Research assistantships (RA's) and teaching assistantships (TA's) are available through individual faculty members and departmental chairs, respectively. RA's typically support an ongoing faculty/graduate student research project. TA's provide opportunities for students to gain skills in academic instructing. Typically TA allocations are made by departmental chairs in the spring for the upcoming academic year.

Several teaching assistantships in the wildlife biology program are also available: contact the wildlife biology program director for more details.

 

 

The College of Forestry and Conservation has a variety of teaching assistantships available each year. Graduate students in these positions assist faculty with course instruction through leading laboratory/discussion sections, delivering lectures and grading assignments. Usually, only applicants admitted under full status to the Graduate School are eligible for teaching assistantships. Teaching assistants are selected according to their suitability of background in the College of Forestry and Conservation courses for which teaching assistants are needed and may be either half- or full-time on a semester or yearly basis. Full-time teaching assistants work approximately 15 hours per week for 15 weeks each semester of the academic year. In addition to their salaries, teaching assistants receive a tuition fee waiver (in-state or out-of-state) and a waiver of the registration fee. Other fees charged by the University are not included in the TA fee waiver package. Teaching assistants are required to register for 9 credits each semester.

 

Research assistantships present opportunities for current and incoming graduate students for both hands-on involvement in ongoing research and financial assistance. Research assistants are recruited by individual faculty members who have grants from various sources such as McIntire-Stennis, NSF, USDA, etc., and become available at various times during the year as grants become available. The College of Forestry and Conservation's McIntire-Stennis program emphasizes research which provides research training and experience for graduate students. Graduate research assistants are assigned duties by the faculty member that either involve direct efforts on that faculty member's research, or provide other assistance which enables the faculty member to invest more time in research. These duties are frequently applicable to the student's own thesis or dissertation research. Research assistants are expected to work approximately 15 hours per week for 15 weeks each semester. Research assistants may or may not carry fee waivers, but if not their salaries are usually adjusted to make them equivalent to teaching assistant salaries. Research assistants must register for 9 credits each semester.

 

 

 

In addition, the College of Forestry and Conservation has several other scholarships for which graduate students are eligible. Application is on an annual basis and applications are normally due the first of February with decisions made by May 1 for the next academic year. Students should contact College of Forestry and Conservation's scholarship coordinator for application materials and deadlines. Applications will be available on the College of Forestry and Conservation home page in November of each year.

Receipt of these scholarships or fellowships does not make a graduate student ineligible to apply for other financial assistance such as a teaching or research assistantship.