Graduating seniors need to think ahead as to how they will be able to fund their graduate school expenses.
If one is thinking about applying one of many Kean University graduate programs, they will be pleased to know that there are assistantships and fellowships targeted to help students afford their degrees.
What is an assistantship? An assistantship is a paid academic appointment made to a graduate student. This position involves part-time teaching or research. At Kean University, it specializes on drawing together a variety of different skills and allows students the opportunity to build their service skills as well.
Kean also seeks to provide good education with an affordable cost, and through assistantships, students are able to have their tuition and fees waived.
Some assistantships are in departments including, although they may be subject to change:
- Accreditation and Assessment
- Africana Studies
- Athletic Training
- Athletics and Recreation
- Biological Sciences
- CAS Writing Center
- Center for Leadership and Service
- Chemistry Department
- Childcare Center
- College of Education
- College of Natural, Applied, and Health Sciences Technical Support
- Communications Disorders
- Criminal Justice
- Computer Science
- Earth Science
- Ecological Research
- Elementary and Bilingual Education
- Exercise Science
- Fine Arts
- General Education
- Graduate Management Studies
- Health Services
- History
- Holocaust Resource Center
- Human Resources
- Human Rights Institute
- Institute of Child Study
- Institutional Research
- International Student Services
- Kean Galleries
- Kean Ocean
- Kean Writing Project
- Library
- Management and Marketing
- Nursing
- Occupational Therapy
- Office of Community Standards and Conduct
- Office of Graduate Admissions
- Office of Institutional Advancement
- Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
- Office of Residential Student Services
- Office of the Registrar
- Office of Scholarship Services
- Office of Student Support Services
- Office of Undergraduate Admissions
- Physical Education
- Psychology
- School of Communication, Media, and Journalism
- School of English Studies
- School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences
- Social Work
- Special Education
- Speech Clinic
- Speech-Language Pathology Program
- STEM Program
- University Center
- University Relations
- World Literature
To apply, students must complete the supplemental graduate assistantship page within the online application which they can find on the Kean recruiting page. This application is also only for new applicants. Current students interested in an assistant position should check departments for available positions.
Applicants for a graduate assistantship should apply by March 1 for priority consideration. Students must receive an acceptance to a graduate program at Kean and have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or better.
Assistantship requirements include:
- Must be available to work 15 to 20 hours a week.
- Graduate assistants (GA) must register and complete nine credits or more for the semester. GA's may be subject to the withdrawal of their assistantship if he or she fails to maintain nine credits a semester.
- GA's must maintain a 3.0 GPA during the course of the graduate studies and failure to do so may result in the loss of the assistantship.
Students should consider the following when applying for an assistantship:
- Students who are employed full-time on or off-campus are not eligible for an assistantship.
- If a student has applied for financial aid, the assistantship award may have an impact on their financial aid eligibility.
- Assistantships begin in the fall semester of the new academic year and continue through the spring semester.
On the other spectrum of aid for graduate students comes fellowships. Fellowships provide financial support to graduate students in order to pursue their studies and is generally merit-based awards.
Some fellowships are provided here at Kean:
- Lilly Fellowship: Supports students entering Ph.D. programs (or equivalent) in humanities and the arts and who are interested in becoming teacher-scholars at church-related universities in the U.S. Campus. The deadline is mid-November.
- NSF (National Science Foundation) Graduate Research Fellowship: Award of $30,000 a year for up to three years of research-based study leading to a M.S. or Ph.D. in STEM and social sciences. Deadlines vary by discipline but most are in mid-November.
- Pickering Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowships: Eligible for women, minorities underrepresented in the foreign service. Also, students with financial need are encouraged to apply. Deadlines are from January to February.
- Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship: The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship is an eleven-month program that is divided into two phases. The first phase focuses on service, and places fellows in community organizations that are battling hunger across the country. For the second phase of the fellowship, fellows move to Washington D.C., where they work on policy with national organizations to combat hunger and poverty-related issues. There are 20 fellows total; both the field placement and policy work are related to hunger issues.
For more information on fellowships provided graduate students can visit Kean's Research and Fellowships page and for assistantships students can visit Kean's Graduate Assistantships page
