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.

Fellowships

A very small number of Graduate Fellowships is available annually. These prestigious awards are granted to exceptionally gifted students. Awards are for one year only, after which other sources of support are necessary. Nominations are made by School of Music faculty members and are reviewed by a faculty committee which selects the recipients.

Assistantships

The School of Music awards approximately fifty 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.

Stipends are adjusted annually, current stipend levels are available from the Academic Student Services. Assistantships waive the substantial out-of-state tuition surcharge, but do not waive in-state registration fees.

The deadline for Graduate Teaching Assistantships application is February 1st. 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 register for a minimum of six (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 three (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 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.

Tuition/Registration Fee Waivers

A limited number of tuition waivers and registration fee waivers are available annually. The University requires a minimum grade point average of 3.20 for tuition waivers, and 3.5 for registration fee waivers. All recommendations for waivers originate with the appropriate area faculty. Awards are made by the School of Music Scholarship Committee. For specific questions about these waivers contact Dr. Rex Woods at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Scholarships

A variety of cash scholarships are awarded annually. Some of these are need-based; others are granted solely for outstanding performance. As with waivers, recommendations for scholarships originate with area faculties. Awards are made by the School of Music Scholarship Committee.

Loans

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.