All admitted MS and PhD applicants to the Environment and Natural Resources Graduate Program are considered for the substantial funding opportunities available at the school, college, and university level. Funding comes in the form of a graduate associateship or a fellowship, all of which include:
- payment of tuition and fees
- monthly stipend
- 85% subsidy on Student Health Insurance premiums.
MENR applicants are generally not considered for fellowships or associateships and should refer to "Options for non-funded students" below for information.
Applying for Funding
Applicants who complete their applications by the appropriate deadline and are admitted to ENRGP are automatically considered for funding and do not need to take special action to be considered. See the Admissions page for deadlines and required materials.
Timeline
Funding decisions are announced between early March and early April, with fellowship awardees being notified the earliest.
FELLOWSHIPS
Fellowships are prestigious awards that provide funding without a service requirement, so students can focus on completing their coursework and developing their research.
A limited number of admitted applicants can be nominated for the fellowship competitions each year. However, in addition to the university-wide fellowship competitions, ENRGP applicants can also be nominated for fellowship competitions in the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
MS students can receive fellowship support for up to 2 years, and PhD students can receive up to 3 years of fellowships. Whenever possible, ENRGP students who enter with a fellowship are funded for the duration of their degree program as long as they continue to make reasonable progress. This continued funding may be in the form of teaching or research associateships.
Only students matriculating in the autumn semester can be nominated for the fellowship competitions.
Eligibility for nomination
The eligibility requirements for the university-wide fellowship competitions (the University Fellowship and the Graduate Enrichment Fellowship) can be found here. The program has a limited number of waivers that can be used to nominate applicants who are highly competitive overall but do not meet the minimum requirements for either or both of the GPA or GRE.
The OARDC fellowship competitions do not have minimum requirements. However, the requirements for the University Fellowship are used as guidelines for determining competitiveness for these fellowships.
The following can also increase an applicant's competitiveness for all fellowship competitions:
- Participation in undergraduate research or experiential learning programs, such as:
- Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
- McNair Scholars Program
- Ohio Science and Engineering Alliance Glenn-Stokes Scholars
- Scholarly publications
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for the subject area of the graduate program
- Work or leadership experience within one's field of study
Additionally, the university and the school encourage applications from those from a variety of backgrounds. Those who can make a substantial contribution to diversity at the university--including, but not limited to, diversity of ethnic background, social or economic disadvantage, disability, and other characteristics--can be nominated for the Graduate Enrichment Fellowship. Applicants in historically-underrepresented minority groups are also eligible for the OARDC Minority Associateship.
GRADUATE ASSOCIATESHIPS
Full-time ENRGP students are eligible to hold a graduate associateship. The most common types of associateships for ENRGP students are graduate teaching associateships (GTAs) funded by the school and graduate research associateships (GRAs) funded by a student's advisor through grants or other funding. Graduate administrative associateships (GAAs) are rarely offered within the school, but GAAs are sometimes offered by other departments around the university.
GTAs assist in the instruction of the school's courses through duties such as grading, leading recitations, setting up labs, and (for experienced GTAs) even teaching courses as solo instructors. GRAs perform various duties based on the project for which they are appointed.
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.
For more information about graduate associateships, see here.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT FUNDING
International applicants should be aware of the following information, which applies to them in addition to all of the information above.
In order to be considered for a fellowship or graduate teaching associateship, applicants must be admitted to the university. For international students, federal law requires passing the financial review process before admission can officially be granted. This means that, in order to be considered for a fellowship or GTA award, international students must show that they can be financially supported even if they do not receive a fellowship or a GTA. This can be satisfied with one of the following:
- A guarantee of full funding as a graduate research associate by their advisor as an alternative if they are not awarded a fellowship or GTA award.
- Demonstration of financial support from their own personal funds, their family, or another sponsor such that they can be financially supported even if they are not awarded a fellowship or GTA award.
International students who serve as graduate teaching associates must be certified in spoken English before they can be assigned certain duties. For information on how certification is earned, see the ESL programs page here. Because of this requirement, international students are not usually considered for a GTA position in their first semester.
OPTIONS FOR NON-FUNDED STUDENTS
MENR students are typically not considered for fellowships or associateships and should plan to self-fund for the duration of their program through sources such as federal or private loans for graduate students. See the Office of Student Financial Aid website for more information. MENR students may be eligible for university special scholarships, which are generally small awards for students with specific backgrounds or involvement in activities.
Full-time MENR students are encouraged to seek opportunities as a graduate administrative associate (see "graduate associateships" above) in other departments across the university, which are often open to students from any degree program.