Graduate Scholarships (GS)

The Graduate College funds scholarships that cover all or part of a student’s tuition and fees. In most colleges, the scholarship awards supported by the Graduate College are the Graduate Scholarships (GS), with and without assistantships. The GS with assistantship is used to support graduate assistants who are additionally awarded a stipend that requires service in return for stipend support. The GS without assistantship is for graduate students who do not receive university stipend support and therefore no service is required in return for the GS award.

The appointing program sends written offers of scholarship awards to students, including information about the amount and duration of the award and the terms of the offer. Students must maintain all of the required eligibility requirements in their offer letter to maintain their tuition scholarship.

Students receiving a tuition scholarship must register for a specified minimum number of graduate credit hours in each semester for which they are receiving support. If an international student is supported by a GS without assistantship, they must register for a minimum load of 10 graduate credit hours per semester during the time they receive the GS scholarship. If a domestic student is supported by a GS without assistantship, they must register for a minimum load of 1 graduate credit hour per semester during the time they receive the GS scholarship. Students supported by a GS with assistantship must register for a minimum of 12 graduate credit hours per semester during the time they receive the GS scholarship. These minimum enrollments in graded courses must be met prior to using scholarship support for any audited courses. 

If a student withdraws from a class funded by a tuition scholarship, with the remaining enrolled credit hours totaling less than the minimum required for the award, the award is cancelled immediately and the student is responsible for the tuition balance, based on the date of withdrawal.

Full tuition scholarships cover a maximum of 18 credits per semester. Students registered for more than 18 credits in a semester will be billed tuition and general fees on a per-credit-hour rate for each credit over the 18. 

All rules that govern recipients of tuition support pertain to all students, including international students. Other rules and policies that apply specifically to international students are independent of GS regulations. Both sets of regulations must be met. Neither set of regulations negates or takes the place of the other. (See 174 Graduate Credit Rule.)

Note: Financial awards that require no service may reduce eligibility for educational loans. Students should notify the Student Financial Aid Office of their tuition support if they apply for aid from that office.