Financial assistance awarded by American Indian Studies is, we regret, quite limited.  The process of making awards, therefore, is competitive.  All new students accepted into our program and second year PhD students are automatically considered for award each academic year; continuing students are asked to apply each year.  Calls for application typically are disseminated during spring semester.

Especially for the doctoral program, we strongly encourage both applicants and continuing students to investigate sources of funding outside the program, and external to the University.  The database of links listed below was formulated to assist our students to find and apply to sources of financial aid at The University of Arizona and beyond.  External sources of funding are especially critical for the research and write-up stages of dissertation work.  If you have any questions, please contact the American Indian Studies office at 621-7108.

Scholarship programs for which all students (MA, MA/JD, and PhD) are automatically considered upon admission into our program include:

1. Graduate Registration Scholarship
2. Graduate Tuition Scholarship

Graduate Registration Scholarships (GRS) waive registration fees assessed by the University (the GRS does not include Recreation Center Fee or Financial Aid Trust Fee).  The Graduate Tuition Scholarships (GTS) are for non-residents and waive non-resident (out-of-state) tuition only (the GTS does not include Registration Center fee, Financial Aid Trust Fee, or Registration fees).  Students must be admitted to regular graduate status, enroll for a minimum of six units per semester, and meet a GPA minimum of 3.0 in order to qualify.

1. Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate Teaching Assistantships are typically awarded to Ph.D. students, although occasionally second year M.A. students may receive a GTA award.  Students must be admitted to regular graduate status, enroll for a minimum of six units per semester, and meet a GPA minimum of 3.0 in order to qualify.  Awards are offered on the basis of merit, timely progress through the degree program, and satisfactory evaluations in prior GTA appointments.  Financial awards are made for one academic year; receiving an award does not guarantee or imply support for subsequent years.

GTAships constitute our main source of financial assistance for doctoral students.  Our programmatic priority is to support first and second year doctoral students with GTA appointments: assuming funds are available, we pledge to support our doctoral students with GTAships for their first two years.  Most doctoral students can complete their coursework requirements in the first two years.  Depending on available funds, we may be able to offer support beyond the second year, but this depends on the number of students in the program, which is variable over time.  

Financial Aid Resources for M.A. & Ph.D. students:

The links below will direct you to different kinds of financial aid student resources. Please keep in mind that these lists overlap,
you should examine all of them to find full coverage for your needs.

1.PhD & MA Funding: support for early states of degree and coursework
2. Travel & Research Grants: support for grad research and travel to professional conferences
3. Dissertation fellowships: support for writing and completion on thesis/dissertation
4 . Post-doctoral fellowships: support for recently degreed Ph.D.'s to continue research in a supportive institution
5. Undergraduate and other resources.

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