Financial Aid for Graduate Students
Assistance for M.A. Students
Financial assistance is available in the form of various grants, loans, and employment. Please check the appropriate box on the application form to indicate which of these you are interested in. One fellowship per year is awarded to an M.A. student.
Assistance for Ph.D. Students
We generally offer guaranteed assistantships for three years; these include pay of $11,000 to $15,000 annually plus tuition (out-of-state tuition the first year and in-state tuition in the second and third years). The assistantships are described below, and students may receive a combination of these awards.
(1) Research Assistantships (RA positions)
RA positions are awarded on a competitive basis by the university to individual faculty members. The job requirements involve helping faculty members with various tasks associated with the research enterprise, including data collection, data coding, and statistical analysis. Funding for RA positions may also be awarded through a faculty member's external research grants. The positions pay approximately $11,000 to $15,000 yearly for a 20-hour/week position and usually include a full tuition waiver.
(2) Teaching Assistantships (TA positions)
TA job requirements involve assisting faculty who are teaching large undergraduate courses, statistics courses, or lab courses, by grading exams, teaching statistics, or carrying out laboratory experiments. The positions pay approximately $11,000 per year for a 20-hour/week position and $5,500 per year for a 10-hour/week position. Some TA positions are available in the summer for additional financial assistance.
(3) Fellowship Awards
Fellowship awards of $1,000 to $5,000 are available to a limited number of incoming students. These awards have no work requirement.
(4) High-Potential Graduate Research Assistantships
These positions are available to some students with exceptionally high grades and GRE scores. These awards come with a stipend of $10,000 and tuition remission for 18 credit hours per academic year. They require a 20-hour/week work commitment by the student. Historically, the Psychology Department has received one or more per year. They are renewable for up to two additional years.
(5) Psychology Department Staff Support Positions
These positions involve advising undergraduate students and engaging in other work related to the daily functioning of the Psychology Department. The positions pay approximately $9.00 per hour.
Additional Financial Assistance
Throughout the year, we receive information on various other external sources of financial support for doctoral
students, such as the American Psychological Association and private foundations. This information is distributed to graduate students via e-mail as we receive it.
The University also maintains an emergency tuition assistance fund for graduate students who are unable to pay their tuition due to unforseen financial problems.
For further information on grants, loans, and financial aid, please visit the university's Office of Financial Aid, or call them at 703-993-2353.
