Financial Aid for Graduate Study
The University of Colorado offers several types of financial assistance for graduate students who demonstrate financial need. Students apply for assistance by submitting a financial aid application (the FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1.
The Colorado Graduate Grant Program is open to graduate students who are Colorado residents. Nonresidents are eligible for student fee grants. To receive assistance, students must be nominated by their departments.
Graduate students may apply for long-term loans through the Stafford Loan (formerly GSL) program or the Perkins Loan program (formerly the National Direct Student Loan) and for part-time jobs through the college work-study program.
Graduate Part-Time Instructors and Teaching Assistants +
Many departments employ graduate students as graduate part-time instructors (GPTIs) or as teaching assistants (TAs). GPTIs must possess a master’s degree or the equivalent and have demonstrated competence in classroom teaching. Teaching assistants are not required to have previous teaching experience. In order to be eligible to be a GPTI or a TA, one must be a fully enrolled graduate student, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.000. Compensation is based on the percentage of time worked, and includes a tuition waiver and partial insurance benefit.
Research Assistants +
In many departments, research activities provide opportunities for graduate students to work part time as research assistants. All research assistants must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 and be full-time regularly enrolled graduate students. Compensation is based on percentage of time worked and includes a tuition waiver and partial insurance benefit.
Graduate Teacher Program +
The Graduate Teacher Program provides professional development opportunities, career consulting, videotape consultation, and teacher training for all graduate students. Because teaching skills prepare graduate students for any career, TAs, GPTIs, and RAs are welcome at GTP workshops on teaching, research, service, and personal and professional development. Workshops are held prior to both fall and spring semesters, throughout the academic year, and during summer session. Topics range from preparing a syllabus, diversity issues, effective approaches to research, academic service, and conflict management to preparing for an academic job interview.
The Graduate Teacher Program offers three certificates: the Graduate Teacher Certificate for graduate students who actually teach; the Professional Development Certificate for Preparing Future Faculty (PDC/PFF); and, in collaboration with Career Services, the Professional Development Certificate for graduate students who are considering nonacademic career paths in business, government, industry (PDC/BGIA), or the arts. Requirements for each are posted on the GTP website at www.colorado.edu/gtp.
The Lead Graduate Teacher Network offers academic leadership training to 50 graduate students each year. Leads receive the Best Should Teach Silver Award, spend one week in extensive training, and assist departmental faculty with discipline-specific TA training.
International graduate students may benefit from the pre-fall-semester Cultural Intensive, workshops throughout the year, individualized consultation on teaching and career planning, and referrals to ESL services.
The Graduate Teacher Program’s Collaborative Preparing Future Faculty Network (COPFFN) provides professional development opportunities for graduate students and faculty. PFF fellows may attend site visits on partner campuses, identify a faculty mentor on a partner campus, work on technology projects, and pursue the PDC/PFF.
The Graduate Teacher Program offers a small number of Provost’s Fellowships to graduate students who wish to explore academic librarianship as a career and to those who want to work with a faculty member on course redesign.
