> graduating a semester late (at the cost of several thousand dollars to myself)

Really? Your funding isn't guaranteed?

When I did my Master's I was funded as an R.A. without my advisor/lab having to tap her particular grants. Grants and fellowships were usually seen as something "extra" for master's and Ph.D pre-quals students, not their main source of funding. I find it surprising that your school or department seems to (or is forced to) think differently.