The department supports a number of teaching assistants who have responsibility for undergraduate laboratory instruction and/or assisting professors with undergraduate courses. A full-time workload is no more than 20 hours per week, including about six contact hours. Teaching assistants are appointed for nine months of the academic year. Assistantships are normal renewed to a total of two academic years for a master's student and four for a doctoral student. To be considered for teaching assistantships, applications should be received no later than early March.
Research assistantships may be provided by individual faculty members with research grants from external agencies. Awards are made to students working with the particular faculty member who requires assistance on the funded project, which typically forms the student's thesis or dissertation research.
Assistantships provide a waiver of tuition costs with the exception of student fees.
Several fellowship stipends are awarded each year by the Graduate School on the basis of departmental nomination and university-wide academic competition. Some scholarships are available for qualified minority applicants; students should contact the assistant dean of the Graduate School to obtain further information.
Departmental scholarship available to students studying Mineralogy or Petrology.
View Odom Scholarship Details.
Departmental scholarship available to students pursuing field studies as part of their thesis or dissertation research.
View Brian Fugiel Scholarship details.
Cooperation with U.S. and state agencies helps many students with research expenses. The department also provides student grants from the Goldich Fund for research expenses and professional presentations, typically in the range of a few hundred dollars. Students are also encouraged to apply for the student research grants awarded by local and national professional societies.