Financial Aid
The department awards various University and Departmental Scholarships to its students. Information is also provided here about other departments and research centers on campus that have employed geography students.
Graduate Assistantships
State regulations permit departmental aid in the form of teaching assistantships to be offered only one year at a time. Assuming good performance by an incoming T.A. in his or her coursework and teaching duties, however, the department is committed to continuing these awards through a second year for an M.A. student and through a second and third year for a Ph.D. student.
Teaching assistantship duties vary considerably with the course and supervising instructor. For courses in cartography, GIS, remote sensing, soils, and statistics, TAs hold office hours to assist students and serve as the instructor for the laboratory portion of these offerings. In contrast, teaching assistants for the introductory physical geography laboratories have charge of their own classes (although they follow an established curriculum). Senior TAs also teach introductory sections of human, physical, and regional geography on occasion. A TA holding a half-time appointment is expected to devote twenty hours per week to teaching duties.
Research assistantships are awarded by invitation through the professor holding the grant or other source of funding. Normally, a student is selected because of special research skills that integrate well with the research project.
Stipends for half-time teaching appointments currently are approximately $16,000 for nine months. All teaching and research appointments made at 40% of full time or more carry eligibility for tuition at the reduced staff rate. This rate is set on a per-credit-hour basis, and at present is the same as the Kansas resident tuition. Teaching assistants also receive a tuition waiver based on the percentage of time they are appointed. For example, a half-time appointment currently receives 100% waiver of tuition. In addition, three hours of required campus fees are paid. The remaining campus fees must be paid by the student, however. Nonresident students appointed for less than 40% of full time pay the nonresident tuition. Teaching and research assistantships are normally available only to full-time, degree-seeking students.
Teaching Assistantships in Other Departments
Graduate students in geography are eligible to apply for teaching assistantships in several other departments and programs at KU. These include the following:
Environmental Studies: http://www2.ku.edu/~kuesp/
Humanities and Western Civilization: http://www.hwc.ku.edu/
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program: http://www.womenandgender.ku.edu/
Please be aware that each program has its own application requirements and deadlines, teaching responsibilities, and salary rates. Inquire at the web sites listed above for specific details and application materials.
Madison A. and Lila Self Honors Fellowships
These competitive, four-year fellowships are offered by the university to superior students seeking the Ph.D. The current stipend is $24,000 each year for four years plus tuition and fees. The Self program is restricted to science students, which includes physical geography and geographic information science areas of concentration.
Graduate Initiative for Diversity
Graduate Fellowship for Diversity
Graduate Assistantship for Diversity
Eunice Harkey Melik Graduate Minority Scholarship
The Graduate Initiative for Diversity is intended to increase the participation in graduate study at KU by students who are from groups underrepresented in their field of study. A limited number of one-year fellowships and assistantships are available to students who have been admitted to our graduate programs no earlier than the spring semester of 2009. Nominees are expected to possess an outstanding academic record. The fellowships provide a one-year stipend of $20,000 plus payment of up to 9 graduate credit hours of tuition and fees for the fall and spring semesters. Exceptions for tuition of up to 12 graduate credit hours will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Teaching and research assistantships provide compensation at the normal rate for such appointments. Teaching and research assistants will receive a tuition waiver or in-state fee status in accordance with his/her research or teaching appointment. Awards to students will be during their first year of study. Departments are expected to offer a half-time teaching or research assistantship for the remaining years of study, provided the student maintains good academic standing and satisfactory employment performance.
The following must be submitted with the nomination: completed nomination coversheet; nomination statement by department, including a statement that the student is from a group underrepresented in their field of study; student's personal essay; student's curriculum vitae/resume; transcripts of all college or university work; copy of GRE scores or other method of testing and/or evaluating quality; three letters of reference, and signed access waiver form indicating student's access to files or recommendations.
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships
A number of geography graduate students have been awarded FLAS fellowships for studying foreign languages relevant to their research interests. FLAS fellowships pay a stipend and tuition and are managed by their respective area studies centers. Currently, FLAS funding is available from:
Center for East Asian Studies: http://www.ceas.ku.edu/
Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies: http://www.crees.ku.edu/
Kansas African Studies Center: http://www.kasc.ku.edu/
Check the area studies websites for information about deadlines, stipends, and application materials.
Other Employment Opportunities
Several research assistantships are normally offered through the Kansas Geological Survey, the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program, KU Cartographic Services, and other units. In addition, student hourly and work-study employment with the Department of Geography is available. Students should visit University Career Center in the Burge Union for a complete list of student hourly positions at the University of Kansas.
Office of Student Financial Aid
Graduate School Funding Opportunities Page
Cost of Attendance
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