GRADUATE SCHOOL AWARDS

For General Information See the University Information Section on Tuition, Fees, Financial Information

Applications for Graduate Assistantships are accepted throughout the year; however, students are reminded that most appointments for the Fall semester are offered by March 15. Students should contact the department for information.

Deadlines for Scholarships and Fellowships are announced each year. Information and applications are available in the Graduate School and in the department.

The following policies are applicable to the award and retention of graduate appointments and awards:

1. Students admitted to the Graduate School and notified that they have been granted an appointment or award before they actually have received a bachelor’s degree may neither register nor hold an appointment or award until they have received the bachelor’s degree and fulfilled all requirements for admission to the Graduate School as a degree seeking student.
   
   
2. Degree seeking students in “Approved” or “Qualified” Status may hold awards or appointments.
   
   
3. Assistantship appointments will not exceed one-half time in all combinations.
   
   
4. Students must maintain the credit load requirements defined in the appointment letter to retain appointments or awards. Graduate Assistants must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) credits. This requirement is waived for students with fewer than six credits remaining on their program of study.
   
   
5. Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA (2.75 Master of Engineering) to retain awards or appointments.
   
   
6. A student may be removed from an appointment due to unsatisfactory performance.
   
   
7. Students in good academic standing, i.e., a GPA of 3.00 or higher are eligible for reappointment.
   
   
8. Students who withdraw from or are dismissed from the Graduate School become immediately ineligible for and may not continue to hold an appointment or award.

In accordance with the provisions of federal statutes, it is the policy of the University of North Dakota that no person in the United States shall be discriminated against because of race, creed, handicap, color, sex, age, or national origin in the selection for an award or appointment provided only that the applicant meets the eligibility conditions for an award. Policies and procedures affecting graduate assistantships are described more fully in the Graduate Assistant Handbook.

Graduate assistantship stipends are subject to income tax and tax will be withheld. Tax will not be withheld from scholarships, traineeships, and fellowships, but the stipend may be taxable. Rulings as to the actual taxability of any specific stipend are in the hands of the Internal Revenue Service.

Acceptance of an offer of a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or graduate assistantship for the next academic year completes an agreement which both the student and the Graduate School expect to honor. In those instances in which the student indicates acceptance and subsequently desires to change plans, a written resignation of the appointment may be submitted at any time through April 15 in order to accept another scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or graduate assistantship. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student to the appointment.

Awards

Amy Hui-Mei Chen Hung Fellowship is awarded to a graduate of the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) who wishes to pursue doctoral studies at UND. The applicant must intend to return to NTNU upon graduation.

Chester Fritz Scholarships of $1,000 each are awarded to North Dakota students with an outstanding academic record who are continuing graduate work.

An Alumni Prize of $1,000 is awarded each year to a graduate student who has completed at least one year of graduate work. This prize, which may be granted in addition to other major awards, is in recognition of outstanding academic performance.

K. B. Tiffany Scholarship of $1,000 is awarded, by nomination, to a student pursuing a graduate degree in English. Consult with the English Department.

Bernhardt A.E. Leser Memorial Scholarship is for a graduate student interested in studying abroad. The money is available to any graduate student who enrolls at an institution in Germany, France, or Scandinavia and provides a record of matriculation there from.

Neil C. Macdonald Memorial Scholarships of $1,000 are awarded on the basis of promise of high academic achievement and in accord with the ideals and purpose of the University of North Dakota to two graduate students, one of whom should be in History.

The Christopher and Ernestine Kandel Hamre Trust Fellowships are available annually to two terminal year doctoral students in the Department of Anatomy. The fellowships provide a stipend plus the cost of tuition to the student, and will provide cost of education/research funds to the department in support of the student.

The George and Margaret Seaworth Scholarship is for a continuing graduate student interested in the medical or social issues of gerontology. The recipient should be of good character with above average grades.

Tuition Waiver Scholarships provide a waiver of tuition to students who are commencing or continuing work toward a graduate degree. Awards are made on the basis of academic achievement and promise.

Cultural Diversity Tuition Waivers may be available. Applications are available in the Graduate School or on the Graduate School’s web site.

Summer Doctoral Fellowships of $5,000 plus a waiver of tuition for the summer session are available to doctoral students who have an approved Dissertation Proposal on file in the Graduate School and plan to work on their dissertation/research full time during the summer. Applications are due early in the Spring semester and will be evaluated on the basis of an application and recommendations from the advisor and the chairperson.

Assistantships

Graduate Teaching Assistantships are university appointments that provide financial assistance to students qualified for teaching service in the department in which they take the major part of their graduate work. The purpose of these assistantships is to facilitate students working toward their degree while gaining teaching experience in the field of the degree. Appointments may be for one-fourth or one-half of full-time service. Most assistantships are half-time assistantships which require 15 to 20 hours of work per week and permit the student to carry a minimum of 6 credits of graduate work each semester (3 credits in a summer session). Graduate Teaching Assistants may be eligible for a tuition waiver. Tuition waivers may be partial or full; the decision to offer a waiver and the amount of the tuition waiver is determined by the individual program. Students are responsible for any tuition not covered by the waiver and all other fees. A health insurance plan is also available. Graduate Teaching Assistantships are available in most departments offering a graduate degree.

Graduate Teaching Assistants must be proficient English language communicators. International students who are non-native speakers of English are required to take the TSE (Test of Spoken English) or the SPEAK test and achieve a score of 50 before a Graduate Teaching Assistantship may be offered. Language proficiency may also be established on the basis of the Internet Based TOEFL (iBT) if the student score at least 26 on the spoken section and meets all other section requirements. Contact the Graduate School for more information.

Graduate Research Assistantships are offered in many of the departments of the University, e.g., sciences, engineering, and education. These appointments usually carry a monthly stipend. Graduate Research Assistants may be eligible for a tuition waiver. Tuition waivers may be partial or full; the decision to offer a waiver and the amount of the tuition waiver is determined by the individual program. Students are responsible for any tuition not covered by the waiver and all other fees. A health insurance plan is also available. The purpose of research assistantships is to provide degree-seeking students with research experience in their academic disciplines while assisting with an ongoing research project. If the research is included in a student’s program of study for a degree, the student must carry an academic load as a full-time student, i.e., 12-16 credits per semester. If the research is not part of the student’s program, load restrictions apply. Half-time and quarter-time assistants must carry a minimum of six credits per semester (3 for summer).

The purpose of research assistantships is to provide degree-seeking students with research experience in their academic disciplines while assisting with an ongoing research project. If the research is included in a student’s program of study for a degree, the student must carry an academic load as a full-time student, i.e., 12-16 credits per semester. If the research is not part of the student’s program, load restrictions apply. A half-time assistant must carry 6-10 credits and a quarter- time assistant must carry 8-12 credits per semester.

Graduate Service Assistantships are available for work in several units on campus, including but not limited to, the Division of Student Affairs, ITSS, and Athletic Department. Graduate students are employed half-time or quarter-time, for work in a particular service unit related to their area of academic interest. Stipends vary with the time devoted to service work but usually are comparable to the stipends of graduate teaching assistants. Tuition may be waived for these assistantships. Academic load requirements are the same as for teaching assistants.