Graduate Programs: Financial Aid

NOTE: This document was generated from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but be advised that requirements may have changed since this book was published. Errors may have also been introduced in the conversion to a WWW document. Thus for items of importance, it might be wise to seek confirmation from either the paper version or a live human being.

Financial aid is available in the form of fellowships, teaching and research assistantships, tuition and service fee waivers, college work-study programs, and loans.

Application Procedures

All students who apply for admission to graduate study receive consideration for fellowships (except those awarded in national competitions), teaching and research assistantships, and tuition and service fee waivers; there are no separate financial aid applications for applicants. Currently enrolled students seeking consideration for these awards should submit the Application for Graduate Appointment, available from departments or the Graduate College, to their major departments. Financial need is not a factor in awarding fellowships, waivers, or assistantships administered by the University.

Continuing or new students should file the appropriate application, whether for admission or graduate appointment, with their major department no later than February 1, and preferably earlier. (Some departments in high demand have deadlines earlier than February 1; prospective students are advised to make sure of the departmental deadline before applying.) While departments may, at their discretion, accept applications after the February 1 deadline, most departments attempt to make their financial aid decisions in February and March; thus, applications arriving later may not receive financial aid consideration. Departmental committees recommend students for fellowships or waivers to the Graduate College, which makes the final selections. Each department appoints its own teaching or research assistants with the approval of the Office of Academic Human Resources. Fellowships can be awarded only to students who are enrolled in or have applied for admission to the Graduate College as degree candidates. The fir st list of fellowship awards is usually announced in mid-March.

Fellowships

The Graduate College Fellowship Board has the responsibility for establishing and maintaining policies regarding fellowships funded by the Graduate College as well as awarding fellowships. Departments nominate students for one of the programs described below, and the Board awards at its discretion.

University Fellowships

University fellowships are awarded on the basis of academic and scholarly achievement. Each department sets its own stipend level, and may supplement the fellowship with a teaching or research assistantship. Students should consult their departments about available support.

UIUC Fellowships

UIUC fellowships are a signal honor, as they are very limited in number and are awarded to students whose academic records reveal only the highest scholarly achievement. Graduate departments may nominate incoming students in every field for the fellowships which provide a stipend of $15,000 per year and a tuition waiver, and may be renewed for an additional two years, pending satisfactory progress in the fellow's academic program.

Graduate College Fellowships

These fellowships are part of the Graduate College's effort to increase the enrollment of students from certain underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. Graduate College fellowships are generally awarded to students who are beginning graduate work so that they can devote their first year entirely to study.
Most Graduate College fellows are given support in the form of other fellowships and assistantships to continue their studies in subsequent years, provided their progress is satisfactory; however, continued support cannot be guaranteed in advance. Graduate College permission is required for concurrent employment of any type.

Dissertation Travel Grants

In some disciplines, students may experience delays in selecting a research topic or in completing their Ph.D. dissertation because they lack the discretionary funds to consult sources that lie in other parts of the country or abroad. The dissertation travel grants are designed to assist Ph.D. students whose dissertations would benefit substantially from domestic or foreign travel. Both travel for purposes of identifying a thesis topic and travel for completing dissertation research are within the scope of this program. Grants will vary in amount, but the maximum award is $5,000.

Dissertation Completion Fellowships

These fellowships are intended for the top-flight doctoral students who have passed the preliminary examination but, because of financial limitations, are unable to work full-time toward their degree. The fellowships provide $15,000 and a tuition waiver for one year to enable students to spend full time writing their dissertations. It is expected that the dissertation fellows will graduate by the end of the fellowship year.

Industrial, Endowed, and Special Fellowships and Traineeships

A number of firms, foundations, and individuals support fellowship awards for graduate students. The stipends and supplemental allowances for these fellowships vary, and most of them are restricted to students in particular areas of study. In almost all cases, these awards provide tuition and most fees. Students should consult their departments about the availability of these fellowships.

Federal Fellowships

These fellowships, such as the U.S. Public Health Service traineeships in the biomedical sciences and the Patricia Roberts Harris fellowships in fields where minorities are underrepresented, are awarded as grants to institutions, which then select the recipients. Students should consult their departments as to the availability of these awards. Applicants for most federal fellowships must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens; some programs are restricted to U.S. citizens.

Fellowships Awarded in National Competition

The National Science Foundation awards approximately 1,000 fellowships nationwide each year to exceptional students in science and engineering, the social sciences, and the history and philosophy of science. The fellowships provide $14,000 per year and tuition and may be held at any graduate school. Students who have completed not more than one semester of graduate study are eligible. The fellowship will be continued for up to three years if progress is satisfactory. Applications are available in October from the Graduate College Fellowship Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute Doctoral Fellowships in the Biological Sciences provide three years of support at $14,000 annually, plus tuition. Applications are available in September in the Graduate College Fellowship Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Department of Defense awards three-year fellowships to outstanding students in certain fields in the sciences and engineering. U.S. citizens studying at Ph.D.-granting institutions are eligible. Applications are available in October in the Graduate College Fellowship Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Jacob Javits Fellowship Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, awards about 130 fellowships each year in a nationwide competition. The fellowships provide all tuition and fees, as well as a stipend calculated on the student's financial need. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply. Applications are available in the late fall.

A few other foundations and agencies also hold fellowship competitions but on a smaller scale and usually restricted to specific groups, such as the Committee on Institutional Cooperation fellowships for minority students or the American Association of University Women fellowships. Information on these and other fellowships is available early each fall in the Graduate College Fellowship Office.

Assistantships

General Information

The various departments of the University appoint graduate students as teaching or research assistants. Application should be made directly to the appropriate department by using the Application for Graduate Appointment. Students holding assistantships must be registered during the semesters of employment and, in the case of assistantships requiring the performance of classroom teaching, must be proficient in oral English as determined by current University verification standards. Assistantship appointments ranging from 25 through 67 percent time for three-quarters of the semester provide waivers of tuition and part of the fees. Students who held such waivers during the spring semester, and who have no appointments the following summer, are also entitled to a waiver of tuition and part of the fees for that summer session. As an additional benefit, spouses and dependent children of staff members who have appointments of at least 25 percent time are treated as residents for purposes of tuition assessment. Stud ents may also apply for assistantships in nonteaching units of the University, such as the Computing and Communications Services Office.

Part-time appointments as student residence hall advisers are also available. These jobs provide room and board only. The student affairs coordinator for staff development in the Housing Division has applications for residence hall adviser appointments.

A student who resigns an appointment before working for at least three-fourths of the term (ninety-one days during the regular semester, forty-one days during the summer session) will be assessed tuition and fees unless the student either withdraws from the University at the same time or before the appointment becomes void or files a clearance form for graduation within one week after the resignation date. A term is defined as running from the first day of registration through the last day of final examinations.

College Work-Study Assistantships

The Graduate College operates a small program of research and administrative assistantships funded by the College Work Study program. Prospective applicants must have obtained the promise of assistantship employment for the next academic year at the time of application, which should take place before January 31 of each year. To apply, the applicant should fill out a screening questionnaire in the Fellowship Office, 209 Coble Hall. If eligible, he or she must use a need-based financial aid procedure.

Tuition and Service Fee Waivers

In addition to the tuition and service fee waivers that accompany fellowships and assistantships, the Graduate College awards a number of waivers each year. These waivers provide exemption from tuition and some fees for the academic year and the summer session immediately preceding or following that year. To hold one of these waivers, a student must register for at least 3 units each semester during the academic year and 1 1/2 units in the summer session. While holding such a waiver, a student may accept part-time or incidental employment not to exceed twenty hours per week either with the University or with an outside employer.

Research Grants

Graduate College Dissertation Research Grants

The Graduate College offers grants for dissertation research to students with superior academic records and dissertation proposals. Competitions are held each fall and spring semester. For further information, inquire in the Graduate College Fellowship Office.

Other Research Grants

A great number of organizations and foundations offer grants to support research in specialized fields. Information on these grants can be obtained from the Graduate College Fellowship Office, the Research Services Office, and departmental offices. Some schools and colleges publish additional materials concerning research grants and contracts.

Need-Based Financial Aid

The Office of Student Financial Aid awards limited scholarships, college work-study, and loans to graduate and professional students. Application for this need-based assistance is made separately from an application for fellowships, assistantships, and tuition and service fee waivers. A need analysis document, the Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid (FAFSA), must be completed. To ensure priority consideration, the FAFSA should be filed between January 1 and March 15 of each year.

A student wishing to obtain a Stafford or other educational loan must file the FAFSA in addition to the loan application. Students are advised to delay processing the loan application until they have received responses to applications for other need-based assistance and fellowships, assistantships, and tuition and service fee waivers.

Additional information about need-based assistance and application packets containing the FAFSA are available from the Office of Student Financial Aid.

If certification for full-time status is required (for example, for loans, immigration, or fellowships), a student must register for at least 3 units or the equivalent, regardless of the existence of a assistantship. The Office of Admissions and Records does not take assistantships into account when assessing for enrollment certifications.

Veterans' Assistance

Veterans who believe they may be eligible for educational benefits should contact the veterans' counselor in the Office of Student Financial Aid. Application for benefits should be made annually.

Employment

Part-time job opportunities, both on and off campus, are posted in the Office of Student Financial Aid. Students are not required to apply for need-based assistance to use employment staff services.

Emergency Loans

In addition to major educational loans, the University makes special funds available. Graduate students with financial problems should go to the Office of the Dean of Students. Staff members in that office can determine the eligibility of these students for emergency loans.

Students may also apply for Stafford Loans through lenders in their hometowns who participate in one of the various educational loan programs.

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