The Graduate Program in Statistics supports students with Graduate Assistantships and some fellowships. Graduate Assistantships can be either Teaching Assistantships (TA) or Research Assistantships (RA). Most support is in the form of TAs, and all RAs go to advanced students. All entering Ph. D. students are offered five year support packages; some M.S. students are offered two year support packages, and others are admitted unsupported. Student must be making satisfactory progress toward a degree in statistics, as judged by the Graduate Faculty of the School of Statistics, to keep their financial support.

The Graduate Program in Statistics does sometimes hire otherwise unsupported statistics graduate students as Teaching Assistants for a specific semester. This does not obligate the Program to support the student in future semesters. Some students unsupported by the Program can find support from other departments through the graduate assistant job listings at the Job Center.

Types of Support

Most graduate students who receive financial support from the Program in Statistics are awarded Teaching Assistantships. TAs are employees of the University who receive pay (stipend) and benefits (tuition and subsidized health insurance). A half-time Teaching Assistantship provides a full tuition benefit, subsidized health insurance (for the academic year and the following summer), and a stipend. In 2005-2006, this stipend was $13,229.

Research Assistantships carry the same stipend and benefits as a TA and are funded by granting agencies such as NSF, NIH, and the Extension Service. RAs are expected to conduct and assist in the research or consulting associated with the funding project. Most RAs go to advanced students.

Fellowships provide a stipend and benefits without the requirement of specific duties. There are three types of fellowships, and all are highly competitive. Graduate School Fellowships are awarded to incoming students. Applicants with high GPA's (say 3.7 or better) and high GRE scores may be nominated by the School. Graduate School Fellowships generally carry a higher stipend and are funded by the Graduate School. The Alumni Fellowship carrys the same stipend as a half-time TA and is funded by donations from School of Statistics alumni. The Alumni Fellowship is given each year to an outstanding second or third year student. Disseration Fellowships are funded by the Graduate School for Ph. D. students in their last year of study; competition is keen.

Students are encouraged to apply for national fellowships, for example, those funded by the National Science Foundation.

The Graduate School also has a limited number of endowed fellowships for narrow classes of recipients, as well as some special purpose fellowships, such as those for disadvantaged students. See here.

None of the assistantships or fellowships covers the various fees charged by the university (currently around $300 per semester).

There are two additional types of support available to Ph.D. students. The First Year Scholarship is a one-time stipend that may be awarded to incoming Ph.D. students. The Summer Research Fellowship is a stipend that we award to support student research in the summers after their first three years in the Ph.D. program. More advanced students may be working as interns or TAs.

Course Load

Statistics graduate students who receive financial aid from the School are required to carry a course load of 9 credits each semester at the 5- or 8-level (unless waived by the Director of Graduate Studies) until the course requirements for the student's degree program are fulfilled.

Duties of Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants have various duties including paper grading, supervising recitation or lab sections for elementary courses, and teaching elementary courses. A half-time assistantship obligates you to at most 20 hours of duties per week; generally our teaching assistants work between 12 and 15 hours per week on their prescribed duties. The remaining portion of the 20 hours is spent on other activities directly related to the student's graduate education, such as participation in student seminars, departmental seminars, informal discussions, and so on. Assistants are notified of their assigned duties as early as possible.

First-year TAs are typically assigned to an elementary Statistics course. These courses usually contain 60 to 90 students and meet three times a week with the instructor. Some courses also meet once a week in smaller recitation sections of about 30 to 45 students. The TA is usually responsible for grading homework assignments, preparing solutions, and holding office hours to answer additional questions. In those courses with recitation sections, the TA leads the recitations. TAs should work closely with the instructor to ensure that the course goes smoothly for the students.

At the end of each semester all the instructors and assistants are evaluated by the students. This feedback can be quite useful in improving one's performance. Both the university and the School of Statistics give courses to help prepare new teaching assistants during the week before classes begin each fall. In addition to being good experience, the time spent being a teaching assistant can be an enjoyable part of one's graduate career.

For the lawyers

Graduate assistantships are contingent upon satisfactory job performance, current registration as a graduate student, and satisfactory progress in your degree program. You are responsible for knowing the policies and guidelines applicable to your appointment as a graduate assistant. Terms and conditions for appointments are described in detail here (or contact Graduate Student Employment at 612-624-7070).