Financial Assistance

Graduate education can be financed in a variety of ways, ranging from fellowships—competitive awards that cover all educational expenses and can include a stipend—to student loans. When you apply to Michigan Tech, you will automatically be considered for some forms of financial aid, such as Assistantships. Other forms of aid, such as fellowships and scholarships, will require that you prepare a research proposal and submit it to the Graduate School or a funding agency. Following is a summary of the resources available on this page to assist you in financing your education:

  • Assistantships— Students who are accepted to the Graduate School are automatically considered for assistantships. This section includes a definition of the types of assistantships available and what responsibilities students who receive them will have.
  • Fellowships and Scholarships — Federal funding agencies (such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health), private foundations, and corporations sponsor fellowship funding competitions. This section includes a list of major competitions, tips for finding funding opportunities, and resources to help you with the application process. Eligible students qualify for the Graduate School Proposal Incentive Award which will pay up to $100 for preparing and submitting an application. Details Here. The Graduate School also sponsors internal competitions for funds to support students which are described in this section.
  • Employment—Students have opportunities through work-study, internships at research laboratories and co-op assignments to get help financing their education. This section compiles some useful resources to aid you in finding employment.
  • Need-based Financial Aid— US citizens and eligible non-citizens should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1 to be fully considered for need-based scholarships and federal loans.

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Assistantships

The application forms for admission to the Graduate School are also regarded as application forms for assistantships. All students admitted to the Graduate School are considered for these awards, which are made through each individual department and academic program. In general, assistantships are awarded in March and April for the following academic year. Recipients of awards are notified as soon as the awards are made. All departments with graduate programs support students through teaching assistantships. Positions associated with research grants or contracts are available through some programs and research centers. Talk to the director of your graduate program or your advisor for more information.

Regular assistantship appointments are for half-time work (20 hours/week), but programs can divide appointments, resulting in three-quarter time, half-time, or quarter-time appointments (with proportional adjustments of the stipend, tuition, and fees as shown in the table below). Students’ work load assignments, including teaching preparation and grading of papers, should not exceed the level of their appointments. Students on assistantship are paid bi-weekly.

Assistantship
Appointment		 Stipend Support Work Expectation
(hrs/week)		 Percentage of
Tuition Supported*
Regular Full 20 100
3/4 3/4 15 75
1/2 1/2 10 50
1/4 1/4 5 25
*All students with an assistantship must register for nine credits. The tuition cap of the
graduate program determines the maximum amount of tuition support for a regular
assistantship. Students on partial support will be funded for a percentage of the tuition cap
for their program.

Support includes stipend, and a proportional amount of tuition and academic fees for full-time enrollment. Student voted fees are not covered by support and must be paid by the student.

All supported students must be registered as full-time graduate students. If you are supported at 20 hours per week, your support pays standard full-time tuition plus fees. You are responsible for paying for any credits over the tuition cap for the program that you enroll for, as well as for student voted fees. Note that the 9 credits required for full-time status may include research credits, graduate, audited, PE, ESL and undergraduate courses.

If you are on partial support, you must still be registered as a full-time student, but only a portion of your tuition and fees will be paid by your support. You are responsible for the remaining balance of the tuition and fee charges.

Students who are supported by graduate assistantships typically do not accept additional employment. Assistantships are viewed as part-time employment that is provided by the university to allow students to pursue their education on a full-time basis. Students who accept additional employment may find it difficult to make good progress toward their degree. Failure to make good progress may result in a loss of support in the future. A student who wishes to pursue additional employment should consult with their advisor, and should ensure that the additional employment will not impede progress toward their degree. Advisors will typically approve requests in cases in which the student’s education will be enhanced through the additional employment. During the time period when a graduate student is supported by a graduate assistantship, only the Dean of the Graduate School can approve a case of mid-contract termination of support.

Teaching Assistantships (GTA, GTI)

Teaching assistantships are awarded by the academic department requiring instructional services. GTAs assist faculty members in teaching. GTIs have full responsibility for the course(s) they are assigned to teach. GTA or GTI appointments are usually for two semesters of the academic year. Opportunities for one-semester teaching assignments (including summer) may be available in some departments. International students whose first language is not English must take the SPEAK test before beginning a GTA or GTI assignment. The Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development administers the SPEAK test year round.

Research Assistantships (GRA, GA)

Research assistantships, usually associated with a specific research grant, contract, or internally supported research project, are awarded by the professor/program supervising the research activity. The appointment is usually for the academic year, but frequently includes the summer session. For standard support, time devoted to the research activity is expected to total an average of twenty hours per week, though in cases where the research is related to the student’s thesis or dissertation, additional time is expected to meet requirements for research credits in which the student is enrolled. Coding indicates external support (GRA) or internal support (GA).

Administrative Assistantships (GADE, GADI)

Administrative assistantships are awarded by the programs to students who are given administrative duties such as administrative office support, computer support or web page design. Coding indicates external support (GADE) or internal support (GADI).

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Fellowships and Scholarships

The main difference between assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships is that neither fellowships nor scholarships require any specific service to the University. Scholarships are usually one-time awards that provide partial or full support for tuition and fees, but typically do not provide a stipend for living expenses. Fellowships typically include support for living expenses. Most fellowships have requirements that prohibit additional employment. Students are cautioned to carefully read the requirements for their fellowship before accepting outside employment, or they risk losing their fellowship.

Scholarships and fellowships may be awarded by Michigan Tech or by outside funding agencies. The Graduate School awards a limited number of fellowships through the Michigan Tech Fund. To be eligible for internal fellowships, the chair of the department, the graduate program director, or the student’s advisor must nominate the student during the yearly competitions. Students cannot apply for internal fellowship funds on their own.

For external scholarships and fellowships, students must:

  • Find an appropriate funding source
  • Prepare an application to the funding agency
  • Submit the application on-time and in accordance with University guidelines. Some applications will need to be submitted through Research and Sponsored Programs.

Please remember the Graduate School Proposal Incentive Award Program. The Graduate School encourages students to be proactive in seeking external funding. Eligible graduate students can receive incentive awards up to $100 for preparing and submitting research and/or fellowship proposals to agencies external to the University. Details Here. Pete Larsen is available to assist students with all aspects of the external fellowship process.

Funding sources

A list of major federal programs with deadlines and web sites can be found here. Please note that deadlines may change and may vary depending on your graduate program. There are several other internal and external programs with funding worth noting:

Searching for a funding source

In addition to the major sources of funding listed above, there are a variety of foundations that offer financial assistance to graduate students in the form of scholarships or fellowships. Here are some tips to help you identify sources of funding:

  • Organizations that you have been involved in as an undergraduate may offer funding. Sororities, fraternities, honor societies, and other groups are worth investigating. If an organization you participated in has a national headquarters, find their web site and search for graduate financial assistance.
  • All graduate students are members of subscription-based COS. This web site offers you tools to search for sources of funding, manage your curriculum vita, and find research collaborators with similar interests at other institutions.
  • FastWeb allows students to develop their own profile listing your activities, academic program and education level. Once a profile is entered, FastWeb will alert users when scholarships added to their database match the profile entered.
  • Cornell University's Fellowship Database offers a searchable database of graduate funding opportunities. The list is searchable by due date, field, and keyword.
  • Grants.gov offers a single, searchable location for all federal sources of funding, including graduate fellowships.
  • Fundsnet provides a detailed listing of opportunities as well as books and other resources related to applying for support. It has a good term-search capability.
  • Spend some time developing your searching strategies. You need to find keywords that are broad enough to yield results, but specific enough to find programs for which you are eligible.

Graduate School Fellowships

The Graduate School sponsors internal competitions for fellowship support for current students. These are posted in Tech Today when nominations are open.

  • Finishing Fellowship—This fellowship assists PhD candidates in the final semester.
  • Recruiting Fellowships—Programs may nominate incoming students for supplemental support which will assist in recruiting new students.
  • DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships—The DeVlieg Foundation sponsors fellowships annually to PhD and MS students in engineering or a closely related field.

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Employment

On-campus and Local Employment

Students interested in on-campus employment can find opportunities here. The Career Center web page also maintains a list of campus and local employment opportunities. US citizens and permanent residents may also qualify for work-study job assignments described in more detail in the Need-based Financial Aid section. Students should contact their Graduate Program Assistant to see if faculty in their program need graders or other temporary employees.

Co-ops and Internships

Graduate students may seek placement in a co-op or internship. Students who complete a co-op receive academic credit as well as the co-op salary. Visit the Michigan Tech Career Center for more information about co-ops and internships. H1-Visa Jobs.Com provides an on-line database with contact information of companies that offer H-1B jobs to international professionals.

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Need-based Financial Aid

To be considered for need-based financial aid, e.g., federal student loans and Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN Fellowships), students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the federal processor. The FAFSA should have the results released to Michigan Tech (federal school code 002292). See http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. To assure optimum processing, file the FAFSA by March 1. Awards will be determined around July 1, when cost of attendance and resource information is available.

Need-based financial assistance is awarded for one academic year at a time. Students must reapply each year. For more information regarding financing opportunities available through the Financial Aid Office, including loans, visit http://finaid.mtu.edu/.

Loans

Federal Stafford Loans

Students may be eligible for a student loan from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The FAFSA or FAFSA Renewal form is the application form needed. The annual loan limit for subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans is $20,500 each academic year (only $8,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans). Students may borrow up to a cumulative maximum of $138,500 as a graduate or professional student (only $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans). The graduate debt limit includes Stafford Loans received for undergraduate study.

Federal Perkins Loans

Annual funding is only provided through Perkins Loan fund repayments. Award recipients who demonstrate financial need may borrow up to $6,000 per year as a graduate student for a maximum cumulative total of $40,000 including undergraduate Perkins borrowing. As long as the borrower is engaged in at least half-time study, there is no interest or repayment. Interest begins nine months after the borrower ceases to be at least a half-time student and may extend over a maximum period of ten years. Minimum payments are required. Deferment of repayment is permitted for certain kinds of federal and volunteer service.

Work-Study Programs: Michigan and Federal

These programs provide funds for part-time employment of students who are US citizens or permanent residents and who have financial need. Accepted students are automatically considered for work-study if their FAFSA results are released to Michigan Tech and they indicated on the FAFSA that they wish to be considered for student employment. Students must reapply for work-study each year.

Specific departmental work-study assignments are made by the Financial Aid Office. Students normally work eight to ten hours per week. If not enrolled in school during the summer, students may work a maximum of 40 hours per week. The hourly rate paid is equivalent to at least minimum wage.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Program

Financial assistance based on need is available to students who are enrolled Native American tribal members. Students should contact their tribal education office for application procedures. Students may also be eligible for the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver.

 

 

 

 

 
Last reviewed on 07/16/2008
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