Barkley Doctoral Scholars
Barkley Doctoral Scholars are full-time Ph.D. students associated with the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. Part-time students are ineligible. Barkley Doctoral Scholars receive graduate assistantships with full tuition remission up to 12 credit hours per semester (i.e., fall, spring, and summer), stipends paid monthly, and an option to purchase health insurance. Such appointments extend for a full year and have the possibility of being renewed for up to two additional years. All policies regarding these positions are available for review by clicking here. Funding beyond three years typically comes from external sources.
The requirements for Barkley Doctoral Scholars include:
- at least nine (9) hours of academic credit per semester (both fall and spring), six (6) hours of academic credit during the summer, or permission of the student's academic advisor and Department Chair;
- a work requirement of 19.6 hours per week involving teaching, supervision, and/or research that is consistent with the student’s program goals;
- the expectation that the student will not hold other employment, because he/she is enrolled as a full-time student and has work responsibilities at UNL; and
- the expectation that the student will spend a majority of his/her time on campus when receiving funding.
Work Expectations
Ph.D. students who are awarded Barkley Doctoral Scholar assistantships are assigned activities that are consistent with their development as scholars. The purpose of Ph.D. education is to prepare students for academic and research positions. Within that context, assigned tasks should be constructed with the following goals in mind:
- lead to the learning and improvement in teaching and research skills,
- learn how to manage laboratories and laboratory equipment,
- learn and use current computer technology appropriate for Communication Sciences and Disorders and/or Special Education, and
- lead to the improvement of technical writing skills.
Independence in all of these goals is expected toward the end of a Ph.D. student's program of studies.
Each scholar will have an assigned supervisor who is responsible for ensuring that the Barkley Doctoral Scholar working under his/her direction have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to excel as scholars within the discipline. Variation is likely to exist in the time required for Ph.D. students to perform the various types of activity assigned to them. Students can negotiate changes in workloads and activities with advisors. However, at no time should students be expected to perform the following or similar activities unrelated to their Ph.D. education:
- clerical work for a faculty member such as filing or office/lab organization/cleaning that is unrelated to a research project to which the student is involved,
- attend a class and receive work credit for that activity,
- run errands unrelated to teaching or research responsibilities,
- take care of a faculty member’s house or family member, and
- count commuting time as work time.
Any disagreements or complaints about how students are allocating their time for their assistantships should be worked out with the Supervisory Committee Chair/Mentor if they are not the supervisor. When issues cannot be resolved, it is recommended that there be a meeting with the Department Graduate Committee Chair, Department Chair, Supervisory Committee Chair, supervisor and student to resolve any problems.
Students are considered for Barkley Doctoral Scholar assistantships on an annual basis for three years. Submission of the Ph.D. Annual Review form each spring acts as the student's application for continued funding. The EGGC will convene to review the Annual Review reports and recommend for funding those students who have shown adequate progress in their degree program and acceptable work performance. Students will be ranked ordered for any additional funding available each year.
Other Funding Opportunities
Periodically the Department secures University and/or grant funds from state and federal sources to support doctoral education. When available, full-time Ph.D. students may apply and be considered for participation, in lieu of a Barkley Doctoral Scholar position.
In addition, prospective, newly admitted, or currently enrolled Ph.D. students in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders can apply for Departmental Fellowships. The Fellowships are one-time awards, varying in dollar amount. The deadline for application submission is April 20 of each year. The online application is available by clicking here.
Prospective, newly admitted, or currently enrolled Ph.D. students can also apply for paid professional development activities through the Office of Graduate Studies.