Financial Support
The Plant Biology Department, with support from the College of Natural Science and Michigan State University, offers various fellowship opportunities and graduate assistantships; with limited programmatic funding for International and Master's students. When we accept a graduate student, we commit to providing them with financial assistance, whether it is through a research assistantship, teaching assistantship, fellowship, or a combination thereof. Students are recruited with assistantships and may expect a minimum of five years of support as long as they make continual satisfactory progress in their research program. All prospective students should contact individual faculty members to inquire about funding opportunities.
Graduate students in our department are highly successful at obtaining competitive awards, with approximately 30% funded via fellowships; since 2020 seven students have received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) and four students received Honorable Mention. This is a significantly high number compared to other graduate programs nationally.
Fellowships
University and College Fellowships are highly competitive. MSU offers special graduate opportunities for qualified minority/or economically disadvantaged students.
University Distinguished Fellowship (UDF): $32,000 stipend, tuition waiver of up to 9 credits, and health insurance. UDF provides support for two years (12 months annually).
University Enrichment Fellowship (UEF): $32,000 stipend, tuition waiver of up to 9 credits, and health insurance. UEF provides support for two years (12 months annually).
College of Natural Science Fellowship (CNS): $33,000 stipend, tuition waiver of up to 9 credits, and health insurance. CNS provides support for one year (12 months).
Plant Science Fellowship (PSF): $32,000 stipend, tuition waiver of up to 9 credits, and health insurance. PSF provides support for one year (12 months).
Teaching Assistantships (TA)
In the current academic year (9 months), teaching assistants receive a total financial package of $23,940. This package includes a waiver of up to nine credit hours tuition for each semester and health insurance. The average teaching assistant works ½ time, or 20 hours per week.
Research Assistantships (RA)
These positions are based on research grant funding and are arranged with individual faculty members. Applicants interested in these RAs should directly contact the faculty member they are interested in working with.
Summer Funding
The Department of Plant Biology has several endowed fellowships for summer salary and travel. The Ecology Evolution and Behavior program also provides summer fellowships for students that participate in EEB. Additionally, the College of Natural Science offers two fellowships.
Dissertation Completion Fellowship (DCF): $10,000 per semester received.
Outstanding Scholarship Fellowship (OSF): $7,500 per semester received.