Financial aid

All doctoral students receive financial support for the first year, at a guaranteed minimum nine-month stipend of $16,300 in 2006. All students also receive pre-paid health insurance and a waiver of all educational fees for a guaranteed minimum nine-month package of $33,500. In addition, most students receive stipend support from their mentor in the summer. Students supported on our Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Training Grant from the Department of Education are eligible to receive a stipend of up to $30,000 depending on financial need. Continuation of support for up to an additional five years is guaranteed upon satisfactory progress in the doctoral program.

We nominate new doctoral candidates for a variety of University Graduate Fellowships with annual stipends up to $23,000, in addition to NIH Predoctoral Fellowships administered through the interdisciplinary Life Sciences Program with annual stipends up to $26,000.

MU is a member of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM) that provides graduate fellowships specifically for students of color. The NIH-funded Minority Biomedical Researchers Training Initiative training grant specifically supports underrepresented minority graduate students in the biomedical sciences.

in the lab We currently have 29 doctoral students holding special competitive fellowships including: fifteen Life Science Program Fellows; seven U.S. Department of Education Training Grant Fellows; two NIH Training Grant Fellows; one Environmental Protection Agency Fellow; two NSF Fellows; one Ford Foundation Fellow; and one NSERC Fellow.

Individual faculty may offer Research Assistantships funded by their research grants. In general, research assistantships are awarded to continuing students, however applications from entering students are considered and should be directed to individual faculty members.

in the field Several Division of Biological Sciences Graduate Scholarships (opens new window) help our students take advantage of special opportunities to enhance their graduate program.

We also offer teaching assistantships. Graduate Teaching Assistants participate, under faculty supervision, in the instructional activities of the Division with an average of six hours per week of classroom contact. Graduate Teaching Assistant stipends are $16,300 for Academic Year 2006-07 and include the waiver of all tuition and fees and pre-paid health insurance (a total package value of $33,500). Continuation of support beyond the first year is contingent upon evaluation of teaching performance as well as satisfactory performance in the graduate program. Graduate Teaching Assistants may receive additional support from other sources (e.g., faculty research grants) in the summer. Compare financial support of our PhD candidates to national biology cohort. (opens new window)