Financial Support

The faculty annually review the progress of each student in the program. Before the student evaluation meeting, students submit to the Graduate Coordinator copies of a curriculum vitae and a completed annual review form that shows program requirements and professional activities they have completed and a summary of their plans for the coming year. The criteria used in the evaluation are: (a) timely completion of program requirements, (b) publication with attention to journal quality and order of authorship, (c) presentations with attention to conference quality and order of authorship, (d) grades in graduate courses, (e) faculty recommendations and evaluations, (f) other indices of professional participation and competence (e.g., workshop participation, involvement in organizations, department service, etc.), and (g) performance in teaching and research assistantships. The most important criteria is timeliness of program requirements.  

Students receive a written report of their evaluation and are encouraged to discuss it with their Research Advisors. Students often get valuable feedback and suggestions for improving their course of study from these yearly evaluations. If a student is not progressing satisfactorily, the faculty can decide to place them on probation or terminate them from the program. The types of recommendations made are: (1) continuation, (2) termination, or (3) probationary status. The procedure for being removed from probation is set forth in the evaluation. 

Research Excellence Awards

The Graduate School provides scholarships that can be used to support travel to professional meetings. These awards are typically reserved for students who have been admitted to candidacy and nearing completion of their dissertation. Additional Professional Development Awards are made (contingent on available departmental funds) when students have had papers accepted for presentation at national or international meetings. These awards are in recognition for their excellence in research and can be used for travel to meetings of professional societies. To receive these awards, students must submit an application to the Graduate coordinator when the paper is accepted for presentation (the Graduate Advisor sends out the call for applications each fall and spring semester). Research Excellence Awards can also be awarded in the form of small grants for research-related expenses. Students should submit an application to the Graduate coordinator, along with a rationale for the research and a budget outlining research expenses 

Departmental Endowments

Departmental scholarships include the Mary Ellen Durrett Scholarship in Child Development, the Martha Ann Goss McGonigle Fellowship in Child Development, the Martha Dunlap Thompson Endowed Presidential Graduate Fellowship in Child Development, and the Leonard and Abby Zeifman Graduate Fellowship in Child Development. Small amounts from these funds are awarded by the Graduate Committee for professional travel when students are presenting their research and for dissertation research expenses. Consult Abby Black for more information.   

University, College, and Departmental Fellowships and Awards

Occasionally, other awards become available in the form of scholarships or fellowships. Each award has its own restrictions, and awards are made on the basis of merit and meeting the requirements of each award.  

Off-campus Fellowship Support

The Office of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Advisor work actively with graduate students to pursue sources of support available off-campus, such as the National Science Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship program, the Spencer Foundation, and the like. The Graduate Advisor will keep students aware of opportunities as she/he becomes aware of them.

HDFS Fellowships: 

https://www.apa.org/about/awards/congress-fellow

https://www.apa.org/about/awards/science-fellowship

https://www.srcd.org/professional-advancement/srcd-us-policy-fellowship-programs

https://www.spssi.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=747&nodeID=1

https://www.aaas.org/programs/science-technology-policy-fellowships

Research Assistantships

Research assistantships are available through faculty members' funded research projects.  Appointments are made by the faculty member(s) conducting the research.  

Assistant Instructor positions

Several positions are usually available within the program each semester for teaching lower-division undergraduate courses. Appointments are made by the Teaching Coordinator, in consultation with the faculty.  

Teaching Assistantships

The program typically funds a large number of graduate students as teaching assistants each semester to assist with undergraduate and graduate courses. Appointments are made by the Graduate Admissions Committee and the faculty. The following explanation, taken from a Graduate School memorandum, describes regulations and procedures for Teaching Assistants and Assistant Instructors:  

Both Teaching Assistants and Assistant Instructors "must be certified by the Graduate School to be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward an advanced degree, and have no more than one incomplete grade from the previous semester.” During their graduate careers, students are eligible for teaching and research support for only 14 semesters (7 years), excluding summers. Satisfactory progress is interpreted by the Graduate School to mean having a grade point average of "B" or better, and having a record of completed course work. For appointments beginning in the fall, students with acceptable averages will be considered to be making satisfactory progress if they do not have more than one Incomplete "X" from the previous semester or summer term of registration. At the start of the spring semester, TA's and AI's shall, at the start of the summer session, not have more than one incomplete for the preceding term.  The university student evaluations are conducted for TAs as well as for instructors. In addition, the department collects evaluations of TAs from the faculty members whom the TA assists.  

Candidates for appointment as Assistant Instructors must (a) be enrolled as a full-time graduate student, (b) hold a master's degree or have completed 30 graduate hours of coursework, (c) have satisfactorily completed one semester of a course in teaching methods (NCS 088L) or equivalent, and (4) shall have had at least one semester of service as a Teaching Assistant for the course they will teach. The Department of HDFS has further stipulated that AI's who have not yet completed the M.A. must have completed all requirements except the thesis. An AI will be assigned a faculty mentor from the department who will confer with the AI regularly, observe at least one or two classes, and review the syllabus.  

Students who have had at least one year of classroom teaching in an accredited college or secondary school and/or have taken one semester or a comparable teaching methods course may petition to waive the NCS 088L requirement.