FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
In selecting individuals for any assistantship or fellowship, and in the administration of appointments, New Mexico State University will not discriminate on grounds of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
The Graduate School offers awards, assistantships, and fellowships to qualified graduate students. Below is a summary of those awards. For detailed information and the application process and deadlines please consult http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/gradschool/announcements.html.
All application materials and deadlines for graduate assistantships, fellowships, and internships may be obtained by writing to the head of the department. The student must be admitted to the Graduate School before application for an assistantship will be considered.
The university limits the number of years a student may be supported. A student should check Graduate Assistant Employment Guidelines of the Graduate School at the following web site: http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/publications/GA_Guidelines/. Departments may place additional limitations on the years of support.
AWARDS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
Merit-based Enhancement Fellowships for Current Graduate Assistants
To help departments reward outstanding graduate assistants, the Graduate School offers Merit-Based Enhancement fellowships to graduate assistants who are engaged in the teaching or research mission of New Mexico State University. The amount of the awards is $4,000 for an academic year.
Nominations must come from faculty and are due at the Graduate School on April 1st. Please contact the dean of Graduate School if you have any questions, (575) 646-5746 or lacey@nmsu.edu.
The Mike Watts Outstanding Leadership Graduate Fellowships of $1,500
The Graduate School encourages faculty to nominate outstanding graduate assistants for a Mike Watts Outstanding Leadership award. The fellowship is made available through the generosity of the family and friends of Michael E. Watts. The Watts Fellowships are available to graduate assistants from any area of Graduate School.
If awarded, the fellowship will be paid as salary supplement to the regular assistantship. Please note that for those students who also receive financial aid, the fellowship can have an impact on the amount of financial aid received. Nominations from faculty are due April 1st. The Graduate School will review the applications and select recipients.
Graduate Assistant Tuition Fellowships
The Graduate School awards tuition fellowships to graduate assistants to help departments recruit outstanding graduate students to their programs.
Master's degree students will receive up to 2 years of support and doctoral degree students will receive up to three years of support. In order for students to qualify for a second and third year of support, they must maintain their status as graduate assistants for the duration of the tuition fellowship period. These awards are for students receiving 10 hour and 20 hour graduate assistantships. The tuition fellowships do not include fees.
Nominations from faculty are due to the Graduate School by April 1st.
Please contact the dean of the Graduate School if you have any questions, (575)-646-5746 or lacey@nmsu.edu.
McNair Graduate Assistantships
New Mexico State University has a highly successful Ronald E. McNair Program. The Graduate School wishes to support and recognize the success of the McNair program by offering several McNair Graduate Assistantships for one academic year with a match of one year from a department. Nominations from faculty are due to the Graduate School April 1.
State Department of Higher Education (HED) Graduate Scholarship Programs
The Higher Education Department Graduate Scholarship Program offers Graduate Fellowships/Assistantships for women and minority persons who are citizens or permanent U.S. residents and who are a first year student or a student that is beginning graduate studies in any graduate department at the master's or doctoral level at NMSU. The selected student must be admitted to a graduate program prior to applying for this award.
HED fellowships carry stipends of $7,200 per annum and matched with half-time (10 hours per week) teaching assistantship provided by the student's department for a total award of $15,500.
The total amount of this award is based on the salary for a 20 hour graduate assistantship and usually increases from year to year, based on raises awarded by the State of New Mexico.
Fellowships are available for two years for master's students and four years for doctoral students. One of the HED fellowships is, when possible, designated for a McNair Scholar. Eligible nominees will be judged using the following criteria:
In order for the student to establish financial need, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form available in the Financial Aid Office. This form is not to be returned to the Graduate School. The form must be mailed to the Federal Student Aid Programs address listed on the application or submitted via computer at the Financial Aid Office. The results will be sent to the student and the Financial Aid Office. Students must have a complete file and have been approved for financial aid to be considered for this fellowship. Preference will be given to those students that have a current FAFSA form on file at the NMSU Financial Aid office.
Nominations from faculty should be sent to the Graduate School as soon as possible but no later than April 1st.
Diversity Graduate Assistantships
The diversity awards are allocated to departments on a competitive basis to help increase the diversity and quality of the student body. Matching support is required to win one of these awards for your student. The diversity award can be used to recruit domestic students. Please note that the award is for an academic year. Departments will need to commit funds to the selected student for at least one additional semester, or preferably a year.
The selected student must be admitted to the department prior to applying for the diversity award.
The Graduate School will accept applications from faculty until April 1.
Please direct inquiries to the dean of the Graduate School at (575) 646-5746 or lacey@nmsu.edu.
Fellowships
The Graduate School maintains a Fellowship and Grant Information Web page http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/fellowships/ which provides a database of grants, fellowships, and assistantships for graduate students. The university offers a number of fellowships available to both new and continuing students. Applicants and current students may also sign up for the Graduate School listserv to receive current information http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/fellowships/. Students should check with departments/programs for specific information about fellowships.
Assistantships
Graduate assistantships in teaching and research are available to selected students in those fields in which graduate degrees are offered, as well as in some other offices of the university. Eligibility for teaching assistantships includes (a) acceptance by and subsequent registration in the Graduate School and academic department, (b) classification as a "regular" graduate student, (c) enrollment in nine graded credit hours and (d) maintain a 3.0 grade-point average. Provisional students can be hired as research assistants but not as teaching assistants.
Graduate students accepted on a provisional basis cannot serve as teaching assistantships. However, they can serve as research assistants. Eligibility for research assistantships includes (a) acceptance by and subsequent registration in the Graduate School and academic department, (b) classification as a "provisional" graduate student (c) enrollment in nine graded credits hours, and (d) funded on research projects of the faculty of NMSU.
A student seeking appointment as a teaching assistant will be required to demonstrate proficiency in communication skills necessary for satisfactory service in the classroom. All graduate students given an assistantship must attend a mandatory orientation offered by the Graduate School. Departments may also require students to complete workshops/orientations in order to qualify for assistantships. See http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/fellowships/.
All international students seeking a teaching assistantship must demonstrate proficiency in English and competency in pedagogy. Prior to the first semester in which the teaching assistantship is to be received, international students must undergo the NMSU International Teaching Assistant (ITA) screening administered by the Department of Communication Studies on behalf of the Graduate School. Students who pass the screening exam are immediately eligible for assignment to a teaching assistantship. Those who do not pass the screening exam must enroll in and satisfactorily complete COMM 485 before being eligible for a teaching assistantship. To aid those incoming international students who plan to teach in the fall semester, COMM 485 is offered in Summer. International graduate students wishing to hold a teaching assistantship should check with their department to determine when they should arrive on campus to meet the screening requirement.
The duties involved normally require about 20 hours per week (full time fall and spring) of the student's time. By accepting an assistantship, the student is obligated to enroll for and maintain enrollment in a minimum of nine graded graduate credits (courses numbered 450 and above) per semester, but not more than 15 per semester. A graduate assistant may not enroll for more than 15 credits for each fall and spring semesters. Courses taken for audit or undergraduate deficiencies are counted in the maximum total course load; audited classes and courses under 450 cannot be used for the minimum GA course load requirement.
GRADUATE ASSISTANTS SALARIES AND TAX WITHHOLDING GUIDELINES
Internal Revenue Service tax withholding guidelines require undergraduate and graduate students employed through New Mexico State University maintain at least six credit hours of course work during the fall and spring semesters and three credit hours of course work for summer sessions to be eligible for the student FICA tax exemption. Student employees who do not meet this requirement during any given pay period will be subject to Social Security taxes at the rate of 6.2% and Medicare taxes at the rate of 1.45%. Salaries for graduate assistants in 2008-2009 are as follows:
| Level | Salary |
| I | $15,800 |
| II | $16,000 |
| III | $16,200 |
Level I applies to students pursuing a master's degree. Level II applies to students (a) pursuing the education specialist or doctoral degree who have passed the qualifying exam or (b) who have a master's degree in the same or cognate field and the recommendation of the head of their major department. Level III applies to a doctoral student who has passed the comprehensive examination.
Graduate assistants employed at least ten hours per week will be considered eligible for in-state tuition during the first 12 months of tenure if the assistantship is approved by the Graduate School prior to census date (stated by the Office of the Registrar as the third Friday of the semester each spring and fall semester).
If New Mexico resident status has not been established by the time of any reappointment, the graduate assistant may be subject to nonresident tuition rates.
Applications for state residency may be obtained in the Office of the Registrar, Located in the Educational Services Building.
New Mexico State University IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
As required by law, social security numbers are collected from prospective and current students who 1) plan to seek employment on campus or 2) wish to receive financial aid. In addition, the university is mandated by federal tax regulations to provide tuition and fee payment information to the student and the Internal Revenue Service, so that applicable educational tax credits may be computed. The social security number will be necessary to submit this tax reporting. The social security number is a confidential record and is maintained as such by the university in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
In order to be employed by New Mexico State University all students must have obtained a social security number within eight weeks of being hired or risk losing their assistantship.
When an official social security number is issued to an international student, it is the student's responsibility to inform the Graduate School and the Office of the Registrar as soon as possible.
HOURLY WORK
Eligibility for student payroll requires that a graduate student (a) be admitted to the Graduate School as well as to a department, (b) have a GPA of 3.0, and (c) be enrolled for at least nine graded graduate credits (courses numbered 450 and above). A student may not work more than 20 hours per week during the academic year. Students should check with Student Employment Services, Garcia Annex, Room 204, for current job postings.
Students not classified as residents of New Mexico but working at an hourly rate are not eligible to receive in-state tuition.