Financial Assistance
In order to support graduate student research, scholarship, and acquisition of advanced degrees, the University offers several kinds of financial aid. Aid includes fellowships, traineeships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships. In addition, several loan programs are available to graduate students.
- Teaching and Research Assistantships. Individual departments and graduate programs administer graduate student financial
assistance, primarily in the form of teaching and research assistantships. Award of
an assistantship is based on the student's ability and promise and is usually made
for either nine or twelve months. The maximum appointment is for half time (0.5),
but appointments for lesser fractions also may be made. Continuation of appointments
is subject to availability of funds and academic performance in ''good standing''
in the Graduate School (GPA 3.0 or greater). Information on applying for graduate
assistantships may be obtained from the head of the department concerned.
Students are eligible for tuition benefits for each term in which they hold an appointment of at least 0.4 time. Graduate research assistants pay tuition at the staff rate; in addition, those who have been on appointments for at least 0.4 time during the spring term are eligible for staff fees during the following summer term, even though they may not hold assistantships.
Graduate teaching assistants receive a full tuition waiver for spring and fall semesters in which they hold at least a 0.4 appointment. These waivers may not be available in the summer, but, like research assistants, teaching assistants pay staff fees for the term if they have held at least a 0.4 appointment in the previous spring. Funds are provided for tuition benefits only; students will be responsible for campus privilege fees (student health, activity fees, etc.).
To be eligible for tuition benefits, students must be enrolled for a minimum of 6 graduate credit hours in a fall and spring semester. Individual departments may also require minimum enrollment in the summer of 3 graduate credit hours. The maximum enrollment for graduate assistants is 10 hours for 0.5 and 12 hours for 0.4 appointments. The corresponding maximums for a summer term are 5 and 6 hours respectively.
Graduate teaching assistants must be on appointment from September 1 through November 17 for the fall semester and February 1 through April 17 for the spring semester. (Dates are subject to change.) If a graduate appointment does not begin by these dates or terminates before these ending dates, all tuition benefits will be lost. The student then is responsible for the total tuition payment.
All prospective graduate teaching assistants who are non-native speakers of English shall be required to achieve a minimum score of 50 on the Test of Spoken English (TSE).
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Traineeships. The university has a number of traineeships available. Several departments also have federally supported traineeships available under the programs of the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. Contact individual departments for information.
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Loans. Kansas State University offers four federal loan programs: the Federal Stafford Loan/Federal Direct Loan, the Federal Perkins Loan, the Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL), and Alumni Foundation Loans. You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to qualify for these programs.
Before a graduate student can be considered for one or more of the above listed loan programs, he/she must have successfully applied for financial assistance utilizing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is academic year specific, and should, therefore, be completed well in advance of each academic year for which a student is seeking financial assistance. Eligible graduate students may be offered either a Federal Stafford Loan or a Federal Direct Loan by Kansas State University. Under the Federal Stafford Loan Program, a student must locate a private lender, such as a bank or credit union, from whom to borrow the loan funds. Under the Federal Direct Loan Program, a student borrows funds directly from the federal government through Kansas State University. Currently, the interest rate for either loan type is capped at 8.25% and is set anew each July 1st. In addition, qualifying graduate students may also be eligible to borrow under the Federal Perkins Loan Program (5% interest), the Health Profession Student Loan Program (5% interest), and/or the Alumni/Foundation Loan Program (6% interest). Finally, graduate students may also borrow, on a case-by-case basis, from emergency, alumni, and endowment funds. Students interested in any of the above listed loan programs are encouraged to contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance, 104 Fairchild Hall, for more detailed information or contact them on-line through their homepage at http://www.ksu.edu/sfa.
Other Employment Opportunities
K-State's Career and Employment Services provides information about part-time work, both on and off campus. Jobs are updated daily. Some Employers ask for continuous listings throughout the semester. For your convenience these jobs can also be found on the Job Board in the K-State Student Union.
Qualified for Federal Work Study? You may apply for all on-campus part-time positions, not just those "requiring" or "preferring" work study eligibility.
Not Qualified for Federal Work Study? You are welcome to apply to positions "preferring" or "requiring" work study. Sometimes campus employers will not receive qualified work study applicants. However if they do have qualified applicants, they are more likely to be hired.
Kansas Career Work Study Eligibility for local employers is indicted in the job description. To be eligible for Kansas Career Work Study, you must be a Kansas resident, enrolled in six (6) or more hours, and have some financial need. If work hours total 480/year and are career related, this may count as a parallel internship.