Assistantships, Hourly Positions, and Fellowships

NSW Student tour going across street

ASSISTANTSHIPS
 

The Department of Nutrition & Health Sciences offers two assistantships which are funded by federal, state, local and other sources.

  1. RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS (RA)
    Research assistantships are provided by individual faculty members as they become available. Interested students should discuss these with their current or potential faculty advisor.
  2. TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS (TA)
    Teaching Assistantship applications are available annually from mid-January through February with award recipients being notified by e-mail no later than April 30th. Applications for the 2026 NHS Graduate Student Teaching Assistantship are now open and available online at: https://go.unl.edu/8f9a.  

Graduate students who accept an assistantship are considered employees of the department and receive a monthly stipend.

The number of work hours required is usually established at 15 or 19.6 hours per week and students agree not to work more than 19.6 hours per week at all employment positions combined.

Tuition is waived for graduate assistantships of 13 hours per week and greater. While it is possible to have a 10-hour per week assistantship, students must pay tuition at this level.

Important Considerations:

  • Students must register for at least 1 credit hour when holding an assistantship.
    • To avoid FICA (Social Security) and Medicare withholding, students must register for at least 4-5 credit hours, including summer.
    • Maximum registration is 12 credit hours per semester for assistantships of 13 hours per week and greater.
    • Students holding a 19.6-hour assistantship during the academic year are eligible for summer tuition remission up to 6 credit hours (master's) or 12 credit hours (doctoral student).

HOURLY POSITIONS TO SUPPORT TEACHING

The Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences Employment offers teaching support positions (up to 6 hours per week) with monthly payment but without tuition remission or benefits. 

Potential duties may include grading, effective student communication, and teaching lectures for undergraduate courses. Course availability varies by semester.

To apply, visit: https://go.unl.edu/3rtv.  

FELLOWSHIPS
 

Fellowships from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and from the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences are assigned to students who have been admitted to our graduate program. Assignments are completed each year in the spring and no application is required.

  • Graduate students awarded a fellowship are not considered employees of the department and must pay their own tuition unless they also have a graduate assistantship.
  • Department fellowships generally range from $500 to $2500 per semester.
  • Students holding a graduate fellowship must register as full-time students (minimum of 9 credit hours per semester).
  • Ph.D. and M.S. with thesis students in their last semester of graduate study may request less than full-time registration by submitting a Certification of Full-Graduate Status to the Office of Graduate Studies online at: https://go.unl.edu/gradfulltime.
  • All fellowships are allocated to students for the fall of each year.
  • Students receiving a fellowship will be notified directly.

Additional information about university-wide fellowships is available from the Office of Graduate Studies, online at: https://graduate.unl.edu/funding.