Developmental Psychology

Development Across the Lifespan

Funding

Funding decisions for each academic year are typically made in the spring semester prior to the start of the next academic year. There are two main sources of funding for graduate students: (a) Teaching Assistantships (TAs), and (b) Research Assistantships (RAs).

1. TAs can assist a faculty member in his or her course or be an instructor themselves. In order for a student to be an instructor, it is generally required that the student has completed the master's degree and has previously served as a faculty member’s TA for that course.
2. RAs are funded by individual faculty research grants, and students are typically selected for these positions on the basis of shared research interests and research skills.
3. A number of students in our program have successfully competed for national grants such as NRSA awards funded by the National Institutes of Health. We encourage students to apply for such external fellowships and awards that not only help to fund their studies but offer excellent training in grant writing.

Student financial support is determined by several factors. These include students' progress in the program, prior teaching experience, research productivity, the student's career goals (e.g., desire for particular types of teaching experience), and the university's course demands. Undergraduate course demand is not always predictable. The number of courses that we offer is affected by student course preregistration. Thus, the need for TAs and instructors may often shift late in the spring or summer semesters. This sometimes creates uncertainty concerning student funding assignments. Our goal is to make students aware of their assignments as soon as they become known.

Funding is always conditional on a student's progress in the program (See Departmental Guidelines regarding funding.) Funding is often available through research grants obtained by students or their advisors.

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