Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate students can support themselves during degree studies through a combination of the following programs: teaching assistantships (offered by the department), research assistantships (offered by individual professors with research contracts), and other fellowships offered by university units.

Virtually all admitted students are offered graduate assistantships. Students typically start with teaching assistantships (TAs) and either remain on TAs or switch to research assistantships (RAs) if research advisor funds are available. Current stipends for TAs are $20,000 for PhD students (a 9-month stipend of $18,000 plus $2,000 in the summer) and $18,000 for master’s students (a 9-month stipend of $16,000 plus $2,000 in the summer).  To receive the summer stipend, students must perform satisfactorily as TAs, make reasonable progress toward the degree and remain on campus to work for at least one summer month.  Assistantships come with a 100% tuition scholarship (both in-state and out-of-state) and health insurance is partially subsidized.

For top students admitted to the PhD program in Fall 2024, additional $5,000 supplements to the regular assistantship amount are available. With this supplement, the 9-month stipend for new PhD graduate assistants will be $23,000 for 5 years plus $2,000 in the summer, for a total of $25,000 if they make satisfactory progress through the program.

Cost of Attendance

The university provides estimates of the cost of living and studying at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS.  Estimates for international students, can be found here.  Estimates for domestic students can be found here.

If you have any questions then please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator: Cecille Labuda