USF Philosophy Department
Financial Assistance

APPLICANTS FOR FALL ADMISSION:

Doctoral program applicants for fall admission compete for teaching assistantships and fellowships. In order to be considered for an award, the application file must be complete by January 2. This means that the following items must be received in the Department of Philosophy on or before January 1: application, official GRE scores, transcripts, letters of recommendation, Statement of Purpose and writing sample.

Teaching Assistantship awards are highly competitive; 4 to 6 teaching assistantships are awarded to fall applicants each year.  Although all application materials are reviewed and considered, GRE Scores and GPA are integral to decision-making for TA awards.  Present competitive scores are for admission will be at least 600 Verbal, 600 Quantitative and 5.0 Analytic; however, the average combined score for Fall 2006 applicants awarded financial assistance is 1308 with 5.1 Analytic Writing.

Dean's Excellence Award (DEA): Applicants for fall admission also compete for the DEA which increases the TA stipend to $15,000 per year for 4 years. Two DEA are awarded each year and are included in the 4 to 6 teaching assistantships awarded to applicants each year. Requirements for DEA are a minimum GRE (VQ) of 1250 with 3.5+ GPA.

CONTINUING DOCTORAL STUDENTS:

Teaching assistantship awards are highly competitive and are awarded based on academic record, seniority and availability of assistantships. Occasionally a one year or one semester award will be made based on department need. Continuing students applying for a teaching assistantship must have no incomplete grades. Deadline for application is February 1.

CURRENT TAs:

Renewal of a teaching assistantship/associateship depends on the length of the original award, academic progress, teaching record and College of Arts and Sciences limitations.  Incomplete policy: any incomplete that is older than 8 months disqualifies a current TA from applying for the renewal of a teaching assistantship. Deadline for application for renewal is February 1.

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP DETAILS
Teaching assistantships consist of: a $10,500 stipend distributed over the course of the fall and spring semesters via biweekly paycheck in exchange for 20 hours of work per week and a tuition waiver that covers all tuition except for “student fees.” In Fall 2004, semester fees payable by a student registered for 12 hours was: $530.44 for In-state tuition and $908.44 for Out-of-State tuition.

FELLOWSHIPS
Presidential Doctoral Fellowship (PDF): The top one or two applicants for fall admission to the Philosophy Doctoral Program are nominated for the PDF. The PDF is $20,000 per year for five years with tuition waiver plus other perquisites. In three of the past four years, a philosophy student has been offered a PDF.

University Graduate Fellowship (UGF): In even-numbered years, one applicant for fall admission to the Philosophy Doctoral Program is awarded a $10,000 one-year UGF with a tuition waiver.

MORE FELLOWSHIPS
Information regarding several fellowships not mentioned on this page appears on the following Graduate Studies page http://www.grad.usf.edu/fellowship.asp