Financial aid for graduate study is available in the form of teaching positions, fellowships, and research assistantships. Graduate students enrolled on a full-time basis are expected to work no more than 20 hours per week.
Please note that funding opportunities through the Linguistics Department are generally available only to doctoral students. However, graduate students at all levels sometimes find similar positions through other departments or units on campus.
You can estimate your graduate tuition and fees for each semester by going to the Bursar's Office website.
Prospective graduate students may also find the information on the following page helpful: Top Grants for Graduate School Students.
Graduate Teaching Positions
About fifteen teaching positions in undergraduate Linguistics courses are available each academic year. A majority of these positions are teaching assistant (TA) positions. A smaller number are graduate-student instructor (GPTI) positions. TA positions are generally offered only to doctoral students and GPTI positions only to advanced doctoral students.
The stipend for graduate teachers depends on the nature of the position (whether TA or GPTI) and the percentage time worked. Depending on departmental needs, Linguistics doctoral students are typically offered a 45% appointment. As of academic year 2022-23, a 45% appointment is approximately 18 hours of work per week and comes with an AY salary of approximately $21,752. In addition to salary, compensation also includes up to 18 credits of tuition coverage each semester (essentially unlimited tuition coverage).
Graduate students with such appointments who choose to enroll in the CU Student Gold Health Insurance will have approximately 90% of the plan’s cost covered as part of their compensation. They will also receive dental insurance at no cost, as well as coverage of mandatory student fees. Keep in mind that graduate students must pay student fees whether or not they are employed as a TA/RA/GPTI.
Limited summer support may be available in the form of GPTI appointments to teach summer courses.
For those who qualify, there are also occasional opportunities for teaching in CU language departments, including Asian Languages and Civilizations, French and Italian, Germanic and Slavic, and Spanish and Portuguese. While the language departments give preference to their own graduate students, some Linguistics students usually obtain such positions each year. Application should be made directly to the department in question.
The Program for Writing and Rhetoric seeks qualified graduate students from all departments to teach undergraduate courses in expository writing. Application should be made directly to that program.
The International English Center for teaching English awards several part-time honorarium positions each semester to those qualified to teach English as a second language (TESOL). Minimum qualifications for these positions are experience and training in TESOL and a completed MA in a related field. These appointments provide salary only. Application should be made directly to the International English Center.
PhD students are typically admitted with a funding guarantee consisting of 10 semesters of TA or RA funding, although individual funding packages may differ. For example, in PhD student's first semester, the funding package may consist of a TA appointment plus some support in the form of fellowship funding. Each semester following your initial semester in the PhD program, the graduate chair will ask you to complete and submit a TA funding application for the coming semester, which includes a preference ranking of available TA positions. You must submit this application in order to be considered for a TA position for the coming semester.
Fellowships
All applicants for the PhD program whose completed admissions applications have been received by December 30 are considered automatically for the following fellowships.
University Fellowships
All PhD applicants will be considered for fellowship support provided by the Graduate School to the Department. Fellowship award offers are made at the time of admission.
Chancellor’s Fellowship
Entering PhD graduate students are eligible to compete for a Chancellor’s Fellowship, which includes a stipend of at least $25,000 per year, for two years, tuition, fees and health insurance. This fellowship is also accompanied by a promise of three additional years of support from the Department. The Department will select a nominee for this fellowship each spring from among its top-ranking applicants.