Graduate Assistantships and Scholarships

Graduate Assistantships are university appointments that provide financial support to outstanding graduate students. These assistantships allow students to gain experience in teaching, research, or advanced service at the university level.

Graduate Assistantships:

Provide graduate students an opportunity to work with faculty mentors in research, teaching, or service assignments.
Benefit all areas and programs on campus as a graduate student may pursue a graduate degree in one program while conducting research, teaching, or service in another area.
Enhance the graduate education experience and program quality.
Are awarded as an incentive to potential students who are capable of employment while being enrolled in graduate coursework.

Assistantships are available for 1/8 time and 1/4 time, depending on the position requirements. During the academic year, students may work up to 5 hours per week for 16-weeks at 1/8 time or up to 10 hours per week for 16-weeks at 1/4 time. During the 8-week summer term, students may work up to 10 hours per week at 1/4 time and up to 20 hours per week at 1/2 time. Teaching assistantships are 1/4 time. Assistantships are awarded for one semester at a time and may be renewed providing the student maintains eligibility within the graduate program. International students should review the policy for the number of hours of work allowed per semester. Graduate students are eligible for assistantships regardless of the mode of instruction.

The student receiving a graduate assistantship must enroll in a minimum of 6 semester hours of course work during the fall or spring semester or 3 semester hours during summer session or be completing thesis or project credits. Students enrolled in thesis or project credits or who have an in-progress grade and are enrolled in Continuing Enrollment are eligible to receive 2 years of graduate assistantship funding. Students enrolled in the Education Specialist program and have thesis or project credits in-progress are eligible to receive 3 years of graduate assistantship funding.

Graduate assistantships are considered a scholarship to promising students for the opportunity to participate in research, teaching, and service-related tasks under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Students may apply for a graduate assistant position through MSU Human Resource system. Applications are reviewed by faculty requesting graduate assistants. Faculty prepare a job description that is attached to the contract request. Awarding of assistantships is determined by the program director in consultation with the department chair.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Minot State offers an automatic scholarship to new graduate students employed in a K-12 school within a qualifying county. Students who enroll full-time (9 or more credits) receive a $1,000 scholarship, while students who enroll part-time (fewer than 9 credits) receive a $500 scholarship. To qualify, you must be new graduate student enrolled in a certificate, master’s, or specialist program. To receive the Hometown Pride Scholarship, please upload a letter from your principal or superintendent confirming your employment at the K-12 institution. You may upload this letter in your application.

The Minot State Alumni Foundation offers a scholarship to potential graduate school applicants. For more information, please contact the director of the program in which you are interested.

Department Scholarships

Several MSU Departments may have additional scholarships which are offered on a year-by-year basis pending availability of funds. Students may contact the Financial Aid Office at 701-858-3375 or their respective Program Directors for additional information.

Most departmental scholarships selections are made from the applications received by Feb. 15 of each year. Applications will continue to be accepted after Feb. 15; however; most scholarships are granted by the department for those who met the initial Feb. 15 yearly deadline.

To be considered for any scholarships, applicants are required to complete the appropriate Scholarship Web Application (New or Returning) which can be found on the Graduate School website at MinotStateU.edu/graduate/current_students/index.shtml.

For those applying to a College of Business Scholarship, applicants will also be required to complete the COB application which is located on the righthand side of the following website: MinotStateU.edu/business/pages/scholarships.shtml.

College of Business

Bruce and Diane Walker

Open to full-time College of Business students.

Doris A. Slaaten

Open to College of Business students with a GPA of 3.0 in financial need.

E. James McIntyre

Open to full-time College of Business students with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Preference given to those participating in MSU Athletics.

Jan Barlow

Open to College of Business students.

MSIS Scholarship Endowment

Open to MSIS graduate students enrolled in at least 6 credits with a GPA of 3.0 or greater.

Randy & Pat Burckhard
As per the Alumni Office, awarded to Business Administration majors on a quadrennial basis.

Richard L. Muss Business

As per the Alumni Office, awarded annually to full-time College of Business students who are residents of North Dakota.

Robert Torgerson

Open to full-time MSU students in the College of Business.

Yvonne Schultz

As per the Alumni Office, open to College of Business graduate students.

Communication Disorders-Speech Language Pathology

North Dakota Speech, Language, and Hearing Association:

Open to graduate and undergraduate students at the least junior status majoring in communication disorders.

Minot Sertoma Club

Established by the Minot Sertoma Club to aid students in hearing and speech related programs. Scholarships are awarded to graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology and in Special Education: Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing.

Hearing and Training Center

Scholarship for graduate students in Communication Disorders minimum GPA is 3.5.

Edna Gilbert

Open to anyone majoring in Communication Disorders.

North Dakota Department of Instruction

Open to students who agree to be employed in a North Dakota school following graduation.

Dr. Audrey Lunday

Open to a first-year graduate student who is a single-parent graduate student from abroad whose intent is to be employed in a medical setting.

St. Joseph's Community Foundation

Open to a graduate or undergraduate student studying communication disorders.

Music

Ruth Schell Overholser Fellowship

Established for the benefit of graduate Students pursuing the study of music. Students must be enrolled as a graduate student in the Division of Music at MSU, demonstrate financial need, and academic achievements and maintain a GPA of 3.0.

Special Education

Elsie May Deeter Hearing Impaired

Established by Elsie May Deeter, scholarships are awarded to graduate students in deaf/hard of hearing education. Approval from the Chair of the Department of Special Education and the Vice President for Academic Affairs is required.

Florence Lake

Established by Florence Lake, a leader in education of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and who was instrumental in establishing the program at Minot State University. This annual scholarship is awarded to students in education of the deaf on the basis of academic achievement and financial needs.

Frances V. Leach

Established by the late Mrs. Thomas W. Leach of Towner, North Dakota, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, to encourage and support special education. Priority is given to a graduate student from Towner or McHenry County majoring in learning disabilities. If no graduate student applies, the scholarship will be awarded to an undergraduate student from Towner or McHenry County majoring in special education.