Scholarship Awarding University:
Type of degree:
Master’s
Scholarship Deadline:
Applications for this scholarship will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Scholarship Summary:
A number of graduate assistantships are awarded to incoming graduates (domestic and international) each year at VCU on the basis of exceptional scholastic achievement, promise and competence for service in the departments of the university. Assistantships are generally also available in those departments which have government, foundation, business and industrial research grants and contracts.
Scholarship Applicant Criteria:
Students must meet the following eligibility requirements in order to be considered for a graduate assistantship;
i. Be admitted fully and without academic provision for graduate study
ii. Have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester hours of academic credit earned
iii. Obtain a score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) that places the applicant above the 50th percentile of all students who take this examination
Value of Scholarship:
The benefits of a graduate assistantship are as follows;
i. Stipends: For nine- and 10-month assistantships, minimum stipends are $4,000 for 10 hours of work per week and $7,500 for 20 hours of work per week. For 12-month assistantships, minimum stipend levels are $5,000 for 10 hours of work per week and $9,000 for 20 hours of work per week.
ii. Tuition and fee support: Tuition and fee support associated with graduate fellowships and graduate assistantships varies from year to year and by program.
Awards typically include the stipend plus university tuition.
Notes:
Graduate assistantships are awarded for not longer than one calendar year and are not renewed automatically from year to year unless specifically stated in writing. Graduate program directors generally determine eligibility for renewal of graduate assistantship awards in subsequent academic years.
Scholarship Application Guide:
To apply;
i. Students in the process of applying for admission should indicate their interest in such support. Some programs include a separate application for support with the application for admission.
ii. The Dean of the Graduate School will notify individual department chairs, program directors and deans of the allocation of the university’s graduate student support funds. This notification will include detailed award criteria and instructions for processing these funds. It is the responsibility of each awarding unit to provide funded graduate students with award letters which clearly define the amount, term of appointment and conditions of the award, including the job description of assistantships, renewal criteria, associated tuition and fee support, disbursement information, and minimum enrollment requirements. Award letters should also be provided to students funded by other sources, such as department funds, grants and overhead accounts.
iii. Graduate students will be instructed to return signed copies of award letters to the awarding unit(s) in order to acknowledge that they have read these documents and to indicate acceptance of the award and its conditions. All newly appointed graduate assistants will be subject to a criminal records check as a condition of employment at VCU.
Scholarship Website:
Find further information on this scholarship opportunity at the Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Funding Policy Page.