Merit-Based Financial Support

The College of Human Ecology and the Graduate School grant merit-based graduate awards and appointments to outstanding students. These awards, including fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships, are highly competitive. They should not be confused with financial aid awards that are made in cases of demonstrated financial need and are not based on academic merit.

Prospective students may apply for merit-based University graduate fellowships, University African American graduate fellowships, Graduate School scholarships, and graduate assistantships and scholarships by checking the appropriate boxes on the admission application form. Admitted social work students will also receive a supplemental form that they must complete in order to be considered for departmental assistance.

A candidate's complete application package of transcripts, admission test scores, letters of recommendation, and application with personal statement is carefully evaluated during the awards process. Applicants who believe they may qualify for assistantships with academic units at the University other than the one to which they are applying should contact those units directly.

Students are also encouraged to apply for the numerous scholarships and fellowships available from foundations and other privately endowed sources. State and federal awards are also available to students in various fields of graduate study. Sources frequently consulted can be found in most libraries and college placement offices and include the following:

• Annual Register of Grant Support
• Peterson's Grants for Graduate Study
• The Grants Register

Deadlines
Students applying for graduate awards are urged to submit completed applications for admission as early as possible. A limited number of awards are available and late applicants will be considered only if funds and appointments remain. Award deadlines vary by academic department, but the deadline for the Syracuse University Graduate Fellowship competition and the University African American Fellowship competition for the 2008-2009 academic year is January 15, 2008. All parts of the application package must be received by the University in order for a candidate to meet deadlines. Applicants should consult the application instructions for further information.

Graduate Awards and Appointments

Graduate Scholarships
Graduate scholarships support graduate education for students with superior qualifications. Academic departments recommend students to receive these scholarships. Scholarship recipients study full time and may not hold another academic appointment except, in some instances, an assistantship, associateship, or internship related to their program of study. Awards vary by program.

Graduate Assistantships
Full graduate assistants spend from 5 to 20 hours per week helping faculty members teach or conduct research, and devote the rest of their time to their course of study. Applicants are chosen on the basis of academic qualifications and professional experience. Students holding a full graduate assistantship (20 hours of work per week) may not hold another job and may have received no other awards except a scholarship. The stipend amount varies according to academic department. Students must notify their own academic program if they seek a graduate assistantship in a different department. Students may also receive a Graduate School tuition scholarship of up to 24 credits. In addition, the spouse of a graduate assistant may take up to six credits for free under the University's remitted tuition program.

Graduate assistants should register for no more than nine credits a semester during the academic year. The six remaining credits of the tuition scholarship may be used during the following summer semester. Graduate assistants may also apply for summer fellowship awards.

Teaching assistants (TAs) must participate in the Graduate School TA Program, a nationally recognized program that supports teaching assistants as they prepare for their teaching assignments. Universities throughout the United States have used Syracuse University's TA training program as a model. The program begins in the middle of August with an intensive 10-day orientation, and continues to assist TAs throughout the year.

Graduate Traineeships
Some academic programs receive government grants to train full-time matriculated graduate students. These traineeship positions pay awards of various amounts and/or remitted tuition. The academic unit associated with the grant chooses the recipients.

Special Awards for International Students

The following are some agencies to which international students may apply to receive money for graduate study:

Institute for International Education (Fulbright Fellowship recipients)
Study Abroad Programs Division
Institute for International Education
809 United National Plaza
New York NY 10017 USA
Phone: 212-883-8200; Cable: INTERED; Telex: ITT-422207, RCA-223363.

Institute for International Education (Black South African students)
South African Education Program
Institute for International Education
809 United National Plaza
New York NY 10017 USA

African American Institute (African students)
833 United Nations Plaza
New York NY 10017 USA
Phone: 212-949-5666; Cable: AFRAM; Telex: 666-565

Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (Latin American students)
25 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
Phone: 617-495-5255

Need-Based Financial Aid

Many graduate students who are U.S. citizens rely on one or more forms of need-based financial aid from the U.S. government to help meet the cost of their studies. Need-based aid at Syracuse University consists of loan programs and work-study assignments. Syracuse University encourages all graduate students who are U.S. citizens to apply for any kind of aid for which they may be eligible. Graduate students sometimes find they qualify for need-based aid for which they had not previously been eligible.

To apply for need-based aid, graduate applicants who are U.S. citizens must first file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is available from most college financial aid offices, as well as most high school guidance offices. Applicants may also obtain a FAFSA form directly from the U.S. Department of Education at 800-433-3243 or http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.

The FAFSA should be filed as soon as possible after January 1 for summer or fall admission. Applicants should not wait for an admission decision before filing. After the Office of Financial Aid has received financial information, further instructions will be sent to the applicant's permanent address. Special instructions for applying for summer aid will also be included.

Descriptions and guidelines for all need-based financial aid programs are subject to change at any time as a result of new or amended federal or state legislation or changes in University policies.

For more information regarding need-based financial aid, contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs at 315-443-1513 or finmail@syr.edu.

Employment

Some students secure paid positions on campus to help cover the cost of their studies. These positions usually comprise a stipend or salary and may also offer some form of tuition benefit or tuition scholarship. The Office of Residence Life, for example, currently employs a number of graduate students in various positions. Students interested in these opportunities should contact the Office of Residence Life at 315-443-3637 or orl@syr.edu.

A number of offices on campus hire administrative graduate assistants from a number of programs. Applicants who wish to explore such options should contact their academic departments to determine whether there are particular offices offering these opportunities. The Office of Human Resources publishes a weekly listing of positions available at all levels on campus. If they plan to seek employment in the Syracuse area, spouses of prospective graduate students may wish to contact the Office of Human Resources at 315-443-4042.

Immigration regulations limit part-time employment opportunities for international students. Students with F-1 visas may work on campus without permission from U.S. immigration. They must get a statement from the Slutzker Center for International Services indicating they are able to work part-time on campus during the academic year and full-time during holidays and summers. This statement is used by the University's payroll department.

Normally, students with F-1 visas may not be employed off campus during the first year of residence in the United States. After that time, they may apply to U.S. immigration for permission to work off campus if they can prove an unexpected political or monetary crisis has caused changes in their financial circumstances. If approved, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service issues an Employment Authorization Document as proof of employment eligibility.

Students on an exchange-visitor (J-1) visa may be given permission to work on or off campus by a letter of permission from their sponsors to be used by employers as authorization of employment. Summer job opportunities are very few, and it is unusual for U.S. immigration to give permission for summer employment. International students should make arrangements for summer financial support before coming to the United States.

To ask about permission for on or off campus employment and to ascertain current regulations about proof of employability, international students should contact the Slutzker Center for International Services at 315-443-2457 or lescis@syr.edu.