Financial Aid

Departmental Funds

The Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism offers a limited number of graduate assistantships, and tuition and fee waivers. Total funding available for allocation of departmental assistantships is based on the annual department budget, and allocated at the discretion of the Department Head.

The allocation of funds is split between Research Assistants (RA), Teaching Assistants (TA), and Graduate Assistants (GA), based upon the needs of the department and re-assessed on an annual basis.

The standard assignment for departmental funding is a three-year limit for Ph.D. students, and a two-year limit for M.S. students. These limits may be extended due to needs of the department in either teaching or research.

All Applicants will be considered for assistantships which are awarded on a competitive basis.

Preference will be given to students considering the following priority:

1. The student is enrolled in our Ph.D. program
2. The student is making satisfactory progress toward his/her degree.
3. If tenure-track faculty require an RA, then assignment is based upon needs of the faculty member.
4. If a faculty member requires a GA (e.g., Graduate Studies Director), then assignment is based upon needs of the faculty member.
5. Assistantship assignment will be prioritized to achieve a diversity of characteristics among the departmental graduate students. The department includes, but is not limited to, the following characteristics of students within its funding decisions: area of interest, ethnic and racial background, sex, disability, and country of origin.
6. If an M.S. student is on a thesis track, they will be preferred over a non-thesis M.S. student.
7. Continuation of funding will require that the student successfully complete the tasks he/she were assigned the previous semester/year.

If TA positions are available, additional considerations are in the following priority:

1. Students who have taken the UIUC TA training will be given priority. International students whose native language is not English are required to pass the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) test prior to enrolling in UIUC TA training.
2. Students who have successfully completed certification offered by the UIUC Center for Teaching Excellence, such as the Graduate Teaching Certificate or the Advanced Graduate Teaching Certificate, will be given priority.
3. If the student's advisor is teaching a course that requires a TA, then the student may be assigned to TA the course their advisor is teaching.
4. Students may be assigned to courses they have either taken, have a history as a TA in the course, and/or have an interest in the content of the course.

Procedures for implementing the assistantship assignment guidelines:

The Department Head and Director of Graduate Studies will meet on a periodic basis to implement these guidelines for assistantship assignment. The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with faculty affected by funding allocation, will make assignment decisions. If questions arise among the faculty regarding assignment of assistantships, the assignments-under-question will be reviewed by the Graduate Committee.

Other sources of funding:

Many of our graduate students are able to secure funding from sources other than departmental (state) funds. Securing other sources of funding requires students to negotiate directly with individual faculty and/or organizations. Other sources of funding potentially available to graduate students include:

• Assistantships funded through other administrative units on campus (such as from the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics or Division of Campus Recreation)
  
• Stipends or fellowships offered by organizations and agencies outside of campus
  
• Assistantships funded by research projects of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism and/or other UIUC faculty

For additional financial information, please visit the Graduate College website at www.grad.uiuc.edu/current/financial.htm