Financial Support

Graduate Student Funding

All admitted PhD students have a guaranteed 5-year funding package. This financial support typically takes the form of a 50% teaching position, research assistantship, or fellowship. Graduate students enrolled on a full-time basis are expected to work no more than 20 hours per week.

Appointments at 50% include:

  • tuition coverage (up to 18 hours);
  • coverage of mandatory student fees, assessed to all graduate students whether or not they are employed as a TA/RA/GPTI;
  • health insurance - approximately 90% of the cost for students enrolled in the CU Student Gold Health Insurance; students also receive dental insurance at no cost;
  • a salary for the academic year; a 50% appointment salary for 2026-27 is approximately $28,800. Stipends for graduate teachers may be less depending on the nature of the position (whether TA or GPTI) and the percentage time worked.

The department does not have funding packages for MA students. However, depending on Linguistics department needs, there may be occasional teaching positions available for MA students and some students find similar employment in other departments or units on campus.

Please see the Bursar's Office website to estimate your graduate tuition and fees.

Prospective graduate students may also find the following page helpful: Top Grants for Graduate School Students. 

Graduate Teaching Positions

About twelve teaching positions in undergraduate Linguistics courses are available each academic year. Most are teaching assistant (TA) positions and are generally offered only to doctoral students. A smaller number are graduate-student instructor (GPTI) positions offered only to advanced doctoral students.

Limited summer support may be available in the form of GPTI appointments to teach summer courses.

There are occasional opportunities for teaching in CU language departments, including Asian Languages and Civilizations, French and Italian, Germanic and Slavic, and Spanish and Portuguese. Most departments give preference to their own graduate students, but some Linguistics students obtain such positions each year. Application should be made directly to the department in question.

The International English Center may also have part-time honorarium positions available to those qualified to teach English as a second language (TESOL). These appointments provide salary only. Application should be made directly to the International English Center.

Fellowships

All complete PhD applications are considered for any available Graduate School fellowships. Fellowship award offers are made at the time of admission.