Scholarships and Assistantships

Graduate Assistantships (GAs)

• 2 GAs - Each assistantship is worth $10500 and requires each awardee to work 20 hours per week. To identify the optimum candidates, applicants may be interviewed by the participating programs, i.e., Pre-College Programs which falls under the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion or Graduate Student Life which falls under the Dean of Students Office. All applicants for a GA must submit (with the application): a resume or c.v.; a cover letter describing the applicant's qualifications for the position; and a degree audit reflecting any past UNCW graduate-level work. "New" students without any past attendance at UNCW need not submit the degree audit.
  
• 2 GLS GAs - This is a single assistantship shared between two students. These partial assistantships are worth $5250 each and require 10 hours of work per week on behalf of the GLS program. GLS Office Assistant responsibilities include administrative and research assistance within the GLS office, and may include organizing the GLS Conference. All applicants for a GA must submit (with the application):
  • a resume or c.v.;
  • a cover letter describing the applicant's qualifications for the position;
  • and a degree audit reflecting any past UNCW graduate-level work. "New" students without any past experience at UNCW need not submit the degree audit.

All successful applicants for a GA must provide, upon request:

• a Form W4 (Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate -- federal),
• an NC-4 (Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate -- North Carolina),
• a copy of their Social Security card,
• a UNCW Direct Deposit form (with voided check or deposit slip)
• an I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) -- this form must be completed within three days of commencing work.
  • The I-9 must be filled out and signed in front of the GLS Program Director. All supporting documents, with the exception of the Social Security card, for the I-9 must be photo ID and the signatures on the form must be originals.
  • After the I-9 is completed, the applicant's information will be submitted, using E-Verify, to both Social Security and Homeland Security to ascertain if the applicant is authorized to work in the United States.

Tuition Remission

• There are two major eligibility requirements for the tuition remission:
  1. The student must have an assistantship; and,
  2. the student must be out-of-state as the remission pays the difference between in-state and out-of-state. (The student is responsible for the in-state portion.)
  The actual amount of the remission depends on the number of credit hours in which the out-of-state student is enrolled.

NOTE:

1. Tuition remissions, though granted by the Graduate School for each academic year, may not be available to all applicants every year. If a tuition remission was given to a student in their first year and that student has made satisfactory progress toward the degree and has not been reclassified as "instate for tuition purposes" or will be supported by some other funds, the program is obligated to use the awarded tuition remission to cover the student for the second year.
2. The amount of each tuition remission is closely linked to the receiving student's hourly enrollment for that semester. Once the remission has been awarded, students should not decrease or increase the number of hours enrolled. If a change in enrolled hours appears necessary, discuss the change with the GLS Program Director and the Graduate School before making the change. Changes can require the student to reimburse the university for a remission paid.

Scholarships

• The Wentworth-Berg Scholarship. $500 will be awarded to one GLS student. The scholarship is considered a merit scholarship and the recipient will be selected primarily on academic ability and special achievement. Secondary consideration will be given and based on financial need. Applicants with a history of past UNCW graduate work must submit a degree audit with their application.
  
• New Scholar Award. This award is specifically for a student just entering the GLS program. It is worth $1000 ($500 in the fall and $500 in the spring). Awards will based on prior academic achievement and offered to one new MALS student for use in defraying academic expenses.
  
• Graduate Tuition Scholarships. This scholarship is worth $2500 but is ordinarily broken into $1000 and $500 awards. These smaller scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic achievement and financial need. The awarded amount will be applied to the student(s)' account to offset in-state tuition and fees. Applicants with a history of past UNCW graduate work must submit a degree audit with their application.
• Information on other scholarships offered by UNCW are documented in the Graduate Catalogue.

Applications for 2011-2012 scholarships have closed. Applications for 2012-2013 assistantships/scholarships must be submitted, with all reqluired documentation, to the GLS Program office by COB on Thursday, May 31, 2012. A link to the application form will be provided below when the application process opens.

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NOTE: If you wish to be considered for GLS assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships based on need, you must also fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For more details, contact the UNCW Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSF). A link to the FAFSA is found on the OSF home page. Relevant OSF contact information is also provided below:

Graduate Student Financial Aid Counselor: Kay Pugh
Telephone: 910.962.3177
Email: finaid AT uncw DOT edu
Web: http://www.uncw.edu/finaid.

Last Update: November 23, 2011