Financial Aid

Departmental Aid

All applicants for admission to the PhD program are automatically considered for departmental teaching assistantships and fellowships (see How to Apply). All students who are admitted receive multiple-year offers of funding, unless they come with at least five years of other funding.

Departmental financial aid for continuing students. Teaching Assistantships (TAships) and Assistant Instructorships (AIships) may be awarded to those who have not already been offered aid, based on academic achievement. To apply for a Graduate School Continuing Fellowship or a departmental teaching assistantship or assistant instructorship, you must submit the following directly to the Graduate Coordinator. Advanced students are eligible to be nominated for a Continuing Fellowship even if they have been awarded a TAship or AIship; if they receive a Continuing Fellowship, it would replace other university funding.

1. a completed Application for Financial Award

2. one letter of recommendation from a UT faculty member who knows you and your work. (If you are nominated by the Department for a Continuing Fellowship you will need to supply two additional letters.)

3. a statement of purpose (if you are applying for a Continuing Fellowship).

Fellowships

Awarded by the College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School, fellowships provide a yearly stipend of at least $20,000, plus full tuition remission. For entering students, the primary criterion is an outstanding academic record; for continuing students the determinant is superior academic performance in the program. The Department will nominate exceptional applicants for fellowships awarded by the College of Liberal Arts and by the Office of Graduate Studies; there is no separate application for these fellowships.

Linguistics Department Teaching Assistantships and Assistant Instructorships

The Department of Linguistics awards teaching assistantships/assistant instructorships each year. In addition to providing a monthly salary, these awards provide tuition assistance and faculty-staff medical benefits. Assistant instructors teach their own classes and serve as the instructors of record for those classes. Assistant instructorships in the Department of Linguistics are awarded to advanced graduate students in the doctoral program.

Each non-U.S. graduate student must take and pass the International Teaching Assistant Test and attend an online workshop in order to be eligible to accept a teaching assistantship.

Carlota S. Smith Research Fellowship

The department annually awards several Carlota S. Smith Fellowships to support research; applicants must be in the doctoral program to be eligible. The fellowships are primarily intended to support pre-dissertation research (e.g., research toward the completion of a qualifying paper) or preliminary work for a student’s dissertation project.

Graduate Research Assistantship

Graduate research assistantships are sometimes available from faculty members whose research projects are supported by grants from outside agencies. Discretion in making such appointments rests with the individual faculty members. The primary criterion is qualification for doing the kind of work required.

Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship

U.S. citizens are eligible to apply for these U.S. Government-sponsored fellowships for the study of certain languages. A FLAS fellowship pays for tuition and fees and provides a stipend of approximately $15,000 per academic year. Contact the appropriate center directly for information and applications.

· Center for Asian Studies

· Center for European Studies

· Center for Russian, East European, and Asian Studies

Teaching Assistantships in Other Departments

There are six departments that have employed our graduate students to teach beginning language classes: French and Italian, Germanic Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, Asian Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Slavic and Eurasian Studies. Generally, students must have prior teaching experience and a master’s degree (or equivalent) in order to receive a teaching appointment in one of the language departments.

The Department of Philosophy sometimes hires teaching assistants from Linguistics for some of their introductory courses. The Department of Rhetoric & Writing sometimes employs advanced graduate students to teach beginning rhetoric and composition courses. Departments in the College of Engineering have hired teaching assistants to grade for technical writing courses. Some of these departments require previous teaching experience and a MA (or equivalent) in the relevant discipline.

Contact the department of instruction directly to inquire about the possibility of employment.

Each non-U.S. graduate student must take and pass the English Oral Proficiency Assessment and attend a two-day orientation program in order to be eligible to accept a teaching assistantship from any department.