Assistantships
Assistantships provide students with a base stipend currently at $18,250 for the academic year, however, it could be more depending on the specifics of the contract. At the outset of the program, these positions involve being a research assistant for a faculty member or an instructional assistant for courses within the department. In the latter years, students may continue to teach or do research while others obtain graduate assistantships in community placements through Psychology Department contracts. Students also receive health insurance through the University.
Internships
Most of our students successfully obtain fully-funded APA accredited internships for the last year of the program. In addition to this, the department covers full tuition for the first four years of the program and the student is responsible only for health care fees, technology fees and lab fees. The base stipend and tuition abatement is often supplemented by graduate school scholarships for the nine-month period and summer funding from research grants.
Other Funds and Fellowships
The department has some funds available for the support of graduate student research. Most students use a combination of support from faculty and awards to help offset research costs, such as the dissertation.
The department has a student development fund established in honor of a prior student. The purpose of this fund is to help support the following: research conducted by the students; student's travel when presenting the student's own research at conferences; special educational opportunities; and publication costs for the student's published articles. The awards committee for this fund has prioritized the money to support the costs of student research projects. An application form is now available on-line.
The Graduate School awards a limited number of Summer Dissertation Fellowships to students in the final phases of completion of the dissertation, but the student must have no other support for that period of time to be eligible.
The Graduate School also awards several types of Trustee Fellowships to graduate students who exhibit excellence in graduate study. These awards typically range from $750 - $5000. Learn more.
The department has an endowed award used to support students over the summer while working to complete the dissertation. An announcement calling for applications for the award is made by e-mail each spring via the department's graduate student listserve.
The APA continues to sponsor a Minority Fellows Program for graduate students in psychology. These fellowships are multi-year stipends and are awarded competitively. The APA awards approximately 100 Student Travel Awards to enable students to travel to professional meetings to present their research. The deadline for application is early spring. The APA also makes Dissertation Research Awards of $500. Students make application at the time the prospectus is approved.
The department currently is receiving regular anonymous donations earmarked specifically for emergency loans to graduate student. Two loan categories have been established. "Short-term" loans will be made to students for a period not to exceed 60 days. "Long-term" loans will be made for periods exceeding 60 days. These loans will be made at a yearly interest rate of 4%. Please contact Dr. Bret Kloos for more information.
Several federal agencies maintain pre-doctoral fellowship programs to provide up to three years of support for students in training. The National Institute of Mental Health, National Science Foundation, and National Research Council have programs relevant to the interests of students in the School Psychology Program. Application for these funds involves the preparation of a training plan and research proposal.
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