Graduate Funding
All students admitted to the graduate program are guaranteed five years of financial support through fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, or graduate instructorships. Continued financial support is contingent upon timely and satisfactory progress in the program.
Financial support includes:
- An average stipend of $23,000 during the first two academic years.
- Full tuition remission
- Graduate Assistant Health and Dental Insurance (a waiver of up to 95% of health insurance premium cost)
- Professional development funds for travel support to present at national and international conferences.
- Five years of guaranteed funding in the form of a 20 hours per week teaching assistantship.
- Opportunities to apply for university and department fellowships and research assistantships. Research assistantships may be in the department or with other faculty at the university, including in affiliated research centers.
Students are responsible for student service fees and other costs associated with graduate education. Fees for domestic students are approximately $1100 per semester, for international students, approximately $1,300 per semester.
Fellowships & Awards
The Department of Sociology, the College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School offer fellowships for which the Sociology program may nominate graduate students.
These awards include a stipend of $25,000 for the one academic year (September-May), tuition for up to 14 graduate credits each semester (Fall & Spring), and subsidized health insurance through the Graduate Assistant Health Plan for Fall, Spring and Summer.
- CLA Graduate Fellowship Program (CLAGF) is offered by the College of Liberal Arts to recruit outstanding graduate students for a first year fellowship.
- The DOVE fellowship is a $25,000 stipend, academic year tuition at the general graduate rate for up to 14 credits per semester, subsidized health insurance through the Graduate Assistant Health Plan for up to one calendar year, option to attend the GSDO Summer Institute (includes $4,000 stipend and health insurance coverage), and a minimum of $1,000 for research/conference travel funding. Departments nominate students for this University wide fellowships.
- Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC) ICGC Scholar Fellowships support outstanding students who are clearly committed to the interdisciplinary study of the global south in the context of global change. ICGC encourages departmental nomination of exceptionally capable students, especially but not only from the global south and U.S. communities of color.
- The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship (IDF) provides a unique opportunity for outstanding Ph.D. students who are engaged in interdisciplinary research to study with faculty at one of the University’s interdisciplinary research centers or institutes during the fellowship year. Applicants designate the host center or institute they believe is the best match with their planned dissertation topic, contingent upon endorsement by the host center or institute. Applicants should check with mentors and directors early to ensure a good match.
- The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) gives the University's most accomplished Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to devote full-time effort to an outstanding research project by providing time to finalize and write a dissertation during the fellowship year.
Departmental Support
Research Assistantships
You are directly chosen by your principal investigator (faculty member) for a research project that will be conducted at the University of Minnesota. Research assistantships may be offered to incoming students with prior research experience, but they are generally filled by more advanced graduate students.
Teaching Assistantships
The department allocates teaching assistantships to all incoming graduate students who are not otherwise supported by fellowships. Graduate assistants work no more than 20 hours per week and earn an academic year stipend, full tuition remission and a health insurance package (a waiver of up to 95% of the health insurance premium.)
Professional Development Funds
Professional Development funds cover the expenses of presenting papers while you attend international, national, or regional sociology meetings. This has been a non-service award to help with transportation, lodging, and registration fees of approximately $500 per semester. Professional development funds have been awarded for meetings hosted by the American Sociological Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Law and Society Association, and American Society of Criminology.
Bright Research Award
The Bright Research Award is given annually to graduate students for whom the award will make a significant improvement in their achievement of research toward their PhD in Sociology at the University of Minnesota. If funds are available, up to three students per year may be allocated awards up to $5,000.
Graduate Research Partnership Program (GRPP)
Graduate Research Partnership Program (GRPP) is offered by the College of Liberal Arts to provide a summer research stipend to CLA graduate students to support their professional, scholarly, and creative development while collaborating with a CLA faculty project advisor on scholarly research and creative activity. Awards are for $4,000.
Aminzade International Graduate Student Fund
Ronald “Ron” Aminzade, professor emeritus in the College of Liberal Arts sociology department, established the Aminzade Sociology International Graduate Student Fund (the "ASIGS Fund") to support the needs of international graduate students coming to the United States to pursue their education. The ASIGS Fund provides financial support for international Ph.D. students in Sociology who are experiencing immediate financial hardship that may interrupt their studies. Expenses may include, but are not limited to, urgent and unexpected research costs, travel support for family emergencies, temporary housing or transportation costs due to victimization or accidents, and other related expenses.
Rachel A. Schurman Social Justice Fund
Rachel A. Schurman was a professor of sociology and global studies at the University of Minnesota from 2004-2024 who pursued social change throughout her life. The Schurman Social Justice Fund provides financial support for graduate students working on social justice topics or issues. All Ph.D. students in Sociology are eligible, but the fund will prioritize support for international students in the United States on a temporary visa. Expenses may include, but are not limited to, research travel expenses, books, moving/transition costs, emergencies, and other related expenses.
Sociology Graduate Student Support Fund (SGSS)
The purpose of the Sociology Graduate Student Support Fund (SGSS) fund is to provide Ph.D. students in Sociology with financial support as it relates to their academic pursuits. The SGSS awards can be used to provide financial support for unexpected research costs and/or to assist with emergency and other unique situations that may interrupt their studies. Expenses may include, but are not limited to, urgent and unexpected research costs, travel support for family emergencies, temporary housing or transportation costs due to victimization or accidents, and other related expenses.
Summer Research Excellence Fellowship on the Social Dimensions of Climate Change
This fellowship will support a graduate student in Sociology whose summer research project focuses on the Social Dimensions of Climate Change. This fellowship opportunity is available to all graduate students in the Department of Sociology, in any year of study. Awards will be made each year based on application merit. A student may receive this award more than once. All empirical research methodologies are applicable, qualitative and quantitative. This Fellowship derives from an endowment contributed by Professors Jeffrey Broadbent and Jeylan Mortimer to the University of Minnesota Foundation on the occasion of their retirement in the Spring of 2021.
Additional Funding
Many current students also take advantage of other internal and external funding. Sociology students have secured the following funding.
University of Minnesota Funding
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
Pre-dissertation External Funding
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)
Dissertation Completion Funding
American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship (ASA MFP)
Ford Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Award (NSF DDRI)
Social Sciences Research Council - International Dissertation Research Fellowship (SSRC)
The Graduate School also administers University-wide fellowships and grants.
Contact Becky Drasin for more information about funding your degree.