Graduate Funding

The vast majority of full-time students in the school receive some form of financial support. 

Tuition & Fees

The current academic year’s registration fees for residents and nonresidents enrolled full-time can be found on the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid websiteTuition fees are waived for funded graduate assistants. All students are responsible for paying mandatory fees

Graduate Assistantships

The most common form of support is a graduate assistantship. Assistants are assigned to work with faculty members on research projects or as teaching assistants for courses in return for a stipend and a waiver of nonresident tuition charges. The starting stipend for students without an M.A. is $21,750. Graduate assistantships not only provide financial aid, but are a valuable part of a student's professional training. In comparing this stipend level with other doctoral programs, be sure to take into account Tucson's relatively low cost of living (see comparative cost calculator).

Advanced students typically serve as teaching associates in charge of their own courses. In addition, students may be supported by grants on faculty members' research projects. Finally, graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply for external fellowships and grants. Our students are competitive for such awards. Training and assistance with applications for external support are available through the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute and the Graduate College. 

Departmental Awards

Raymond V. Bowers Award for Outstanding Graduate Paper

The Bowers Award was established by Professor Emeritus Raymond V. Bowers to honor students in the School of Sociology program, or those with a graduate minor in Sociology, who have written outstanding papers. Papers submitted for consideration are judged by a panel of faculty. First and second-place cash awards — worth $300 and $200, respectively — will be given to the students judged to have written the best papers. Recipients of the awards are announced each Spring during the School of Sociology Student Awards Ceremony.

William K. Bunis Graduate Student Instructor Award

The School of Sociology established this award to recognize graduate student instructors for their teaching excellence at the undergraduate level. To be nominated a graduate student must have taught at least two undergraduate courses in the School. The call for nominations will be in the spring.  Winners will be awarded at the School's Student Awards Ceremony.

General Information on Grants and Fellowships

Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute (SBSRI): The best resource for finding out about grant and fellowship opportunities, both external awards and internal to the University.

Graduate College Summer Fellowship Application Development Program

Specific Funding Opportunities for Sociology Students

Listing of Grads Who Have Won Funding: Find out what our graduate students have been competitive for recently, and talk to successful applicants for advice.

External Fellowship & Grant Opportunities

National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants

Support for direct costs of doctoral research; through the NSF sociology program. It is sometimes possible to apply for joint funding with other divisions of NSF. Our students have been very competitive for these fellowships in recent years.

Application deadlines are typically October 15 of each year. However, the de facto deadline is at least 1 week earlier, because proposals must be routed through UA Sponsored Projects.

NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes

Funds summer research in affiliation with a host institution in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, or Taiwan. $5,000 stipend plus the cost of travel. through the NSF sociology program. It is sometimes possible to apply for joint funding with other divisions of NSF. Proposed research should be "hypothesis-driven" and achievable within 8-10 weeks.

See program information

NAEd/Spencer Dissertation and Postdoctoral Grants (for education research)

Sociologists of education are competitive for these fellowships. Be aware of the interdisciplinary nature of the program and reviewers when applying.

See program information

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships: Scholars in Health Policy Research Program

Extremely generous, prestigious, and competitive postdoctoral fellowship. Preference is given to candidates who do not have a strong background in health or health policy but wish to move into it. Based on what I know of previous winners, both health and policy are broadly conceived. 

See program information