Graduate Program Funding

Financial aid is available in the form of assistantships and fellowships:

Graduate assistantships: 1) teaching assistantships; 2) research assistantships, and 3) administrative fellowships
Tuition fellowships (different from "administrative fellowships" which are a form of employment)

• Graduate assistantships are academic appointments available to graduate students. A teaching assistant helps with the teaching duties under the suppervision of an academic staff. In some cases, teaching assistants may be assigned primary responsibility for teaching a course. A research assistant helps with carrying out research under the guidance of a principal investigator. An administrative fellow helps with the administrative duties of a program within the department. In addition to an hourly pay, students working as graduate assistants my be eligible for other benefits, including a tuition benefit. For more information please refer to the Policy and Guidelines for Graduate Assistants published by the Graduate Assistant Employment office.

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available through the Linguistics department for applicants with appropriate background and experience. In addition, some students have had success in finding teaching assistantships in other programs on campus. Our graduate students are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships in the foreign language programs such as Russian, Korean, French and Italian, etc. in the College of Liberal Arts. There are also opportunities available in the General College, and CARLA (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition). For current openings and for quesitons about eligiblity to hold any of these appointments (you must have already been admitted to Graduate School and be registered for a minimum number of credits) please refer to the Policy and Guidelines for Graduate Assistants published by the Graduate Assistant Employment office.

• Graduate fellowships are highly competitive awards based on academic merit. Our students may be considered for nominations for a Graduate School Fellowship. These fellowships are usually highly competitive, but we have often had success in obtaining them for several of our students each year. Also, applicants with a strong interest in cognitive science and strong academic qualifications may be nominated for three-year fellowships awarded by the Center for Cognitive Sciences (though this is restricted to U.S. citizens because the funding is from the U.S. government). Notification of fellowships is generally made in March.

Since fellowships are limited and highly competitive, we cannot always provide financial support to all admitted students in the first year of graduate study. However, financial support (especially in the form of teaching assistantships, but also in the form of research assistantships controlled by individual faculty members) is easier to obtain beginning in the second year of graduate study. In recent years, we have been able to provide financial support for all of our continuing students who desire such support during their second through fifth year in the program.Please be sure to indicate in your personal statement whether you wish us to consider you for other forms of financial aid. Applicants wishing to be considered for financial support apply no later than January 15 of the preceding academic year. The deadline for other applicants is March 15. We make our decisions about applications to the program soon after the March 15 deadline. We will notify you of the decision soon afterwards.

• Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships for Graduate Students. In addtion to other forms of financial assistannce mentioned above, the Institute for Global Studies makes a number of fellowships available to new and continuing graduate students at the University of Minnesota. Linguistics students are encouraged to apply for funding through this program. Students are eligible to receive funding for language study during the academic year and/or during the summer for intensive language courses. Academic year fellowship carry a stipend of $14,000 plus tuition and selected fees; for summer study the stipend is $2,400 plus tuition. FLAS fellowships can be used for the study of any modern foreign language, but in conformity with Title VI regulations of the US Department of Education priority will be given to students who propose to study a less-commonly-taught language. For a detailed description of the FLAS Policies & Procedures, and Nomination and Application Forms, see http://igs.cla.umn.edu/FLAS05-06/FLAS05.htm

• Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
  http://www.woodrow.org/mellon/
  

Please do not hesitate to contact the Director of Graduate Studies if you need further information.