Tuition & Financial Support
While tuition for graduate students in 2022-2023 is $7,146/semester for Illinois residents and $12,596/semester for nonresidents, the iSchool is able to offer full support for PhD students for five academic years (excluding summers).
Tuition and fees are direct costs charged by the university. The cost of attendance also includes indirect cost allowances for food, housing, books, supplies and other expenses. You will not be billed by the university for these costs unless you live in university housing. Use the Illinois Cost Calculator for an estimated cost of attendance.
This information is subject to change without notice.
How is support provided?
Financial support includes a combination of the following:
- Research assistantships
- Teaching assistantships*
- Fellowships (tied to the dissertation process)
*In order to hold a TA, all students must complete the CITL Graduate Teaching Academy. And, international students have one year from admission to be in compliance with the Policy Statement Regarding the Appointment of Non-Native English-Speaking Teaching Assistants. If admitted, additional information will be shared in the admissions letter to fulfill both of these requirements.
These forms of financial aid generally include full tuition and partial fee waivers. Students will owe additional fees assessed by the University of Illinois, approximately $560 (in Fall and Spring).
While most assistantships for PhD students are awarded by the iSchool, information about additional opportunities is available from the Assistantship Clearinghouse and the University Library.
What are my obligations as a research and teaching assistant?
The Graduate Assistant Employee Orientation, which is offered through the Graduate College, provides orientation for teaching, research, graduate, and pre-professional assistants on terms of appointment, waivers, stipends and benefits. We expect our students to attend this orientation. We also require our PhD students who TA to take FERPA training.
Students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic progress (minimum GPA 3.25 on a 4.0 scale) in order to be eligible for continued support. Students holding fellowships must register as full-time students (12 hours in Fall and Spring and 4 hours in Summer Session II). Those holding 50% assistantships awarded and/or administered by the School must be registered for at least 10 hours each semester during the academic year. Students with assistantships in the library or elsewhere on campus must follow the enrollment requirements of the units employing them. Students may seek additional opportunities in the forms of hourly funding or additional assistantships, but total assistantship appointments may not exceed 67% in order to remain eligible for full or partial tuition and fee waivers. See the Graduate College handbook for details, including restrictions on % time employment for international students.
Can I also work as a graduate hourly employee?
Graduate hourly positions are usually supplemental to assistantships at the doctoral level, and do not come with stipends or tuition waivers. See also Graduate College resources for additional information.