Financial Aid for Graduate Study

Financial Aid is available in the following forms:

Teaching Assistantships

The Department of Political Science normally has about thirteen Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) positions available each academic year. Typically, 2-4 GTA positions are awarded to incoming students. Most GTAs serve as instructor for four discussion sections that accompany faculty lectures in an introductory course. Some advanced GTAs teach their own independent course. First-time applicants to the program should indicate their interest and any experience and relevant skills on their resume and in their statement of purpose. Applications must meet the January deadline to be guaranteed consideration of funding for the following academic year. Continuing students will be asked to submit an Application for Teaching Assistantship, available from the department, no later than January 10th for consideration for the following academic year.

Research Assistantships

Research assistantships are available depending on grants received by the faculty. Usually, the department has approximately three graduate students working as research assistants. These appointments are awarded on a case-by-case basis and usually go to advanced graduate students. The graduate student should be knowledgeable in the area of the grant specialization and the faculty member should be acquainted with the student's capabilities.

Graduate School Fellowships

Fellowships awarded by the graduate school are open to all graduate students who have been accepted by the university. The department nominates newly accepted and current graduate students who are academically qualified for these very competitive awards. Applications must meet the January deadline to be considered for nomination for these awards.

University-Wide Graduate Positions

Each year, the University of Kansas has several openings in administrative offices for graduate students. The openings for these positions occur periodically throughout the year, but openings are more likely between semesters. Information on these openings may be obtained through University Career and Employment Services, http://jobs.ku.edu.

The Humanities and Western Civilization Program (http://www.hwc.ku.edu) utilizes graduate students from all departments within the university for teaching assistantships.

FLAS Fellowships

All qualified graduate students at the University of Kansas are invited to apply for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships to pursue their study of specific languages. All awards are contingent upon availability of federal funding and are administered through the area studies programs: African Studies Center, Center for East Asian Studies, Center of Latin American Studies, and Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

Student Loans

To obtain information on the Student Loan Program, contact: Office of Student Financial Aid

Pi Sigma Alpha - Departmental Awards

Pi Sigma Alpha is the Political Science Honor Society. In April of each year, the department has its annual Pi Sigma Alpha Banquet to present awards to deserving undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate awards include Walter Thompson Scholarships for Summer Research and The Harris Award for dissertation research.

Funding for Conferences

The Department of Political Science will support one conference trip (up to $500) for each PhD student, depending on availability of funds. These are offered on a "once in a lifetime" and "first come, first serve" basis. See the Graduate Director if you are interested. The Graduate School also offers some PhD graduate travel allowance and students should first seek funding from the Graduate School.

Costs of Attendance

Estimates on the cost of attending KU for graduate school can be found at: http://www.financialaid.ku.edu/~osfa/process/coa.shtml