There are 2 broad categories of financial support available to graduate students in the School of Forestry:

• The first category, a Research Assistantship, is awarded by the School on the basis of academic merit and ability to conduct research in collaboration with a faculty member. M.S. and Ph.D. students supported on Research Assistantships receive a stipend of about $16,700/year (PhD) or $14,700 (MS) and a waiver of the out-of-state portion of their tuition. (Note: We also have a very few Teaching Assistantships or wage-labor jobs, usually limited to one year per student; however, these are not a reliable way to fund your graduate program.)
• The second category of financial support is based on demonstrated financial need. Financial assistance based on financial need is administered by the Office of Student Financial Aid, P.O. Box 4108, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4108 (520-523-4951), with programs described in a brochure titled Financial Aid, available from that office. For both kinds of support, offers of assistance are made only after the student is admitted into the graduate program.

Most assistantships are half-time assistantships which include a waiver of the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition, a commitment of 20 hours per week, and a course load of 9-12 credit hours per semester (note exceptions under "Credit Load" section). All graduate assistants are required to pay the usual in-state tuition and other registration fees. No student will be permitted to receive more than the approved maximum amount of financial assistance for a half-time assistantship regardless of the source.

The only exception to this rule is that students may receive scholarships to cover tuition in addition to the assistantship stipend. In addition, assistantships may occasionally be awarded at less than the half-time rate depending on the needs of a research project and the availability of funds. Graduate students who receive half-time assistantships are not permitted to have outside employment. The Graduate Studies Committee will periodically review assistantship stipend rates and recommend changes as appropriate.

Research Assistantships for students in the School of Forestry are available from two sources:

• A variable number of assistantships are supported by state funds, and;
• A variable number of assistantships may be available through externally supported research grants.

In both cases, assistantships are awarded to individual faculty members who are responsible for selecting students. Criteria for selecting a student for an assistantship may vary among faculty members, but must include a high likelihood of excellent academic performance and ability to conduct independent research of high quality. Inquiries about the availability of assistantships should be made to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies and to a Forestry faculty member doing research in the area in which the student is interested.

State Supported M.S. Assistantships

State supported M.S. Research Assistantships are limited to 2 years.

State Supported Ph.D. Assistantships

There is no specific limit on externally funded M.S. Research Assistantships. State-supported Ph.D. assistantships typically will be provided for four years. However, only students who make good progress in the first year of their program will be considered for continued support. There is no limit on the total number of years of support for Ph.D. assistantships funded by external grants. The duration of support for assistantships funded by external grants will depend on the student's performance and the availability of funds. In addition, assistantship support may be withdrawn at any other time that a student's overall performance is judged inadequate by the Major Professor.

State supported Ph.D. assistantships are awarded to individual faculty members based on the recommendation of the Graduate Studies Committee and approval by the Director of the School of Forestry. State supported assistantships include funds for graduate student stipend and a waiver of the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition. State supported assistantships will be awarded to faculty based on the scientific merit of the proposed project, the current existence or high likelihood of obtaining external funds to adequately support all costs associated with the project other than the assistantship stipend and the identification of a qualified student. State supported Ph.D. assistantships will typically be limited to 1 per faculty member.

External-Grant Supported Assistantships

Students who receive research assistantships provided to faculty members through external grants are typically employed to perform research or other work specified in the grant. This may involve assisting the faculty member with data collection, data analysis, and writing reports so that the faculty member can meet their obligations to the granting agency. In many cases, the work done by the student may be an important component of their thesis or dissertation research. However, the student's use of such data for their research must be approved by the faculty member responsible for the research. Further, such use of data does not relieve the student of the obligation to provide data, reports, or other products to the faculty member responsible for the research. Faculty members and their students supported by externally funded assistantships should agree to the student's responsibility to the project and the use of project data before initiation of any work by the student.

Scholarships

Please refer to the NAU Financial Aid Scholarship website for information regarding scholarships.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 July 2008 )