Financial Aid
Graduate assistantships are opportunities for TCU graduate students to advance their studies and careers through meaningful contributions to the academic mission of the University. Graduate assistants participate in TCU’s Teacher-Scholar Model by working closely with faculty and staff while supporting the administrative infrastructure; generating new knowledge, creative activities and artifacts through scholarly endeavors; and teaching undergraduate students, either as teaching assistants or instructors of record. Assistantships provide financial aid to graduate students while fostering mentorships between students and committed TCU faculty and staff, who benefit from student involvement in their own teaching, research and creative activities.
TCU’s Academic Engagement points are centered on the Teacher-Scholar and Student-Scholar models. As graduate students are in transition between these models, it is expected that students may hold various assistantships during their graduate career. If a student is awarded an assistantship, hiring for additional, concurrent positions such as a TA/RA assignment must be approved through the Office of Graduate Studies and will be added onto the current assistantship. This ensures students are committed to no more than the maximum allowed 27 hours per week without special permission from the dean of graduate studies. During the academic year, international students may work no more than 20 hours per week in assistantship duties, per visa requirements. Awards and assignments will be determined by each graduate program, and the awarding unit may require that awardees maintain full-time status.
Outside employment for students holding financial awards carrying stipends is allowed. However, we ask that you receive counsel regarding how outside employment may impact your success in the program from the program director and the dean of the appropriate graduate program prior to accepting outside employment opportunities. Also, prior approval to obtain any additional internal (TCU) employment opportunities may be required in order to ensure compliance with institutional policies and regulations.
The University recognizes six types of graduate financial awards. The following categories provide partial or whole tuition awards and often include a stipend that will be divided over the length of the appointment, usually nine or 12 months. Stipend amounts are determined by the head of the graduate program or other awarding unit.
Fellowships
Fellowship recipients are not required to support the academic missions of the University through duties. Fellowship awards provide financial assistance through tuition awards and/or a stipend. Fellowships are awarded by the head of each graduate unit and are divided over the appointment (usually nine or 12 months). Graduate Fellows may be encouraged to take additional semester hours and/or participate in professional development and leadership roles based on the needs and expectations of the graduate program.
Stipends to Attract Remarkable Students (STARS) are special fellowship awards added onto regular assistantship or fellowship awards as a recruitment enticement for exceptional applicants pursuing terminal degrees in their field of study (i.e., Ph.D. or Masters of Fine Arts). No additional duties are associated with the STARS stipend regardless of the initial regular award. STARS stipends are provided for three years for doctoral student awardees and for two years for master’s- level students.
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistants (GAs) help with program-related work for a graduate or other awarding unit. GAs are assigned to departments or graduate colleges and directors of academic programs rather than to assist individual faculty or staff members with research or teaching duties.
Since primary GA duties are neither research or teaching, timesheets must be completed, reviewed by the supervisor and submitted to Human Resources for each pay period.
Graduate Instructorships
The opportunity to teach an independent section of a lecture or lab course is vital for the development of graduate students as well as for their careers. Graduate Instructors (GIs) usually teach sections of undergraduate classes. They are recommended by the director of their graduate program and appointed by the dean or dean’s representative of the course program. GIs must hold at least 18 earned credit hours of graduate work in the discipline of the course. Doctoral students who have completed a master’s degree may teach master’s-level courses, depending on the discipline and determined by the head of the graduate program. Maximum teaching assignment for a GI is one writing-intensive course; two lecture courses; or three labs each semester. These assignments carry a workload of no more than 20 hours per week.
Graduate Instructors are instructors of record for lecture courses or supervisors of complete lab courses and are responsible for all course preparation and research and for supervising Teaching Assistants assigned to their courses/labs. GIs hold ultimate responsibility for grading, equipment care, ordering textbooks and holding office hours. GIs are not adjunct faculty.
Merited Tuition
Some awards of tuition only (no stipends) are made without the expectation or requirement of duties performed by the awardee. These are usually one- or two-semester awards of less than 6 tuition hours each semester.
Research Assistantships
Demonstrating the Student-Scholar Model by offering students the opportunity to participate in faculty-led research projects allows Research Assistants (RAs) to experience the various stages of completing a focused research project. RAs provide research support to designated faculty members through experiment design; data collection; proofreading or copyediting written materials; managing correspondence related to the research project; and/or scheduling, organizing or completing library, online or field research. These appointments may, or not, be grant supported and RAs are not exempt from teaching training obligations that comprise a core component of their program of study.
Though they may have the opportunity to participate in courses related to faculty research projects, RAs are not considered primarily teaching support; their duties are primarily research functions.
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching Assistants (TAs) perform work relating to the Teacher-Scholar Model, blending experiences of teaching and scholarship as they assist a faculty member or GI. TAs support core teaching duties within each graduate program such as by monitoring undergraduate laboratories and supporting large lecture sections through attending class, taking attendance, calculating averages, grading exams, monitoring online discussions and providing occasional lectures. TAs may also assist a professor through data collection; proofreading or copyediting written materials; managing correspondence; and/or library, online or field research. These assignments carry a workload of no more than an average of 20 hours per week.
TA duties are primarily related to teaching. TAs are not, however, instructors of record or adjunct faculty and do not carry full responsibility for the courses they assist.
Appointment Terms
1. An appointee must enroll as a full-time graduate student each semester and summer session during which a stipend or tuition grant is drawn. In exceptional circumstances, provisions might be made for part-time students. Otherwise, if the appointee drops courses that cause the enrollment to fall below the minimum full-time academic load, he/she will be requested to vacate the appointment.
2. Students enrolled in a 4-1 program must have completed all requirements for the undergraduate degree in order to receive graduate financial aid.
3. If a student's graduate work is not satisfactory, the appointment may be terminated.
4. Recipients of awards are required to pay the fees required of all other students and any tuition not covered by the award.
5. Assistantship duties are restricted to a maximum of 20 hours per week.
6. Outside employment for students holding financial awards carrying stipends is allowed. However, we ask that you receive counsel regarding how outside employment may impact your success in the program from the program director and the dean of the appropriate graduate program prior to accepting outside employment opportunities. Also, prior approval to obtain any additional internal (TCU) employment opportunities may be required in order to ensure compliance with institutional policies and regulations.
7. The tuition remission grant is to be used during the duration of the appointment and may not be carried over for another term or semester.
8. The tuition remission grant covers courses that will be credited toward the student's degree. This may include prerequisites set by the department.
Note: In general, any payment to a student in return for providing services to TCU that are not directly related to the students overall educational progress, is considered compensation for employment and is, therefore, taxable.
The paragraph above is a statement of general applicability. It is not to be construed as legal advice. Students seeking particular advice should consult with the appropriate University officials and/or seek competent professional assistance.
Application Procedures
Some departments require a special application form for financial aid in addition to the regular application for admission. This form, available from the appropriate dean's office and/or on the website, may be submitted at the same time as the application for admission.
Fellowship and assistantship applications for the fall semester are due between February 1 and March 15, depending on the department. Contact the appropriate dean's office for deadlines. Appointments are announced by April 15. Initial appointments are not usually available for the spring and summer semesters.
TCU adheres to the following Resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States:
"Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer."
Ex-Service Men and Women Graduate Education
The benefits available to undergraduate veterans are also available for graduate students. These matters are cleared through the Veterans Certification Officer, The Harrison, Suite 1300.