Graduate Support

Colorado State University and the JMC department are committed to helping students achieve their educational goals. Several types of financial assistance are available.

Note: For full consideration for departmental assistantships and instructorships, M.S. applicants should submit complete applications by February 15 and Ph.D. applicants should submit complete applications by January 15.

Student Loans

Both subsidized (below market rate) and unsubsidized student loans are available to offset all or a portion of a student’s expenses that cannot be covered through other means. Visit Student Financial Services for more information. This source of financial aid is not administered through the department.

Teaching and Research Assistantships

The JMC department is able to offer funding to nearly all accepted graduate students who are in need of support. Students are appointed to quarter-time (approx. 10 hours per week) or half-time (approx. 20 hours per week) graduate teaching assistantships (GTA) and graduate research assistantships (GRA). These appointments are made based on the student’s interests and the department’s needs. In return for teaching/assisting in undergraduate courses or conducting research, students receive a monthly stipend, a health insurance contribution toward the university’s health insurance program, and tuition remission (not including fees). See the table below for more information about typical funding offers.

2019-2020 CSU Funding and Benefits for GTAs/GRAs

	Typical Offer Length	Quarter-time (10 hours per week) stipend and tuition remission	Half-time (20 hours per week) stipend and tuition remission	Health Insurance Contribution
Ph.D. Students	3 academic years	$1,1030/month 6 credits/semester	$2,260/month 9 credits/semester	Health insurance contribution
M.S. Students	3 semesters	$845/month 6 credits/semester	$1,690/ month 9 credits/semester	Health insurance contribution

Graduate teaching assistants are typically assigned to work with faculty who teach JTC 100: Media in Society, JTC 211: Computer-Mediated Visual Communication, JTC 300: Professional and Technical Communication, or LB 300: Specialized Professional Writing. GTA duties include attending lectures, holding office hours, grading papers, assisting in test preparation and proctoring, and leading recitation/laboratory sections.

Graduate students may have the opportunity to serve as graduate research assistants and support faculty in their research. GRA positions are typically funded through grants obtained by faculty members from outside funding agencies. Faculty members have been awarded more than $10 million in extramural research funding in recent years from such agencies as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Force Research Laboratories, Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Instructorships

Students with significant professional or academic experience may be hired as instructors, in charge of teaching skills or concept courses in the undergraduate program. Prior teaching experience is required to be considered for employment as an instructor. Ph.D. students are more likely to be hired in this capacity than are master’s students.

Western Regional Graduate Program

The department’s M.S. and Ph.D. programs are part of the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), which is administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WRGP allows residents from the WICHE participants to pay in-state tuition while they are students in the department’s graduate programs. WICHE includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Residents are encouraged to indicate their interest in participating in the WRGP on their application.

For additional information on WICHE and the WRGP, please visit the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Out-of-State Domestic Students and Colorado Residency

Out-of-state graduate students may be eligible to pay resident tuition rates by becoming Colorado residents. The rules for establishing Colorado residency are fairly strict, but, with planning, students can qualify. To learn more about the process for establishing Colorado residency, visit Student Financial Services.

For out-of-state students with GTA/GRA appointments, the department will pay out-of-state tuition rates for the first year of graduate study; in subsequent year(s), the department will only cover tuition at the in-state rate. As a result, out-of-state students who receive graduate teaching or research assistantships are encouraged to establish Colorado residency during their first year of study.

Conference Travel Funds

Travel stipends are available to Ph.D. students whose papers or panels are accepted for presentation at academic conferences. These stipends usually do not exceed $750 and can be used to cover airfare, food and board, and conference registrations. Ph.D. students are usually guaranteed funding to one conference per year, and additional funds (usually no more than $500) may be available for Ph.D. students to attend a second conference in a given year. For M.S. students, funding to attend academic conferences may also be available.

In addition to financial support, Colorado State University and the JMC department are committed to providing students with the resources to help them accomplish their goals. Go to Graduate Resources to learn more.