International students must demonstrate proficiency in spoken English in order to be eligible for a teaching assistant position. Please see more information on the Graduate College website about minimum scores accepted as well as the English Speaking Proficiency Evalutation (ESPE).
An EAS Financial Aid Application Form MUST be completed and submitted to the Administrative Office by January 15 (February 1 for returning students) each year for consideration by the Financial Aid Committee for awards in the following year. The form must be submitted regardless of the funding source or the student’s home department. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain the forms and submit them along with the necessary letters of recommendation by the deadline.
Financial aid includes teaching assistant positions, Graduate Tuition Scholarships, Graduate Registration Scholarships and Unrestricted Fellowships. Waivers and fellowships are subject to Graduate College approval.
A. TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE
- Teaching Assistant Positions (GAT) A limited number of teaching assistant positions are funded each year. Under ordinary circumstances GATs in EAS will be funded at .25, .33 or .50 FTE. The GAT salary is determined by the Dean’s Office. The GAT award includes a Graduate Tuition Scholarship. In order to obtain a GAT position, international students must demonstrate proficiency in spoken English. Please see requirements here.
- Graduate Tuition Scholarships (GTS) A specific number of GTS waivers are provided to the department each year for awarding in the next academic year. The GTS may cover any portion of the graduate student's tuition; however, waivers may not cover mandatory fees or student health insurance. Eligibility requires the student to be admitted to regular graduate status in a graduate degree program, have a minimum GPA of 3.2, be in good academic standing, and be enrolled in 3 or more graduate units per semester.
- Graduate Fellowships (GCF) Award of $500 or more awarded to the department's top graduate students. The award is normally divided between the China and Japan program. Eligibility requires the student to be admitted to regular graduate status in a graduate degree program, have a minimum GPA of 3.2, be in good academic standing, and be enrolled in full-time graduate units each semester during the fellowship period.
- The Graduate College Thesis/Dissertation Waiver provides a waiver of up to 6 units of non-resident tuition for students who are in good academic standing, are within 2 years of completing their degree, and are enrolled in 1-6 units of 900-level units (thesis or dissertation). The application form must be submitted by the EAS Graduate Coordinator.
- The Graduate and Professional Student Travel Fund provides funds to graduate and professional students in academic programs under the aegis of the Graduate College, to present invited papers, posters, or presentations at professional meetings, conferences, and symposia directly related to their educational development.
- For more information regarding these awards as well as other awards available, please visit the Graduate College website.
B. FINANCIAL AID POLICIES
- Acceptance of Financial Aid: Students who have been offered financial aid are expected to accept or decline as specified in the letter of offer. If the offer is not accepted by the deadline stated in the offer letter, the award will be withdrawn and awarded to another student on the financial aid list.
- Length of Department Support: Ordinarily doctoral students will not be supported for more than four years. Students who do receive support in the doctoral program are expected to have passed the preliminary examinations by the end of the fourth year. Master’s students ordinarily are not supported for more than two years.
- Teaching Assistant Awards: Under ordinary circumstances GATs in EAS will be funded at .25, .33 or .50 FTE. The chart below indicates the Graduate College regulations regarding the maximum and minimums for these appointments:
FTE Hrs/Week Max. Units Min. Units .25 10 16 6 .33 13.3 14 6 .50 20 12 6 Generally, Chinese Humanities/Chinese Civilization GAT appointments at .33 teach 2 or 3 discussion sections and .50 appointments teach 3 or 4 discussion sections. This may vary however depending upon the supervising instructor. For language GAT appointments the norm is 3 hours for a .25 appointment, 4 hours for a .33 appointment and 5 hours for a .50 appointment. International EAS GATs funded at .5 are not permitted to have other jobs in addition to their GAT responsibilities. All language GATs are required to enroll in EAS 579, Issues/Methods in Post-Secondary Foreign Language Teaching/Learning, no later than their first semester as a GAT, unless they have taken a comparable course elsewhere.
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Evaluations: GATs will be evaluated each semester by the faculty supervisor as required by the Graduate College. GATs are rated on their performance in teaching. GATs may examine these evaluations.