Funding

Funding
First-Year Funding
Teaching Assistantships
Research Assistantships
Departmentally-Awarded Fellowships
Externally-Awarded Fellowships
Important Funding Information for International Applicants
Duration of Departmental Funding
Funding After the First Year
Fellowships to Support a Diverse Student Body
Washington State Residency
Student Loans

Funding

Funding from the department is merit-based and reflects our commitment to support full-time concentration on graduate study. First year awards for the 2005-06 academic year provide a quarterly stipend of $4,110 per quarter, $12,330 per year with three quarters of funding (note that the stipend is increased at specific points of advancement through the program). In addition, students receive a tuition waiver and health insurance with medical, dental, and vision coverage  for each quarter of fellowship or employment. Students are responsible for paying approximately $200 in quarterly student fees.

First-Year Funding

All applicants who are admitted to the Political Science Graduate Program are considered for funding (there is no funding application). The strongest applicants are offered full-year support through a combination of fellowship, research assistantship, and teaching assistantship awards. Applicants with less competitive applications who show promise are offered a position on the Teaching Assistant (TA) waiting list; however, past experience has shown that almost all students who are on the TA waiting list have received at least one quarter of funding, and sometimes more.

Teaching Assistantships (TA)

Teaching assistantships provide graduate students with a combination of employment and professional training in the teaching of Political Science. Teaching assistants are assigned to large undergraduate courses, usually in their major fields of interest, and are provided with office space. Duties include attending lecture, teaching quiz sections (subgroups of the large lecture), and grading papers and assignments. International students must have a TOEFL score of at least 580/237 and pass a university-administered test of spoken English to be appointed as TAs.

Political Science teaching assistants are also employed by the Department of English's Interdisciplinary Writing Program. These TAs teach writing skills to Political Science undergraduates. The time commitment is 20 hours per week.

In addition, the College of Arts and Sciences and the department provide funding to hire Political Science TAs as undergraduate advisers. These advisers work 20 hours per week in the Political Science Advising Office and assist undergraduates with admission to the major, internships, graduation planning, and career options.

Research Assistantships (RA)

Research assistantships provide a combination of employment and professional training in research. Students with research assistantships gain the valuable experience of working with individual faculty on a faculty research project or in an affiliated research center, like the Center for Labor Studies. The time commitment for research assistants is a maximum of 20 hours per week.

Departmentally-Awarded Fellowships

The department's prestigious fellowship is named for J. Allen Smith, a prominent professor of Political Science and a past Dean of the UW Graduate School. Students who are awarded this fellowship are matched with a faculty mentor and are encouraged to pursue their own research interests.

Externally-Awarded Fellowships

There are also a number of fellowships for which prospective students may apply. Among these are two fellowship programs administered by the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies: the Foreign Language and Area Study Fellowship (FLAS) for intermediate or advanced study of approved foreign languages, and Jackson Fellowships for Japan; Korea; Russia, East Europe and Central Asia; and China Studies (China Studies requires nomination by the department). Only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible for these fellowships.

Important Funding Information for International Applicants

International applicants must complete, sign and return the University of Washington Statement of Financial Ability form to the Graduate School. Please include official/original financial documentation. Any sponsor or family member providing financial support MUST ALSO sign this form. Students applying for Teaching or Research Assistantships MUST complete this form. An incomplete form will be returned to you. Information in the "Dependents Section" of this form is necessary for a complete and accurate visa application. Faxed, photocopied, or notarized copies ARE NOT acceptable. The University Of Washington Statement of Financial Ability form is available on-line to individuals who have successfully submitted an application to the Graduate School via the World-Wide-Web.

When you apply to our program please be aware that funding awarded by the department will be insufficient to cover all of the expenses that are detailed on the Statement of Financial Ability Form. Those admitted may need to prove financial resources of at least $4,000. or more (if they receive three quarters of funding) and $36,917 (without summer quarter) if there is no guarantee of funding.

Duration of Departmental Funding

Students who enter the Political Science Graduate Program at the MA level are eligible for a maximum of 5 years of funding from the department, provided good progress is maintained.

Funding After the First Year

Funding from the department after the first year is usually in the form of TAships, although both individual faculty and those affiliated with research centers often have grant money available to further employ their students as research assistants. The department also places an advanced graduate student as a consultant with the Center for Social Science Computation and Research, a computer resource center providing facilities and support for social science departments at the University of Washington.

Graduate students must reapply yearly for the renewal of teaching assistant funding. TA applications are reviewed by the department's Financial Aid Committee, which is comprised of four faculty and one senior graduate student. Students who enter the graduate program with guaranteed funding retain their guaranteed funding for the duration of their eligibility as long as they show good progress. (see “Department Policies Governing TA and other Department Funding”below).

Students frequently engage in the entrepreneurial work required of scholars by applying for funding outside the department. Many Political Science comparativists with an area studies interest have been awarded Foreign Language and Area Study Fellowships (FLAS) for both advanced language study and research. In addition, Political Science graduate students have been historically successful in competing for national fellowships, such as those offered by the Fulbright Commission, Social Science Research Council, and National Science Foundation.

The department has also been successful in funding advanced graduate students who are beyond eligibility for TAships. Almost all advanced students teach at least one independent class before leaving this degree program. (With a number of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the area, many advanced graduate students find part-time employment teaching classes outside the University of Washington as well.) Moreover, advanced students are encouraged to compete for dissertation fellowships that are offered both by the department and by the UW Graduate School.

Political Science Departmental Policies Governing TA and other Departmental Funding

Recommendations for continued funding are made by the Graduate Financial Aid Committee. Final decisions are made by the Departmental Chair. Applications are called for typically in mid April, and consistent with the ASE agreement, final award notices will normally be provided by 1 June. Eligibility for continued funding is determined by the number of years that one has been in the program. Students are funded for up to a total of five years from the quarter that they first enroll in the program.

The committee considers the following criteria when evaluating applications for continued funding:

1) Academic performance, as indicated by satisfactory progress toward the degree (see the Graduate Handbook for guidelines) and satisfactory academic performance in the Department (for which key concerns are incompletes and GPA);

2) Evaluations of previous performance as a TA. For students who have had TA appointments, with an emphasis on recent performance as indicated by the Student Evaluation of Instruction summaries provided by the Office of Educational Assessment and written instructor evaluations.
Several principles, established by the University in Executive Order 28 and departmental policies, govern the Financial Aid Committee's recommendations. In short, these provide a presumption of continued funding as long as there are sufficient funds, the student is eligible for an award, and the academic and TA performance are satisfactory.

The relevant principles are:

1) Appointments and re-appointments are based principally upon academic and TA-related performance in the graduate program at the University of Washington.

2) If a student has sufficient remaining quarters “guaranteed”, re-appointment as a TA for the same number of quarters as awarded in previous years can be expected if a student demonstrates satisfactory progress toward the degree, maintains good academic standing, and performs satisfactorily as a TA.

3) Students who have held departmental fellowships or research assistantships but no teaching assistantships are considered for appointment to teaching assistantships under the re-appointment policy.

4) According to departmental policy, all doctoral students must have at least one quarter of teaching experience, or its equivalent, before the dissertation defense and degree completion.

5) In keeping with university policy, all TA awards are subject to the availability of sufficient resources to fund TA positions.

6) International students must have a bachelor's or advanced degree from a United States institution or an equivalent in Australia, Canada, Ireland, or United Kingdom; or, a score of 580 on the TOEFL (237 on the computer-based TOEFL) and a score of 230 or greater on the Test of Spoken English to be appointed as a TA.

TA Awards and Alternates

There are two types of awards:

1) An offer of placement as a TA or other instructional support role for one to three quarters (known as guaranteed quarters), or

2) Placement on an alternate list for one to three quarters of TA eligibility. As resources become available, the department offers TA employment to students on this list. Financial support for students on the alternate list is therefore determined by the number of TA positions that are available, the fit of teaching positions with teaching profiles of students, and by a student’s performance in previous assignment.

In addition to appointment as a TA, acceptance of guaranteed or alternate quarters constitutes a willingness to serve in other instructional support roles. Declination of an instructional support role constitutes declination of a TA position for the quarter(s) in question. These alternatives include, but are not limited to:

1) Serving as the Lead-TA (a student-elected position), subject to eligibility for full funding.

2) Serving as an instructor for a writing-link course;

3) Serving as the service learning TA;

3) Offering an independent section (for advanced students only);

4) Serving as an undergraduate advisor.

Residency

The department must request resident and non-resident tuition waivers for all students receiving departmental funding. Because the WA State Legislature has threatened to restrict the number of non-resident tuition waivers available to the university, students who are eligible for Washington residence but do not apply for resident status in a timely manner are jeopardizing their chances of receiving future non-resident tuition waivers. It is therefore especially important that you take steps to obtain state resident status if you are eligible [For more information visit the WA state residency website: http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/residency.html. For residence reclassification forms contact the Residence Classification Office, 209 Schmitz Hall, 543-4188].

Policies Regarding Extensions of Eligibility for Aid and “Double Dipping”

The Financial Aid Committee will normally grant an extension of eligibility if breaks in TA service during the time of eligibility are directly related to the completion of one’s graduate program. Student-initiated and externally-funded research is typically viewed as a favorable basis for extending eligibility, especially if the leave is for dissertation research involving field work prior to the end of the 5-year eligibility period. Research assistantships, FLAS, NSF, or other training grants are not normally a basis for extending eligibility, as they are aimed at basic skill acquisition and carry the added incentive of freeing up time from teaching duties. Extensions are for a maximum of one academic year and may be granted for a partial academic year. The committee considers eligibility extensions on a case-by-case basis during what would normally be a student’s last year of eligibility.

If you plan to seek an extension of eligibility, attach a letter to your TA application explaining the nature of your leave of absence and grounds for extension.

The department strongly discourages student acceptance of teaching assistantships while also accepting external research or training grants.

Fellowships to Support a Diverse Student Body

Because the University of Washington values the intellectual and social enrichment provided by those with varied personal experiences or who are from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, it has designated financial resources to support these students of this profile. Applicants for these merit-based fellowships, administered by the Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP), must be nominated by the department. These fellowships are only available to US citizens and permanent residents.

Washington State Residency

Although the university provides out-of-state students who are employed in graduate assistant positions with waivers of non-resident tuition, the department strongly encourages all US citizens, permanent residents, and those with Refugee status or holding eligible visas to begin the process of establishing Washington residency upon their arrival in the state. Having residency can be critical in the event of unfunded quarters as Washington state residents pay almost 60% less in tuition than their out-of-state counterparts. Residency for tuition purposes is unavailable to those holding F or J visas.

Student Loans

Students who have additional financial need may apply for student loans or work-study. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available from college Financial Aid Offices (including from UW) or may be completed and submitted online. For priority consideration, your FAFSA must be dated as received by the federal application processor by February 28.