The Department of Mathematics will fund Graduate Tuition Scholarships at the university rate (100% for Ph.D. students and 75% for M.S. students) for students with no scholarship from another source and who satisfy the following criteria:
- The student is enrolled in a graduate program and has Mathematics as his or her home department.
- The student has a graduate assistantship (e.g. TA, RA) at Iowa State University.
- The student is making satisfactory progress. For students in the Mathematics and Applied mathematics programs, these are outlined in the Mathematics Graduate Student Handbook (MGSH).
- Mathematics GPA at or above prescribed limits. (3.0 for M.S., 3.33 for Ph.D.)
- For Ph.D. students, timely passing of qualifying exams and the preliminary exam.
- Timely formation of POS committees and filing of POS forms.
- Progress toward completion of degree within given time limits.
- For non-native speakers, timely passing of Speak/Teach and the Graduate English Requirement.
For students in other programs, satisfactory progress is defined by their respective programs.
Satisfactory Progress
All students in the Mathematics and Applied Mathematics programs will receive a memo from the DoGE outlining what the student should do in the next year to maintain satisfactory progress. Most students receive a TA for the following fall and spring semesters. The Graduate Committee will recommend a list of students to receive a TA and the Department Chair awards assistantships, given funding availability. If the student maintains satisfactory progress, and fulfills the requirements of his or her TA assignment (see below) then the student should expect to continue to receive the Graduate Tuition Scholarship for the Fall and Spring semesters. If the student maintains satisfactory progress and secures a Summer graduate assistantship, then the Scholarship will be awarded for the Summer as well.
A student who maintains satisfactory progress and obtains a graduate assistantship from another source should also expect a Graduate Tuition Scholarship to be awarded. A student who is at risk of losing the Graduate Tuition Scholarship for criterion (3) shall receive prior notice from the DoGE or the Graduate Committee that the Scholarship and/or graduate assistantship is in jeopardy. The Graduate Committee may elect to award a Scholarship at ½ the rate or not at all for students who do not fully satisfy (3).
Petitioning
If a student is deemed not to be making satisfactory progress according to criterion (3), then the student and his or her advisor may petition the Graduate Committee to recommend a tuition scholarship for the student for one year or for one semester.
TA Requirements
The Mathematics Department may elect not to award a Graduate Tuition Scholarship or may award it at ½ the rate in cases of inability to fulfill the requirements of a Teaching Assistantship. These include, but are not limited to: Not attending classes one is assigned to teach without informing the math office, missing assigned help room hours without informing the math office, chronic disciplinary issues with regards to teaching, or gross malfeasance in assigned duties. See the Math Department Teaching Assistant (TA) Job Description for the list of assigned duties. The student will be notified in writing if the scholarship will be reduced or eliminated for not fulfilling the requirements of a Teaching Assistantship. Such a reduction in scholarship can take effect as soon as the next semester. This notification will be made by either the Department Chair or the Associate Chair and will be copied to the DoGE and the Graduate Secretary.
Graduate Student Financial Aid
Teaching assistantships are available to support most of the students admitted to a degree program.
A teaching assistantship is normally considered to be a 20-hour week commitment. During the first year or two of graduate study students will generally lead recitation sessions that accompany a large-lecture class and/or grade papers and office hours. You may also work in the Math Help Room. Advanced graduate students are often given stand alone classes to teach, primarily algebra and trigonometry and calculus.
The academic year stipend ranges from $19K to $24K. Additional summer support is available.
Scholarships & Awards
- Graduate College Tuition Scholarship Award
- Teaching & Research Excellence Awards
- Zaffarano Prize
- Brown Trust Graduate Fellowship
- Lambert Research Award
- Wolfe Research Fellowship
- Miller Fellowship