Funding
Ph.D. students receive tuition waivers and stipends for living expenses during the first five years of study, generally in exchange for service to the department. M.A. students do not normally receive departmental funding, but can apply for on-campus jobs, some of which entail some tuition remission.
Both Ph.D. and MA students are eligible to apply for Graduate Research Expense Grants (GREGs) to offset the cost of research (e.g., travel to sites, specialized data analysis software, transcription). Applications are solicited by the Graduate Director three times per year.
Ph.D. Funding Sources
Ph.D. students receive tuition waivers and stipends for living expenses during the first five years of study in exchange for service to the department—most commonly as Teaching Assistants (TAs) for the first 3 years and Teaching Fellows (TFs) for an additional 2 years. Whereas TAs help faculty members by performing tasks such as grading and holding office hours, TFs teach their own courses (one per semester). Other sources of Ph.D. student funding include the following:
Summer Research Fellowships (SRFs) – 1+ summers
Awarded annually by the Graduate Studies Committee to 4-12 Ph.D. students. Ph.D. students can generally expect to receive one or more SRF during their tenure at BC. Applications are solicited by the Graduate Director in the spring semester.
Faculty Grants - as available
Entails working with faculty on grants funded through BC or external sponsors.
Dissertation Fellowship - 1 year
Awarded at the discretion of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to one or two advanced students recommended by the Graduate Studies Committee. Applications are solicited by the Graduate Director in the spring semester.
Alper Award - 1 year
Awarded by the Sociology faculty annually to one Ph.D. student. Applications are solicited by the Graduate Director in the spring semester.
Lowry Fellowship - 1 year
Awarded by the Sociology faculty annually to one Ph.D. student. Applications are solicited by the Graduate Director in the spring semester.
M.A. Funding Sources
M.A. students seeking to offset the cost of their degree can apply for part-time on-campus jobs, called graduate assistantships, that come with stipends and partial or full tuition remission. The Boston College Student Affairs website posts graduate assistantships. And the Office of Student Services has a student employment website.
Most full-time, BC employees are allowed to take two courses per semester for free. For information on full-time BC jobs, visit the Human Resources Job Opportunites website.
External Sources For M.A. and Ph.D.
Both M.A. and Ph.D. students can, of course, apply for external sources of funding. Below are some links to external funding resources.
The Office of Sponsored Programs maintains a number of web pages to help students find funding:
Research Funding Sources
The sociology department has two sources of funds to support graduate student research expenses: Graduate Research Expense Grants (G-REGs, for both MA and PhD students); and Ivan Brown Graduate Research Grants (for PhD students only). Applications for both G-REGs and Browns will be accepted on an ongoing basis during the academic year (but not during the summer).