Funding

Students who are offered funding at the time of admission either via a Fellowship or Graduate Teaching Associateship are typically guaranteed funding through the duration of their program (up to five years if needed for a PhD student or two years for a master’s student) provided that the student continues to make appropriate progress toward the degree and carries out assigned duties satisfactorily. Continued funding may come in the form of a Fellowship, Graduate Teaching Associateship (GTA or TA) or Graduate Research Associateship (GRA or RA). Students who are not awarded funding in the first year can seek funding for following years, although it is not typical for additional funding to become available. Students may alternatively seek funding from outside of the department. Students who obtain funding from an external source should report the funding source to the department.

University Fellowships and Graduate Associateships

As the Graduate School and Office of Human Resources set policy for University Fellowships and Graduate Associateships, please see their website (links included below) for details on eligibility, benefits and other information. Refer to your contract for department level information.

University Fellowships

Graduate Associateships

Human Resources

Training for Teaching Associates

Department TA Training: All TAs employed by the Department of Statistics are required to attend our department’s on-campus TA training, typically scheduled for the couple of weeks prior to the start of the autumn semester. Students who are on Fellowship in the first year are given the opportunity to take the TA training in the first year or they can defer the training until the second year prior to beginning their TA duties.

During the TA training, students will complete a series of online training courses including: "Protecting Institutional Data," "Building a Supportive Community: Preventing Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence," and "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act" (FERPA).

Oral Proficiency Assessment: All TAs whose first language was not English must certify their proficiency in spoken English before assuming certain TA duties. The student's score on the OPA will determine what duties the student may perform as a TA. If the student is not certified through the first attempt at the OPA, the student should enroll in English as a Second Language courses and retake the OPA. Students who are not certified to teach will be assigned as a grader and can perform these duties regardless of the OPA score earned. Students who have not been OPA certified by the start of autumn semester of their second year are unable to teach courses at Ohio State. Students may continue as a grader although stipends are reduced for GTAs who are not classroom-certified in their second year and beyond. Additional information regarding the Oral Proficiency Assessment (OPA) can be found on the English as a Second Language website.

University Center for Advancement of Teaching: The University Center for the Advancement of Teaching (UCAT) serves as a resource for instructors at Ohio State. Check out their website ucat.osu.edu to learn more about what UCAT has to offer, from individual consultations to events, online resources and additional trainings.

Enrollment Requirements

Students are required to enroll in a minimum number of credit hours in order to receive their funding. Refer to the course enrollment page for details.

Leave of Absence (TA and RA)

Students on a TA or RA appointment through the Department of Statistics are required to submit a 

TA and RA Absence From Duty Survey.

Application and Reappointment

Prior to each semester, students will be asked to fill out a form to indicate their expected funding. This form also serves as the TA request form. Students who were guaranteed funding will fill out the form to indicate availability and preference. Students who had not previously been offered funding can request funding consideration via this form. Students who are expecting to activate their dissertation year fellowship should indicate so via the form and follow up with a formal request to the Graduate School. Note that faculty seek out GRA candidates on a case-by-case basis as funds become available.

Students are judged for reappointment by their progress toward the degree and by their performance of assigned duties. GRA reappointments are up to the discretion of the supervisor. All reappointments are subject to the availability of funds. If progress and performance are satisfactory, reappointments are usually automatic through the student’s fifth year (PhD) or second year (master’s). For PhD students, reappointments for sixth year or beyond are subject to review by the Graduate Studies Committee.

Travel Grants

The Department of Statistics has the Gary G. Koch and Family Graduate Student Travel Award Fund designated for support of graduate student travel to professional conferences/meetings to present their research as contributed or invited papers or as part of poster sessions. To request a travel grant, students must complete the application below and submit it to the department Fiscal Officer. Please read the instructions document first for details on the policy and process.

Departmental Awards

The Department also awards a number of honors to graduate students at the end of each spring semester to recognize their dedication and efforts throughout the year. Awards are given to the recognize the department's best Teaching Associates, PhD research, best SCS Consultant, best Research Associate, and exceptional scholarly excellence and leadership abilities. See our department awards page for details on the awards and a list of past recipients. Monetary awards are distributed via the student's paycheck or statement of account depending on the student's status.

Additional Resources

Student Financial Aid (loans, grants, special scholarships, etc.)

Discovery Scholars Program (funding opportunity that aims to increase the diversity of our graduate student body)

Graduate School (external funding, financial education)

Employee Self-Service (view paycheck, W-2, direct deposit, etc.)

Tuition and Fees (see Graduate All Other Programs)

(See Resources page for additional resources)

Questions?

Paycheck: Payroll Services (controller.osu.edu/pay/pay-home.shtm)


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