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Assistantships, Cost
of Living, Financial Aid A
PDF version of the Teaching or Research Assistantship application form
is available on the web for download, or you
can pick up a copy at the C&J main office. For the PDF version, you will
need Acrobat Reader, and it is available free at the
Adobe site.
Teaching Assistantships
The
Department of Communication and Journalism has, at any one time, approximately
17 teaching assistantships for Ph.D. students and approximately 25
teaching assistantships for M.A. students. All assistantships are
competitively chosen. If you wish to apply for an assistantship, you
need to complete the Application for Teaching or Research Assistantship
(see application materials). Funding for the teaching assistantship
is for the duration of your graduate program (three years for Ph.D.
students and two years for M.A. students) pending three conditions:
(a) teaching performance, (b) classroom performance (in your own graduate
classes), and (c) budget cuts. If budget cuts occur, returning students
are given priority over new students. It is unlikely that you would
lose a teaching assistantship.
Teaching assistants
typically teach two courses per semester (four total for the year).
This load is considered a 0.5 FTE (Full-time equivalent). We also
have some students who teach only one class per semester, a 0.25 (Half-time
equivalent) load. The financial package for teaching assistants who
teach four courses per year during the academic year 2010-2011 consists
of the following:
Ph.D.
1) Stipend of $14,791/year (not including summer)
2) Tuition waiver for up to 24 credits/year
3) Health insurance
M.A.
1) Stipend of $13,445/year (not including summer)
2) Out-of-state tuition is waived. Instead, you pay the current
in-state rate.
3) Health insurance
The stipend usually increases each year, but the actual amount of
the increase is subject to state legislative decisions, and we do
not find out specific figures until April or May of each year. Finally,
there are some opportunities for summer teaching, but they are not
guaranteed. Faculty have first priority for summer teaching, but we
may have a few TA positions.
Resources
for Teaching Assistants
We
work very hard to ensure that your teaching experience is rewarding.
We want to help you achieve your goal of being an excellent teacher.
Therefore, we offer the following resources:
1)
Faculty Facilitation/Coordination. A faculty member in the
department provides coordination and facilitation for all courses
taught by TAs. Each TA is responsible for teaching his/her own classes
(i.e., for most classes TAs are not assistants, but the primary teacher
of the course), but the faculty coordinator will provide support to
help you be successful in your teaching. The support includes meeting
before the semester to assist with course and syllabus preparation
and regular meetings during the semester to discuss ongoing issues
in the course (e.g., class activities, grading, lectures, problems,
etc.). The meetings provide the opportunity to share what is working,
and what is not, in your own classes.
2) TARC/ITARC. TARC (Teaching Assistant Resource Center) and
ITARC (International Teaching Assistant Resource Center) are programs
that operate through the Center for Advancement of Scholarship in
Teaching and Learning and housed in the Department of Communication
and Journalism. TARC and ITARC are each a one-credit course that provides
instruction about the finer points of teaching. Each course meets
once a week for two hours for six weeks. The course is available to
all students at the university and is required for new TAs in the
C&J department. There are opportunities for graduate students
in C&J to assist with TARC and ITARC (especially those students
interested in instructional
communication).
Research
and Other Assistantships
The Department of Communication also has other
assistantships available to graduate students. The funding for these
projects is variable, but generally is consistent with the funding
for teaching assistantships. Some research assistantships provide
funding for 12 months, which increases the overall stipend as teaching
assistants are paid on a nine-month schedule. Variable positions in
other programs across campus will offer assistantships as well. Check
with the program advisement coordinator for information.
Cost
of Living
We
know that one concern that you might have is the cost of living in Albuquerque.
The following information may be useful for you in planning the cost of
attending the University of New Mexico. These costs are approximate and
represent a range of possible expenses.
GRADUATE EXPENSES FOR THE 2010-2011 ACADEMIC YEAR
| Independent on Campus |
|
|
| Description |
Academic Year |
One Semester |
| Tuition and fees |
$4,531 |
$2,265 |
| Room and Board |
$7,948 |
$3,974 |
| Books and Supplies |
$1,062 |
$531 |
| Transportation |
$1,660 |
$830 |
| Miscellaneous |
$3,044 |
$1,522 |
| Total |
$18,245 |
$9,122 |
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|
|
| Independent Off Campus |
| Increase room and board by $444 per academic year, or $222 per
semester |
Scholarships
and Financial Aid
There are several types of grants and scholarships
available from the university. The Office of Graduate Studies offers the
following awards (for national students only):
1)
OGS 3% scholarship. The department nominates up to five
students from the department to receive a scholarship that covers
tuition and fees for the academic year. These awards primarily are
awarded to M.A. students who do not have the opportunity for a tuition
waiver. This scholarship is available only to New Mexico residents.
Other criteria are academic merit and financial need.
2) Graduate Dean's Dissertation Year Fellowship. Provides
one year of financial assistance to students who will complete their
dissertation by the next academic year. An award of $8,000 is provided.
3) New Mexico Higher Education Department Graduate Scholarship
Program. The graduate scholarship program is intended to
increase enrollment of students from traditionally underrepresented
groups in graduate education. An annual award of $7,200 is provided.
4) Tom L. Popejoy Dissertation Prize. A $1,000 award
and assistance toward publication is provided for an outstanding
dissertation (completed). It rotates across departments and C&J
students are eligible every three years (next time will be 2013).
There
are several other opportunities for scholarships and fellowships listed
on the Office of Graduate Studies Funding Web page.The
Office of Graduate Studies website is at www.unm.edu/grad
Three other sources of information at UNM:
Financial Aid Office: finaid.unm.edu
Scholarship Office: scholarship.unm.edu
Office of Interntional
Programs: www.unm.edu/oips
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