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Assistantships and Fellowships

All full-time first- and second-year students in the program are offered full tuition waivers, a waiver of the educational operations fee, a health insurance credit and graduate assistant stipends (currently $13,658 per year) to cover educational expenses and to help defray living costs. In return for the stipend, students are expected to provide 20 hours of research, teaching, or administrative assistance per week to the campus. Second-year financial assistance is dependent upon satisfactory academic and graduate assistant performance during the first year.

First year students also receive a $2000 fellowship in addition to the above financial awards.

Visit this link for the true value of a full-time UMass Boston assistantship - figuring in all tuition and fee waivers, stipends, insurance credits, etc. that apply.

Third-year students are offered tuition waivers based on their internship/field work on applied public policy projects.

Please note that, although we typically waive tuition and most fees for several semesters, stipend payments are not sufficient to cover room and board, books and supplies, transportation and other personal expenses. (See section below on Housing and Cost of Living Considerations.)

Partial assistantship awards (1/4, 1/2 or 3/4) are available for those students who do not wish a full-time award.  Fee waivers, stipends and work requirements are pro-rated accordingly.

Click here for a complete list of current tuition and fee charges,

Please note the associated costs for graduate students at either the in-state or out-of-state rates, as appropriate.

Please note that all stipend amounts, waivers, tuition and fees

are subject to state appropriations and may change each year.

Scholarships

A limited number of scholarships is typically available each year from our annual fund, representing gifts from our faculty, staff and alumni.  All students in good standing are eligible but those who demonstrate financial need are given priority consideration.

Other Financial Assistance

Our doctoral program also offers students small grants to help finance conference participation and travel, membership fees, software purchases, special trainings and other professional development activities.

Dissertation support grants in the amount of $1500 are typically awarded after defending a dissertation proposal.  Students can use these grants for anything from data collection to editing.

Housing and
Cost of Living Considerations

Although dormitories will be built in the next few years, UMass Boston currently does not have on-campus student housing.  However, UMass does provide housing  referral assistance and has a partnership with several area apartment complexes. 

In general, students should be prepared to spend a minimum of $1000 per month for room and board in an apartment within a five to ten mile radius of the campus.  Please keep in mind that this is only an estimate and, depending on your lifestyle, costs may be higher.  If  your spouse and/or children will accompany you, you will, of course, incur higher rents for additional bedroom space as well as additional boarding costs.

Please call 617-287-6011 or consult www.umb.edu/students/housing for more information on prices and availability.

For additional resources to find an apartment or room rental, consult UMass Boston's classified ads, The Community Front Page, or boston.com.