Financial support — a variety of sources at FSU and outside — plan early! Outside fellowships. Scholars funded by competitive and special-intent programs in their home countries find the department a productive environment. International students may receive funding through fellowships awarded by Fulbright. U.S. citizen African American and hispanic students are funded through McKnight, with application deadline early January. Within the U.S. there are many special-recipient scholarships; a number of international students have fellowships awarded by foreign governments. The Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards assists currently enrolled FSU graduate students in obtaining external funding. Departmental Resources. The majority of funded mathematics graduate students are Teaching or Research Assistants. For priority departmental consideration, prospective students should complete Fall applications by January 31. (TA awards are made on the basis of recommendations by faculty committees from each area. Fall admissions-only consideration continues until summer, but financial aid is not available that late.) The mathematics department has been awarded a second cycle of funding for GAANN grants; each year six (U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident) Fellows are fully supported at their FSU need level as indicated by FAFSA. All eligible applicants or enrolled students in the department are notified when there is a GAANN selection cycle for which they can be considered. Other FSU resources. All first year graduate students are eligible for a $1000 scholarship awarded by the Graduate Dean (this is need-based for U.S. citizen and permanent resident students, they must have FAFSA filed). Detail will be posted by January 2011. The Graduate School Fellowships for 2011-2012 include a new Legacy Fellowship (materials due to the major department by January 7). Other fellowships described which are of interest to new applicants are the FAMU Feeder Fellowship, deadline March 1, and the Wilson-Auzene for minority students, deadline February 15. Private funding, savings, sabbaticals, loans. Both fully, and as supplements, a number of students utilize these sources.

Departmental Resources

The Departmental Application, with the requested recommendations and transcripts (unofficial copies are acceptable for in-department evaluations), is necessary for consideration for admission and/or funding. Departmental consideration of Fall begins each in December with Fellowship considerations; TA awards are made on a rolling basis from early February up until the Council of Graduate Schools "April 15 deadline."

 

Teaching Assistantships

Most students who receive financial aid are supported as teaching assistants (TAs); stipends increase as TAs make timely PhD progress and gain in teaching experience and skill. The department's teaching orientation and training programs have been emulated as a strong model. TA duties begin with managing computer practice and testing laboratory sections for computer assisted instruction. Progression is next to full classroom teaching responsibility with some computer assisted features, and, for advanced TAs, full classroom responsibility, or "solo", teaching. At every step there is faculty and peer mentoring. This helps graduate students develop their professional teaching program while still in graduate school, provides a basis for strong recommendations later, and enhances future job opportunities not only directly involving teaching, but the wide range of communications activities. The working-time commitment is 10-12 hours per week. Assistantships include a waiver of tuition and a health insurance subsidy if the FSU plan is chosen. Some graduate students who begin programs as self-paying or outside-fellowship students demonstrate strong doctoral capability and receive TA/RA awards in a subsequent year.

TA stipends depend on the experience and academic standing, as well as the number of months the TA studies and works. At Fall 2011 stipend rates, a typical Year 1 TA working half of the following summer (10.5 months) and receiving the Graduate Dean's Scholarship and the health insurance subsidy will receive at least $18,033. Just as TA responsibilities increase with experience, the pay structure increases for TAs who are assigned added responsibility. The 2011 stipend structure for a TA working one academic-year semester is now pegged, for the three work-responsibility levels, at $7000, $7600, and $8000 (there is possibility of a raise). Summer funding has been available for all TAs in good standing although Florida funding appropriations do not allow summer stipends to be guaranteed. Given the same relative funding levels as preceding years, TAs in good academic standing may choose to work more than the 9-month academic year. The 10.5- or 12-month amounts are prorated (10.5 months is 7/6 and 12 months is 4/3 of the academic year stipend). TA income thus ranges from $15,700 to $22,033. The $15,700 is a 9-month Year 1 TA who chooses to do no summer work and elects FSU health insurance with a $700 subsidy; the $22,033 is a Year 3, 4 or 5 doctoral candidate teaching Calculus3 and getting health insurance subsidy.

Special Information for International students. The State of Florida and FSU have rules regarding English language competency for teaching assistants whose official native language is not English. Congratulations to new international applicants and TAs who have a score of "26" on Spoken portion of the IB TOEFL: you will be screened by the Coordinator of Teaching Assistant Training and Supervision, but do not need to be concerned about the detail in the rest of this paragraph.

Most international students demonstrate competency through departmental interviews or a spoken English test and auxiliary activities; the current test is called the SPEAK and is similar to the ETS Test of Spoken English. Those who pass it on their first attempt will have satisfied the requirement. Those who do not pass it initially are supported to participate in classes with ESL instructors to improve spoken English amd to test again during the semester. As a result of Florida legislation, there a job classification restriction and hence a reduced stipend until the spoken English requirement is satisfied by some means; each student is individually counseled. The maximum 12-month stipend until the rule is satisfied is $16,000. The FSU Center for Intensive English Studies has information, programs and workshops, and classes focusing on the areas of speaking, reading and writing English as well as conversational skills and vocabulary building. The Mathematics Department's teacher training as well as our teaching assignments include activities that supplement and enhance ESL courses. Individual review of the progress of each teaching assistant with the ESL instructors and advice to students based on their individual needs result in rapid satisfaction of the Spoken English requirement. The Mathematics Department works closely with each student so that the spoken English standard can be met as soon as possible.

 

Research Assistantships

RAs work closely with a faculty member, or members, on a research project typically funded by a research grant to the lead investigator. RAs are generally in their second graduate year and beyond. The pay and work terms are similar, often somewhat more than, teaching assistantships and fellowships; typically RA work requires more hours of work per week than TA duties, but the work is normally related to the RA's own graduate research. Tuition waivers and the health insurance subsidy are the same as for TAs.

 

Fellowships

FSU Math has a GAANN grant currently supporting 6 Fellows. All eligible applicants or enrolled students in the department are notified when there is a GAANN selection cycle for which they can be considered. (See "Departmental resources" above.) Links are also given above for a number of different fellowships under "Outside fellowships" and also "Other FSU resources".

 

Facts about Funding

Each semester, TA/RA/GAANN are provided a summary of specific information related to funding. For Spring 2011, the "Fact Sheet" includes:

Contract. All graduate assistants at FSU work under a contract negotiated by United Faculty of Florida-Florida State University-Graduate Assistants United (UFF-FSU-GAU) and Florida State University. UFF-FSU-GAU is the labor union certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for graduate assistants at FSU. To find out more information about the UFF-FSU-GAU, their web address is http://www.uff-fsu-gau.org/index.shtml.

 

Fees. Resident Fees not covered by waiver: $66.06 per credit hour plus $20.00 Student Facility Use Fee Non-Resident Fees not covered by waiver: $96.12 per credit hour plus $20.00 Student Facility Use Fee For more information regarding other non-credit hour fees, refer to the Student Financial Services Website: www.sfs.fsu.edu/

 

Health Insurance Requirement and Health Insurance Subsidy for Graduate Assistants. ALL graduate students are required to show proof of adequate health insurance, either purchased through FSU or show comparable coverage as determined by Thagard Student Health Center. For insurance information including coverage and cost, go to the Thagard Student Health Insurance website at www.tshc.fsu.edu or call 850/644-6230.

 

The Graduate School offers qualifying graduate assistants a subsidy towards the purchase of the University-sponsored health insurance. An annual subsidy ($700 for 0.5 FFTE appointments, $375 for 0.25 FTE) will be disbursed approximately 30 days after the drop/add period through payroll. For more information visit www.gradstudies.fsu.edu/Funding-Awards/Health-Insurance or contact your department representative for details.

 

Financial Aid (Domestic). Eligibility for student loans is determined by the completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online. Any other form of financial assistance (e.g., graduate assistantship, fellowships, etc.) should be reported to the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible, as these amounts may affect your financial aid award amount. For more information, consult the Financial Aid Website at http://financialaid.fsu.edu/ or call 850/644-0539.

 

Departmental Policy and Practice.

 

Course, section, and mode of teaching assignments that can be made for TAs are determined by undergraduate student demand and changes may occur into the first week of classes.

 

A TA's pay level in each semester is based on the final work assignment.

 

The "class title and code" for TA and RA appointment purposes is based on academic and job performance, Spoken English, and teacher training level. Two TAs who each have a particular code, FSU uses only two graduate TA pay codes, but there are three regular pay levels. assigned teaching responsibilty in the given term; the per-semester levels in 2011-2012 are projected to be at least $7000, $7600, $8000. The pay codes are M9184 (Graduate Teaching Assistant, may be assigned solo), W9185 (Graduate Assistant), M9182 (Research Assistant).

This document is maintained by melïssa elaine smith / smith@math.fsu.edu
Last modified: 23 December 2010