Funding
Graduate School Funding Resources
Other Graduate and Post-doc Funding
Research and Project Assistantships and Traineeships
Unlike many programs, we welcome students into our program without regard to funding. However, we know that many students prefer or require funding to attend graduate school. Historically, many students have enrolled in our program without funding and, if they do well, have obtained funding after the first year. Because of grant funding patterns, most (but not all) research positions require quantitative statistical skills. Funding is decentralized in our program, with decisions being made by the heads of particular research projects or training programs. Once you have been admitted, you are invited to contact the faculty involved with the programs of interest to you to learn more about them. We urge you to contact the faculty you would be interested in taking courses from or whose research and intellectual interests you share, even if they do not control funding. We are looking for students who really want to train in this program, who find our variety and mix of intellectual strains to be exciting and interesting.
A few outstanding admitted students are nominated for University Fellowships. Commitments of 4 or 5 years of financial support are made to some admitted students, generally those who are awarded a university fellowship.
There are a variety of positions that offer funding, which carry different titles and include different stipends and benefits. In general, however, appointments are offered at levels that include full tuition, health insurance, and stipends. See the Graduate School's Costs and Funding page for current support levels. (Please note that the university pays your tuition in addition to the stated award level.) A recent tax ruling has made all graduate assistant appointments exempt from the Social Security tax as long as the student is enrolled full time. None of these positions are awarded on the basis of financial need; all are awarded on the basis of academic promise and the fit between your interests and qualifications and the particular position or program. A "research assistant" works on a research project as part of his/her educational training, and does his/her thesis or dissertation as part of the project. A "project assistant" works on a research project that is not directly related to his/her own educational program. A "teaching assistant" runs discussion sections and grades papers for a course taught by a professor. A "trainee" is paid to learn research, and will be assigned to work in particular projects as part of the traineeship as well as be required to take certain courses.
Special Note for admitted International Students: Recent changes in immigration law have made it very difficult in most cases for us to provide the guarantees that would make it possible for you to get a student visa without external funding or financial resources of your own. Please contact the director of graduate studies to discuss your particular case individually.
Applicants also are encouraged to seek out and apply for outside sources of support.
There have been fluctuations through the years in the proportion of students who choose to enroll without prior funding commitments, and class sizes have varied as a consequence (from a low of 20 to a high of 40). Earlier in this decade, the overall support levels were about 2/3, and about half the entering classes had funding. In recent years, classes have been smaller and the overall support levels have been higher, and are currently well above 80%.
Following are brief descriptions of some of the types of funding available.
Advanced Opportunity Fellowship (AOF) Program: This financial support program was established by the Board of Regents and the State of Wisconsin to expand the graduate education opportunity for minorities. Members of any one of the following minority groups are eligible for nomination: African American (Black); American Indian, Alaskan native; Mexican American/Chicano, Puerto Rican; or Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, or Laotian. Preference will be given to Wisconsin residents. Recipients must be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status and be admitted or enrolled in a University of Wisconsin graduate department. Awards may be for an academic year and/or a summer.
Project Assistantships: These assistantships require that recipients be able to perform services requiring professional or academic training through the baccalaureate level but below the doctoral level and that they be registered graduate students during the academic year. Graduate students must be appointed as project rather than research assistants whenever the activities for which they are being paid are not part of their own thesis/dissertation or pre-thesis/dissertation research.
Research Assistantships: These are intended for students who are able to combine work toward a degree with research assistance given to a professor. The work involved varies depending on the needs of the professor and the nature and stage of the project. Also, the number of available research assistantships varies considerably from year to year.
Teaching Assistantships: These stipends normally require part-time teaching, either conducting weekly discussion sessions with small groups of students who are taking large lecture courses or, in the case of statistics courses, conducting laboratory sessions. Other teaching assistant duties depend upon the requirements of the particular course. It is highly unusual for entering students to be offered teaching assistantships.
Lectureships: Each semester there are a few teaching positions as lecturers in lower level undergraduate courses for which graduate students who have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree except the dissertation may apply. Lecturers are responsible for the entire content and activities of the course.
Traineeships: A limited number of traineeships are available in the Center for Demography and Ecology, and the Center for Demography of Health and Aging.
University Fellowships: Fellowships are awarded by the Graduate School to a few outstanding entering students and dissertators; these pay a substantial stipend for the academic year.