Funding Opportunities
The Department of Psychology commits five years of full financial support for all students who are admitted to the PhD program. This five-year funding package is contingent upon satisfactory completion of assistantship duties as well as satisfactory academic performance. Financial support includes full-time tuition (6-14 credits) each fall and spring semester, year-round subsidized health insurance, and a nine-month stipend. All incoming students also receive a new laptop computer to support their research and teaching during their time in the program.
The department currently provides summer funding for years one through five. This support varies depending on the opportunities students pursue and may include competitive research fellowships and/or employment as a graduate assistant (e.g., teaching and research assistantships).
Individual students’ funding varies over their time in the program. Each academic year, students receive one or more of the types of funding described below. Variations in the types of support received reflect student goals, successful pursuit of competitive awards, and the sources of funding available. At the University of Minnesota, graduate students are considered fully funded on a 50% appointment (or two 25% appointments). This translates to an expectation of 20 hours of effort per week for graduate assistantships and ensures all students have sufficient time for their coursework and research (note that workloads may vary week to week but average to 20 hours per week over the course of the appointment period).
Commitment to diversity and inclusion: The Department of Psychology values a diverse academic environment. We offer financial resources and funding opportunities consistent with our commitment to recruiting graduate students of all backgrounds and experiences.
Learn About Types of Funding
We work hard to align teaching assistant assignments with students' interests, experience, and career goals. Teaching assistant duties may involve grading assignments, papers and/or exams and providing feedback to students; holding office hours to assist students with coursework questions; managing classroom logistics and equipment setup; photocopying course materials; course website maintenance; and administering/proctoring exams. Teaching assistants hired as section leaders lead discussion sections or labs based on topics discussed in course lectures. Advanced graduate students may apply for positions as graduate instructors of record for undergraduate psychology courses.
New teaching assistants attend University and department orientations. All graduate students are also encouraged to participate in professional development opportunities throughout their program to advance their teaching skills and pedagogical training.
Continued appointment to teaching assistant positions depends on satisfactory performance of the assigned duties, eligibility for graduate assistantships, and the availability of positions.
Research assistants are hired directly by the faculty member who is the principal investigator of a particular research project.Research assistantship duties vary, but all offer the opportunity to become actively involved in the principal investigator’s research.
Students interested in research assistantships are encouraged to talk to their advisors. Postings for research assistantships in other departments may also be available; students may actively pursue these opportunities by applying to relevant postings.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Research Services Award (NRSA) training grants (T32) enable institutions to make awards to individuals for predoctoral and postdoctoral research training in specified shortage areas. The Department of Psychology has a T32 Training Program in Genetic and Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Addiction. In any given year, there may also be T32-supported training opportunities available to students through other departments.
One to four of our PhD students typically receive their funding from an NIH NRSA T32 each year.
Students may also work with their advisors to submit F31 applications, which are also multi-year awards funded by NIH and awarded to individual predoctoral students.
These fellowships come from organizations outside of the University. Our PhD students successfully pursue a range of external fellowships, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The Department of Psychology strongly encourages all of its eligible graduate students to apply for an NSF GRFP in either their first or second year. Courses are offered each fall semester to support students with the preparation of these applications.
On average, seven of our PhD students receive their funding from an NSF GRFP in a given year. Learn about our 2025 NSF GRFP awardee.
Other external fellowships that we are aware of, including those funding social justice oriented research, include:
- Ford Global Fellowship and International Fellowships Program, Ford Foundation
- Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
- APA Minority Fellowship Program, American Psychological Association
- Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) Scholarship
Our students have also successfully obtained funding from community resources. We recommend that you search within your community for these resources. The Department of Psychology also announces opportunities to current students as they become available.
The University of Minnesota offers competitive fellowships to recruit outstanding new students and support current students. These fellowships typically provide a 9-month stipend, full-time tuition for fall and spring semesters, and 12 months of subsidized health insurance.
Diversity of Viewpoints and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowships
Each year, the department nominates two newly admitted students for the Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship, who compete in a University-wide competition. A DOVE Statement is required for all applicants to the Psychology PhD program (see the Application Checklist for details). This statement is weighted heavily in the department’s two-stage review process for identifying DOVE nominees from the pool of eligible applicants who will be offered admission.
Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC) Fellowships
The department also nominates eligible newly admitted students for fellowships offered by the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC), which seeks to foster an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural community of faculty and students committed to studying global change, especially as seen in the Global South and in communities of color within North America.
During the application review process, the Department of Psychology faculty identifies nominees for ICGC’s admission fellowships from the pool of applicants who will be offered admission. Nominees will have scholarly backgrounds and research interests that reflect their commitment to the interdisciplinary study of the global south in the context of global change.
Fellowships for Mid- and Late-Career Students
Mid- and late-career Psychology PhD students also successfully pursue the Graduate School’s Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) and Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship (IDF). On average, four Psychology PhD students are on a mid- or late-career fellowship each year.
The Department of Psychology offers a robust set of competitive fellowships for new and continuing PhD students each year. These awards may be for one or two semesters and either offer full support (50% appointment) or be combined with a teaching or research assistantship (25% fellowship, 25% RA or TA). All include a stipend; academic year fellowships also include a tuition benefit and subsidized health insurance benefits.
Applicants selected for admission are automatically considered for the following competitive departmental awards (25% and 50% awards are possible). These awards are allocated to support the first year of training. No additional application is required:
- Diversity of Viewpoints and Experiences (DOVE) in Psychology Fellowships: Competitive awards designed to recruit and support academically excellent students whose diverse viewpoints and experiences enrich the field of psychological science by expanding the range of perspectives. These fellowships are awarded to the department’s top nominees for the University's Diversity of Viewpoints and Experiences (DOVE) fellowship that do not receive a UMN DOVE fellowship.
- Department of Psychology Graduate Fellowships: Competitive awards funded by the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), which are designed to recruit and support academically excellent students. Each area of specialization selects their most competitive nominee for admission to proceed to a department-wide competition.
The number of departmental admissions fellowships offered varies (approximately 8-10 each year).
Current students also receive information throughout the academic year about available department-funded and endowed fellowships and are encouraged to actively pursue these competitive awards. These include the following summer research fellowships:
- Auke Tellegen Fellowship in Applied Personality Assessment - average of one award per year.
- Graduate Summer Research Fellowship (GSR) - average of 25 awards per year.
- Robert W. Eichinger and Korn/Ferry Fellowship - average of 3-5 awards per year.
Graduate students play a vital role in CLA’s research, teaching, and service missions. Doctoral students can pursue funding opportunities from CLA during both the academic year and summer. Summer programs support dissertation proposal development, internships, and faculty/graduate student research partnership programs.
The Department of Psychology and other UMN entities offer financial support to defray the cost of conference and research travel, other research expenses, and professional development opportunities. These include:
- Department of Psychology Graduate Student Travel and Research Awards are available to Psychology graduate students in any year of the program who are in good standing and meet registration requirements and other eligibility criteria. Students may apply for either a travel award or a research award each year. The level of support varies but is always at least $800 per year.
- Council of Graduate Students (COGS) Grants are competitively awarded to support research travel, career development, and conference attendance.
- Lou Ann Nylen Research Awards support research on mental health in the Department of Psychology and prioritize support for dissertation research (e.g., participant payments, equipment, supplies, technology, software). Four $5,000 awards are available each year.
Additional sources of research and travel funding are available within some areas of specialization and from other University units and generally require an application.
The Department of Psychology values and supports graduate-student-led initiatives that foster community building, provide supportive services, and create learning opportunities for our graduate students.
Graduate Student Liaison Committee (GSLC) support: GSLC, a student-led group with the primary goal of supporting the progress and well-being of Psychology graduate students. The department provides annual funding allocations to support student-organized GSLC events throughout the academic year, including social gatherings and professional development workshops. The funding supports both department-wide events and programming for students in specific areas of specialization.
Tri-Psychology Graduate Student Diversity Fund: The Tri-Psychology departments - Department of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, and Institute of Child Development - administer grant funding for graduate student-led initiatives that foster cross-departmental collaborations.
Pay Rate for Graduate Assistantships
The minimum pay rate for graduate assistantships in the College of Liberal Arts for the 2025-26 academic year is $28.94/hour.