The Graduate Tuition Support Program, administered by the MU Graduate School, waives tuition for qualified graduate students. Students must meet established criteria to be considered for the program.
Download the Determination of Eligibility FormEligibility
Eligible
- Qualifying graduate assistants and fellows — Graduate students (including those who are spouses or dependents of benefit-eligible employees) who hold qualifying assistantships or fellowships from academic departments or qualified non-degree-granting programs and are in good academic standing in their home departments may be eligible for tuition support.
Not Eligible
- Benefit-eligible Mizzou employees — Benefit-eligible employees who are no longer in their employee probationary period are not eligible for the tuition support.
- Non-degree graduate students — A student must be in a degree-seeking program (master’s, doctoral, educational specialist) and hold a qualifying assistantship or fellowship.
May Be Eligible
- Benefit-eligible Mizzou employees — New benefit-eligible employees may be eligible only during their employee probationary period (first 6-months of employment).
- Professional students — A professional student (law, medicine, veterinary medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy) may be eligible under the Graduate Student Tuition Support Program only if seeking a dual degree in a professional program and a graduate program. Tuition is applied only to graduate program courses. Professional students may also be eligible under the tuition support program for their specific degree, should such a policy exist. Consult your professional school to inquire about such a policy.
Requirements
Graduate Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants
- Must hold at least a quarter-time (.25 FTE, or 10 hours per week) assistantship from a graduate degree granting program, or a half-time (.50 FTE, or 20 hours a week) assistantship from a qualifying non-degree granting unit. If a student holds a .25 FTE from a qualifying non-degree granting unit, they must also hold at least a .25 FTE from their graduate degree granting program. Students with assistantships enrolled for the first time in Summer 2022 or later can be in a .25 assistantship ONLY if they have a second .25 assistantship or equivalent fellowship.
- Must have a qualifying job title.
- Must maintain good academic standing, as determined by the student’s academic home.
- New students must have been:
- Admitted based on admission criteria developed by the academic degree-granting home of the student.
- Approved by the Graduate School on behalf of the Graduate Faculty Senate.
Fellowship Recipients
- Must hold a university-recognized fellowship with a stipend administered through the Office of Financial Aid.
- Fellowship stipend amount must equal a quarter-time (.25 FTE, or 10 hours per week) assistantship. Students with fellowships enrolled for the first time in Summer 2022 or later must have at least a .25 assistantship or another equivalent fellowship.
- Must maintain good academic standing, as determined by the student’s academic home.
- New students must have been admitted based on admission criteria developed by the academic degree-granting home of the student.
Full-Semester Assistantships & Fellowships
A student must hold the assistantship or fellowship for the entire semester to receive a full tuition waiver. A student who holds an assistantship or fellowship for a portion of the semester may be eligible for a pro-rated tuition waiver.
Eligible Course Work
The support applies only to courses applicable and relevant to the student’s degree program and to courses approved by the student’s advisor. The courses for which students receive support are checked after the add/drop period in a semester. If a course is determined to be ineligible, the Tuition Support Program coordinator will remove the support associated with the ineligible course, and the student will be responsible for the tuition and fees associated with that course.
No Plan of Study Required
A student’s tuition waiver is applied only to courses relevant to the student’s degree program. Plans of study are not required for use in the eligibility process.
Time limits
| Type of Student | Maximum Years of Eligibility | Maximum Semesters of Eligibility (Not Including Summers) |
|---|---|---|
| Admitted as master’s student | 3 years | 6 semesters |
| Admitted into a terminal master’s degree, with minimum of 60 credit hours required for degree | 4 years | 8 semesters |
| Has relevant master’s degree, admitted as doctoral student | 5 years | 10 semesters |
| No relevant master’s degree, admitted as doctoral student | 7 years | 14 semesters |
| No relevant master’s degree, admitted to doctoral program with master’s en route | 8 years | 16 semesters |
Note: Summer semesters not included. The overall limits are two degrees or seven years (eight, for the last scenario), whichever comes first. For all master’s work, the student is limited to three years or six semesters of support.
Tuition Support for Assistantships in Non-Degree-Granting Units
Units that has an academic mission but do not grant degrees (such as the Campus Writing Program) may provide academically appropriate positions at the .25 or .50 level. However, students with .25 assistantships enrolled for the first time in Summer 2022 or later must have another .25 assistantship in an academic unit or equivalent fellowship to qualify for tuition support. The Dean of the Graduate School will recommend whether to provide support to students in such units on an individual basis. If granted, the support will be made pending approval by the student’s home department. Click here for more information.
Special situations
Summer tuition support
A student who had a tuition waiver for the fall and spring semesters will receive a waiver for the following summer automatically. A student without support in past two consecutive semesters may be eligible for summer tuition support if the department completes a Tuition Support Program form and checks the box for summer and the student:
- Has a qualifying assistantship or fellowship for the entire summer session.
- Has support for the preceding spring semester and the student has a qualifying assistantship or fellowship committed for the following fall semester.
- Is starting a program in the summer semester and has a qualifying assistantship or fellowship committed for both the following fall and spring semesters.
Partial semester assistantship or fellowship
- If a student has a qualifying assistantship or fellowship for only part of a semester, the tuition support will be pro-rated.
- If the assistantship or fellowship starts after the first day of the semester or ends before the last day of the semester, or if a student withdraws from the university before the end of the semester, the student will receive partial tuition support and will be responsible for the balance.
- If a student who has a fellowship for which a stipend was received at the beginning of the semester withdraws from the university before the end of the semester, that student may be required to return a portion of the stipend, as well as a portion of the tuition waiver/insurance subsidy credits, to the university.
Student withdraws from all classes during the semester
- A student with an assistantship or fellowship who withdraws from all classes loses the assistantship or fellowship.
- Tuition supports pro-rated based on the amount of time the student worked. For example, if a student withdraws from all classes halfway through the semester, the student is responsible for 50% of the tuition.
Student is placed on academic probation
- A student on academic probation is not eligible for a tuition waiver under the Tuition Support Program. The student may still hold an assistantship but will not be eligible for tuition support until they are no longer on academic probation. The department may request a grace period by petitioning the Dean of the Graduate School.