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Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Financial Assistance

The University provides graduate assistantships as a means of financial support. They are intended as a way to facilitate a student's progress to degree while providing important professional development.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an assistantship a student must, generally,

  • be admitted unconditionally as a degree-seeking student into a graduate academic program, or have a minimum of 120 undergraduate hours if in an integrated degree program
  • be in good standing
  • be enrolled full-time (typically at least 9 credit hours during the fall or spring semesters, or at least 6 hours during the summer session).

Benefits

Graduate assistants receive

  • monthly wages paid in the form of either a stipend or an hourly wage
  • a waiver for 100% of tuition during a semester of appointment
  • a waiver for up to 12 credit hours of tuition for the summer term immediately following a fall or spring appointment

Selection Process

Graduate tuition waivers are awarded on a competitive basis by departments/schools offering graduate programs to students who show promise for success and who have not received a fellowship or other award funding tuition costs. Tuition waivers cover tuition only. The student is responsible for paying the required fees. Submit this form to your department graduate coordinator.   https://grad.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/tuition_wavers/graduatetuitionwaiver.pdf

  • Students with an established GPA, must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students without a graduate GPA, must have a minimum of 2.8 for the last 60 hrs. of undergraduate GPA.
  • Student must be fully admitted into a degree program. Students on probation and visiting students are ineligible for tuition waivers unless they are teaching a course for a department.
  • Tuition waivers may only be used to cover coursework that will be placed on the degree audit and count towards the student's degree.
  • No more than 3 thesis/dissertation hours beyond those required for the degree.
  • Students must be in academic good standing.
  • Tuition Waivers are awarded by a majority vote of the graduate admissions committee based on the greatest need among applicants who show promise for success.
  • Submitted on time (Deadlines): August (fall) January (spring) May (summer)"