Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships - Graduate Students

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate assistantships give students opportunities for professional experience, academic training and financial support while pursuing advanced degrees. Students should consult their academic programs about assistantship opportunities.  Specific assignments vary by type of assistantship. Graduate assistantships generally entail 20 hours of work per week (0.50 full-time exempt (FTE)). Domestic students who hold graduate assistantships cannot exceed 0.70 FTE (28 hours) for all appointments at MU.  During the academic year, students on visas are restricted to 0.50 FTE (20 hours).

Fellowships

Fellowships are a type of aid granted to graduate students to help support their education. Some fellowships include a tuition waiver or a payment to the university in lieu of tuition. Most fellowships include a stipend to help cover living expenses. Unlike a loan, a fellowship is a form of gift aid and does not have to be repaid. However, fellowships may be taxable and reportable to the Internal Revenue Service. No service or work requirement is associated with a fellowship. In some cases, students may also hold an assistantship in addition to the fellowship; the work requirement would only apply to the assistantship responsibilities.

Students may also receive merit-based awards that may increase an assistantship stipend (i.e., an assistantship is required to receive these awards) or a scholarship that requires service responsibilities or other deliverables.

Assistantship and Fellowship Policies

The complete set of policies regarding graduate assistantships and fellowships may be found on the Graduate School’s website.