Giving Opportunities in English
The Graduate Programs
The graduate programs in the Department of English, MA in English, MFA in creative writing, and PhD in Rhetoric and Writing, all aim to provide students with a solid background in writing, speaking, and critical reading skills. A noteworthy aspect of all of these degree programs is that students acquire significant abilities in the use of computer technologies appropriate to their fields. The capabilities that our students take with them upon graduation allow them to be successful in a wide range of careers, in education, writing, government, publishing, and technology, and more.
The department, with its outstanding faculty, can offer students excellent courses. But great graduate programs in English offer more, including the chance for students to be able to hear about the latest work in their fields and to present the results of their own research or creative writing at national conferences. Furthermore, since English is a humanistic discipline, students often do research which requires them to travel to libraries and archives to consult original sources. Funds for such activities are severely limited.
Many students must finance their studies by working while they study or taking out loans, often incurring burdensome debt.
Gift possibilities:
A gift of |
would enable the graduate programs in English to |
$2,000 |
fund a visiting speaker so that students can meet scholars from other universities who are working in their field and learn of their research |
$4,000 |
recruit five high-quality students by bringing them to campus to meet faculty and current students and see our facilities |
$1,000 |
provide a meaningful prize for outstanding work |
$2,000 |
send a student to a national professional conference to present his or her research or creative scholarship |
An endowment of |
would enable the graduate programs in English to |
$50,000 or more |
establish a fund to support student travel
|
$50,000 or more |
establish a fund to provide scholarships to academically deserving students |
$500,000 |
support a PhD or MFA student for one year to complete a dissertation or novel or other creative work; or support two students for one semester for these projects |
For more information, please contact:
Joseph F. Eska, Director of Graduate Studies, 540.231.5152, eska@vt.edu
Carolyn Rude, Chair of the Department, 540.231.8466, carolyn.rude@vt.edu