Work, Scholarships, & Support
Working at the School of Social Work
For students currently employed at the School of Social Work, please check our student employment page for answers and requirements about your job at the School.
All Students Employed at the School of Social Work must uphold the highest regard for confidentiality of all information and complete mandatory compliance classes required by The University of Texas. Information about the School's confidentiality policy and other employment requirements can be found on the School's confidentiality page.
To be considered for an assistantship or a scholarship, students must have a current Financial Aid Form on file with the School of Social Work Office of Admissions. The form is available at the Office of Admissions or can be downloaded in Word or PDF format.
Teaching, Graduate, and Research Assistantships
A limited number of TA (Teaching Assistant), GA (Graduate Assistant) and RA (Research Assistant) positions are available for graduate students at the School of Social Work in increments of 5 to 20 hours a week.
Information about how to apply for the Teaching Assistant and Graduate Assistant positions will be mailed to you along with your acceptance packet, when you are accepted into the MSSW or Ph.D. programs. The steps for applying for a TA or GA position are also listed below. TA and GA selection decisions are made by the Student Financial Assistance Committee, which is chaired by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr. David Springer. The committee is made up of the Program Directors, the Assistant Dean for Finance, and the Director of Admissions and selects students using the criteria of merit and financial need. If you are selected for a TA or GA position, you will be contacted as soon as possible after the committee makes final decisions near the end of each semester for the following semester. For more information and questions about TA and GA positions, contact the Office of Admissions at (512) 471-7482.
Research Assistant position decisions will be made by the Center for Social Work Research and individual faculty members with funded research. For more information and questions about RA positions or to apply for an RA position, please contact Dr. Carol Lewis at the Center for Social Work Research.
TA Application Steps
Ph.D. and MSSW Students
MSSW students fill out a School of Social Work Financial Aid Form (FAF) when they apply to the MSSW program. This form is included in the acceptance packet to be completed and returned to the Director of Admissions. It is kept on file for as long as the student is in the program.
Ph.D. students do not use the Financial Aid Form (FAF) form, but rather work directly with doctoral Program Director, Dr. Jim Schwab.
School of Social Work Faculty submit requests for a TA or GA to Dean Barbara White, and indicate whether they have a student in mind or want to continue with a previously assigned TA.
The Financial Assistance Committee (FAC) meets and goes over these requests. This is an iterative process, as the FAC attempts to match several converging areas: student financial need and merit; student interests and skill set; faculty need and interest; and so on. The Program Directors work from a list of students who need financial assistance, which is compiled from the application packets. The FAC makes recommendations to individual faculty members regarding who their assigned TA will be, using the criteria listed above. Faculty without assigned TAs contact the Director of Admissions for remaining eligible names. Faculty then initiate contact with the student(s) they would like to consider for their TA. Upon selecting a student to work as their TA, the faculty member notifies the Assistant Dean for Finance so that the appointment can be processed.
BSW Students
Students apply for financial aid directly with UT's Office of Financial Aid. If awarded a work-study appointment, students should contact the BSW Program Director, Dr. Rowena Fong. The BSW Program Director will notify the UT School of Social Work staff of eligible BSW work-study students. Students are also encouraged to contact the UT Work Study Coordinator in the Student Financial Services Office about other work-study placements on campus and attend the work-study fairs sponsored by the Work Study Program in the Student Financial Services Office. For more information, contact the UT Student Financial Services Work Study Program at (512) 475-6247.
Title IV-E Child Welfare Education Collaboration
The School of Social Work operates the IV-E training grant project with federal funds that come through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The goal is to provide a needed pool of trained social workers to work in child welfare and to encourage students who are interested in this area by assisting with their educational expenses while in school. Stipends and internships are two major components of this program.
Scholarships and Fellowships
University Fellowships
The Office of Graduate Studies Administers a small number of competitive fellowships that are awarded on the basis of departmental nomination. Selections are made on the basis of merit rather than need. Entering students are eligible for nomination for University Fellowships. University Fellowships provide a stipend, paid by the Graduate School, and some departmental support for tuition and fees. The number of Fellowships is very limited and priority in the School of Social Work is given to doctoral students.
Departmental Scholarships
Scholarships within the School of Social Work are awarded by faculty recommendation to Social Work students. Awards are judged competitively on the basis of academic achievement and professional potential. Departmental scholarships are limited in number and usually are in the form of honoraria in amounts between $250-$3500. Distribution of awards occurs only at the beginning of the fall semester.
Support
Financial Resources
The Dean's Office maintains the Student Support Fund primarily as a resource for students in emergencies. Depending on the fund balance, a portion of the fund can be used to assist students who are presenting at professional conferences.
The Franklin Lindsay loan program makes loans to graduate students enrolled in Texas institutions. To be eligible a graduate student must:
- Be a US citizen. (Permanent residents are not eligible.)
- Be a full-time student here. For students not in doctoral candidacy this means a course load of 9 hours. For students in doctoral candidacy the course load can be reduced to 3 hours.
- Be in good standing (3.0 average or better).
More information is available at www.franklinlindsay.org