Finding Funding After Arrival …

Finding Work on Campus

Please know that there are avenues to help offset the cost of attendance and living expenses once you are here!  At this point in our awards process, we have extended offers to as many admitted students as we were able.  We have overspent our budget to reach as deep into the pool as possible. But, we know that our admitted students are considering many next steps and some awards will be returned. The budget will be revived!

This summer we will re-evaluate the budget, assess our needs, and convert any left over funding in to half time GA positions or for-stipend-only work opportunities. A half GA provides 12 credits of tuition and pays a stipend of $6500 over the academic year for 10 hours of work per week.  Stipend-only positions provide a set pay roughly equivalent to a GA stipend.  All new position descriptions are sent out to our new students and they are invited to apply for as many as they wish.  Last summer, some positions received as many as 25 applications, others less than 10, about 42 students overall applied for one or more positions.

Seventeen (17) students were able to secure a half GA through this competitive applications process, (which is more than we expect this year), another 11 received partial tuition grants (no work requirement) and over the course of the year, well over  $60,000 in cash awards were distributed to students for various reasons.

A number of students help off set costs in other ways.. applying to be a tutor on campus for undergraduates, or through the athletics departments.  Some find project work with faculty or research centers, that might at first be voluntary – but becomes paid in the second semester – and is often related to their academic and career interests. Across campus, students apply for work in various office. These positions are rare to be honest, and most do not come with tuition award.  One of my favorite Starbuck’s baristas was a JD/MPA, who by working there was keeping loan debt to a minimum and offsetting living expenses.

What NOT to do! If you contact faculty in our department, they will just forward your request back to me. Our awards process is centralized. Also, if you do wish to apply for GA positions across campus – they are few and far between – you can check out SU Job Opps (under the employment category – Graduate Assistantships).  Most departments with students reserve their awards for the students enrolled in their programs – so when researching, think to reach out to offices without a pre-defined student body – Judicial Affairs is a more likely bet, than the French Department.

I hope this gives  you a bit more to consider.. These are all opportunities that arise after you arrive, so as I have said before, the best preparation is being prepared for the costs of attendance as they stand now given your current program costs and awards provided.