Financial Assistance

Graduate Awards

The department attempts to provide all eligible graduate students with financial awards for at least part of the time in which they enroll. Students should be prepared to rely on their own financial resources for some portion of their residence in the department.

Students are also encouraged to apply for outside support from public or private agencies. Loan funds and work study monies are not administered by the department. Separate application should be made directly to:

Office of Student Financial Aid
1278 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1278

Eligibility for Graduate Awards

The department is currently able to provide a graduate award to all students it admits who apply for one.

Graduate awards carry a waiver of tuition. Recipients must, however, pay a fee of approximately$200 per term. A one-time matriculation of $250 is charged during the first term of enrollment, which may be waived.

Eligibility for continuation of an award will be based on satisfactory performance of the duties connected with the award, successful completion of specific parts of the program within the time limits described in the preceding sections and acceptable academic performance. Students who lose their awards because of unsatisfactory performance will be considered for renewed support when their work is brought back up to a satisfactory level. Further details on regulations regarding eligibility for continuation of an award are given in the department's policy statement on GTF appointments available from the department's graduate secretary.

Although all awards have a maximum tenure of one academic year, the department currently has a policy of trying to provide eligible students with 12 terms of support if they entered with a bachelor's degree or a Master's degree in a field other than sociology, or nine terms of support if they entered with a Master's degree in sociology. These awards must be taken within 7 years from initial enrollment and all awards are contingent upon academic standing in the department.

Most of the awards available within the department are Graduate Teaching Fellowships (GTFs) which require the student to assist faculty members with their teaching duties. That assistance can include the construction and grading of tests, leading group discussions, keeping office hours to provide individual help to students, attending the faculty member's lectures, etc. Those who receive appointments at .40 F.T.E. (full-time equivalent) are required to perform duties developed by the department to a maximum of 526 hours per nine-month academic year. This translates into a maximum workload of 176 hours per term, exclusive of vacation periods. Other assignments are prorated from that standard.

esearch assistantships are occasionally available to applicants with some graduate training or exceptional undergraduate records, including research experience. These are renewable annually at the discretion of the research project director and the approval of the department.

Opportunities for Teaching

There are many opportunities for advanced graduate students to acquire or improve teaching skills by assuming full responsibility for teaching undergraduate courses in the department. Announcements of available teaching positions are made from time to time by the Staff Development Committee. Students teaching for the first time in the department will be supervised by a faculty member designated by the Department Head.

Graduate students interested in applying for a position as a graduate student teacher should consult with the department's policy statement on GTF appointments and the chairperson of the Staff Development Committee concerning the procedures for making application and the criteria established by the department for making appointments.