Slavic and Eurasian Studies | College of Liberal Arts
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Graduate Funding

The University's Office of Student Financial Services estimates other expenses (housing, food, other educational and incidental expenses) to exceed $1,000 a month. See the Graduate School's site Funding Your Graduate Education for more information. When considering how you will fund your graduate studies, be sure to take into consideration the many resources available to you.

CREEES Departmental Support

Each year CREEES tries to support as many students as possible through a number of means: TA/AI/GRA positions, Office Assistantships, limited scholarship funds, and tuition waivers. Unfortunately, Center resources for supporting graduate students are limited. Not all deserving students can be supported. Center financial awards are made on the basis of the following three criteria:

  • Utility: serving departmental staffing needs.
  • Academic merit: attracting good students to the program and retaining them.
  • Professional promise: providing our students with practical training for a future career.

In making awards, we also try to balance certain factors including the various areas of focus offered by the Center, the needs of continuing student on track to graduate versus incoming students, and distributing teaching experience among eligible and promising students. Students are expected to apply for any and all eligible internal and external sources of funding available. A non-exhaustive list is included below:

  • Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship

    CREEES is a FLAS granting institution for Russian/East European languages for the 2014-2018 grant cycle. Students interested in applying for an academic year or summer FLAS award, should consult the CREEES FLAS webpage for more information. FLAS awards for REE regional languages are also available through other centers on campus, including the Center for European Studies.

  • Truitt Fellowship

    in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies will provide a stipend of at least $1000 to incoming or continuing students of the CREEES MA Program. (The award may also include a non-resident tuition exemption waiver for out of state students.) Learn more.

  • Graduate Professional Development Funding

    CREEES offers professional development funding (which can be used for travel costs related to competitive internships, job interviews, research/fieldwork. or presentations at conferences) from various grants, endowments and the UT Austin Graduate School.

  • Non-Resident Tuition Exemption Waivers (for non-residency)

    The College of Liberal Arts awards each department a limited number of NRTE Waivers for students with out-of-state residency to be considered for in-state tuition rates. Waivers are granted to major scholarships receipients in a program.

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  • Teaching Assistantships

    CREEES has a limited number of part-time student employee positions for graduate students as Teaching Assistants (TAs). Students are assigned to TA appointments based on factors such as demand, faculty requests, and their own skills and merit. TAships are in no way guaranteed.

    • Duties and benefits: A TA assists a faculty member in the instructional program, but is not permitted to conduct regular classroom instruction. TA's are appointed as part-time University employees (usually 20 hours/week), entitling them to certain benefits, including health insurance and the right to pay tuition and fees at the in-state rate. A tuition reduction benefit is also applied to the students' tuition, significantly reducing the financial burden of enrollment for the semester(s) during which they are a TA.

    • Qualifications and conditions: A TA must have been admitted to the Graduate School without conditions or deficiencies, must be in good academic standing (GPA > 3.0), and must be making satisfactory progress toward the degree (with no more than one grade of Incomplete from the previous semester or summer term). International students are qualified for 'student contact' only on earning English language certification through the UT Austin International Office; the graduate adviser can provide details. During each semester of the appointment, the TA must be registered as a full time student, for at least nine (9) semester hours of courses.

  • Office Assistantships

    CREEES has a limited number of part-time student employment opportunities in the office for both graduate and undergraduate students. Students employed in the CREEES office will assist the staff with administrative tasks, program and event coordination, grant writing, website maintenance, and more. Positions range from 12-19 hours and pay is based on academic classification and student qualifications. Unfortunately, UT employee health benefits are not available for Office Assistants at this time, and the Tuition Reduction Benefit does not apply.

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UT Fellowship & External Funding Opportunities

A comprehensive list of fellowships administered by the Graduate School can be found online at: http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/funding/fellowships.

A small number of other UT scholarships are available to graduate students as well. They can be found online at: http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/funding/otherut.html. External funding support can come from a wide range of organizations and government programs, such as those listed here: http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/funding/external/.

  • Grants for Grads

    There are a countless number of external grants available to graduate students, which are awarded based on various criteria (from research interests to ethnic heritage to language acquisition to funding students abroad). The Texas Grants Resource Center is a fantastic resource for students seeking outside funding.

    The Office of Student Financial Services also has a page on grants: http://finaid.utexas.edu/sources/grants/programs.html

  • Recruitment Fellowship

    Recruitment fellowships are prestigious awards funded by the Graduate School to attract top-quality graduate students to The University of Texas at Austin. Graduate advisers have the vital role of identifying and nominating eligible applicants. To be eligible, students may not be currently or previously enrolled in the Graduate School, and must rank within the top 10 percent of all students in their discipline.

  • Financial Aid: Office of Student Financial Services (OSFS)

    All questions regarding Financial Aid should be directed to the UT Office of Student Financial Services.

    Office: Student Services Building 3.200, 100 West Dean Keeton Street
    Campus mail code: E3700
    Mail: P. O. Box 7758, Austin, TX 78713-7758
    Telephone: (512) 475-6282, Fax: (512) 475-6296
    E-mail: finaid@www.utexas.edu

    See a list of OSFS funding sources: http://finaid.utexas.edu/types.html

    You will need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), accessible here. While resources are limited and many applications are received, you may secure assistance in several forms. Students who apply for financial aid using the FAFSA are eligible for all federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs offered by the OSFS, except the Federal Pell Grant. These include:

    • Gift aid: state and institutional grant or scholarship funds
    • Self-help aid: student loans, both need-based and non-need-based. Most graduate students will be eligible for student loans through the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFELP).

    In addition, the Office of Student Financial Services is authorized to grant interest-free short-term loans for emergency or tuition assistance purposes. Such loans could be useful if you are expecting money which has not arrived when you need it.

  • Other Sources of Support

    Guaranteed student loans, Basic Education Opportunity Grants, Work/Study, and other financial aid information is available through the UT Office of Student Financial Services. OSFS can also assist you in searching for other private foundations and government agencies which offer a panoply of fellowship, grant, and loan funds to help you finance your graduate education. In addition to their own web page, they recommend The Financial Aid Page, maintained by M. Kantrowitz. The graduate advisor makes such relevant sources known to students in residence, primarily by posting notices on the Graduate Program bulletin board.

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