Funding from the Department
A limited number of teaching assistantships are available within the department. All accepted students who check the appropriate boxes under financial aid are considered for these assistantships. An application file must be complete to be considered for funding.
M.A. candidates in the Department are eligible to receive at least 4 semesters of funding upon good academic standing through Teaching and Research Assistantships; Ph.D. candidates, 6 semesters; candidates undertaking both degrees, 10 semesters of funding. Funding is not lost if a student does not need department funding for one or more semesters; for example, a Ph.D. student may receive 2 semesters of funding from the department, then be funded elsewhere for 3 semesters, and then return to the department for another 4 semesters of funding. The annual (9 months) stipend is approximately $14,398, and also includes a tuition/curriculum fee waiver and health benefits. Students occasionally receive additional funding in summer and winter.
It should be noted that the contracts for assistantships in the Department are offered for specified terms, either for 1 semester or 1 academic year. These limits are inherent in the Commonwealth's annual budgetary process in which funds do not carry over from one year to the next. Although it is the department's policy to support students who are doing well academically and in their assistantship assignments for the duration of their studies, there is no contractual obligation beyond the limits specified on the contract.
Students must be registered for 9 credits to receive an assistantship, unless a special waiver is granted by the Graduate Studies Committee. Forms to request a waiver are available in the Graduate Office. Generally, a waiver will be granted only once in the course of a student’s M.A. or Ph.D. program. Read more about the department assistantship appointment/reappointment procedures here.
Please check the 2008-2009 assistantship information to learn about minimum pay rates, health benefits, tuition and curriculum fee waiver, and vacation time off. Also you may check out the Graduate Employee Organization website.
Palleschi Hart Fellowship
In 2002 alums Patricia Palleschi (Ph.D., 1977) and Garrett Hart (M.A., 1975; Ph.D., 1979) made a major contribution to the department that established a Teaching Fellowship to enhance graduate student teaching and undergraduate education.
Annually, an advanced Ph.D. candidate is named as the Palleschi Hart Fellowship. In the fall semester, the Fellow does not teach a class, but assists in running the Instructional Development Worshop series we offer each year for new TAs. In the spring, the Fellow teaches a 400-level senior seminar in his or her specialty area.
Department Dissertation Research Fund
The Department of Communication offers Ph.D. students with funds to be made available for their dissertation research. Specifically, the fund is for material items that are required in order to complete dissertation research. Intertested Ph.D. students can apply for a small grant from this fund. To be eligible, students must be (1) in good
standing; and (2) must have your prospectus officially filed with the
Graduate School (3) have a letter of support from your advisor. Download the application here.
These funds will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee in each
funding cycle. Receipt(s) for costs incurred are necessary for
reimbursement.
Graduate School Travel Grants 2009-2010
Travel Grant Guidelines:
Grants are awarded exclusively for travel to recognized conferences that occur between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010 for the purpose of presenting the results of research or original artistic works conducted during graduate coursework at UMass Amherst. Awards are for presentations rather than to attend a conference, facilitate a session, or conduct research. Awards will be made to the individual student rather than for a project (divided among several students). Each graduate student is eligible for one grant per year although the Travel Grant Committee may not be able to award grants to every student whose application is endorsed by the GPD. Grant funds apply to registration, transportation, and lodging expenses documented by receipts for up to $250 for domestic, and $350 for international travel. Meals, copying, and other incidentals are not reimbursable. Students are strongly encouraged to share travel expenses with others attending the conference. Download the travel grant application here.
Directions to the Student:
- As soon as you receive verification from the conference organizers of acceptance to present (and no later than the date of travel), email the completed application (including expense summary page and the confirmation from the conference organizers) to your Graduate Program Director (GPD).
- Ask your advisor or project faculty member to send an email of support to your GPD. The GPD will notify the Graduate Council Travel Grant Committee of his/her approval within 10 days of receiving your application.
- The Travel Grant Committee will communicate the result to you by email within 14 days of communication from the GPD. If a grant is awarded, you take the email notification and the receipts for approved travel expenses to your own department’s administrative assistant within 30 days of travel to receive reimbursement.
Required Application Packet Contents (submit to GPD):
- Application Form
- Expense Summary
- Evidence or confirmation of invitation to present
The GPD will submit the above along with his or her Approval Form to the graduate school.
Other Funding Opportunities
Graduate School Assistantship Office
The Graduate Assistantship Office processes graduate appointments and associated waiver benefits. This office also posts assistantship opportunities when they come available that are mostly needed by non-academic departments and are generally for administrative support. The Assistantship Office does not assign or determine who receives appointments.
Graduate School Fellowships
A limited number of Graduate School Fellowships are awarded to graduate students on a University-wide basis by competition. These fellowships provide for tuition, health fee (not a family plan) and curriculum fee waivers. They are intended to encourage and assist superior students in pursuing graduate study and in completing the requirements for graduate degrees in the minimum time possible. Graduate School Fellowships are awarded for one year and may be renewed upon departmental nomination and Fellowship Committee recommendation. A recipient of a Graduate School Fellowship must be enrolled as a full-time student. Consideration for a fellowship can be indicated on the Graduate School's application form. Completed applications should be submitted to the Graduate School faculty for review before January 15 for the following September. Awards are announced by April 1.
ALANA (African, Latino, Asian/ Pacific Islander & Native American) Diversity and Opportunity Program
In order to increase and enhance the overall diversity of the graduate student body and provide access for those graduate students who have been disadvantaged for financial reasons, the Graduate School offers some financial support to qualified students who have been historically underrepresented in graduate education. The ALANA, Diversity and Opportunity Program of the Office of Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention (OGSRR) works to accomplish this goal by providing financial assistance to qualified students on a competitive basis in cooperation with the academic departments. In most cases the financial assistance carries a full tuition waiver. Only U.S. citizens or permanent residents qualify for this program.
This is not a special admissions program. The recruitment effort seeks those students who can matriculate at the University on the strength of their academic credentials and who can competently fulfill individual degree program requirements. The Opportunity Awards and the Diversity Fellowship Programs provide funding to eligible students. All potential awardees must first be recommended for admission to a graduate program before they can be nominated for funding. Qualified students interested in applying to the University and being considered for the diversity and opportunity awards should write to: ALANA, Diversity and Opportunity Program, Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention, 528 Goodell Building, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, call (413) 545-5284 or e-mail: ogsrr@resgs.umass.edu. Applicants are encouraged to access the Graduate School's web page: www.umass.edu/gradschool.
Graduate applicants are also strongly advised to apply for other national fellowships—Ford Foundation, Javits Fellows, NSF Fellowships, and those provided by national professional organizations. The University participates in Project 1000 (National Hispanic name exchange), GEM (for those interested in science and engineering), and the National Physical Science Consortium, and strongly encourages McNair Scholars to apply. For further information, contact the OGSRR at the above address.
Puerto Rican applicants need not take the TOEFL. Some special arrangements have been made for people of the Mohawk Nation to be considered in-state students. The application fee can only be waived with receipt of written proof that the GRE fee was waived. This proof may be secured through the student's undergraduate Financial Aid Office and should be sent with the Graduate School application. Those applicants who are not current un- dergraduates should complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Financial Aid) form and have their local financial aid office evaluate it as to eligibility for a GRE fee waiver.
Graduate Students Grant Service (GSGS)
This service helps students at the graduate and postdoctoral levels apply for grants and fellowships from funding sources outside the University. Sponsors include Federal Government agencies, corporations, and public interest groups. Awards range from money to help students pay for research costs to stipends for tuition and/or living expenses. GSGS maintains and updates an extensive on-line computer database to aid students in the search for graduate funding opportunities.
