Department of Psychology

Graduate Student Funding

Departmental Graduate Assistantships
External Faculty Grants and Awards
Teaching
Graduate School Support
External Fellowships and Awards
Summer Tuition Assistance
Taxes

Graduate Student Funding

A major question of all graduate students concerns funding opportunities. For most students, funding is not guaranteed for every semester. We do, however, make every effort to help all students in good standing find funding. There are various sources of funding for graduate students in the Psychology Department.

Departmental Graduate Assistantships

One source of funding is the departmental assistantship. These typically involve half time (20 hours) teaching assistantships or research assignments to faculty in the department. The supply of such appointments is unfortunately limited; only about 40 are available during any one semester for the entire department. Given that there are nearly three times as many graduate students as departmental TA's available, more students request assistantships than can be accommodated. If a student accepts an assistantship for 20 or more hours, Departmental policy prohibits the student from taking on additional regular employment during the regular academic year without the written permission of the Director of Graduate Training or Department Head.

The process for assigning assistantships is roughly as follows. About mid way through each semester, the Director of Graduate Training distributes a form to all graduate students asking those who desire departmental assistantships for the following semester to return the completed form. A listing of all student requests is compiled, and the faculty Area Coordinators provide the Director of Graduate Training with a prioritized list of students for departmental funding from their respective areas. The Director of Graduate Training, in consultation with the Head of the Department, then assigns students from the lists to fill each major area's assistantship slots.

All students in the program are potentially eligible for departmental funding or support given unlimited assistantship monies. Because unlimited monies are not available, it is the case (as noted above) that faculty within each area must set funding priorities. Although there are not hard and fast rules or specific criteria for prioritizing students for departmental assistantships, there are some general guidelines that are usually applied. If a student is outstanding in class work, does well on an assistantship (if assigned), and is progressing well in research, then it is quite likely the student will receive a high priority rank for funding. At times, more advanced students (Years 2, 3, and 4) have higher priorities because of their greater experience (which generally makes them more versatile) and their record within the Department. However, the Department generally works on a “reverse seniority” model in terms of setting funding priorities. Those students in years four and five (and beyond) are typically expected to be proactive about securing a source of funding either on a grant, teaching in another department, or some other source around the University. With the diverse nature of various assistantship positions, it is not practical for the department to have priority criteria set in concrete. Nevertheless, it is important to state that overall performance in the graduate program is an important criterion, as are experience and special talents that may be needed. Even these attributes, however, are not always sufficient when more students request assistantships than assistantships are available. Students do need to be aware that these are guidelines, not set rules for determining funding decisions.

Graduate Assistant Semester Credit Limits

The credit load depends on the proportion of time you are delegated to an assistantship. Normally, students are on ½ time assistantships which specify 20 hours of responsibility per week. At times, however, some students may be on ¼ (10 hours) time assistantships. Below are listings of registration and credit limits associated with assistantship and non assistantship status during Fall and Spring semesters as well as the Summer session.

Regular Session (Fall, Spring)
	½ time (20 hours)	9–12 credits
	¼ time (10 hours)	9–14 credits
Summer Session
	½ time (20 hours)	4–6 credits
	¼ time (10 hours)	5–7 credits
Regular Registration (without a Graduate Assistantship)
	Fall or Spring Semesters	9–15 credits
	Summer Session	5–12 credits

Duration of Teaching Assistantship Obligations

The regular semesters are 16 weeks, which typically equals approximately 90 days of assignment. TAs are expected to be available to the assigned faculty member throughout the semester, including the final examination period, and optimally for some period prior to the start of classes. Clearly, the TA assignment spans the entire semester period, not just the class period, and depending on responsibilities, TAs may be asked to assume responsibilities prior to and following the termination of a semester. Thus, a TAs responsibilities may not exactly coincide with the dates of a graduate student's other responsibilities. The nature of the TAs duties, and when they will be expected to be performed, should be worked out between the faculty member and the student. These details should be established at the beginning of the semester to avoid any later misunderstandings. For example, although the department has not typically expected TAs to remain during spring break, there may be cases where this is necessary. In return, however, the shortening (at the beginning or end) of the semester assignment, or some other scheduling adjustment would be expected.

It is also important that the faculty member and TA discuss the duties expected. These duties should be directly related to the teaching and/or research mission of the faculty. TAs are considered employees of the University, and are directly responsible to the Director of Graduate Training. It is important to note that as of 1989, the Graduate School also requires that all departmental TAs must attend a program for teaching assistants. This is accomplished by attending seminars offered through the Instructional Development Program of the University. Information about this required program will be distributed to departmental TAs at the appropriate times, and is posted in the Graduate Mail Room. It is the graduate student's responsibility to fulfill this requirement and be aware of program offerings.

Termination from Assistantship

On rare occasions, problems arise in assistantship assignments or in relationships between faculty and their assigned graduate or teaching assistants. If problems develop, the first step in resolution is for the individual faculty member and the graduate assistant to meet and attempt to reconcile any difficulties. If a satisfactory solution is not reached, the student or faculty person may request a grievance hearing or review by the Director of Graduate Training and/or a Graduate Training Committee. The GTC will meet separately with the individual student, the individual faculty member, and collect any other necessary information to adjudicate the matter. The GTC could recommend reconciliatory steps or termination from the assistantship, this decision to be binding upon approval from the department Head. Graduate students terminated from an assistantship can appeal a decision further by filing a written grievance with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Procedures for such an appeal are specified in the appendices of the Graduate Bulletin. Students may also lose assistantship guarantees for not making acceptable progress toward degree.

External Faculty Grants and Awards

Faculty research grants. A common source of funding for graduate students is through individual faculty research or training grants. As a rule, these are similar to departmental assistantships in that graduate research assistantships pay a stipend and tuition, although they do not include summer tuition. Occasionally wage payroll positions are available instead, which also do not carry tuition. These positions are controlled by the faculty member who is the major investigator on the project, and students are generally selected for research assistantships based on their interest in that faculty's research, their previous research experience with that faculty member, and/or any other criteria thought necessary by the individual faculty member. Research assistantship possibilities are not limited to Psychology Department projects. Often, Psychology graduate students are hired by faculty in departments with related interests. Students' major advisors are often the best source of information about such opportunities.
Faculty contracts. These are similar to research assistantships on grants, but usually have a more applied component to them.

Teaching

Teaching is another opportunity for funding that is available to more advanced students. This is not typically an option for students before they have completed the Masters degree.

Departmental. Occasionally students teach classes in the department as their funding assignment. Normally these activities are reserved for advanced students who have passed their comprehensive exams and are judged able to perform well in the classroom. This can be particularly valuable for those students seeking actual teaching experience for later job searches. Opportunities for students to teach web-based classes are also available.
Other Departments. Other departments sometimes have teaching positions available. For example, the College of Business Administration has employed Social or I/O students to teach Management courses. In addition, the Department of Statistics has employed psychology graduate students to teach or assist with introductory applied statistics courses.

Students interested in teaching positions such as those described above should notify the Director of Graduate Training, as well as establish relationships with appropriate faculty in other areas or departments.

Graduate School Support

The Graduate School, through the offices of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, offers a number of awards to support graduate students in the College. These awards include University Fellowships, Liberal Arts Research Fellowships, and Liberal Arts Scholars. These are awarded by the Associate Dean in conjunction with the Director of Graduate Training in the Department of Psychology, and are awarded strictly on the basis of merit. Most typically, they are awarded for incoming students rather than for continuing students, and often carry multiple year funding potential. Awards for continuing students are much less frequent, but do occasionally come available. When this occurs, students will be notified of the possibilities by the Director of Graduate Training. When applications are restricted to certain numbers, the Director of Graduate Training typically decides which names will be forwarded.

External Fellowships and Awards

There are a number of opportunities for students to apply for external support during graduate school. These are especially excellent awards to get because they free you up to focus on your research and individual training, while at the same time being a real gems on your vita. Here are a few examples:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a graduate fellowship, which many first and second year graduate students are eligible to apply for. Clinical and I/O students are typically not eligible for these fellowships.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a graduate fellowship mechanism, the F32 or National Research Service Award, that more advanced graduate students are eligible to apply for.
The American Association for University Women (AAUW) has a dissertation fellowship.
The American Psychological Association (APA) has a graduate fellowship that is available to members of under-represented minorities. The Department receives information about the annual competition and this information is posted. Application forms are available from APA and applications are made directly to APA. There are also programs within Penn State which are designated for support of minority graduate students. As in other cases, relevant information is circulated and posted.

There are many other opportunities, depending on the specifics of your stage content area and other criteria. Students are strongly encouraged to seek out these opportunities and apply. In some cases, the Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts offer incentive programs to encourage and reward students for investing the effort needed to apply for prestigious fellowships and awards. When available, information about these programs is available online. Also, talk with your faculty advisor and the Director of Graduate Training for guidance on identifying opportunities and preparing applications.

Summer Tuition Assistance

Below are listed a number of salient facts regarding summer tuition assistance.

There are no teaching assistants during the summer session. Graduate students who teach in summer session generally do so through Fixed Term contracts. Students may apply to the Fellowships and Awards Office for tuition credits for their own training during the period of their Fixed Term contract.
Graduate students who are supported on an assistantship or a fellowship for both Fall and Spring semesters are eligible to receive up to 9 credits of tuition during the summer session. You will receive an email the beginning of March giving you directions for applying for this summer tuition assistance.

Taxes

Graduate students often ask whether their stipends or fellowship incomes are taxable. The answer is ... it depends. This situation seems to change from year to year. Please contact the Graduate Secretary for more information.

Funding Resources