• People
• Research & Centers
• Graduate Program
  • Program Requirements
  • Applying
  • Graduate Seminars
  • Related Programs
  • Funding
  • Placements
  • Common Questions
• Undergraduate Program
• News & Events
• About Us
• Make a Gift

---

Home > Graduate Program : Funding for Incoming Students

Funding for Incoming Students

The department seeks to provide funding to all of its students in good standing throughout the length of their residency. This funding typically comes in the form of teaching or research assistantships of 50% which provides free tuition, subsided health insurance, and a stipend of approximately $14,000 over nine months. (Students pay approximately $800 in student services fees per semester.)

However, there are various other means by which the department supports its students.

CLA Graduate Fellowships (CLAGF)

The College of Liberal Arts (the college which houses the Department of Sociology) offers this first-year fellowship package. The purpose of the CLAGF program is to assist directly in the recruitment of outstanding students by providing the incentive of a one year fellowship. The fellowship provides students with free tuition, pays up to 95% of the student's health insurance costs, and includes a stipend (currently $22,500 per academic year). Candidates are identified by the faculty on the Graduate Admissions Committee and may be nominated for the fellowship by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Diversity of Views and Experiences Fellowships (DOVE)

The DOVE fellowship seeks to assist graduate programs to promote a diversity of views, experiences, and ideas in pursuit of research, scholarship, and creative excellence. This diversity is promoted through the recruitment and support of academically excellent students with diverse ethnic, racial, economic, and educational backgrounds and experiences. Programs are encouraged to consider students from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the graduate programs.

The fellowship provides students with free tuition, pays up to 95% of the student's health insurance costs, and includes a stipend (currently $21,500 per academic year). DOVE Fellows also have the opportunity to come to campus during the summer before the start of their first year and participate in The Community of Scholars Program. By submitting the optional diversity statement with the The Graduate School's ApplyYourself application, applicants self-identify themselves as meeting the criteria of the DOVE and position themselves to be recommended by the Sociology admissions Committee and nominated by the Director of Graduate Studies to a University-wide competition. In past years, students applying to the Department of Sociology have received a number of these prestigious DOVE Fellowships. .

Funding for Incoming and Current Students

Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change Fellowships

The Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC) offers financial support for graduate students at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Please visit the program's website to learn more about the fellowships and to find downloadable application forms. As with most other fellowships that Sociology students receive, the department increases the ICGC funding packages by offering multiple years of departmental support most often guaranteed in the form of a teaching assistantship, a research assistantship, or instructor positions. The department has had over 20 MacArthur Scholars (one of the more prestigious ICGC awards).

Ron Anderson Technology and Social Cohesion Fellowship Award

The Ron Anderson Technology and Social Cohesion Fellowship is designed to support sociology graduate students as they pursue research interests related to information technology. The award recipient can be either a single graduate student or a group of sociology graduate students. The fellowship award can be used either to support students already enrolled in the program or to recruit a new student to the Department of Sociology graduate program. The award recipient is given $2,500 and the title of "Anderson Fellow." To receive more information and/or an application form for this fellowship, please contact the Graduate Program Associate, Becky Drasin.

Sociology Research Assistantships

Research Assistants (RAs) are chosen directly by the faculty member who is the principal investigator of a particular research project being conducted in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. RAs typically work halftime (i.e. 20 hours per week), make approximately $14,000 per academic year, and receive a tuition waiver and a health insurance package that includes a waiver of up to 95% of their health care costs plus subsidized dependent and dental coverage. Research assistantships are sometimes offered to incoming students with prior research experience, but are generally filled by more advanced graduate students.

Sociology Teaching Assistantships

The department allocates halftime (i.e. 20 hours per week) Teaching Assistantships to all incoming graduate students who are not otherwise supported by fellowships. Teaching Assistants (TAs) make approximately $14,000 per academic year, and receive a tuition waiver and a health insurance package that includes a waiver of up to 95% of their health care costs plus subsidized dependent and dental coverage.

Professional Development Funds

Professional Development funds are available each semester to cover the expenses of presenting papers while attending international, national, or regional sociology meetings. Generally, this has been a $300-$500 per semester, non-service award to help with transportation, lodging and registration fees. During the 2011-12 academic year, 40 current graduate students were awarded $19,000 to attend conferences including meetings hosted by the ASA, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Law and Society Association, and American Society of Criminology.