There are several ways to help finance your graduate studies. Here are a few places to start.
Fellowships
The Office of Graduate Studies awards more than $2 million in university fellowships to provide financial support for the graduate education of over 500 students each year. Some fellowships are awarded on the basis of academic merit. Others are available only to students who demonstrate financial need. For eligibility, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and enrolled full-time. To be considered full time, students must be enrolled for at least 9 hours in the fall and spring semester and 6 hours in the summer semester. However, there is one exception to this: students in their last semester who need less that 9 hours to complete their program are considered full-time if they enroll in the hours required for program completion, unless they are receiving federal loans.
Students are strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. If they are interested in being considered for need-based awards, they should also complete the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. This application is linked on the University of Central Florida’s financial aid website: http://finaid.ucf.edu. Allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed. International students are not eligible for need-based support.
For history students, most fellowships require student nominations through the College of Arts and Sciences and the history department. All admitted graduate students who are enrolled full-time are automatically considered in this nomination process. Other fellowships, however, require students to fill out a fellowship application. For more details about fellowships, visit the office of Graduate Studies at: www.graduate.ucf.edu.
Assistantships
While pursuing graduate studies, graduate students are sometimes hired on assistantships in the history department. Graduate assistants are employed to teach, conduct research, or perform tasks for the university.
Graduate students may be employed as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs), or Graduate Assistants (GAs). For eligibility, students must be accepted as a graduate student in our program and enrolled full-time. To be considered full time, students must be enrolled for at least 9 hours in the fall and spring semester and 6 hours in the summer semester. To apply for an assistantship, students should contact their graduate program coordinator. Assistants are not faculty and are not able to receive faculty parking privileges or faculty identification cards.
Graduate Teaching Assistants
GTAs may be employed as classroom teachers, co-teachers or classroom assistants, graders, lab assistants, or other roles directly related to classroom instruction.
Graduate Research Assistants
GRAs may be employed to assist professors with research activities, participate in research efforts in university institutes and centers or in off-campus projects affiliated with the university, or perform other research-related duties. GRAs are typically supported by grants and contracts but may also be supported by departmental funds.
Graduate Assistants
GAs may be employed in the department office to assist in general office tasks and services not involved in teaching or research assignments.
Tuition Waivers
Graduate students who are employed as graduate assistants or receiving a fellowship may also receive tuition support as part of their financial package. Usually, tuition support pays only matriculation and non-resident fees, and does not pay local fees. Students should contact the department of history if they have questions about the tuition support that will be provided.