Financial Support and Graduate Assistantships

Complete information about funding for your graduate studies, including policies and job postings, can be found on the Graduate School’s website.

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate Assistantships, including Teaching Assistant (TA) and Research Assistant (RA) positions, are an important source of funding for many graduate students, in addition to offering opportunities to develop your research and professional skills. These positions are managed by your department; please refer to your department’s website for up-to-date lists of positions and how to apply. Accepting a TA or RA position from a department other than the one in which you are enrolled requires pre-approval from your Department Chair. Please note that students enrolled through the University Without Walls (UWW) program are not eligible for assistantships per University policy.

Financial Aid and Bursar

Information on financial aid available to graduate students, including federal student loans and grant programs, can be found on the UMass Amherst Financial Aid Services website.

Bursar

The Bursars Office will send an email to your UMass student email when your bill is ready to view in SPIRE. To view your bill, log onto your SPIRE account, click on “Main Menu,” click on “Finances,” and then click on “View/Pay Bill.” The due date for your payment is listed on your SPIRE account.

AcademicWorks

The SPHHS offers a variety of scholarships to support you and help you reach your academic and professional goals. All SPHHS awards are administered through AcademicWorks, which automatically matches you with the scholarships and financial awards for which you’re eligible. You will need to have an updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form on file with the Office of Financial Aid.

Students will need to complete the application each academic year and will be notified via their umass.edu email account when the new application cycle is open. By completing the UMass General Application, students will automatically be considered for several scholarships across the University. Most SPHHS applications are open from November – February annually. Many scholarships require a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be filed each year. For more information about FAFSA, please visit the financial aid website.

Simply enroll in AcademicWorks, and fill out both the UMass general application and the SPHHS application to get started. These include funding for internships, study abroad, financial need, and research.

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