Dec 13, 2024  
2023-2024 Graduate Bulletin 
    
2023-2024 Graduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Graduate Financial Assistance


 

The University offers a number of different fellowships and assistantship programs to full-time graduate students. Stipends vary according to the amount of work required and the experience of the student. No assistantship or combination of assistantships for a given student may exceed 20 hours of duties per week. Tuition scholarship awards are typically up to nine credit hours remission of tuition per semester and will be based on academic achievement.

Students awarded fellowships or assistantships must be enrolled in at least nine but not more than twelve credit hours of graduate work during a regular semester (fall and spring). Special permission is required to deviate from these hours except for two sequential regular semesters in a master’s program or four sequential regular semesters in a doctoral program when the student was enrolled in at least nine hours per semester for the prior two sequential regular semesters. Students must also maintain a 3.0 grade point average, be in good academic standing, and be on-track to complete their degree program. Students on probation are not eligible for consideration.

The University of Tulsa maintains that a full-time graduate student receiving a graduate assistantship has a full-time commitment. Any employment in addition to the assistantship is specifically prohibited. Any violation of this policy may result in the immediate termination of the assistantship. Any request for an exception to this policy must be submitted in writing to the Graduate Program Advisor and the assistantship supervisor and must receive their approval as well as that of the Dean of the Graduate School. Employment beyond the twenty hours associated with assistantships may place either the student’s academic performance or that individual’s performance on the assistantship at risk, and may therefore jeopardize the continuation of the student’s good academic standing. The Dean will consider only requests for exceptions when employment will benefit the student’s career development or in instances of severe financial need.

Forms for graduate assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships may be downloaded from the Graduate School website.

Assistantships and Fellowships

The awards in this section have a tuition scholarship component as well as a stipend component awarded to graduate students at The University of Tulsa. These awards come with the fringe benefit of student health insurance.

Departmental/Administrative Office Assistantships. Open to students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees. The assistantship includes a stipend and remission of tuition. Workload: Teaching two courses or the equivalent in research activities or administrative office activities for approximately 20 hours per week.

Research Assistantships. Open to students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees. The assistantship includes a stipend and remission of tuition. The workload varies but is limited to 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters.

Presidential Graduate Assistantships. Open to full-time doctoral students who have already obtained a master’s degree by Summer 2023. Presidential Assistantships are expected to complete their doctorates within three years (by Spring 2026).

  • Applicants interested in Presidential Graduate Assistantships should select “Yes” for the assistantship question on the application for admission. An option to upload a CV/Resume will then be included with other supplemental items on the application website.
  • For the 2023-2024 academic year, stipend of $24,000 ($20,000 for fall and spring semesters for a 9-month contract and $2,000 for each of the months of June and July), and remission of 100% of tuition per semester, including student health insurance, guaranteed for three years.
  • Workload: Presidential GAs are expected to focus full-time on their doctoral research, with no additional work duties.

Wilfred Woobank Graduate Assistantships. The applicant must be a citizen of the United States and either be seeking full-time enrollment or be enrolled full-time in an engineering or natural sciences graduate degree program. The awards may be designated for one year or may be awarded for up to three years of study for the master’s or four years for the doctoral degree. The award includes a stipend and 18 or 19 credit hours of tuition scholarship. There is a 10 hour per week service component to the Wilfred Woobank Assistantship, intended to foster interaction between the scholar and the department. Some recipients have condensed their service duties to 20 hours per week for one semester and used the following semester for a research abroad experience. Application deadline is January 26; applications are available from the Graduate School and online.

Ben Henneke Research Fellowships. This award honors the University’s first Trustees Professor of Humanities and President Emeritus, Ben Graf Henneke. The applicant must be a citizen of the United States and either be seeking full-time enrollment or be enrolled full-time in a master’s degree program within the arts, humanities, or social sciences (anthropology, English language and literature, or psychology). The award carries a 9- or 12- month stipend and nine credit hours of tuition for each of the fall and spring semesters, as well as six credit hours of summer tuition when appropriate. Some recipients have used the summer funding for research abroad. Application deadline is January 26; applications are available from the Graduate School and online.

Dissertation Completion Fellowships. Dissertation Completion Fellowships assist doctoral candidates in the completion of their degrees by providing a final year of funding with no additional work expectations. Fellowship recipients are expected to be leaders in their respective disciplines and trendsetters for The University of Tulsa doctoral degree. Application deadline is Jan. 15.

  • Stipend of $24,000 ($20,000 for fall and spring semesters for a 9-month contract and $4,000 for each of the months of June and July), and remission of 100% of tuition per semester, including student health insurance.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a good track record with respect to timely completion of Ph.D. milestones and be prepared to complete all requirements for the doctorate by the end of the Fellowship period.
  • Workload: Dissertation Completion Fellows are expected to focus full-time on their doctoral research, with no additional work duties.

Graduate Summer Fellowships. Competitive Summer Fellowships are available to all doctoral students, although preference will be given to students at the dissertation level. To be eligible, a doctoral student must demonstrate a good track record with respect to timely completion of Ph.D. milestones. Application deadline is March 15.

  • Stipend of $4,000 for each of the months of June and July.
  • Workload: Summer Fellows are expected to focus full-time on their doctoral research, with no additional work duties.

Student Health Insurance

Students who have a 20 hour per week teaching/research/administrative office assistantship, Woobank Assistantship, or full University fellowship (such as Henneke Research Fellowships) and who are uninsured are eligible to receive the University Student Health Insurance that is provided by The University of Tulsa to the individual student (see Tuition and Fees for more information). This is a community benefit; therefore, students who already have health insurance that pays benefits in Oklahoma will not be reimbursed, nor may the student receive the equivalent cost of the insurance to apply to another policy with another company. To acquire the insurance, a student must select that they want health insurance coverage when accepting their award.

Other Types of Financial Assistance

Merit-Based Scholarships. Available to incoming full-time and part-time students, merit-based scholarships are awarded based on a student’s academic profile. The scholarship committee considers a student’s GPA, GMAT or GRE scores, and other academic background information. No application required.

John S. Zink Fellowship for Students with Physical Disabilities. This endowed fellowship is available to aid TU students with disabilities and is given to students in any graduate program. The intention of the award is to assist with covering additional expenses incurred by the student because of a disability while in a graduate degree program.

  • Fellowship amounts are variable and awarded on the basis of need.
  • To qualify, you must be admitted to The University of Tulsa, be in good academic standing, be a U.S. citizen, qualify for services provided by the Center for Student Academic Support, and be registered to receive those services.
  • Applications are accepted on a rolling basis subject to availability of funds. The application is available on the Graduate School website.

Foster Brooks Parriott Graduate Scholarships. A number of these scholarships, established in memory of Foster Brooks Parriott by the Parriott family, are awarded annually on the basis of scholastic achievement and need. The scholarship includes up to 24 credit hours of tuition for the year. Application deadline is January 26; applications are available from the Graduate School Office.

Educator Tuition Scholarship. All full-time, Oklahoma elementary or secondary school teachers who qualify for admission to the Graduate School and wish to enroll on a part-time basis may apply for a two-thirds tuition scholarship by completing the scholarship form and returning it to The University of Tulsa Graduate School on or before the time of enrollment.

Other Scholarships. Certain corporations, businesses, and individuals offer a variety of graduate scholarships. These may include full or partial payment of tuition and fees. Recipients are often chosen only from among applicants interested in fields prescribed by the donors. Information on these awards may be obtained from the Graduate School Office or from the discipline in which the student plans to study.

Loan Funds. Inquiries regarding loans should be made to the Office of Student Financial Services.

Research and Travel Grants 

Student Research and Travel Grant Program. Financial assistance is available through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for students to engage in worthwhile research projects, presentations at professional meetings, and juried exhibitions. A student’s application should be prepared with faculty guidance. Doctoral students enrolled in Research and Dissertation are eligible for research awards up to $1,000, with a cap of $2,000 in total funding as a doctoral student. All other degree seeking students are eligible for individual research awards of up to $500, with a cap of $1,000 in total funding while enrolled in a specific degree program. The maximum amount for a group research project is $1,000. Graduate students may be awarded up to $600 for a single presentation at a professional meeting. This is also the maximum amount that can be received while a graduate student is in a single degree program. If a degree is awarded and a graduate student begins a new degree program, they are eligible for an additional $600. For more information on this program, contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Chapman Graduate Scholar Presentation Awards. The Chapman Graduate Scholar Presentation Awards Program through the Graduate School provides assistance for graduate students to present their scholarship in a national or international forum to enhance the student’s career opportunities. Any enrolled graduate student who is a senior author on an abstract and orally presenting research conducted at The University of Tulsa may apply. The maximum amount of an individual award is $1,000 at the master’s degree level and $1,500 at the doctoral degree level. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis, pending availability of funds within the Graduate School. Students are encouraged to submit requests as early as possible, as funds may run out over the course of the year.