Graduate Student Financial Support

Introduction

The Sociology Program offers an array of research and teaching assistantships as well as a limited number of fellowships.

New applicants wishing to be fully considered for financial support should have their application files completed by December 20. Applications received after the deadline may be considered for funding if such funding is available.

Currently enrolled students who were offered a funding package at the time of admission and are making sufficient progress towards their degree receive priority consideration for funding in future years.

Deadlines

April 1	Department notifies currently enrolled graduate students of the opportunity to submit an annual progress report and request financial aid for the following academic year.
April 15	Final date for currently enrolled graduate students to submit the annual progress report and request financial aid.
June 30	Department notifies currently enrolled graduate students of commitments to provide financial aid or their position on a priority ranking of graduate students who have applied for funding, but have not received a commitment. (Note: this date is approximate, and will depend on the timing of USU budget allocation announcements).

General Policies

Funding Types

Teaching and Research Assistantships

The Department Head will provide funds for allocation by the DGS to support graduate student teaching assistantships, and in some instances research assistantships. Assistantships generally come with a specific work obligation. A full-time assistantship is considered to be a 20 hour/week assignment. Fractional appointments are possible.

The total amount of funds designated for teaching is determined by the annual Department budget. Teaching funds may be used for either graduate teaching assistant (TA) or graduate course instructor (GI) appointments. MS program students are not assigned independent responsibility for course instruction, but may be appointed as graduate teaching assistants. Teaching assistants usually will be assigned to work with specific faculty and assist with undergraduate courses. The Department seeks to provide a diverse array of graduate instructor opportunities to help doctoral students develop a good portfolio of teaching experiences to enhance their employability on the job market. As a general rule, graduate TAs should not be assigned to doctoral students who are working as course instructors.

The total amount of funds available for research assistantships is determined primarily by individual faculty research contracts and grants (including internal USU grants, external grants, and allotments for Utah Agricultural Experiment Station projects). The Director of Graduate Studies will consult with each individual faculty member to determine the faculty member’s desired allocation of their research funds to provide support for research assistantship appointments.

When possible, the department will endeavor to provide a mix of both teaching and research opportunities for funded graduate students in both the MS and PhD programs.

Scholarships and Fellowships

The Director of Graduate Studies will nominate and encourage formal applications from exceptional students for any University Fellowships and Scholarships for which they qualify.

The Department also administers a set of specific fellowships and scholarships that can be awarded depending on availability of funds, student qualifications for specific awards, and other indicators of student performance. Students are not required to apply for these awards.

Tuition Awards

Tuition awards for up to 9 credits of resident and/or nonresident tuition per semester can be provided to graduate students who meet minimum qualifications. As per USU policy, to qualify for either resident or nonresident tuition awards, students must

• Register as a full-time student (between 3 and 9 credits)
• Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0
• Be making acceptable progress toward their graduate degree
• Receive an assistantship stipend worth a minimum of $10,000 per academic year (2 semesters) for MS students and $20,000 per year (3 semesters) for PhD students with an 0.5 FTE appointment for the entire semester in which they receive the award
• All domestic students must become Utah residents within one year of admission

Tuition awards can only be given for credits that count directly toward the sociology graduate degree and that appear on the student’s program of study.

Non-resident tuition awards are generally provided for no more than one year for U.S. citizens, after which point students must apply for and be granted Utah residency. International students may be offered nonresident tuition awards for up to 2 years for MS students, and 4-5 years for PhD students if the student can demonstrate need and as long as tuition award funds are available.

The pool of available tuition award dollars will be determined by the School of Graduate Studies and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences each year, and the Director of Graduate Studies will make recommendations for allocating available Departmental and Program resident and nonresident tuition awards to eligible MS and PhD students based on (a) the need to recruit top applicants, (b) the need to meet prior commitments to students for funding; and (c) the desire to reward continuing students for exceptional performance. Generally speaking, doctoral students will have higher priority for tuition awards than master’s students.

International students are generally required by their visa status to enroll in at least 6 credits per semester, but may enroll in only 3 if they file a “Full Time at 3 Credits” form.

New Students

1. As soon as the annual Department budget is approved by the University, the Department Head will inform the Director of Graduate Studies of the approximate amount of funding available to support new and continuing graduate students.
2. In December of each year, the DGS will request that all graduate faculty provide a listing of funding that they have available for new and continuing graduate student support (from grants or other sources), which will be checked against the budget provided by the department head to ensure complete and accurate information.
3. The Graduate Program Executive Committee, as part of its review of applications, will establish a priority ranking of all admitted graduate student applicants according to their qualifications for the receipt of financial aid. Available teaching assistantships or instructor assignments will be assigned to the highest ranking applicants. Research assistants will be selected by individual faculty with responsibilities for directing funded research projects, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. Exceptional applicants will be nominated by the Program for University fellowships and other scholarships, as appropriate.
4. Students selected for the receipt of financial support will whenever possible be notified of the Department's financial commitment to them before February 1. These students will be asked to accept or reject the offer of financial support by no later than April 15 (although exceptions may be granted in extraordinary circumstances). A non-response will be taken as indication of refusal of the award. Assistantships made available through rejections and non- responses will be offered to other incoming students who have been approved for admission (with a two-week reply deadline), or retained for the support of currently enrolled graduate students.
5. Applicants who have been admitted but not given a commitment for financial aid will be notified as soon as possible of their position on the priority ranking and provided any other information which may assist them in estimating the likelihood of their receiving support (e.g., number of awards available in previous year).
6. Criteria for granting of assistantships and fellowships are the same as for admission (see Section VI-C).

Currently Enrolled Students

1. As soon as the annual Department budget is approved by the University the Department Head will notify the Director of Graduate Studies of the approximate amount of funding available to support currently enrolled graduate students.
2. In December of each year, the DGS will request that all graduate faculty provide a listing of funding that they have available for new and continuing graduate student support (from grants or other sources), which will be checked against the budget provided by the department head to ensure complete and accurate information.
3. All currently enrolled graduate students will notify the Director of Graduate Studies of their desire to be considered for future financial support as part of their annual progress report (due April 15).
4. As soon after April 15 as possible, the Director of Graduate Studies will develop a funding plan for the next academic year to identify priority rankings for funding and to outline an initial approach to allocate available funds to both incoming and currently enrolled graduate students. Criteria for granting of financial aid will include classroom performance, performance on prior assistantships, and evidence of normal progress toward degree completion consistent with the program of study. See Section F (2) below for definition of normal progress. Available teaching assistantship awards will be assigned to the highest ranking applicants. Research assistants are selected by faculty responsible for directing funded research projects in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. An example of the student self-evaluation can be found in Appendix III.
5. Students selected for financial support will be notified of the Department's commitment by approximately June 30 or earlier. These students will be asked to accept or reject the offer of funding within two weeks following receipt of the funding offer.
6. Students not given a commitment for financial support will be notified by approximately June 30 of their position on the priority ranking and/or of the likelihood of support and will be provided any other information which may assist them in estimating the likelihood of support.
7. If a master's-level student is admitted to the PhD program with funding and he or she has not completed the requirements for the master's degree by the start of the first semester of doctoral study, the student will receive funding at the master's level until he or she has the thesis approved and signed by the committee. The student will have one semester in which to have the thesis approved and signed by his or her committee. If the student does not meet this condition, then his or her funding is subject to reallocation at the discretion of the GEC. These conditions apply to all students admitted to the PhD program.

Students who are admitted directly to the PhD program after completion of an undergraduate degree and who receive funding upon admission must successfully defend their MS thesis by the end of the fourth semester of study. In addition, a positive recommendation for continuation in the PhD program must be submitted by the student’s supervisory committee to the Sociology Director of Graduate Studies within two weeks following the end of the fourth semester of study. If the student does not meet these conditions allocation of funding and continuation in the Sociology graduate program may be suspended at the discretion of the GEC. Students who fail to receive a positive recommendation for continuation may with approval of the GEC still complete the MS degree.

The Awarding of Financial Aid to New and Current Students after June 30.

• The Department Head and faculty members will immediately notify the Director of Graduate Studies of any graduate student funding which may become available after June 30. The Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the GEC and individual faculty will make recommendations regarding the disposition of these funds.

Limitations on Receipt of Funding

• Unless the department is confronted with severe funding shortfalls, Master’s students who are awarded full funding from departmental sources (e.g., departmental assistantships and/or fellowships) at the time of admission will normally be awarded continued funding for 2 academic years. PhD students who enter the program with a master’s degree will normally be awarded continued funding for 4 academic years; those who enter the PhD program with a bachelor’s degree will generally receive funding for 5 years. In all cases these funding assurances are contingent upon continued evidence that the student is making acceptable progress toward degree completion. Extensions of funding beyond these time periods may be granted to students who are deemed to be making good progress toward completion of their degrees, contingent on the availability of funds for departmental allocation.
• Acceptable progress means:
  • On the first day of class of fall semester, the student does not have more than 2 incompletes in non-thesis courses remaining from the previous year or years coursework;
  • The student has maintained a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in courses completed;
  • The student is taking a minimum of 6 credits of approved non-thesis/non- dissertation coursework per semester until substantive coursework listed on the program of study is completed;
  • Selection of supervisory committee within established time frames.
  • Student progress is reviewed annually (in the spring) by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students who are identified as having difficulty in the program or who are not making acceptable progress will be provided with specific guidelines on areas of improvement that need to occur and a time frame for doing so. Continued failure to make acceptable progress will result in termination of funding support and/or termination from the program.
• The above time limitations for funding receipt pertain to both teaching assistantships and research assistantships supported by USU Agricultural Experiment Station and other USU derived funds. They do not apply to funding obtained under consulting arrangements or external grants.

Frequently Asked Questions