AcademicsSummer Writing ProgramScholarships & Financial Aid

Summer Writing Program Scholarships

Naropa University MFA Writing & Poetics and Creative Writing students may be eligible for the following temporary employment opportunities. Please check the Naropa Employment page in May.

Student Instructional Positions

Apply for Summer Writing Program Scholarships

The Amiri Baraka Scholarship is offered to noncredit participants in Naropa’s Summer Writing Program.  Each scholarship will cover one week of noncredit Summer Writing Program tuition and, if needed, a room in a shared apartment at Snow Lion Apartments for seven nights.  Three or more recipients, with one-week scholarships, will be awarded. 

Students do not need to complete a Financial Aid Application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered.

Your personal essay should include your writing’s connection to the work and legacy of Amiri Baraka specifically, and the Black Arts movement in general.

  • How does your work continue the Black Arts movement’s experiments in combining formal innovation and the dynamics of vernacular speech?
  • How does it transcend genre?
  • How does it speak for racial equality and revolutionary political commitments?

The Institute of American Indian Arts Award is given annually to one current undergraduate student enrolled at the Institute of American Indian Arts, who will be attending the Summer Writing Program. The award covers full undergraduate tuition for the three weeks of the SWP and includes housing in Snow Lion at the shared room rate.

The Summer Writing Program Scholarship in memory of kari edwards is offered annually to one credit or noncredit student accepted into Naropa University’s Summer Writing Program. Eligible applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and be involved in gender activism and writing experimental works.

Non-credit tuition scholarships will be awarded in memory of Kevin Killian. Students do not need to complete a Financial Aid Application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered.

Beloved of many Kevin Killian was known for personal generosity, a politics of queer friendship, affinity, & welcome, as well as being a supremely gifted writer moving among––and enlivening–––a host of genres such a novels, poems, poet’s theater, internet reviews and more. The scholarships are intended to support writers whose work participates in this lineage of queer poetics.

The Latinx Poetics Scholarship will support a writer(s) whose work emerges from the diverse realities of Latinidad including (but not limited) to Afro-Latinx writers, undocumented writers, and writers whose work express the post-colonial complexities of language, sexuality, immigration, class, race, color and/or nation. The scholarship will support one week of non-credit tuition, and a shared apartment in Naropa housing.

The Leslie Scalapino Award will be offered each year to one MFA Creative Writing and Poetics or MFA Creative Writing student attending the Summer Writing Program who has a body of work in the field of experimental postmodern women’s poetry and poetics. Applicants must demonstrate financial need, be a United States citizen or permanent resident of the United States, and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Students who wish to be considered for the scholarship should submit the following along with their application:

  1. Personal letter (500-700 words) describing
    1. Your contributions and activities within the Jack Kerouac School, Naropa University, and/or the local/national artistic community: recent accomplishments
    2. Current projects or publications of your work
    3. Your interest in experimental postmodern women’s poetry and poetics, including but not limited to Leslie Scalapino
  2. A writing sample of 5 to 10 pages of your current work

The Margaret Randall Scholarship in Memory of Mark Behr is offered annually to non-credit participants in Naropa’s Summer Writing Program. Each scholarship will cover, one week of non-credit Summer Writing Program tuition and, if needed, a room in a shared apartment in Snow lion residence hall for seven nights. The scholarships will be awarded to writers of extraordinary talent and promise. Students do not need to complete a Financial Aid Application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered. To apply applicants will need to submit a personal essay, 500 to 700 words in length, addressing their recent accomplishments, current projects, or publications of their work; and 5-10 pages of poetry, prose, or translation..

Awarded to one noncredit, non-degree student for one week of the Summer Writing Program. Can include, if needed, a room in a shared apartment at Snow Lion Apartments for seven nights.  Students do not need to complete a financial aid application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be consideredTo apply applicants will need to submit a personal essay, 500 to 700 words in length, addressing their recent accomplishments, current projects, or publications of their work; and 5-10 pages of poetry, prose, or translation. Preference given to students incorporating ecology into their writing.

The Zora Neale Hurston scholarship is awarded to selected students who identify as, or who have experience working with, people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The award amount covers full tuition and housing costs for a shared room at Snow Lion Apartments (for out-of-state recipients) for one week of the Summer Writing Program (credit or noncredit). A total of three recipients, with one-week scholarships will be awarded.  Awards are based on exceptional literary merit and promise, as well as financial need.

SWP Student Financial Aid & Student Employment Opportunities

Financial Aid for Degree-seeking 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 (three 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 fafsa.gov.

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.

Students who request Financial 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 students do not become half-time until the beginning of week three of the Summer Writing Program, their aid and refunds will become available at the beginning of that week.

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. 

 

SWP Student Employment Opportunities

Naropa University MFA Writing & Poetics and Creative Writing students may be eligible for the following temporary employment opportunities. Please check the Naropa Employment page in May. You are also welcome to apply for support staff positions not listed here, but will not be able to enroll in workshops.

Instructional

 

MFA Lecturer

An MFA lecture is one of the few opportunities that graduate students have to present scholarly and creative research during their degree program. Presenters should lecture on topics about which they are knowledgeable and passionate; subjects that complement the SWP programming. While we require the lecture to be in a standard format (not performance-based)—all lectures must be 40 minutes with a 20-minute Q&A—we encourage you to utilize the multi-media capacities in the Performing Arts Center. Slides, primary source material from the Naropa University Audio Archive Project, etc. are a great way to make your presentation more engaging. Only MFA students are eligible for these positions. There is 1 position available. Specific times and locations of student lectures will be listed in the SWP Master Schedule. There is no financial compensation for MFA lectures.

Graduate Instructor

The graduate instructor position offers graduate students an opportunity to design and teach a writing workshop. Due to the fluctuating weekly populations of undergraduate students during the Summer Writing Program, graduate instructors have the unique challenge of creating a weekly workshop that can accommodate both students taking the program for one week or for all three weeks. Graduate instructors are responsible for attending weekly staff meetings (9–9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays) with the BA coordinator. The BA coordinator then leads a group session with all BA students and instructors. This session is scheduled from 9:30–10 or 10:30 a.m. After this session, students will split into smaller groups with each graduate instructor heading a discussion group of BA credit students from 10:30 to 12:30 p.m. Graduate instructors are responsible for commenting on final BA manuscripts. Only second- or third-summer MFA students are eligible for these positions. There are 2 positions available, depending on the number of BA students who enroll.

Staff

Faculty Liaison

This position involves assisting visiting SWP faculty members or SWP staff 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 guest faculty member may need support. This position will not interfere with your workshops or classes as an SWP student. You do not need a car to be a FL, but one can sometimes be helpful. You do need to be attentive, respectful, and prompt. Students will be paid a stipend for approximately 25 hours per week.

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 two 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 a stipend for approximately 25 hours.

Portfolio Editor

The SWP Portfolio Editor sets guidelines for submission, editing, layout and coordinates all aspects of production and distribution of the annual Summer Writing Program Portfolio with the Bombay Gin Literary Journal editors for final publication in the next issue.

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Naropa Campuses Closed on Friday, March 15, 2024

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.