Handbooks

Doctor of Philosophy in
Nursing Science Handbook

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Financial aid in the form of student loans, scholarships, and/or fellowships is available from a variety of sources.

Federal Student Aid: Students with financial need are encouraged to file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) with the UIC Office of Financial Aid to determine eligibility for federal loans. The priority filing date for the FAFSA is March 1.

College of Nursing Scholarships : The College of Nursing provides support in the form of scholarships, traineeships, and Board of Trustee tuition and fee waivers. Awards are made on an academic year basis, and new and continuing students can apply for these various types of funding by submitting a Graduate Scholarship Application each spring. Students applying for support are also required to file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form with the UIC Office of Financial Aid and submit a copy of their SAR (Student Aid Report) with their scholarship application. Graduate scholarship applications are due March 1 of each year. The application form and a list of available funding with award criteria can be found on the College's website.

Pre- and Post-doctoral Training Grants and Fellowships: A major goal of the National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) is to increase the number of nurses with doctorates who pursue careers in research. To this end, NINR supports doctoral and postdoctoral education through individual and institutionally based fellowship programs.

In addition, doctoral students are encouraged to submit applications for individual NIH fellowships. Both fellowships provide for tuition and stipend support as well as a modest amount of money to support research expenses. These are highly prestigious fellowships that support full-time graduate study. Information about available institutional fellowships and application procedures can be found on the College's website under Scholarships and Fellowships. Further information and application forms for individual fellowships are available from the College's Office of Research Facilitation.

Research Assistantships: These are given by individual faculty members and by academic departments in the College of Nursing to students to assist on funded research projects. The stipend and percentage of time devoted to the research vary according to the research resources of individual faculty members. Appointments between 25 and 67 percent time have the added benefit of a base tuition and service fee waiver and may include a waiver of the tuition differential.

Teaching Assistantships: Awarded by academic departments within the College of Nursing , these are given to students who are prepared to assist with teaching a specific course. The stipend and percent of time devoted to teaching may vary. Appointments between 25 and 67 percent time have the added benefit of a base tuition waiver and a waiver of selected fees. (Teaching assistants for undergraduate clinical nursing courses must have a Master's degree in nursing and an active Illinois RN license.)

UIC Graduate College Fellowships : The UIC Graduate College awards fellowship stipends in recognition of scholarly achievement and promise. These fellowships enable students to pursue graduate studies and research without a service requirement. Students are nominated by the College of Nursing for consideration by the Graduate College Awards Committee, which makes the final recommendation to the Dean. Information on the individual fellowships can be found on the UIC Graduate College website.

External Fellowships, Scholarships, and Research Funding: Many resources are available to assist students in finding funding to support their education and research. The College of Nursing maintains a database of scholarships and research grants which can be accessed via the College's website. The College of Nursing Office for Research Facilitation can also provide assistance to students in finding and securing funding for research.

The UIC Graduate College and the UIC Office of Special Scholarship Programs assist students in applying for nationally competitive scholarships. They provide information about available awards, advice on application preparation, and assistance throughout the scholarship application process.

There are also a number of small grants that annually offer funding for dissertation expenses, including the American Nurses Foundation, the local and national Sigma Theta Tau organization, the CON Seth Rosen Memorial Research Award, and various other nursing organizations.

The Graduate College and the Health Professions Student Council are two UIC organizations that provide travel awards for students participating in meetings or conferences of nationally-recognized scientific or scholarly societies. The College of Nursing and the Urban Health Program also provide funding for students to participate in local or national conferences.

The Internet provides a multitude of scholarship and grant search engines. A good list of on-line search tools for research funding can be found on the UIC Research Development Services website at http://www.research.uic.edu/funding/find_funding.shtml. Following is a list of search engines for finding scholarships:

http://fastweb.com

www.campusRn.com

www.collegeaid.com

http://kcsun3.tripod.com/id77.htm
The Student Nurse Forum

http://scholarships.brokescholar.com/

http://www.srnexpress.com/

www.discovernursing.com
Illinois search on their scholarship page