I had graduated from college (though I was always inclined to read and research, it was usually not for courses that I was enrolled in and my research papers make this (possible) misdirection of time clear).

Additionally, I would be interested in any English Masters programs with generous financial assistance.

Thanks!

Posted (edited)

Well, I'm no expert in English (I'm a CS major), but I would apply for SSHRC (not sure if they cover English, as it's Social Sciences and Humanities) and OGS or whatever the equivalent in your province is. They're both very competitive, especially SSHRC because, let's face it, research funding for non-science/engineering majors isn't easy to come by. Also, if you're in Ontario (and I think other provinces have similar programs), afaik OSAP is still available at the graduate level. Given your background, I'm assuming you're familiar with it by now.

That leads into my next point of advice (and this is just my two cents, please don't take offence): Unless you're considering a career as a professor, I would caution against throwing even more money into education in a major whose job prospects are very limited. I understand that money isn't everything and that loving what you do is very important, but given your background I don't think spending tens of thousands of dollars on a degree that more than likely will leave you no further ahead than you were with your BA might not be such a good idea. Of course, if you can get enough scholarships and pay the rest yourself, by all means, go ahead!

Edit: Also, keep in mind that the school may offer you a stipend (up to $20k/year typically) as well, but there's usually no way of knowing until you get accepted. Following the usual theme these days, science/engineering departments tend to be well funded, waiving tuition most of the time and offering generous stipends, but English... not so much. You may get something at the bigger schools, but it's not something I'd count on.

Edited by hall1k
Posted

^ hall1k, you will notice that the OP is currently living in Brooklyn, NY. A lot of the users on this forum are American, so unfortunately our wonderful Canadian scholarships don't apply. I know there are equivalent funding sources in the States, I just don't know much about them.

Posted (edited)

Oh, duh. Sorry, I figured he was a visa student or something. I know they have the National Science Foundation over there, but from what I gather they're a little tighter on the purse strings these days. Of course, that doesn't help for English anyways.

Edited by hall1k

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