A critical concern for many prospective graduate students is how to fund their education. Graduate funding varies from university to university, from department to department, and from program to program even within a department. Some information on funding in HESP at Maryland is described below.
MA and AuD students
Historically, our department has funded a large proportion of our MA and AuD students.
This funding can typically take two forms:
- Graduate assistantships (GAs): These assistantships provide tuition remission, health benefits, and a stipend, in exchange for a departmental work requirement, usually 10 hours per week for 9.5 months. Some GA assignments are from the department, and others may be awarded from individual faculty grants.
- Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) Awards: These awards cover student tuition costs in exchange for an agreement to work for MCPS after graduation; these awards are only available to MA-SLP students who have already completed their prerequisite coursework.
(We also hire some students on an hourly basis; these positions are not included in the proportions above, and do not include health benefits or tuition remission.)
These awards are frequently made as part of the admissions process, but additional funding positions typically become available later in the year as well. The department will generally fund MA and Au.D. students for a maximum of two years; if a student has already been funded from departmental lines for 2 years, he/she is expected to then find another source of funding for any subsequent years. Please note that being awarded a GA position one year does not automatically guarantee a position the subsequent year; this depends on several factors, including the evaluation of the student’s work in the position, as well as the availability of funds.
Many of our students have graduate assistantship positions from other offices on campus, particularly within the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS). Students who have been offered admission to our program are eligible to apply for GA positions across campus, even before making a decision as to whether to attend UMD. GA positions are typically posted at https://ejobs.umd.edu/.
Ph.D. students
The department funds doctoral students via a variety of mechanisms; some are funded as graduate research assistants, others as teaching assistants or lecturers, and others are funded on fellowships. Still, others are funded on university training grants or individual research grants. These funding mechanisms provide both stipends and tuition remission; graduate assistantships also provide health benefits. Currently (2014/2015 academic year), 90% of our doctoral students are funded by the department or on grant funding.
Fellowships in Support of Diversity and Inclusion
The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) values diversity and inclusion and believes science and science teams benefit from diverse groups of faculty and trainees who bring diverse interests, perspectives, interpretations of, and solutions to human problems. Therefore, BSOS offers recruitment fellowships designed to enhance the diversity of our doctoral student population. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents. Students who wish to be considered for these recruitment fellowships must submit diversity and inclusion essays with their application material. This support is available only to students admitted into our Ph.D. program. Completing an essay to be considered for this support is optional and the essay is not part of the admissions process. Click here for more information.
