Assistantships
There are three types of assistantships available at NIU College of Law: research, graduate, and Rhoten A. Smith assistantships. After their first years, students can be considered for research assistantships in NIU College of Law, or for graduate assistantships within other NIU departments. Assistantships, research or graduate, normally provide waivers in the amount of full or partial in-state tuition, although some provide waivers in the amount of out-of-state tuition.
Normally, assistantship applications are processed during late spring for positions starting the next fall. Applications are processed in the early fall for positions starting in the spring.
Law students should note that tuition waivers affect the student’s financial aid budget. The tuition waiver reduces the total student loan eligibility amount.
Types of Assistantships
Research Assistantships
- After their first years, law students can be considered for research assistantships within NIU College of Law. A student should submit a Research Assistantship Application (hard copies are available in the NIU College of Law Office of Admissions & Financial Aid) to a professor with whom he or she would like to work.
- These research assistantships provide waivers in the amount of full or partial in-state tuition.
Graduate Assistantships
- Students seeking Graduate Assistantships should contact the Office of Human Resource Services at http://www.hr.niu.edu/ServiceAreas/Grads/.
- These assistantships provide waivers in the amount of full or partial in-state or out-of-state tuition.
Rhoten A. Smith Assistantships
- The Rhoten A. Smith Assistantship Program has been established at NIU to help provide graduate assistantships to minorities and women enrolled in graduate programs in which these groups are underrepresented. The program, named in honor of the university's sixth president, represents the NIU's commitment to increasing access to graduate education.
- A Rhoten A. Smith Assistantship typically pays a stipend and provides a full in-state or out-of-state tuition waiver. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible. Please download an application here.