Graduate Student Financial Support

Sociology Teaching Assistantships

The Department of Sociology offers a limited number of teaching assistantships for qualified students. Teaching assistants receive a tuition waiver and a stipend. Assistantships for the coming academic year are awarded in the spring.

If you wish to be considered for an assistantship, your application materials must be received by the Department no later than February 15th. You will be notified of your admission to the graduate program by March 15th and you will learn if you've been awarded a teaching assistantship by April 15th.

Check the Graduate Cost of Attendance page for the most current costs of graduate study at the University of Montana.

Students also pursue research assistantships, paid internships, and university grants.

Additional Scholarships

All graduate students should complete the UM Scholarship Portal general application to see if they are eligible for university scholarships. Some opportunities require supplemental application materials. The following are three university graduate student scholarships. This is not an exhaustive list.

Bertha Morton Fellowships/Scholarships

These are campus-wide awards of $3,000 - $5000, chosen by the University Graduate Council each spring from nominations by campus programs. The criteria for nomination include: honors and awards; professional credentials; research, creative scholarship, and academic achievements; work experience; professional, university, and community activity/accolades. Recipients must be enrolled graduate students at the University of Montana (in other words, recipients typically use the funding in their second year of school.)

Andrew and Elizabeth Lassen Scholarship

A renewable $2,000 annual award for a full-time graduate student with financial need who is a single parent with dependent children residing in the home.

Dennis and Phyllis Washington Scholarship

A renewable $2,000 annual award for a graduate student with financial need.

Travel Funding and Research Awards

Research

Most faculty members have projects underway with opportunities for graduate student participation. Students can undertake paid assistantships or unpaid opportunities to assist with research for course credit. In these roles, graduate students typically help collect interview or focus group data, run experiments, or conduct statistical analyses.