Funding and Assistantship Opportunities

Yes. CYAF aims to provide funding to our Ph.D. students throughout the duration of their programs. Over 95% of our Ph.D. students have been funded throughout their program in the last five years. Full-time doctoral students (registered at least 9 credit hours, or 1 credit hour after establishing candidacy) in residence (physically on campus) are prioritized for assistantship funding during their first four years in the program. Students in 5+ years of enrollment must submit a request for funding to the CYAF Graduate Chair. Students who have received poor performance evaluations in prior years will not be prioritized for assistantship funding.

Master's level students are not guaranteed assistantship funding, however, most of our recent master's degree students have received assistantship funding. If you are interested in assistantship funding, please email cyaf@unl.edu. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

Graduate assistantships include a stipend, up to 12 credit hours of tuition remission during the semester of appointment (some include tuition remission for the summer), and health insurance coverage at a reduced cost.

Our total annual financial package for a Ph.D. student is worth $36,834. This includes the following:

• A stipend in the amount of $21,168 paid over 10 months for a 19.6 hour graduate assistantship.
• A tuition waiver for up to 36 credit hours annually totalling $12,708.
• A health insurance subsidy of $2,958.

To hold a graduate assistantship a student must be admitted for a specific graduate degree objective and enrolled in at least one credit during the fall and spring semesters. Non-degree students are not eligible.

Graduate assistants are not required to register for courses during the summer term. Graduate assistants employed in summer without summer enrollment are subject to FICA and Medicare taxes; fees for recreation center usage; limited access to libraries and health center fees.

International graduate students who wish to be employed as teaching assistants at Nebraska must attend the International Teaching Assistant Institute. The summer institute, a concentrated 80-90 hour program, is held the first two weeks of August.

Please visit the Office of Graduate Studies Assistantship website for more information.

• Instructor of Record for various CYAF undergraduate courses (e.g. Human Development, Applied Methods of Social Emotional Development and Guidance, Dating and Couple Relationships)
• Teaching Assistant for various CYAF undergraduate courses
• Research Assistant for Buffett Early Childhood Institute
• Research Assistant for Educare Lincoln
• Research Assistant for Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS)
• Research Assistant for Center for Children, Families and the Law (CCFL)

There is no formal process to apply for a graduate assistantship. If you are a new student, please email cyaf@unl.edu with your request. If you are an existing student, you will be sent a survey to complete once a year (typically in January) to complete indicating your assistantship preferences.

• CYAF offers several merit-based fellowships to on-campus graduate students in the spring of each year.
• Office of Graduate Studies offers several merit-based fellowships that are awarded to graduate students in the fall of each year.
• CYAF offers Professional Development Funding for conference/travel expenses, posters, supplies, etc. The department offers up to $300 in funding per fiscal year.
• Office of Graduate Studies Travel Grant information is available here.
• CEHS Grants for graduate student presentations in Professional Conferences
• Larrick/Whitmore Graduate Student Travel Grants
• CYAF Dissertation Grant Application