Funding, Employment, and Finances
“Funding” is a term used to describe university employment or support to cover some or all of your costs of graduate education. It varies in kind, amount, and level of guarantee. Graduate students in Kinesiology who are in research-based named options are guaranteed funding during their studies. The following types of support can fulfill graduate student support guarantees in the Department of Kinesiology: teaching assistantship, project assistantship, research assistantship, lectureship, and fellowship or traineeship. All these types of support provide graduate students with valuable experience and training in addition to financial support. The assigned duties of teaching and project assistants may not be directly related to their degree requirements, while research assistantships and fellowship appointments provide an opportunity for students to pursue their degree work more directly.
Support guarantees are contingent on the student’s remaining a graduate student in good standing in the Kinesiology graduate program. They are also contingent on the graduate student performing adequately in any teaching or other assigned responsibilities. The first half‑year of service as a teaching or project assistant in Kinesiology is a probationary period. For students who are non‑native speakers of English and who are appointed as teaching assistants, guarantees are also contingent on meeting UW System policy standards for spoken English proficiency. More information about this policy and the SPEAK test can be found at: https://esl.wisc.edu/ita-training/speak/. Failure to meet the required level of proficiency may lead to cancellation of an appointment and cancellation of the support guarantee.
The Graduate School maintains policies related to graduate student funding/employment:
Maximum Levels of Appointments
grad.wisc.edu/documents/maximum-levels-of-appointments
Concurrent Appointments for Fellows/Trainees
grad.wisc.edu/documents/concurrent-appointments
Enrollment Requirements for Graduate Assistants
policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1208
Eligibility for Summer RA, TA, PA, and LSA Appointments
policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-5089
Finding Funding Without a Guaranteed Appointment
Campus-Wide and External Sources
To help you find resources to pay for costs related to graduate education, the Graduate School provides a comprehensive overview of the funding process on campus as well as descriptions of the types of funding available, sources of funding, minimum stipend rates and benefits, and links to applicable human resources policies (e.g. GAPP) at:
Graduate School: Funding and Financial Aid
External Fellowship Database
grad.wisc.edu/funding/external-fellowship-database
UW-Madison Libraries Grants Information Collection
library.wisc.edu/memorial/collections/grants-information-collection
In Our Program/Department
In addition to campus-wide and external sources of funding, our program/department offers sources of funding that are awarded on a competitive or need-basis. Kinesiology typically has TA positions available to students from the department without a funding guarantee. These positions are announced internally before they are posted to the broader campus.
Additional Policies & Resources
Graduate School Policy: Residence for Tuition Purposes
grad.wisc.edu/documents/residence-for-tuition-purposes
Employee Disability Resources
Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures (GAPP)