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Assistantships

We have very successful in helping our students secure assistantships on campus. All assistants are expected to work 20 hours per week in exchange for a stipend, which is paid in semi-monthly installments and a tuition waiver for 9 credits of graduate coursework (a typical full-time course load) each semester.

There are a number of Graduate Assistantship (GA) positions available in the Department of Graduate Psychology. You do not need to submit any additional application for these positions; you will be considered for these positions automatically if you indicate interest in an assistantship on your application, and if you have completed the application for Federal (and state) Financial Aid (see below).

However, several other options exist as well. In order to maximize your chances of receiving support, you should pursue all of the following.

1 - Submit an application for Federal (and State) Financial Aid. You may not be aware but the criteria for determining financial aid eligibility are different for graduate students than for undergraduate students. It is very likely that you will qualify for financial aid as a graduate student EVEN IF you did not qualify as an undergraduate student. Please consult the Spring 2008 Financial Aid Newsletter posted on the JMU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships web site (http://www.jmu.edu/finaid/wm_library/spring_newsletter.pdf), which contains important information about applying for aid in 2008-09. The 2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Submit the FAFSA at the same time you submit your JMU application to ensure that the Department of Education receives your FAFSA in a timely fashion. Your receipt of state grant funds may depend on filing your FAFSA early. If necessary, you may estimate your income and make corrections later. For information about all the options, please inquire to our Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at (540) 568-7820 or fin_aid@jmu.edu.

The selection of students for all FWS positions is a competitive process, job placement is not guaranteed. An employment application and a job interview will be required. Students awarded FWS are eligible to apply for America Reads tutor positions and local community based positions with non-profit organizations. These positions are coordinated through the Community Service Learning Office <http://www.jmu.edu/csl/fws/index.html> .  

Visit the on-campus job announcements <http://joblink.jmu.edu/applicants/Central?search=students> section to view current student employment opportunities and application procedures. Please note that in addition to providing information on FWS jobs, this list gives you information about current Institutional Employment job vacancies.

2 - Apply for an Assistantship with the Centennial Scholars Program. This program provides a financial aid package that covers the full billable cost to attend JMU in the form of grants. These funds cover tuition, fees, room and board for a maximum of two years for graduate students. You can find links to the Centennial Scholarship Application and information on the available Assistantships on the Application page of their web site at: http://www.jmu.edu/centscholars/application.html.

3 - Create an application on the JMU Job Link web site, (http://joblink.jmu.edu) search the site regularly for any Graduate Assistant (GA) positions for which you are qualified and, submit an application for them. Although there are a number of GA and TA positions available through the Department of Graduate Psychology, there also are many others in other departments on campus that may be a good match for you. New positions are added every day; the more other you check the more likely you are to identify suitable options.