What Financial Aid is Available?

Assistantships, Tuition Waivers, Fellowships, and Scholarships

The Department of Curriculum & Instruction does not guarantee financial assistance for any incoming student.  Limited financial assistance is available to graduate students on a competitive basis in the form of research and teaching assistantships, tuition waivers, fellowships, and scholarships. However, the department cannot guarantee any financial aid prior to admission. To be considered for financial assistance, completed applications must be submitted by December 1 of the year prior to the term of your admission. You must fill out a Department Financial Aid Request form and submit it directly to the department with your completed Application for Admission before December 1st to be considered for departmental funding assistance.  For current students, this form must be completed and submitted by February 15th for consideration for the following year. 

Other Assistantships

In addition to assistantships within the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, admitted students may look for assistantships elsewhere on campus. The Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC) publishes a website called the Assistantship Clearinghouse. They post current assistantships available on campus. Also, the Graduate College Fellowship Office website provides detailed information about various pre-doctoral fellowships, post-doctoral fellowships, traineeships, and grant opportunities at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and other universities, foundations, federal agencies, and organizations. Additionally, the Bureau of Educational Research of the College of Education provides information on resources for graduate students and other UIUC funding sources, funding databases, and external funding sources.

College of Education Scholarships and Awards

Bagley Scholar Fellowship

The William Chandler Bagley Scholar Fellowships are funded from gifts of alumni and friends of the College of Education and named after William Chandler Bagley, an early Director of the former School of Education, who is known for his insistence that both formal training and experience are needed to promote good educational practices.  Doctoral students receive $2,000 and master's students receive $1,500. 

Master's application information

Doctoral application information

All required materials must be submitted to the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, 311 Education before 5:00 on February 1.

Davis Leadership Award

The Al S. Davis Leadership Award honors the life and educational career of Al Davis and his long and ongoing relationship with the College of Education.  Al Davis strongly believes that all students can learn in an educational climate highlighted by strong leadership.  This merit-based award supports a graduate student in the College of Education who intends to pursue a leadership role in teaching/administration in a K-12 urban school environment.  Scholars will receive an award of $1,000. Application information.

All required materials must be submitted to the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, 311 Education before 5:00 on February 1.

Rodgers Award

This merit-based award was established to honor the career of professor emeritus Frederick A. Rodgers, a recipient of the Education Alumni Association's 2002 Distinguished Alumni Award.  The Frederick A. Rodgers award supports doctoral candidates in the College of Education who work with underserved students in an urban setting while working full-time as teachers or administrators.  Scholars will receive an award to be determined on an annual basis by the Graduate Awards Committee (award not less than $1,000). Application information.

All required materials must be submitted to the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, 311 Education before 5:00 on February 1.

Boruszak Fellowship

The Joan Kohlenbrener Boruszak Fellowship provides support for an exceptional student in teacher education who plans to teach in the inner city of Chicago or a similar urban area.  The student will be nominated by the department for this award.  There is no need to apply.  

Graduate College Awards

The Graduate College offeres many fellowships, grants, and awards.  You can find a full listing here. 

For Graduate College awards that require submission by the department, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction requires the following materials to be submitted along with any application: 

1. Letter of recommendation from advisor
2. 1 page statement describing why you should receive the award.  For the Conference Travel Grant, this should describe what you will be presenting at the conference.
3. For Conference Travel Grant applications, you must also submit the letter of acceptance from the conference. 

All applications must be received two weeks prior to the deadline set for the Graduate College for the applicant to get materials to the department (i.e., if the Graduate College's deadline for materials to be submitted to the department is February 15th, Curriculum and Instruction requires that the materials are due to the department on February 1.)  This is to allow ample time for the department's awards committee to meet and confer about applicants.  If no deadline is set by the Graduate College for submission to the department, please submit items 3 weeks prior to Graduate College deadline.   

Graduate College Awards that may be of interest to Curriculum and Instruction Students:

• Dissertation Travel Grant (department deadline: February 16, 2010)
• Dissertation Completion (department deadline: March 16, 2010)
• Conference Travel Grant (department deadline: February 1, 2010)

Other Forms of Financial Aid

Applicants for financial aid are also encouraged to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  Information on student loans is available from the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA). OSFA also provides additional information including answers to common questions and downloadable application forms. The Office of The Registrar publishes financial aid information as well.

More Information

For information on policies and procedures for financial aid, assistantships, fellowships, and more, the Graduate College publishes information in its Handbook for Graduate Students and Advisers.

For questions regarding what to submit to the department, please contact the Graduate Programs Secretary, Myranda Lyons, at mjlyons@illinois.edu

If you are a cooperating teacher and have questions about your waivers, please contact the Council on Teacher Education at 217-333-2804.