Many different fellowships are available through departments, colleges, and the Graduate and Professional School. Ordinarily, graduate students holding fellowships are not required to perform any services. Many competitive fellowships of $1,000 or greater per academic year also allow students to pay tuition at the in-state rate. Fellowships packages vary from $1,000 to over $30,000 and some do include funds for insurance and tuition and fees.
Scholarships & Financial Aid’s role for fellowships is to ensure that they are counted as a resource towards a student’s financial aid package since they contribute to educational expenses. Fellowships can be lump sum (one payment) or monthly (multiple payments) in a semester. Departments or Colleges are permitted to determine which way a fellowship is to be paid. Scholarships & Financial Aid establishes fellowship payment dates annually according to the academic calendar. These dates cannot be changed due to how funds are to be disbursed in Scholarships & Financial Aid.
Fellowships must be awarded to a student’s account before July 1 for the following academic year. This will allow Scholarships & Financial Aid time to review each student’s account to ensure the fellowship will not have an impact on other aid. If an award is posted after July 1, then it could affect a student’s financial aid package, and Scholarships & Financial Aid may have to reduce or cancel aid, such as loans and grants.
Fellowships are usually a stipend provided to a student to assist with living and educationally related expenses. Scholarships are lump sum payments and are an award provided to a student based on his/her performance on a scholarship application or financial need.
For more information on a fellowship you can visit the Graduate and Professional School.