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SENR

School of Environment and Natural Resources

CFAES

Funding Your Education with Associateships and Fellowships

Funding opportunities such as fellowships and graduate associateships are considered for all admitted MS and PhD students. These awards can be through the Graduate School or the School of Environment and Natural Resources. Funding for associateships and fellowships is very competitive: approximately the top 10% of all admitted applicants to MS and PhD programs may be nominated for fellowships, and fewer still may actually be awarded. Approximately one third of the admitted students in ENR Graduate Studies Committee (ENRGP) were offered a graduate associateship.

To be considered for funding, applications must be complete by:

  • Domestic applicants: January 1 for fellowships; January 7 for other funding
  • International applicants: December 15 for fellowships; January 7 for other funding

Applicants do not need to select on the application that they wish to be considered for funding; consideration is automatic for eligible applicants.
 
MENR students are generally not considered for fellowships or associateships. See "Options for Non-Funded Students" below for more information on options for students not receiving fellowships or associateships.

Fellowships

Students are nominated for fellowships at the university, college, and school levels by the ENRGP Committee. Fellows pursue a full-time schedule of courses or research (minimum 12 credits per semester) and are not required to teach or provide other services. Fellows must maintain scholastic standards required to be in "good standing" and may not work on or off campus during the period of the fellowship.

Academic criteria of fellowships vary based on the type of award. Graduate School fellowship criteria can be found here. Other fellowship opportunities exist for SENR applicants, and the most successful candidates will meet or exceed the following criteria:

  • GPA - 3.6 on a 4.0 scale
  • GRE - average 75th percentile score between the Verbal and Quantitative sections; 4 or greater on the Analytical Writing section

Students can be awarded fellowships covering more than one year, including multi-year fellowships for doctoral students. Fellowship award announcements are usually made February through March.

Fellowship benefits include:

  • Monthly stipend
  • Fee authorization covering general, instructional, and out-of-state fees
  • Student health insurance subsidized at 85%

Graduate Associateships

Graduate Associateships include:   Teaching Associateships (GTA)

                                                          Research Associateships (RGA)

                                                          Administrative Associates (GAA)

A graduate associate is a currently enrolled, full-time (minimum 8 hours per semester) graduate student who holds an appointment calling for the performance of services such as classroom or laboratory instruction, advising or supervision of students, grading papers and examinations, research, developing curricular materials, administrative duties, etc. More information can be found here.

Students selected for graduate associateships are usually informed April through May.

The School of Environment and Natural Resources does not usually offer GAAs, but some departments at the university offer GAAs to which students from any graduate program may apply.
 
International Students who serve as Graduate Teaching Associates must pass the SPEAK test. See the English as a Second Language website for more information. All international students (regardless of teaching duties) must fulfill English composition course requirements prior to graduation. Admitted international students attending OSU must either enroll in courses or qualify out of the courses by earning an IBT TOEFL total score of 114 or a total score of 101 with a written score of 28.

Options for Non-Funded Students

Graduate students are also eligible for federal loans and special university scholarships. For more information about these types of aid, see the Student Financial Aid website.