Many opportunities exist for students to obtain financial assistance for graduate school. Fellowships, assistantships and other forms of financial support are available through the Graduate School, the Criminology and Criminal Justice program, as well as throughout campus.
Fellowships
The Graduate School awards fellowships to students who have demonstrated superior abilities in either their undergraduate or graduate work. Because of the limited number of awards and the large number of applicants seeking support, there is stiff competition for fellowships and high GPA and/or GRE records are essential to be considered. Fellowships are competitively awarded by the university from a pool of candidates nominated by departments across campus.
A limited number of graduate assistantships are available each year to students who have been unconditionally accepted into the Criminology and Criminal Justice program. These assistantships provide a waiver of tuition and a stipend in return for 25% or 50% work assignments (based on a 40-hour work week). Graduate Assistants holding a 25% contract will be given a 9-hour tuition scholarship for Fall and Spring semesters, and an 8-hour tuition scholarship for the Summer semester. Graduate Assistants holding a 50% contract will be given a 15-hour tuition scholarship for Fall and Spring semesters, and an 8-hour tuition scholarship for the Summer semester. Assignments shall be relevant to the student's academic interests whenever possible. Application is included as part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice application. The student must be enrolled in at least 8 hours of graduate coursework each semester an assistantship is held. An assistantship during the Summer requires a student to be enrolled in at least 3 hours of graduate credit coursework.
A graduate student who has held at least a 25% assistantship for each of two consecutive semesters (Fall and Spring) will be eligible for a waiver of tuition (8 hours maximum) for the Summer session immediately following the two semesters of service.
Outstanding Graduate Student Award
An award given to a graduate student, either MA or PhD, enrolled in the CCJ program who demonstrates superior academic performance, research, and service.
