Funding for U.S. Students Applying

This information applies to U.S. citizens and permanent residents (green card holders).

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

Returned Peace Corps volunteers will receive priority consideration for funding. While we are currently unable to guarantee funding for all RPCVs who are admitted to the M.S. or Ph.D. program, RPCVs typically have language and other skills that give them an advantage in competing for graduate assistantships.

University Fellowship Program

For students applying for a Ph.D. or M.S./Ph.D. program, twenty fellowships are offered annually in each of the following two highly competitive programs:

• University Distinguished Fellowship. These fellowships recognize academic achievement, research goals, demonstrated leadership potential, and contribution to a diverse educational community.
• University Enrichment Fellowship. These fellowships recognize academic achievement, research goals, contribution to a diverse educational community, and a record of overcoming obstacles.

Each fellowship carries the same stipend, benefits, and period of award. Recipients beginning study in 2005 will receive an annual stipend of $23,000 (which may be increased in future years), plus health insurance, fees, and tuition up to 12 credits in Fall and Spring Semesters and 6 credits in Summer. The first and fourth year's funding are provided by The Graduate School as a fellowship. The second and third year's funding are provided by the student's department as an assistantship, which requires the student to assist in research or teaching.

Other Funding for Women and Minorities

• Academic Achievement Graduate Assistantships (AAGA). This program provides financial support for students who are accepted into a master's or a doctoral degree program and whose enrollment will enhance the diversity of the student body of the program into which they are admitted. The first-year assistantship is supported by the AAGA fund, with the student's academic department/college agreeing to continue funding thereafter in accordance with unit procedures for evaluating graduate students. Eligible under-represented graduate students receive quarter-time or half-time assistantships. Students are recommended for this assistantship through their academic department.
• Education Opportunity Fellowship (EOF). EOF applicants must be either racial/ethnic minorities or women receiving public assistance, must demonstrate a need for financial assistance, and must have a minimum undergraduate federal indebtedness of $25,000. Exact awards vary depending on financial need, but do not exceed $2,000, plus $400 for each dependent, per semester.

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

• FLAS awards cover the cost of normal core college tuition and fees at Michigan State University plus a basic stipend of $11,000 for the academic year (Fall and Spring).
• Fellowship requires both area studies and language courses.
• Fellowships to study Arabic, Swahili, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Russian are provided through the Center for Advanced Study on International Development, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
• Fellowships to study African languages are provided through the African Studies Center.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships

The NSF GRF program offers 3 years of support for advanced study in many fields including economics and other social sciences. Each three-year fellowship provides a annual stipend of $21,500 and a cost-of-education allowance of $10,500. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents at or near the beginning of graduate study. Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) in Oak Ridge, TN, manages the annual application and review process. Applications are completed on-line. The deadline for the 2003 competition is November 7, 2002. Awards are announced in March 2003. Contact information:

• E-mail: info@nsfgrfp.org
• Phone: 1-866-NSF-GRFP (673-4737) (Toll free)

File last modified on October 21, 2004, by Eric Crawford