The largest source of funds for graduate support are from teaching, reseach and graduate assistantships offered by academic departments, along with partial tuition and non-resident waivers. For more information, contact your prospective department regarding the availability of such assistantships.

UM also has a few Federally Funded Grants, which provides funding to graduate students. Those include three programs funded by the National Science Foundation:

External grants, awards and fellowships are also types of funding that graduate students can apply for. These funds can be obtained from national, state and local organizations, foundation and agencies.

The last option is loans. To apply for federal loans, you must complete a FAFSA form online. If you have questions pertaining to loans and other forms of financial assistance not noted above, please contact the Financial Aid Office,

The University of Mississippi,
P.O. Box 1848,
University, MS 38677-1848;
phone: (800) 891-4596;
e-mail: finaid@olemiss.edu

Dissertation Fellowship Program

This non-service award is designed to assist doctoral students who are in the final stages of the dissertation process. The intent is to provide financial assistance to relieve candidates of current service-type responsibilities (teaching, research and/or other related obligations to the University), thereby enabling them to focus on their research analysis and writing.
The amount of the award is $4000 plus a tuition reduction. The time period is one semester. Full-time enrollment is required. Any student nominated must be in candidacy and must have a copy of his or her r prospectus on file at the Graduate School. Students are nominated by a letter of support from the department chair.

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Honors Fellowships

The Graduate School awards non-service fellowships to incoming students of exceptional academic accomplishment. Recipients of a graduate fellowship are also eligible to receive departmental assistantships and/or other fellowships.

Stipends: $2,000 - $3000 per academic year ($1,000 for master's and $1,500 for doctoral students per fall and spring semesters), regardless of degree program.

Qualifications: To be considered for an Honors Fellowship, candidates must be eligible for admission in full-standing and meet the criteria listed below.

All students:
Must hold an assistantship paying at least $2250 per semester.

International students:
A GRE verbal score of at least 450.

Master's students:
An undergraduate GPA of at least 3.3;
A GRE score of at least 1100 (verbal + quantitative) OR
a GMAT score of at least 550.

Doctoral students:
An undergraduate GPA of at least 3.4 OR a graduate GPA of at least 3.75;
A GRE score of at least 1150 (verbal + quantitative) OR a GMAT score of at least 550

NOTE: A GRE of at least 1250 (verbal + quanitative) or GMAT of at least 570, regardles of GPA, will make a doctoral student eligible for nomination.

Applicants for non-service fellowships must be nominated by the department in which they intend to pursue a degree.

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Summer Graduate Research Assistantship Program

The Summer Graduate Research Assistantship Program provides $2600 for doctoral students and $2000 for master's students during the summer (minimum of 10 weeks of research). The goal is to provide funds to enable promising graduate students to remain on task and on-campus in their pursuit of a degree.

To be eligible the student must be a full-time, full-standing doctoral student at any stage and in any discipline. Preference will be given to doctoral students who have completed their prospectus. A limited number of assistantships will also be reserved for master's (thesis option) track students.

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Underrepresented Minority Fellowship Program

The Graduate School administers a fellowship program available to persons who are members of minority groups that have historically been underrepresented in various graduate education programs. The stipend associated with this fellowship is $1,000 for master's students and $1,500 for doctoral students per semester (fall and spring) and includes a 75 percent tuition scholarship and a 44 percent non-resident scholarship.
To receive the fellowship a student must be admitted into a degree program, must be enrolled on the Oxford campus for at least nine hours of graduate work each semester, must be nominated by the academic department, and must not be a full-time employee. The tuition scholarship and nonresident fee scholarship are also available to graduate students who are part-time and who are enrolled at one of our off-campus centers.

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Graduate Assistantships or Instructorships

Graduate Assistantships that require part-time teaching, laboratory assistance, research, or other assistance are available in a number of fields and from grant and contracts. Certain academic departments offer graduate instructorships, which involves direct responsibility for teaching one or more courses.
Stipends for graduate assistantships/instructorships vary, depending on the level of the graduate student, the service to be rendered, and the time commitment (typically ¼ or ½ time appointments are made). Academic excellence, maturity, and teaching or research experience are the main qualifications considered in the appointment of assistants/instructors. In addition to the stipend, graduate assistants/instructors also receive a partial tuition scholarship (75 percent of tuition for ¼ time appointments and 90 percent of tuition for a ½ time appointment) and receive a full non-resident fee scholarship.
Application for a graduate assistantship/instructorship should be made directly to the academic department in which the applicant will pursue a degree.

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Tuition Scholarships and Non-Resident Fee Scholarships

Graduate students who receive a minimum of $1800 per semester as either an assistantship or fellowship are eligible for a partial tuition scholarship (75 percent of tuition for the minimum, ¼ time stipend, increasing to a 100 percent tuition scholarship for a ½ time stipend).

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