FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

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• Fellowships
• Travel Expenses
• Financial Aid
• International Students
• GSI/GSR & Reader Positions
  

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FELLOWSHIPS

Graduate Division Fellowship Competition. Information and application forms are available in November/December (for continuing students) from the School's Admissions/Financial Aid Office in 128 Haviland. The application deadline is December 17. Fellowship awards may include a stipend of up to $15,000 for the academic year and/or fees and tuition. A few traveling fellowships are also available for study abroad, primarily for students needing to carry out dissertation research.

The doctoral admissions/fellowship subcommittee reviews and ranks fellowship applications according to the criteria used in judging doctoral applications: previous academic record, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and samples of scholarly written work. GRE scores are required by Graduate Division for entering and first-year students only, so these are not used by the School's committee in their evaluation of continuing fellowship applicants. Although fellowships are merit rather than need-based awards, some fellowships also require demonstration of financial need, so the application asks for information on your financial resources and expenses.

In the spring, Graduate Division conducts competitions for the Chancellor's Dissertation-Year Fellowship, the University of California Dissertation-Year Fellowship, and the Mentored Research Award Program (availability may change).

A complete listing of University-administered fellowships may be found in the Graduate Division's Fellowships for Graduate Study available in 318 Sproul. You should also check the financial aid bulletin board opposite the doctoral program bulletin board for information, and the Graduate Division website: www.grad.berkeley.edu/financial/index.shtml.

Non-University Fellowships. Announcements of current fellowships, grants, and research assistant positions are posted on the fellowship or doctoral bulletin boards.

The Graduate Division Fellowship Office in 318 Sproul has binders of current outside fellowship listings and two national publications--The Annual Register of Grant Support: A Directory of Funding Sources, and The Grants Register (published bi-annually). A more convenient location for students in Haviland is the Educational Psychology Library in Tolman Hall, which also has copies of these publications. The Doe Library maintains a reference section on nationwide financial aid opportunities, including the Guide to California Foundations. Inquire at the Information Center, 1st floor for listings.

Research and Professional Traveling Expenses. If you are invited to present a paper at a professional conference, the School's Myrtle C. Lytle Fund may be able to assist you with travel expenses up to $500 per year. To apply, you should prepare a memo addressed to the Dean of the School of Social Welfare outlining your expenses. Bring it, together with a brief supporting memo from your adviser, to the Doctoral Assistant who will forward it to the Dean. The University's Committee on Research distributes funds to cover air fare expenses for short-term visits for intercampus research purposes (one trip per year). Information and applications are available in 126 Haviland Hall.

FINANCIAL AID

Financial Aid Office. The Office of Financial Aid in 201 Sproul Hall (642-0485) provides primarily loans and work study to eligible graduate students. Most recipients receive financial aid in a combination or "package" of one or more categories. Awards are based in part on financial need. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available in December.

In order to qualify for the full range of financial aid, you must submit your application by March 2 each year. Applications will be accepted after this date, but available funds for the most desirable forms of aid may already have been distributed.

More specific information on all financial resources can be located at the Financial Aid Office website: www.grad.berkeley.edu/financial/index.shtml.

University Grant-in Aid. Brief descriptions of specific financial aid programs follow; you should consult the brochures for graduate students distributed by the financial aid office for complete information as well as the Loan and Receivables website: http://fbs.berkeley.edu/LRO/loans.

• Some SHORT-TERM LOANS are available. Interest is not charged if you repay the loan according to the schedule established by the Financial Aid Office. The emergency loan program allows you to borrow up to $425/semester for 60 days. Applications are available Monday-Thursday, 9-12 noon in 220 Sproul Hall (642-0470). The University loan program enables you to borrow up to $1500 each semester to pay your registration fees or for personal expenses. You must show proof of a source of repayment and repay the loan by the end of the semester. Loans for personal expenses require a co­signer. Apply in the Loans & Receivables Office in 192 University Hall (642-3190).
  
  
• Perkins Loans (formerly National Direct Student Loans) are awarded as funding permits to students who show the greatest financial need. Repayment and interest accrual begins nine months after leaving the University. Borrowers in some professions may have part or all of their loan repayment obligation rescinded. (For entering non-residents only.)
  
  
• Federal Direct Lending Loans are available from the Federal government or through participating lending institutions. You may borrow approximately $18,500 (maximum determined by Financial Aid Office) per academic year ($8,500 maximum subsidized, the remainder unsubsidized) for a total of $138,500 during your academic career. Repayment begins six months after leaving school. The interest rate is variable, with a cap at 8.25%
  
  
• The College Work Study Program is federally funded and provides employment opportunities in some categories, including research assistant and graduate student instructor positions. Awards may be as high as $10,000 per year. You are urged to apply for work study status if you plan to work as a graduate student instructor or researcher. Call Work Study at 642-5625.
  
  
• Parent Grant may be awarded to needy low-income students with dependent children. As funding permits, low-income parents are awarded a fee grant to cover resident fees and health insurance. This amount will be reduced if the student’s fees are covered by another source (e.g., fellowship or fee remission). Single parents will receive an additional $4,000 stipend ($2,000 per semester)

If you have an unforeseen need for financial aid which cannot be met through the University Financial Aid Office, you should speak with the School's financial aid assistant in the Admissions Office, room 128 Haviland. Limited assistance from the School may be available.

Financial Aid for International Students. International students, except those on immigrant visa or refugee status, are not eligible for support from the Office of Financial Aid, but may apply for limited types of aid through the campus Office of Services to International Students and Scholars (642-2818). Students who have completed one year of graduate work at Berkeley may apply for work-study grants ($3,500 maximum per year), short-term loans ($1,500 maximum for one term), and grant-in-aid ($2,200 maximum per semester based on need to be applied to tuition and fees) from the School’s Admissions Office. Applications for grant-in-aid are available in early spring for the following academic year. Maximums may change dependent upon availability of funds and student need.

Extramural Fellowships are open to international students; some, such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships and other government-sponsored fellowships, are awarded only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. International students interested in extramural fellowships should consult the listings in the Graduate Fellowship Office, 318 Sproul and at the International Students website's financial aid page at www.ias.berkeley.edu/siss/students.

Graduate Student Instructor (GSI)/Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) and Reader Positions. The School's application forms for GSI, GSR, and Reader positions are distributed annually (see Attachment VII). New lists are prepared each Spring. (See Maribel Castillo-Glaze, Administrative Assistant, room 126. To obtain a position you must personally contact the faculty members with whom you wish to work. In order to comply with affirmative action regulations you must submit a new application each year, even if you are continuing in the same position. Once you have been offered a position, see Maribel Castillo-Glaze to complete your employment forms.

To qualify for Graduate Division's partial in-state fee remission, your appointment of 25% or greater must begin no later than the first day of the semester and end no later than the last day of the semester. You must be enrolled as a full-time student by the end of the fifth week of classes, and your Personnel Action Form must be received by Graduate Division by the published deadline for that semester (approximately the end of the third week of classes). To qualify for the full-in-state fee remission (for GSRs only) your appointment must be for 45% or more for the full semester.

GSRs currently receive $13.94/hour and are limited to a maximum of 49% time, Level I GSIs earn about $703.73/month for a 25% appointment, and readers earn $9.52/hour.

The Graduate Division requires that students holding a GSI or GSR position be enrolled in a minimum of 8 units.

However, GSI and GSR students in their first two years of the program must enroll in at least 8 academic units per term regardless of the number of non-academic units earned. The total number of units must be at least 12. After their first two years, GSI and GSR students must enroll in at least 8 units that may include both academic and non-academic units.

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