Graduate Student Funding
Graduate Employee Positions
Students admitted to the doctoral program are normally given a Graduate Employee Position, which carries with it a full tuition waiver, health insurance, and a monetary stipend. Graduate Employee Positions are awarded on a year-long basis, and it is expected that a doctoral student will receive at least five years of support (see Fifth Year Funding Policy for students entering the doctoral program between 2009 and 2012), assuming that the student continues to make satisfactory progress toward the doctoral degree. Graduate Employees are represented in collective bargaining with the University by the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation.
Graduate Employee Positions are considered to be an integral part of our doctoral program and not merely a means of financial support. Faculty members devote a considerable amount of time and effort to training teaching assistants and evaluating their performance. In addition to weekly meetings with teaching assistants, the Department offers a year-long seminar on teaching that treats issues such as syllabus preparation, discussion strategies, advising, examinations, and the philosophy of education. Graduate Employee Positions are thus an important part of our students’ preparation for the job market and their later professional experience as teachers.
There is the possibility for masters and doctoral students to secure Graduate Employment support by teaching in other departments and programs, such as Religious Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Humanities, English, and Ethnic Studies. Information on these and other current Graduate Employee Positions may be found on the University of Oregon Graduate School’s website: http://gradschool.uoregon.edu/gtf-openings. Information on Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships may be found on the FLAS funding page of the CAPS web site at http://caps.uoregon.edu/?page_id=2925 or contact Lori O’Hollaren at (541) 346-1521 or loholl@uoregon.edu.
Visit the Graduate Employee Resources page for additional resources related to Graduate Employee Positions.
Travel Awards
The department offers graduate students travel awards for professional conferences and job interviews at the APA (American Philosophical Association Conference).
Policy
Each PhD student is eligible for three reimbursements for expenses up to $900 each for conference travel. Each MA student is eligible for one reimbursement for expenses up to $900 for conference travel. Exceptionally, PhD students could be allowed to combine their travel awards for a single conference reimbursement (e.g., especially for international conferences).
Eligible students will be reimbursed for their travel as applications are submitted on a rolling basis from September 15th until May 15th for conference travel in a given academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring) and during the Summer thereafter. In case of limited funds, the applications from Ph.D. students who have received the least number of awards will take priority for reimbursement.
Students that are not invited to interview at the APA, but still decide to go to the APA, will be reimbursed for their travel, but it will use up their job interview award. If they cancel their tickets and don’t go to the APA, they must inform the Chair of the Placement Committee so that the funds are available for others.
Procedures
- Travel awards are administered by the Director of Graduate Studies for Advising. To apply for a travel award, please submit the following to the Director of Graduate Studies for Advising as soon as you receive notice of acceptance or invitation to interview:
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- Travel Award Application (Revised Winter 2024)
- Confirmation of conference acceptance or invitation to interview at the APA.
The Director of Graduate Studies for Advising will confirm your eligibility and availability of funds via email.
- Reimbursements will be paid upon submission of receipts up to $900. Please submit receipts to Christina Lujin, Operations Specialist clujin@uoregon.edu as soon as you return from your travel. Christina can answer direct questions from grad students about travel.
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- Conference schedule or email confirming interview scheduling. The conference schedule listing dates and places, hotel amounts, registration fees, and meals is required .If you don’t have one, check the web.
- Travel Itinerary. Travel reimbursement information must contain the date, time, and place of departure, as well as the date, time, and place of return (a copy of the airline itinerary will suffice). The airline itinerary must be purchased by the person requesting reimbursement and show payment received. Airfares must be from Eugene, not Portland. If you use ground transportation to go to Portland, you must include a copy of a comparison fair to show that your flight from Portland with ground transport cost less than a flight from Eugene. Separate quotes are required for any ticket that includes personal travel. When combining personal travel with travel to be reimbursed, payment will be based on the least expensive and reasonable means of transportation to the business location.
- Meal Per Diem and Lodging. Meals are paid at a flat per diem rate, you do not need receipts for meals. Lodging receipts must be in the traveler’s name, and show payment received. Meal and lodging per diem is limited to the business portion of the trip. Generally, the dates of the conference or meeting and one travel day before and after are allowable for reimbursement. Any additional days paid by the UO must be documented with a business purpose. Note that you cannot be reimbursed for meals listed on the conference schedule or included on registration forms.
Other Funding
For additional funding opportunities, visit our Awards and Opportunities for Graduate Students page.