Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship (DSTF)

Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship

Information for Graduate Students

Overview

Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship (DSTF) reimburses tuition at the base rate. Tuition reimbursement is no longer guaranteed with employment, effective fall 2011. Each college has been issued a fellowship amount that will be awarded by the college. The College of Technology accepts applications from students as outlined below and allocates funds as available according the priorities which are listed, which have been established in conjunction with the College of Technology Graduate Academic Council. These funds are for tuition fellowships only, any cost for student employment is the responsibility of the employing program, department or grant.

To be considered for DSTF Funding, please submit the attached employment forms by the stated deadlines

DSTF Agreement Form
Employment Agreement Form (Employing Unit must be completed and signed)

Please note that DSTF does not replace the monthly stipend nor health insurance paid for by employers. DSTF is a competitively awarded benefit of up to 9 credits of tuition reimbursed at the base rate. DSTF is not guaranteed with employment.

Additional Background

DSTF will be awarded by the College of Technology in the following preference order:

While awarding DSTF, the College of Technology will use the criteria listed below when making decisions to award funding to students. All students from a priority group will be funded before the next priority group. Funding will be awarded in the following order with priority given to research benefitting the College of Technology and University of Houston in addition to student excellence as measured through student cumulative GPA.

MOU Based Award: An existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a formal agreement made between the College of Technology and an external entity. This entity may be another educational institution or business. An example of an MOU with an educational institution includes, but is not limited to, students participating in a research program which specifically identifies funding will be provided to a student during a set time period of the student's academic experience at UH in the College of Technology. An example of a business MOU includes but is not limited to, business providing matching funds for DSTF funding.
Employment Based Award:
1. College of Technology graduate students hired as a Research Assistant (RA) in the College of Technology.
2. College of Technology graduate students hired by the College of Technology in salaried graduate student position (IA or TA or TF or GA; GA-NE positions do not qualify).
3. College of Technology graduate students hired outside of the College of Technology, but employed at UH in an RA position.
4. College of Technology graduate students hired outside of the College of Technology, but employed at UH in salaried graduate student position.
5. Graduate students from other colleges hired by the College of Technology in an RA, IA, TA or TF position.
Merit Based Award: College of Technology graduate students exhibiting academic excellence. In addition to GPA, competitive academic recognition, like winning an award or presenting at a prestigious national conference will be used to determine academic excellence for current students. New students will be evaluated based on incoming GPA and test scores. Merit based awards are unlikely to be awarded; significant academic competitiveness must be demonstrated to be considered for this award.

Off Site Position title descriptions per the UH catalog (GA, GA-NE, IA, RA, TA, TF).

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies may award tuition fellowships to students for academic excellence at a higher priority level than listed above based on a case by case basis. In the event all students in one funding group cannot be awarded a tuition fellowship, awards will be determined by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

DSTF Student Eligibility Requirements

Graduate students determined by the College of Technology as eligible for support under this program will be awarded a fellowship amount equal to resident tuition and designated tuition charges for nine (9) credit hours for each fall and spring semester of eligibility, and six (6) credit hours for the summer. The DSTF program does not cover mandatory or course fees, which remain the obligation of the student.

A student must be matriculated and in good academic standing in the College of Technology in a degree seeking graduate program. Students classified as post-baccalaureate (PB), pre-grad or non degree objective (NDO) are not eligible.
A cumulative graduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 for all courses attempted is required for all graduate degree programs. For the purpose of the awarding DSTF, 1st year students (newly admitted) will have the minimum GPA requirement waived for their first two long semesters.
Recipient of the DSTF may work no more than .50 FTE (on average 20/hrs/week) either on or off campus. This employment cap includes all employment, including internship work for graduate credit. Students with unauthorized overloads will have their DSTF retroactively revoked and will not be eligible for the DSTF in the subsequent semester.
A student must be enrolled a minimum of nine (9) semester credit hours for each full long semester of the award. For summer, students must be registered for a minimum of six semester credit hours during any combination of summer sessions.
Tuition for any additional credit hours in which a student enrolls over the minimum of nine (or six) will be charged to the student who will be responsible for the payment. Credit hour minimums apply only to courses taken for graduate credit applicable toward the student's degree objective. With the exception of required one-credit seminars that force a student be above or below full time enrollment, all funding requests above or below full time enrollment must be approved by General Petition. Reduced course load requests will only be approved in a student's final semester; students may only have one final semester.
Eligible Master's degree students may receive the DSTF for a maximum of two years (four long semesters) for student in a Master's program.
Student's whose tuition is paid through other financial aid sources (e.g. Hazelwood), are not eligible to receive the DSTF.
A student who fails to meet all of the criteria for eligibility throughout the entire semester will have their Fellowship revoked retroactively, will be billed for full tuition, and designated tuition charges.

Funding Process

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies manages the distribution of DSTF awards to students. Distribution is based on guidelines as approved by the Graduate Academic Council as well as the College of Technology Scholarship Committee. The scholarship process is highly competitive therefore meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee an award.

Awards are made with the intent of furthering the success of the university with regard to the university's mission, research interests, and instructional needs.

Application Procedure

MOU Based Award: Student consideration requirements will be identified in the MOU.

Employment Based Award: To be considered for DSTF based on employment, students will need to submit a DSTF Employment Agreement to the ASC Room 108.

Merit Based Award: Currently enrolled students will be considered based on academic excellence. This award is highly competitive and requires exceptional academic achievement. New students may be awarded DSTF based on an admission application. Merit awards made to new students are effective for no more than two semesters, after which students will be expected to receive an employment based award.

Deadlines

DSTF may be awarded six times throughout the semester as follows:

Deadline	Application Due to Academic Services Center	Terms Available
Priority Deadline	Six weeks prior to the start of the term	Fall, Spring, Summer
Final Deadline	One week after the first day of class	Fall, Spring, Summer

Summer 2012 Deadlines

Priority Deadline is 5:00 PM, Thursday, April 19, 2012
Final Deadline is 12:00 PM, Friday, June 8, 2012

Priority Deadline: To meet scholarship award deadlines the College of Technology has identified a priority deadline. Six weeks prior to the start of the term, priority student awards are identified by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Technology based on the criteria identified above and submitted to the Office of Student Financial Aid four weeks prior to the start of the term. Funding should post prior to the tuition and fees deadline; students are responsible for making payment arrangements.

Final deadline: If additional funding is available, additional awards will be granted by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Technology to individual students based on the criteria above. Awards are submitted to the Office of Student Financial Aid, however aid will not reflect on the student's account prior to tuition and fees due date therefore it is the student's responsibility to make payment arrangements. Once funding is awarded, the student will receive credit to their account.

Please contact Tiffany Roosa for additional information.

Page Updated: October 2, 2012 at 12:18 PM