Financial Aid Information
Both the Office of Graduate Admissions and Records and the Financial Aid office offer various fellowships to graduate students, as outlined in the Graduate Admissions Guide. To obtain more information from the Office of Graduate Admissions and Records, contact them at 218 Student Services Building, Knoxville TN 37996-0220 or (865) 974 - 3251. To obtain more information from the Financial Aid office, contact them at 115 Student Services Building or (865) 974 - 3131.
The Philosophy Department awards three kinds of aid: graduate assistantships, graduate teaching associateships, and scholarships.
Graduate School Fellowships
The Graduate School offers a variety of Fellowships for which we urge eligible applicants to apply. All require that you have a minimum of 3.7 GPA. The deadline for application is February 15. (Note: the application deadline for Departmental Teaching Assistants/Associateships is two weeks earlier than this.) Details can be obtained HERE.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships or "TA"
A TA assists a faculty member who is teaching a large lecture class by teaching 3 discussion groups and grading the assignments submitted by the students in those groups. This faculty member is responsible for helping you develop your teaching skills, for monitoring your progress and for evaluating your work as a TA. Each discussion group will have 20 or 25 students. Teaching Assistantships are awarded to outstanding applicants who hold at least a Bachelor's degree, normally but not always with a Philosophy major. In awarding GAs, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and your overall record of academic achievement are taken into consideration. As a TA, you will be expected to work 1/2 time (about 20 hours per week).
Application
To apply for a Teaching Assistantship, you must fill out and submit a Philosophy Department Financial Aid form. Also, have a transcript from every university/college you have attended sent to the Director of Graduate Studies by the university/colleges' Registrar. The application deadline is February 1. If you have not already been admitted, you must also apply, as described in the Graduate School Catalog or in the departmental Graduate Student Procedures for degree status admission to the Graduate School and the Philosophy Department.
Graduate Teaching Associateships or "GTA"
A GTA teaches two undergraduate classes in philosophy. Normally, associateships are awarded to outstanding applicants who have a Master's degree in Philosophy and who have served for at least a year as a Teaching Assistant in exemplary fashion. In any case, an Associate must have completed a minimum of 18 hours of graduate work in philosophy to be eligible.
Work load
As a GTA, you will be expected to work 1/2 time. You will be assigned to teach your own classes, which will normally be two sections of Introduction to Philosophy: Value and Reality (Philosophy 110) or Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality (111). GTAs may also be assigned to teach other courses such as Contemporary Moral Issues (Philosophy 242), Business Ethics (243), Professional Responsibility (244), Environmental Ethics (245), Bioethics (246), Critical Thinking (130), or Formal Logic (135). Your classes will have 25-35 students. You are responsible for designing the course, teaching and grading. You will be invited to participate in a GTA workshop, offered by the Learning Research Center, to help prepare you.
Application
To apply for a Graduate Teaching Associateship, follow the same procedure as that for applying for a Graduate Assistantship and include letters of recommendation from those who know of your teaching abilities and performance.
Renewing an Assistantship or Associateship
To renew a TA or GTA, you must file a Philosophy Department Financial Aid form at the department each year by February 1 and attach an up to-date Student Progress Sheet (available from the department and on the Philosophy Graduate Program “Blackboard” site). At this point, the department will take into account the number of years of prior aid, philosophical promise, departmental need, progress toward your degree, and past performance as a TA or GTA. The department is normally able to offer assistantships for no more than five years.
Selection Process for TAs and GAs
Following the February 1 deadline, the Graduate Committee provides the Department Head with a ranked list of accepted applicants for TAs and GTAs. In the case of new students, this is based on your transcripts, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation; in some instances a personal interview may also be required prior to a final decision being made. For students already in the program, account will also be taken of the number of years of prior aid, philosophical promise as indicated by your work and other participation in the department, progress toward your degree, and past performance as a TA or GTA. (In all cases, departmental needs are also a factor to be taken into account.) The Department Head then informs all applicants by letter concerning their chances for an Assistantship or Associateship, and makes offers and appointments as funds become available.
Scholarships
There are three scholarships from the department: the Bacon-Beard scholarship, the Beard scholarship and the Rolf-Dieter Hermann scholarship. These scholarships involve a lump-sum payment and, unlike TAs and GTAs, a tuition fee waiver is not included. There is no need to apply for these scholarships. They are awarded to individuals whom the Graduate Committee deems particularly deserving.
