Financial Aid for Graduate Students
Various types of financial assistance are available to graduate students in music, and application forms are included with the admissions materials. Types of financial aid are described below.
A very small number of Graduate Fellowships is available annually. These prestigious awards are granted to exceptionally gifted students who demonstrate a financial need. To be considered for this award you must have a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file. University of Arizona school code is 001083. If you are an International student you must complete the Financial Aid Calculation for International Students. Print the IFA Calculation form and the worksheet and submit all 3 pages to Mrs. Shelly Braun. Awards are for one year only, after which other sources of support are necessary. Nominations are made by Fred Fox School of Music faculty members and are reviewed by a faculty committee which selects the recipients.
A limited number of state-funded graduate tuition scholarships are available annually. The GTS award can only be applied towards base tuition charges. Students must be degree seeking, must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 to hold these tuition scholarships and be enrolled for a minimum of three credits. All recommendations for graduate tuition scholarships originate with the major professor and pass through the Fred Fox School of Music scholarship committee. For specific questions about these awards, contact Mrs. Shelly Braun.
The Fred Fox School of Music awards approximately 50 graduate teaching assistantships each year, usually to begin in the Fall semester. Most of these are quarter-time positions which require a commitment of ten hours per week. Applicants for teaching assistantships are expected to demonstrate positive personality characteristics and a proven ability to teach. They must submit three recent letters of recommendation affirming the above.
Compensation for graduate teaching assistantships are adjusted annually; current wage levels are available from the Office of Academic Student Services. Quarter-time assistantships waive 100% of the substantial out-of-state tuition and 50% of the in-state tuition.
The deadline for Graduate Teaching Assistantship applications is February 1. Applications must include the appropriate materials as required by a specific area.
The Arizona State Board of Regents has mandated compulsory training for all newly appointed graduate teaching assistants. If the recipient of an assistantship is unable to complete the required training procedures, he/she will forfeit the assistantship.
Graduate students who hold assistantships are required to be successfully accepted into the University of Arizona Graduate College and the Fred Fox School of Music and register for a minimum of 6 units of graduate credit. The maximum number of units that may be taken varies, depending upon the total hours of employment as follows: 25%, 16 units; 33%, 14 units; 50%, 12 units; 66%, 11 units; 75%, 10 units. Audit courses are included in the unit total, not in the minimum six required. In the final semester, a registration of 3 units of graduate credit is allowed.
All graduate teaching assistants are evaluated, both by their students as well as their supervising professors, each semester. Continuation of the assistantship is dependent upon having a satisfactory evaluation from the supervising professor. Students must be certain that their faculty mentors evaluate them each semester to ensure continuation of their appointments.
Assistantships are generally renewed for a second year, given favorable evaluations from the faculty supervisor. Appointments for a third year are granted only after review and approval by the Director of the Fred Fox School of Music.
Master’s degree students who continue into a doctoral program might be allowed to retain their assistantships. In such cases, the reckoning of years of service as a graduate teaching assistant begins anew with year one.
All loans are handled through the Office of Student Aid, 203 Administration Building. An applicant must be admitted to a degree program before submitting an application to the Office of Student Financial Aid. The total processing time at the University, bank, and guaranty agency can take up to four months. Therefore, early application is advised.