Scholarships & Financial Aid

The Summer Writing Program offers at least eight scholarships each year. Zora Neale Hurston and Aimee Grunberger scholarships are available to non-Naropa students.

All scholarship applications are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1. All applicants will be notified of scholarship decisions via phone no later than May 1, 2008.

Naropa students may also be eligible for financial aid and work-study. Details appear below.

Summer Writing Program Scholarships

The links below are PDF files and require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The Zora Neale Hurston Awards are for students of color registering for noncredit, BA credit or MFA credit. Awards cover partial to full tuition for the four weeks of the Summer Writing Program (SWP) and may include housing for non-local award recipients.

The Aimee Grunberger Award is available for credit or noncredit to female poets over the age of thirty. It covers $500 toward the SWP tuition.

For second-year Writing and Poetics residential students enrolled at Naropa University, the Ted Berrigan Award and the Jack Kerouac Award are available annually, covering full SWP tuition.

Second-summer MFA students in poetry or poetry translation may apply for the Berrigan Award.
Second-summer MFA students in prose or prose translation may apply for the Kerouac Award. For returning Naropa University low-residency MFA students in Creative Writing, the Robert Creeley Scholarship is available annually, covering full SWP tuition..

The SWP Scholarship in memory of kari edwards is available in 2008 to any credit or non-credit student at Naropa University's Summer Writing Program. This prize has been established in memoriam of W&P alumni and friend, kari edwards. In honor of kari's life and work,
eligible students should be involved in gender activism and writing experimental works. The scholarship covers a minimum of $650 tuition for the Summer Writing Program 2008.

For inquiries about any of the above SWP scholarships, please contact Julie Kazimer at 303-245-4600. 2009 Scholarship information will be available on this website after January 1st. 2009. The application process for 2009 scholarships will be conducted through the Financial Aid office.

Other Scholarship Opportunities

Each year AWP's Writers’ Conferences & Centers offers one scholarship each in poetry and fiction to attend one of our member programs. (The SWP is a member program) Two scholarships of $500 will be awarded. These scholarships are granted to attend WC&C programs only and as such we are currently accepting entries. The deadline for submissions is March 30, 2008. The competition is open to all of SWP past, current, or future attendees.

For complete rules and guidelines please visit: http://writersconf.org/scholarship/index.php

SWP Student Financial Aid and Work-study

Naropa Students
Degree-seeking students taking the program for graduate or undergraduate credit may be eligible for federal financial aid if enrolled for at least 6 credits (four weeks undergraduate credit, three to four weeks for graduate credit). Naropa BA and MFA student should complete the FAFSA by March 1. The FAFSA is available at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Students who request aid to attend the Summer Writing Program (SWP) are generally awarded enough aid to cover the cost of tuition and fees, with some funds available for books and/or living expenses. Federal regulations prohibit the release of student aid until a student is officially attending at least half-time (enrolled for at least 6 credits). Since undergraduate students do not become half-time until the beginning of week four of the Summer Writing Program, their aid and refunds will become available at the beginning of that week. Graduate students become half-time at the beginning of the third week of classes and their aid and refunds will be available at the beginning of week three.

Students who need their refunds before this time, may fill out an advance request form from the Financial Aid Office. The earliest that a student may receive an advance is during week one of the SWP.

Work-study
Eligibility for work-study is based on financial need. Students must be registered for at least 6 credits during the SWP to be awarded summer work-study. Students must file the FAFSA or the International Student Financial Aid application by March 1 to be awarded work-study for the coming year.

Student Employment Information
Naropa University MFA Writing & Poetics and Creative Writing students may be eligible for the following opportunities.

Faculty Liaison
This position involves assisting core or visiting SWP faculty members with course packets, copying, in-town transportation to and from events, dealing with mail and messages, collecting interview materials and other areas in which the faculty member may need support. Students may assist more than one faculty member over the course of the program (but not more than one per week). This position requires about ten hours per week and will not interfere with your workshops or classes as a SWP student. You do not need a car to be a FA, but one can sometimes be helpful. You do need to be attentive, respectful and prompt. The four individuals assisting the weekly MFA lecture class instructors are also considered to be faculty assistants. Students can sign up for these positions at the all-departmental meeting.

Student Activity Coordinator
The Student Activity Coordinator positions are a unique opportunity to help contribute to the Summer Writing Program curriculum. It’s a chance to represent the students during the Program and help develop events that are of interest to the entire community. Both MFA and BA students are eligible for these positions. There are three positions available. These positions involve planning and running all student readings and salons (1–2 per week), lectures (up to two per summer), panels (one per week) and special events throughout the Summer Writing Program. SACs listen to the voices of the student body and set up events that meet student interest. Students will be paid for a total of 25 hours. Preference is given to candidates who are eligible for Federal Workstudy. In some rare cases we are able to award positions to students who are not eligible for workstudy. If you have questions, please contact Julie at 303-245-4600.

Download the Student Activity Coordinator Application.

Non-Degree Seeking Students
Students who are enrolled as degree-seeking students at another institution and are taking the SWP for credit, should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for information regarding eligibility.

Click here for additional information regarding financial aid.