3. Awards Administered By The University of Alabama Graduate School
 
The University of Alabama makes financial awards to graduate students mainly through fellowships and assistantships. Graduate applicants for financial aid must have been admitted to a degree program, to the Graduate School, and to The University of Alabama. Only academically superior students are eligible for these fellowships and assistantships.
Prospective graduate students who have never attended the Graduate School of The University of Alabama should indicate on the Graduate School application their intent to apply for financial aid. Applicants should start the application process in the fall of the academic year preceding the academic year of intended enrollment. Students are strongly encouraged to have completed their applications no later than February 15 in order to be considered for financial aid. For more information, contact the Graduate School, 102 Rose Administration Building, Box 870118, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0118, telephone (205) 348-5921.
A summary of fellowships and other financial aid programs for graduate students is as follows (all figures shown are current for the 2003-2004 academic year. Please contact the Graduate School office for the latest figures):

      3.1 Graduate Council Fellowships
      3.2 NAA License Tag Graduate Fellowship
      3.3 Alumni Heritage Graduate Scholarship
      3.4 Joint Minority Faculty Development Program Fellowships
      3.5 McNair Graduate Fellowships
      3.6 Academic Common Market (ACM): see Section 14

3.1 Graduate Council Fellowships. The University of Alabama awards approximately 80-85 non-renewable Graduate Council Fellowships each year. The fellowships carry a stipend of $15,000 for the academic year and a scholarship to pay full tuition for up to 15 hours for fall and spring semesters in each academic year, according to the basic UA schedule for in-state/out-of-state tuition and fees. The Graduate School will provide single health insurance coverage for each recipient. At least one-half of these fellowships are awarded to beginning graduate students at the University. Recipients for the upcoming academic year are selected at three times: the first week in February, the first week in March, and mid-April. For specific deadline of each round, please visit the Graduate Council website. Nominations are made by academic departments. Interested students should contact their departments for more information about the nomination process. For more information contact Dr. Natalie Adams, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, at nadams@ua.edu or visit us at http://graduate.ua.edu

3.2 National Alumni Association (NAA) License Tag Graduate Fellowship. The University of Alabama awards approximately 30 - 35 non-renewable National Alumni Association (NAA) License Tag Graduate Fellowship each year. The fellowships carry a stipend of $15,000 for the academic year and a scholarship to pay in-state full tuition for up to 15 hours for fall and spring semesters in each academic year, according to the basic UA schedule for in-state tuition and fees. The Graduate School will provide single health insurance coverage for each recipient. NAA Fellows must be residents of the state of Alabama with great potential to make an outstanding contribution to the people of Alabama during his or her career. The top priority will be to attract outstanding new students who might not otherwise choose to attend The University of Alabama. Nominations are made in March through academic departments. Interested students should contact their departments for more information about the nomination process. For more information contact Dr. David Francko, Dean of the Graduate School, at dfrancko@ua.edu or visit us at http://graduate.ua.edu  

3.3 Alumni Heritage Graduate Scholarship is to reward the children and grandchildren of University of Alabama alumni for choosing the University for higher education. The scholarship is a one time only, nonrenewable award for $500 towards the cost of in-state tuition of graduate level course work (Subject to a maximum of actual in-state tuition not covered by other awards, whichever is lower). In order to qualify, students must be enrolled in a graduate degree program at UA (full-time or part-time) and have a parent or grandparent who both 1) holds a degree (undergraduate, graduate, or law) from the University and 2) has been an active member of the Alumni Association for 3 of the past 5 years. This scholarship is only available for the student's first term of graduate enrollment. For more information, contact Kathleen Nodine at the Graduate School, Box 870118, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487-0118; telephone (205) 348-8280. ***An application for the Alumni Heritage Graduate Scholarship is available at Section 18.3 of this handbook.***

3.5 McNair Graduate Fellowships: The University of Alabama Graduate School awards a  limited number of McNair Graduate Fellowships. These fellowships are specifically for entering graduate students who have either completed a McNair Scholars program as an undergraduate or who are McNair eligible; i.e., low income AND first-generation college student or a member of a group traditionally underrepresented in graduate education (Hispanic, African American, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander). To be considered for the fellowship, a student must be admitted to a degree-seeking program. Preference is given to students who have completed a McNair program and have been accepted into a Ph.D. program at The University of Alabama.  However, one fellowship will be designated specifically for students pursuing a master’s degree. The service-free stipend for the McNair Graduate Fellowships is $15,000 for the academic year plus a scholarship to pay full tuition for up to 15 hours for fall and spring semesters in each academic year, according to the basic UA schedule for in-state/out-of-state tuition and fees.  The Graduate School will provide single health insurance coverage for each recipient. Departments may elect to add a graduate assistantship up to .50 FTE to the first two years of the McNair Graduate Fellowship.  A student must be enrolled full-time and maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average to remain eligible for the fellowship. Following two years of stipend and tuition support from the Graduate School, the student’s home department will be required to continue to support the McNair Graduate Fellow for at least an additional two years through departmental research and teaching assistantships or on grant-funded research assistantships or fellowships.

Nominations may be made by department or by student (with departmental support and funding commitment) beginning January 15, 2010.

Nomination materials should include the following documents:

1. A nomination letter from the Department Chair or Graduate Program Coordinator with a stated commitment to continue supporting the McNair Graduate Fellow for at least an additional two years through departmental research and teaching assistantships or grant-funded assistantships. Please note that if you submit more than one student from your department, please rank order them.

2. An application

3. A letter from the student discussing accomplishments as an undergraduate student, plans for graduate education, and future career goals.

4. Two letters of support from professors at the undergraduate or master’s-degree granting institution

5. A professional resume

The nomination materials should be sent to Dr. Natalie Adams, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, The University of Alabama, 102 Rose Administration Building, Tuscaloosa, AL  35487-0118 no later than February 26, 2010.

For more information contact Dr. Natalie Adams, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, at nadams@ua.edu or visit us at www.graduate.ua.edu.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE HANDBOOK

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Update: 01/13/2010