Financial support may be available for students admitted to this Ph.D. program in the form of assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and loans, however admission to the program does
not equate to any offer or guarantee of financial assistance. Departmental assistantships and
university fellowships are generally limited and are awarded on a competitive basis. As a
Research Assistant (RA) or Teaching Assistant (TA), graduate students pay resident (instate) tuition and are committed to work at least 10 hours per week (0.25 FTE).

Holding a RA or TA involves a substantive commitment of time and normally precludes
additional employment.

The financial aid office, https://fa.nmsu.edu, helps new graduate students apply for many
types of financial support. Direct PLUS Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Perkins Loans
(national direct student loans), and Federal Work-Study are all available to graduate students.
The amount of aid awarded will be based on the financial need of the student. The granting
of either a TA and or a RA is based on the applicant’s qualifications and available funding.
The allocation of a TA or RA is based primarily on teaching or research needs of the
program, not on a students’ desire for the type of work they wish to do.

Continuation of funding is contingent upon students adequately fulfilling their TA or RA
duties, making adequate progress in their coursework, and making sufficient progress on
their thesis or dissertation research. The program will withdraw funding if any of these
criteria are not met. Students working as TAs are primarily responsible to the department
head or faculty advisor in the department providing the funding. Students working as RA’s
are primarily responsible to the faculty advisor who is funding the research on which the
students are working. In either case, the supervising faculty advisor evaluates whether or not
the TA or RA is adequately fulfilling their duties. “Adequate Progress” in coursework is
defined as maintaining a 3.0 grade point average in all graduate work and "Sufficient
Progress on Research" depends upon meeting the research goals in a timely manner.

Graduate students wishing to apply for any of the above types of financial aid must maintain
a GPA of 3.0 and must be enrolled for at least 9 graduate credits in a regular semester (fall
and spring). However, in line with Article 11 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
on the Academic Requirements for Graduate Students, a bargaining unit member in a Ph.D.
program, who has successfully completed their coursework and competency exams, and who
are in their second to last semester may file a request for waiver permitting them to take six
(6) credit hours rather than nine (9) credit hours. Bargaining unit members who are in their
last semester may file a request for waiver permitting them to take one (1) credit hour rather
than nine (9) credit hours. See Collective Bargaining Agreement link under GA and Union
drop down menu at the main Graduate School home page.
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