MA/MS Program Handbook: Money Matters & Financial Aid
MONEY MATTERS
You will receive your tuition bill through the mail about the last week of the semester. There are other charges that may be levied, such as a drop-add fee or a late registration fee. These charges may be avoided by registering during the regular registration period and observing all deadlines. The deadlines and fees associated with them are listed in the Schedule of Classes.
FINANCIAL AID
The following information regarding financial aid opportunities is intended primarily to assist graduate students and particularly international students (who in most cases are not eligible for commercial bank loans or for aid provided through an agency of the U.S. or Indiana governments). This listing does not claim to be comprehensive and students are encouraged to contact the ISU Financial Aid Office for additional information.
Political Science Department
ISU Administrative Units
On-Campus Employers
ISU Career Center
International Groups
Political Science Department
Assistantships
Provide a stipend for services rendered (normally assisting faculty with
courses and/or research projects). To be eligible to receive a graduate
assistantship, you must satisfy at least one of the following criteria: an
undergraduate grade point average (from a U.S. institution) of at least 3.0
on a 4.0 scale; a grade point average of at least 3.6 on a 4.0 scale after
completion of at least 12 hours of graduate course work; or Graduate Record
Exam (GRE) scores on the verbal, math, and analytical tests which are no
lower than one standard error of measure from the average scores (as a rough
indicator, the total for these three scores on recent GRE exams has been
approximately 1500). Contact the Political Science Department to procure
application forms.
The Political Science Department receives an annual budgetary allocation
from the University to financial the assistantships that the department
awards. This allocation IS NOT great enough to allow us to award
assistantships to everyone who is eligible. As such, the awarding of
graduate assistantships is a competitive process; a departmental committee
reviews the applications that have been submitted by eligible candidates and
then chooses those persons to whom award offers will be made. The number of
awards made in any particular year will vary, depending on the budget
allocation that the department has been given and the number of slots
available for new assistants (i.e., some of the available slots may be
"reserved" for current assistants who are entering the second and final year
of their graduate programs). Given the competitive nature of this process,
it is crucial for applicants to get all of their application material
submitted as early as possible, for in some cases the department may make
offers to especially promising applicants before the April 1 deadline.
Applications should, as noted above, be submitted as early as possible
(ideally before January 15) and no later than April 1. Those applying for
assistantships should also apply for scholarships (see below).
Scholarships
Provide a waiver of tuition costs and some fees. Eligibility criteria
and application procedures are the same as those for assistantships (see
above).
Department Staff Worker
The department normally hires several students to work in its office and
tries to give first priority to qualified graduate students. Basic
qualifications are typing skills, computer literacy (prefer experience with
the WordPerfect word processing program), and, for international students, a
high degree of fluency in spoken English. Contact the Political Science
Department office to procure application forms.
Various administrative units at ISU offer, depending on the availability
of funding, graduate assistantships and/or scholarships. You must contact
the individual offices for details about eligibility, although usually the
criteria will be the same as those used by the Political Science Department.
Listed below are some of the units that normally provide such financial aid.
Unless noted otherwise, you apply by requesting application forms from the
Political Science Department and then returning them to the unit offering
the financial aid.
International Student Services Office
Normally provides one assistantship. To apply, send a letter and a
résumé to the director of the International Student Office.
ISU Library
Provides both assistantships and scholarships; the number varies from
year to year.
Office of Residential Life
Provides both assistantships and scholarships,; the number varies from
year to year.
School of Graduate Studies
Provides both assistantships and scholarships; the number varies from
year to year.
On-Campus Employers
Various units around the University routinely hire students, including
international students, as employees. However, BEFORE APPLYING for any such
job, a student must first register for employment at the ISU Career Center
and obtain an Employment Authorization Card. A student is allowed to work a
maximum of 20 hours per week at these jobs.
Listed below are some of units that employ significant numbers of students.
ISU Bookstore
Has positions as bookstore attendants and cashiers. Contact the
bookstore manager regarding application procedures.
ISU Library
Positions vary. Apply separately at the various sections of the Library,
especially the Check-Out Desk, the Reference Section, the Administration
Section, the Information Section, the Periodicals Section, and the Teaching
Materials Section.
Marriott Food Service
Has positions as cafeteria attendants, kitchen helpers, dish washers,
and checkers. Three different shifts (day, evening, and night) are
available. Apply separately at both the Lincoln Quad Cafeteria and the
Sycamore Cafeteria.
Computer Center
Needs to hire a large number of people because it is open 24 hours per
day. Positions vary and the Computer Center staff provides necessary
training for those who are hired.
ISU Career Center
The ISU Career Center maintains a comprehensive list of both on-campus and off-campus student employment opportunities. Students may get referrals to employers from the Career Center. Consult with Career Center personnel regarding referrals and other services offered. Specific descriptions of job vacancies are posted on Job Boards found in both the Career Center and the Student Union.
International students may find that their national student organizations at ISU are quite helpful in providing information regarding financial aid and other matters. The most active national organizations are the ones serving students from China (PRC), Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, United Arab Republics, and Saudi Arabia. Contact the Office of International Student Services for addresses, telephone numbers, and other information regarding these and other such organizations.