Graduate Recruitment Fellowships/Assistantships

Fellowships and Assistantships for Incoming Doctoral Students

Once admitted, students are encouraged to work with their assigned faculty advisor to determine if fellowship and/or scholarship funding may be available. Online/hybrid students may not be eligible for funding, but are encouraged to work with their assigned faculty advisor to determine if any funding may be available.

The following prestigious recruitment Fellowships and Assistantship for new incoming doctoral students are reviewed and awarded at the Department level, and provide up to 4 years of funding. The number of fellowships awarded varies each year based on available funding.

Purdue Bursar’s Office – The University DOES NOT permit students enrolled in a professional graduate program that are either residential, hybrid or online to receive any fee remission associated with graduate staff appointments (Graduate Research Assistant, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Graduate Professional, etc.) or to receive graduate tuition scholarships associated with Purdue fellowships. Enrollment in these programs prevents you from receiving faculty, staff and staff dependents discounts and fee remissions.

Nomination Procedures

To be considered for a Ross, Andrews, or Purdue Doctoral Fellowship, or for the Dean’s Doctoral Research Assistantship, or the Ross-Lynn Research Scholar Fund (Assistantship), you must be admitted to the PhD program, AND you must be nominated by a program-area faculty member. Nominations are reviewed and awarded at the department level by a graduate education committee. Faculty nominations to the committee are due the 2nd Friday in January.

In order to be nominated:

  • Ensure your graduate school application is completed with all supporting documents no later than your program-area application deadline (EDCI deadlines | EDST deadlines). For programs with rolling admissions, your application must be completed by December 31.
  • You are encouraged to communicate directly with a program-area faculty member to discuss the program and request nomination for one of the above fellowships/assistantships.

The submission deadline to the Departments of the College of Education for the following fellowships is the second Friday in January.

The Dean’s Doctoral Research Assistantship is a College of Education recruitment and support initiative for students admitted to the College of Education in a doctoral degree-granting program. This prestigious award provides four years of funding, with three years funded by the College of Education and one year funded by the Department. As graduate assistants, students must be candidates for a degree and remain in good standing to maintain eligibility to hold the assistantship. Recipients of the Dean’s Research assistantship will conduct research, which may or may not be directly related to their degree requirements, under the direction of their major professors.

Dean’s Doctoral, Ross, and Andrews Fellowships Nomination Form
Faculty members nominating a student should include the nomination form, the student’s statement of purpose, student’s CV.

Dean’s Doctoral, Ross, and Andrews Fellowships Evaluation Rubric

The Ross Fellowship is a Graduate School recruitment fellowship of doctoral-seeking students admitted to the College of Education for the upcoming academic year to a degree-granting graduate program. Ross Fellowships must be administered as assistantships. Ross Fellows receive four years of funding, with one year funded by the Graduate School and three years by the Department. Dean’s Doctoral Research Assistantship, Ross Fellowship, and Andrews Fellowship nominations will be reviewed together. Please submit only one nomination form.

Dean’s Doctoral, Ross, and Andrews Fellowships Nomination Form
Faculty members nominating a student should include the nomination form, and for EDCI students the nomination should also include the student’s statement of purpose, student’s CV.

Dean’s Doctoral, Ross, and Andrews Fellowships Evaluation Rubric

The Andrews Fellowship is a Graduate School recruitment fellowship for students admitted to the College of Education (COE) for the upcoming academic year as doctoral students in a degree-granting program. It is the most prestigious fellowship awarded in the College of Education and must be administered as an assistantship. Andrews Fellows receive four years of funding, with two years funded by the Graduate School and two years by the Department. Dean’s Doctoral Research Assistantship, Ross Fellowship, and Andrews Fellowship nominations will be reviewed together. Please submit only one nomination form.

Dean’s Doctoral, Ross, and Andrews Fellowships Nomination Form
Faculty members nominating a student should include the nomination form, and for EDCI students the nomination should also include the student’s statement of purpose, student’s CV.

Dean’s Doctoral, Ross, and Andrews Fellowships Evaluation Rubric

The Purdue Doctoral Fellowship is a Graduate School recruitment fellowship for doctoral-seeking graduate students. Purdue Doctoral Fellows receive two years of support funded by the Graduate School, with two years funded by the Department, and have assistantship responsibilities.

Nomination form and rubric forthcoming

The purpose of the Ross-Lynn Research Scholar Fund is to “support the recruitment and retention of exceptional PhD students.” This fund is “intended to improve quantitative and reputational metrics in research, education, and innovation.” Incoming doctoral students funded by the Ross-Lynn Research Scholar Fund will receive 2 years of funding from the Ross-Lynn Research Scholar Funds allocated to the college, and 2 years of funding from the department. During the two-years funded by the Ross-Lynn Research Scholar Fund, recipients will be given the tile of Ross-Lynn Research Scholar, and be provided with a .50 FTE (20 hours a week) Research Assistantship (Fall, Spring, and Summer), under the supervision of the student’s faculty advisor. For the remaining two-years, receipients will be provided with a .50 FTE (20 hours a week) Research and/or Teaching Assistantship (Fall, Spring, and Summer), based on the needs of the program area or department.

Nomination form and rubric forthcoming

Additional Fellowships for Incoming Graduate Students

The Graduate School centrally administers applications for selected fellowships for which incoming students may be eligible. For information on available fellowships and nomination instructions and forms, see: https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/fellowship/funding-resources-for-students/fellowships/managed-fellowships/index.html

General Assistantships for Incoming Graduate Students

General Assistantships may be available for students without a fellowship, on a per-semester basis. Most assistantships are half-time (0.50 FTE), but you may be offered the opportunity to work quarter-time (0.25 FTE), or three-quarter-time (0.75 FTE). FTE means Full-Time Equivalent, which is ordinarily assumed to mean 40 hours of work per week. International students, by law, may not exceed 0.50 FTE, or half-time employment, during the fall and spring semesters.

Contact your department for information about how to apply for available assistantships. You must be admitted to the Purdue Graduate School before you will be offered an assistantship. Once admitted, students are encouraged to work with their assigned faculty advisor to determine if funding may be available. Students enrolled in online/hybrid programs are typically not eligible for assistantships.

As a Teaching Assistant (TA), you might lead one or more sections of an undergraduate class with responsibility for preparing and delivering lectures and evaluating student work, you might oversee a recitation or laboratory section for a large lecture course, or you might supervise student teachers in the field. Most teaching assistantships require, or at least strongly prefer, that you have prior K-12 teaching experience because most courses deal with K-12 teacher preparation. These appointments are typically for 10 months and extend from about August 15 to May 15. TAs selected to teach Summer School classes receive additional paychecks, but usually there are few summer TA slots available. International students whose first language is not English must satisfy oral English proficiency standards to be offered a teaching assistant position.

As a Research Assistant (RA), you would perform research-related tasks, typically under the direction of a faculty member. You might work in a laboratory, collect observation data in a classroom, or type transcripts from recorded interviews. These appointments are most typically available from faculty members who have been awarded research grants.

As an Administrative Assistant, you would perform administrative tasks under the direction of faculty or staff members. Although fewer of these jobs are available, they are usually 12-month appointments. Examples include auditing the transcripts of teacher licensing candidates or maintaining a department’s website.