2008 Woodie Awards
Graduate aid to increase
Jason Shepard
Editor in Chief
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
The University of South Alabama Foundation recently approved a proposal presented by Dr. Patsy Covey, University of South Alabama vice president for academic affairs, that will provide the University with an annual grant of $471,000 to support expansions in the University's graduate aid program.
Graduate assistantships and fellowships are usually provided to academically talented graduate students in order to allow these students to become fully involved in scholarship.
"Graduate assistantships … are universally recognized as an essential component of graduate education," Covey said. "They allow students to become immersed in the scholarship and professional activity."
Competitive graduate assistantships can also lead to great productivity and greater levels of research output by the various departments in a university, according to Covey.
Of the $471,000, $246,000 will go towards the creation of 22 new USA Foundation Fellowships. The new fellowships include two fellowships for the University's new interdisciplinary program in environmental toxicology, 10 new fellowships for the College of Engineering, two new fellowships for the School of Computer and Information Sciences, two for the College of Allied Health, and six new fellowships for the department of psychology's recently approved Ph.D. program.
The remaining $225,000 will go toward supporting increasing the stipend levels of 73 of the 132 currently offered assistantships.
The University currently has approximately 1,800 full-time graduate students, according to Covey.
"We can only support about 7.2 percent of our graduate students [with graduate aid]," said Covey at the Foundation's board of directors meeting. "We have an insufficient number of assistantships and cannot be as competitive as we would like to be."
For example, prior to the approved increase, the University of South Alabama College of Engineering was only able to provide three total assistantships. These assistantships came with a tuition waiver and $6,000 stipend for the academic year.
Graduate assistantships and fellowships are usually provided to academically talented graduate students in order to allow these students to become fully involved in scholarship.
"Graduate assistantships … are universally recognized as an essential component of graduate education," Covey said. "They allow students to become immersed in the scholarship and professional activity."
Competitive graduate assistantships can also lead to great productivity and greater levels of research output by the various departments in a university, according to Covey.
Of the $471,000, $246,000 will go towards the creation of 22 new USA Foundation Fellowships. The new fellowships include two fellowships for the University's new interdisciplinary program in environmental toxicology, 10 new fellowships for the College of Engineering, two new fellowships for the School of Computer and Information Sciences, two for the College of Allied Health, and six new fellowships for the department of psychology's recently approved Ph.D. program.
The remaining $225,000 will go toward supporting increasing the stipend levels of 73 of the 132 currently offered assistantships.
The University currently has approximately 1,800 full-time graduate students, according to Covey.
"We can only support about 7.2 percent of our graduate students [with graduate aid]," said Covey at the Foundation's board of directors meeting. "We have an insufficient number of assistantships and cannot be as competitive as we would like to be."
For example, prior to the approved increase, the University of South Alabama College of Engineering was only able to provide three total assistantships. These assistantships came with a tuition waiver and $6,000 stipend for the academic year.
Be the first to comment on this story