Funding

Graduate Assistantships

Students pursuing the Student Affairs concentration in the M.A. program work closely with the program to search for assistantships in related offices.  Graduate assistantships are required for enrollment in the Student Affairs concentration.  Assistantships, though not required, may also be available to students pursuing other concentrations and degree options in the HESA program.

Graduate assistantships at The University of Iowa are designed to provide students with work experience and the means to finance their education, while providing the University with the benefit of an innovative work force. Assistantships are closely related to specific departments or fields, and all require specific skills or aptitudes. Responsibilities often include student services, advising, programming, teaching, or administrative duties. In addition to assistantships in student affairs areas, students might be eligible to work for faculty members as research assistants if funds are available, or as teaching assistants in the department.

Positions

Most graduate assistantship sites list their openings with the program for the fall semester during the previous spring semester. We assist admitted students in identifying assistantship opportunities, providing information to admitted students in advance of Campus Visit Days and in plenty of time for in-person interviews to be scheduled. Although most offices hire during the late spring, additional positions sometimes open during the academic year.

M.A. Campus Visit Days:  April 1-3, 2012

Ph.D. Campus Visit Day:  March 2, 2012

Remuneration

Assistantships provide valuable experience, open new career paths, and help finance your graduate education. In addition to a monthly salary, all .25 FTE or greater on-campus assistantships provide a fee waiver for the out-of-state portion of tuition. In addition, assistantship sites honoring the union agreement offer partial tuition scholarships. For the 2012-2013 academic year, tuition scholarships will cover approximately 83% of College of Education tuition rate.  Positions vary from .25 FTE (10 hours per week) to .50 FTE (20 hours per week) and may span 9 to 12 months. For the 2012-2013 academic year, graduate assistantships honoring the union agreement typically pay $17,330 for a half-time, nine month position. Although M.A. students are exempt from the union (see below), most on-campus employers work to honor the most current COGS agreement.

Fellowships

Students from under-represented groups might be eligible for the Dean's Graduate Fellowships sponsored by the Graduate College. Most of these fellowships cover tuition costs plus approximately $15,000 for the first year of study. Second-year assistantships are encouraged. In order to be considered for these competitive fellowships, students must be a member of an under-represented group and must be nominated by the program faculty.

Each year, the Iowa Testing Programs award a limited number of full-ride fellowships to students with outstanding academic credentials in the College of Education. For information about these special graduate assistantships (SGA), contact the Iowa Testing Program early in the application process.

Program Awards

The EPLS department offers a number of awards to students for travel and research. Consult with your advisor if you would like to be nominated or to apply for these awards.

Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS)

In March 2002 the program received confirmation from UI Human Resources that MA students are exempt from the collective bargaining agreement between The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, and the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, Local 896 (COGS). Article II, Section 2, of the Agreement between COGS and the Board of Regents excludes from the COGS bargaining unit "Research Assistants (FR19 or FL19) whose appointments are ... (b) primarily intended as learning experiences which contribute to the students' progress toward their graduate or professional program of study." (p. 1). M.A. students are defined as Research Assistants whose assistantships are necessary for their professional development. What this means in practice is that as of the incoming class of Fall 2002, MA students do not come within the salary or benefits requirements of the COGS contract. Some UI assistantship sites have continued to treat our students as though they were part of the COGS agreement and some do not. In all cases, however, the faculty work with the sites to ensure our students are treated properly.