Funding/assistantship for higher ed masters programs(Stanford, Michigan, Harvard, Vanderbilt)

[RedPill]

Hi guys,

 

I'm planning on applying to higher ed masters programs for the next cycle. I was wondering if someone could give me more information on just what "funding" means for higher ed masters programs. Is this a tuition waiver? Do students generally still have to pull out loans despite funding? How much does an assistantship generally cover?

 

In particular, I'm looking to apply to Stanford, Michigan, Harvard and Vanderbilt. I do plan on pursing a terminal degree after my masters degree(most likely PhD - also considering JD)

[JBums1028]

When most people on here refer to "funding" I usually assume that they mean some type of non-loan financial aid (scholarships, assistantships, etc). How much an assistantship covers depends on the school. Some programs are very generous and offer a full tuition waiver, stipend, health insurance, and housing if you're working in the ResLife system. However, these programs tend to have very small cohorts and are therefore more competitive. Others only cover partial tuition. Stipend amounts generally vary as well. So I guess whether or not you have to take out loans depends on what the school offers you and your own personal financial situation.

 

I can answer this question for Michigan's program at least since I was looking at it briefly then decided not to bother applying. The short answer is that, at least for their Master's students the funding they offer is very limited. There are scholarships available and your required internship is paid. They don't offer assistantships to their Master's students, only their PhD students. I personally saw this as a huge drawback to their program, but I guess it depends on what you're looking for from your program. Unfortunately I can't provide much insight on the other programs since I didn't consider applying to those.

[RedPill]

Thanks for the insight JBums! I have been trying to find explicit information on funding at these programs, but I can usually only find limited generic FAQs like answers.

 

For example at Stanford's POLS:

"*5k-10k in merit based scholarships, half of admitted POLS students awarded merit-based scholarships"

 

But what about internship payment? Tuition waivers? How should I go about finding information on this? 

 

Health insurance is news to me as well. Should I be contacting the programs themselves? 

[jsparks63]

I would contact each program about their funding and speak with current students in the program. The students will offer you a better insight in how the funding process works on case by case basis. For example, Vanderbilt tries to offer as many of their Masters' students paid assistantships but there are some students that do not have one. Their funding situation is really on a case by case basis and you have to be more proactive in securing your funding. I think the same thing can be said for Stanford and Harvard does not offer any or very very limited non-loan aid to its masters students.

 

What is it about those schools that attracts you? I was looking at all of those schools but as I looked more into their funding, I realized that they would have been too expensive to attend.

[iphi]

If you plan on a terminal degree anyway, can't you apply straight to PhD programs? You have a much higher chance of getting funding for a PhD vs an MA.

[RedPill]

I would contact each program about their funding and speak with current students in the program. The students will offer you a better insight in how the funding process works on case by case basis. For example, Vanderbilt tries to offer as many of their Masters' students paid assistantships but there are some students that do not have one. Their funding situation is really on a case by case basis and you have to be more proactive in securing your funding. I think the same thing can be said for Stanford and Harvard does not offer any or very very limited non-loan aid to its masters students.

 

What is it about those schools that attracts you? I was looking at all of those schools but as I looked more into their funding, I realized that they would have been too expensive to attend.

 

That's a good idea. I should try to do that anyways. How would you recommend I go about doing this? I know Michigan has program ambassadors. Should I just email them? Will they respond to that? Two current UMISH students went to my current institution. I wanted to talk to them, however, neither replied.

 

As far as Harvard goes, I pulled this from their site: "75% apply and get financial assistance half are need-based." Although, I'm not sure what "need-based" means to Harvard. My family's income makes me illegible for financial aid, but I can't afford Harvard. I'm still a dependent also.. 

 

Parents won't be helping with masters degree.

 

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/admissions/financial_aid/edm/index.html

 

Many things attract me to Stanford and Harvard. The name itself carries substantial weight. After analyzing the CVs of all the viable higher ed programs in the country, I found that certain programs were more represented than others among faculty. Secondly, research interest are a great fit - especially at Stanford's POLS. I want to work with Woody Powell so bad.. Harvard's President in Residence program sounds really cool. 

 

The time is the biggest thing. 1 year masters programs is a big plus in my book. Michigan and Vanderbilt are both 1.5 and 2 years respectively. Stanford is 9 mo, and I believe Harvard is 12 mo?

 

If you plan on a terminal degree anyway, can't you apply straight to PhD programs? You have a much higher chance of getting funding for a PhD vs an MA.

 

Ideally yeah. The problem is, I'm an undergraduate student with fairly minimal(though significant) research exposure in higher ed. I'm currently working with some pretty prominent higher ed scholars on a research project. With any luck, I can continue for the remainder of undergrad. I haven't taken my GRE yet, but I just know I'm not competitive for top PhD/JD programs. I need more time to network, gain exposure, read, learn, work publish etc.

Edited November 22, 2013 by RedPill

[JBums1028]

Definitely contact programs directly about what they offer. It sounds like you are looking into more research focused work in higher ed and less direct work with students, is that a fairly accurate statement? I think you're looking in to the right type of program, unfortunately those programs tend to focus more on their PhD students and providing them with financial assistance and so their Master's candidates take a back seat in that area. That's why they're a little more limited funding wise then a HESA or Student Affairs focused Master's program, IMO.  

 

It was my understanding though that graduate students are automatically considered independent students, so I'd still apply for financial aid even if you don't think you'll qualify for much. However, that might not necessarily be true...

[hesadork]

"Need-based" in terms of graduate financial aid is a euphemism for "loans."

[RedPill]

Definitely contact programs directly about what they offer. It sounds like you are looking into more research focused work in higher ed and less direct work with students, is that a fairly accurate statement? I think you're looking in to the right type of program, unfortunately those programs tend to focus more on their PhD students and providing them with financial assistance and so their Master's candidates take a back seat in that area. That's why they're a little more limited funding wise then a HESA or Student Affairs focused Master's program, IMO.  

 

It was my understanding though that graduate students are automatically considered independent students, so I'd still apply for financial aid even if you don't think you'll qualify for much. However, that might not necessarily be true...

 

That's correct. As much as I have loved my involvement on campus with student affairs, I'm definitely more interested in policy research tackling topics such as economic development, social stratification, technology-transfer, research universities, international education and science of science policy.

[ZeChocMoose]

Many things attract me to Stanford and Harvard. The name itself carries substantial weight. After analyzing the CVs of all the viable higher ed programs in the country, I found that certain programs were more represented than others among faculty. Secondly, research interest are a great fit - especially at Stanford's POLS. I want to work with Woody Powell so bad.. Harvard's President in Residence program sounds really cool. 

 

The time is the biggest thing. 1 year masters programs is a big plus in my book. Michigan and Vanderbilt are both 1.5 and 2 years respectively. Stanford is 9 mo, and I believe Harvard is 12 mo?

 

Be really careful with allowing the name to sway you.  More important items to consider are whether the program is a good fit for your particular interests, how accessible are the faculty to master's students, what types of jobs do graduates receive, cost of the program in relation to your financial situation, whether the assistantships/internships offerings are in areas that you want to go into, etc.

 

The part about certain programs being more represented among the faculty is not something you really need to worry about at the master's level.  If you were pursuing a PhD AND you wanted to be a faculty member - then yes, you might want to factor that in - but that is not the case at the moment.

 

 

 

My last comment is if you want to secure a entry-level education research position after your master's, I would not suggest a one-year program in higher ed.  You'll need to pursue a longer program (ideally two) so you can take the necessary statistics and research design courses to make you competitive for jobs in the field.  You also want to have some type of research experience whether that is through internships/assistantships/or whatnot.  

 

Another suggestion that I tell people who are interested in higher ed research is to also look at social science methodology master's  programs at universities with higher ed programs.  This way you can get the necessary methodology base that you'll need and you can take your electives in higher education.  The problem with most higher ed master's programs is they tend to be very practitioner orientated as JBums indicates which is not going to serve you too well in trying to get a research job.  (There are some exceptions of course.)

 

And I just saw your reply about policy - also look into schools that have both MPP programs and higher ed programs.  You'll want to gain as much quantitative skills/expertise as you possibly can in a master's program.  These skills will make you highly marketable in the future.

Edited November 22, 2013 by ZeChocMoose

[RedPill]

Be really careful with allowing the name to sway you.  More important items to consider are whether the program is a good fit for your particular interests, how accessible are the faculty to master's students, what types of jobs do graduates receive, cost of the program in relation to your financial situation, whether the assistantships/internships offerings are in areas that you want to go into, etc.

 

The part about certain programs being more represented among the faculty is not something you really need to worry about at the master's level.  If you were pursuing a PhD AND you wanted to be a faculty member - then yes, you might want to factor that in - but that is not the case at the moment.

 

 

 

My last comment is if you want to secure a entry-level education research position after your master's, I would not suggest a one-year program in higher ed.  You'll need to pursue a longer program (ideally two) so you can take the necessary statistics and research design courses to make you competitive for jobs in the field.  You also want to have some type of research experience whether that is through internships/assistantships/or whatnot.  

 

Another suggestion that I tell people who are interested in higher ed research is to also look at social science methodology master's  programs at universities with higher ed programs.  This way you can get the necessary methodology base that you'll need and you can take your electives in higher education.  The problem with most higher ed master's programs is they tend to be very practitioner orientated as JBums indicates which is not going to serve you too well in trying to get a research job.  (There are some exceptions of course.)

 

And I just saw your reply about policy - also look into schools that have both MPP programs and higher ed programs.  You'll want to gain as much quantitative skills/expertise as you possibly can in a master's program.  These skills will make you highly marketable in the future.

 

Of course, I'm considering fit and faculty. That's the most important thing. 

 

You do bring up an excellent point. How can I get an honest list of assistantships/internships available? It seems a lot of the information provided is generic "our students are able to pursue a number of amazing internships" jumbo. I'm wanting to look at an actual list of options that current students also use to select. Any ideas on how I could get this info?

 

Interesting point regarding the 1-year programs. You're right, I might want to take a 2 year program instead. I'm looking into MA/MPP programs which tend to be two years. 

 

In regards to the exceptions for higher ed masters programs, what are some of the exceptions? Michigan? Stanford? 

 

Thanks so much for all your input everyone. 

[JBums1028]

You do bring up an excellent point. How can I get an honest list of assistantships/internships available? It seems a lot of the information provided is generic "our students are able to pursue a number of amazing internships" jumbo. I'm wanting to look at an actual list of options that current students also use to select. Any ideas on how I could get this info?

 

I'm going to answer this, but with the disclaimer that we're both looking at very different types of programs (I'm looking more at practioner focused programs). Some of the schools I'm looking at are slowly but surely starting to update their information about which departments will have internships and assistantships available. So it's possible that some of your programs might not have that information available yet. For example, I just spoke to MSU's SAA program about this and their departments have until December to let them know if they can take on a GA next year. I'd just call or email a program director and see if they can at least send you a list of internships/assistantships that were offered in previous years. Since assistantships tend to be a feature of more practitioner focused programs that there is the possibility you're not finding their offerings because they don't offer them. But contacting someone should clarify this.

[RedPill]

I'm going to answer this, but with the disclaimer that we're both looking at very different types of programs (I'm looking more at practioner focused programs). Some of the schools I'm looking at are slowly but surely starting to update their information about which departments will have internships and assistantships available. So it's possible that some of your programs might not have that information available yet. For example, I just spoke to MSU's SAA program about this and their departments have until December to let them know if they can take on a GA next year. I'd just call or email a program director and see if they can at least send you a list of internships/assistantships that were offered in previous years. Since assistantships tend to be a feature of more practitioner focused programs that there is the possibility you're not finding their offerings because they don't offer them. But contacting someone should clarify this.

 

Sounds good. What can you tell me about assistantships in the office of the provost or president, economic development, alumni relations or institutional research. What kinds of work do you do in these assistantships? I'm definitely not as interested in an assistantship in Greek life, housing or a student-affairsy area.