Financial Information
All Students
Work-Study
Work-study is need-based financial aid that allows students to earn money for college expenses by working a part-time job.
- Work-study jobs are funded by the federal and state government
- Includes on and off-campus positions
- Both undergraduate and graduate students may apply for work-study
- In order to determine eligibility for work-study, students must first submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- For more information visit the Student Employment Work-Study page
International Students
Please visit the International Financial Aid website for information. International students admitted to Theatre & Dance graduate programs are eligible for graduate assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships, detailed below.
Graduate Students
Scholarships
No applications are necessary for department scholarships; recipients are chosen by the graduate faculty of each program.
- The Patricia Elliott Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student every year (approximately $3,500)
- The Theatre Endowed Graduate Student Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student every year (approximately $500-$800)
- The Charlotte York Irey Scholarship is awarded to an MFA student in their third year (approximately $6,000)
- The Gail Pokoik Scholarship is awarded to a promising incoming student every three years (approximately $5,000)
- This scholarship is currently committed and will be available again in the 2024-2025 academic year
Fellowships
The Theatre & Dance graduate admissions committees nominate applicants for recruiting fellowships each year. Selection is based on the admissions application. Because these fellowships are very competitive, only students with a combination of accomplishment and high grade point average are selected.
- Sponsored by the Graduate School, the Chancellor’s Fellowship recognizes the most outstanding incoming graduate students across campus. Theatre nominates one top PhD applicant for this prestigious award. Chancellor's Fellows receive:
- Years 1-4: a PhD graduate teaching assistantship from the Theatre Program (covers tuition, $26,000 salary stipend and insurance stipend - see below for full description)
- Year 1: an additional $30,000 stipend from the Graduate School
- Year 5: the Graduate School will provide a $36,000 stipend plus tuition, fees, and full insurance coverage
- Success rate: in the past 5 years the Theatre Program has received one Chancellor's Fellowship
- Dance nominates one top MFA applicant for the Center for Humanities and the Arts-sponsored CHA Arts & Sciences Fellowship
- Covers all tuition, fees, and insurance plus a stipend of $26,000 for the first year of study
- Success rate: in the past 5 years the Dance Program has received three CHA Arts & Sciences Fellowships
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate assistantships in teaching, administration and production are the main form of departmental support for graduate students. We do our best to offer our students a variety of teaching and professional experiences. Our budget is prioritized for teaching assistantships, but other assistantships are awarded in the instances when the instructional needs of the department have been met. All applicants are encouraged to submit a Curriculum Vitae/Resume which shows their administration and/or production experience.
Each graduate program offers different levels of support.
The Graduate Program in Dance can currently provide partial support with graduate assistantships. In an effort to move towards full funding for all MFA graduate students we are reducing our cohort size to 2 or 3 students.
The majority of our graduate assistantships are teaching appointments in the undergraduate non-majors dance program. However there may also be research, production and administrative assistantships available.
The workload for assistantships is 10 hours/week. Recipients may expect the following compensation package:
- A $6,800 salary each semester
- Salary is paid by direct deposit on the last working day of each month from August through May
- A tuition waiver of 5 credits per semester
- Tuition waivers appear as credits on the student bill
- Student fees are waived.
- For further information please visit Graduate Student Appointment Information
- A stipend that covers approximately 90% of the cost of the University’s CU Gold Student Health Insurance Plan
For more information on assistantships and application instructions, please see the Graduate Student Assistantships and Teaching Application.
Graduate assistantships in the Department of Theatre & Dance are generally reserved for PhD students. When our budget permits, however, MA and MA/MBA students are eligible for partial support in the form of graduate assistantships in teaching (teaching assistant), administration, production or research. It is our hope that every MA and MA/MBA student will have at least one semester of support by the time they graduate.
MA graduate assistantships receive the following compensation package the semester of their assistantship for an 8 hour/week appointment:
- A salary of $4,700 per semester
- Salary is paid by direct deposit on the last working day of each month from August through May
- A tuition waiver of 4 credit hours
- Tuition waivers appear as credits on the student bill
- Student fees are waived
- For further information please visit Graduate Student Appointment Information
- A stipend that covers approximately 90% of the cost of the University’s CU Gold Student Health Insurance Plan
When our budget permits us to fund MA graduate assistantships, we invite all interested Theatre & Performance Studies MA students to apply. Calls for applications usually occur in August or December, before the beginning of each semester.
MA/MBA: Because of the conflict with MBA coursework, most MA/MBA students do not hold assistantships during the year in which they take classes solely in the Leeds School of Business. This is usually year two of the three-year MA/MBA program.
Admitted PhD students receive teaching assistantships that consist of responsibility for two undergraduate classes each semester. This involves syllabus creation, lesson planning, class presentation, taking attendance, grading, and providing office hours. The workload is scehduled for 20 hours/week.
PhD students will teach two classes per semester for their four years in the program and will enter the job market with extensive teaching experience. Our goal is to offer a variety of teaching experiences, from Acting 1 (small class) to American Musical Theatre History (large lecture with TA). In return, PhD students receive the following compensation package:
- A salary of $27,000 paid by direct deposit on the last working day of each month from August through May
- A full tuition waiver
- A stipend that covers approximately 90% of the cost of the University’s Gold Comprehensive Insurance Plan
- Student fees are waived
PhD students are responsible for the following costs:
- The balance of the cost of health insurance (approximately $400/year)
Support is available for each of the four years of the PhD degree program, as long as students maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completion of the degree, remain full-time enrolled (5 credit hours/semester) and earn satisfactory instructional reviews.
No application is necessary to be considered for assistantships. Students are notified at the time of admission if they have been awarded an assistantship and are asked to accept or decline admission by the April 15 deadline.
Student Hourly Employment Within the Department
The Department of Theatre & Dance employs many students in production:
- House management
- Scene shop and set construction
- Lighting installations
- Costume shop
The compensation for these positions is $15/hour. Because they focus around productions, these jobs may not provide consistent employment.