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FUNDING

Pass-through master's/PhD students in good standing are generally funded for five years. Students who enroll only for the PhD are usually funded for three years. When resources are available, we also offer funding to students in our terminal master's program.

Students can receive funding by working for the department in a variety of ways.

Teaching Assistantships
Graduate student teaching assistantships (TA) require up to 20 hours per week of assisting sociology department professors and instructors. TA positions come with a paid stipend and up to 9 hours (full-time enrollment) of paid tuition. In order to qualify for this tuition benefit, a student must be in good academic standing and be a full-time graduate student (9 credit hours).

Teaching Fellowships
Advanced graduate students may also work as Teaching Fellows (TFs) where they serve as the primary instructor for an undergraduate course. The Graduate Director and/or Department Chair works with students to assign courses based on students' interests and the department's teaching needs. TF positions come with a paid stipend and up to 9 hours (full-time enrollment) paid tuition. Teaching fellowships not only provide funding for graduate students, but also valuable teaching experience for those interested in future employment as faculty members.

Research Assistantships
Graduate students in the master's, pass-through, or PhD programs may also work as research assistants (RAs) supporting faculty-led research projects. These positions are often funded through internal or external grants and are administered by individual faculty members. RAs assist in the full capacity of research, from data collection to data analysis and the writing of articles. Funding for RA positions may vary depending on the source, but they generally come with a paid stipend and up to 9 hours (full-time enrollment) paid tuition.

Summer Funding
The department aims to fund all students who express a need for summer funding, but availability of TA, TF, and RA positions vary during the summer. There are some Teaching Assistant (TA) positions available in the five-week summer sessions and a few Teaching Fellow (TF) positions for doctoral students. These positions pay between $2500 - $2800 for one summer term. International applicants with questions about work and funding should visit international.unt.edu.

GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS

Our department and UNT offer a number of grants and resources to fund graduate student research (theses and dissertations) and conference travel. We also offer numerous scholarships and awards to recognize outstanding students, teaching assistants, and teaching fellows.

Thesis and Dissertation Small Research Grants
The Department supports students who have research expenses related to their thesis and dissertation projects, such as travel costs related to interviewing study participants. To apply for these funds, complete the Thesis and Dissertation Small Research Grant Application form linked below, email it to your major professor for a signature of approval, and then send the signed form to the Department Chair, Matthew Painter (matthew.painter@unt.edu), and CC sociology@unt.edu. Indicate in the subject line of the email that you are attaching a Thesis and Dissertation Small Research Grant Application. The Department Chair will make the final decision regarding the awarding of grant funding.

Thesis and Dissertation Small Research Grant Application (pdf)

Travel
The Department encourages students to present their work at major professional conferences. Departmental funds are available for travel each year with the following limits. Note that matching travel funds are often available from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.

  • Terminal masters students are eligible for a total of one conference trip while in the program at a cost of up to $1,000 from the department
  • Pass-through and PhD-only students are eligible for one conference trip per year while in the program, at a cost of up to $1000 from the department.

Access the travel funding application form below and submit it to the Administrative Coordinator for review.
Travel Funding Request

Scholarships
A $1,000 Academic Achievement Scholarship that includes a waiver for out-of-state tuition costs is available for incoming PhD students. However, the scholarship and waiver are not granted automatically. Instead admitted students must apply for the scholarship at tsgs.unt.edu/graduatelife/AAS.

There are several other departmental scholarships for which students may apply. The general scholarship application can be used to apply for all graduate scholarships, and applicants should include their academic CV/resume. The general application opens on September 1 and is due March 1 to sociology@unt.edu. Please use the subject line "Graduate Scholarship Application" in your email application. Contact the department at 940-565-2296 for more information.

Sociology Scholarship General Application (pdf)
Sociology Scholarship General Application (docx)

Graduate Scholarships

Note: Applicants to the below scholarships must submit both the Sociology Scholarship General Application and the supplemental application forms.

If you are a returning Peace Corps graduate student, you may be eligible for the Returned Peace Corp Volunteer Scholarship. Please contact sociology@unt.edu for application details.