Funding and Financial Support

The Department of Design offers generous financial support to the vast majority of its graduate students, beyond the normal federal or private loans and scholarships. Either in the form of a Graduate School Fellowship or Graduate Associateship (GA), students receive a tuition and fees waiver, health insurance subsidy and on average a $21,000+ annual stipend. Complete information on costs and financial support can be found on the university’s Graduate and Professional Admissions web site.


Fellowships

The Graduate School Fellowship Program is designed to help recruit highly qualified new students to advance the excellence of graduate education at Ohio State. A Graduate School fellowship is a financial award made by the Graduate School. Fellows are selected on the basis of academic merit through university-wide competitions without respect to financial need. University Fellowships provide a monthly stipend and payment of resident and non-resident tuition and fees, and a health insurance subsidy. They are regarded as the most prestigious form of support awarded to graduate students. 

Graduate fellowships are limited in number and are competitively awarded each year to applicants who show exceptional potential for graduate study. The department decides whether or not to nominate you for a fellowship. Individuals cannot apply directly. The department will send a notification if it decides to nominate you for a fellowship. Both domestic and international applicants are eligible for nomination.
 

Application Deadline for Fellowship Consideration: 

November 30, 2023 (international applicants), and January 5, 2024 (domestic applicants)


Associateships

A limited number of department-funded Graduate Associateships (GA) are available each year. They provide a monthly stipend and payment of resident and non-resident tuition and fees with the requirement of 20 hours weekly teaching or research-related responsibilities. As well, graduate associates working for two consecutive semesters are entitled to a full tuition and fee authorization during the immediately following summer session. Both domestic and international applicants are eligible for GA consideration. Responsibilities are assigned by the Department Chairperson and the graduate associate's immediate supervisor. 

The GA titles for these assignments are:

  • Graduate Research Associate (GRA) - working on research projects with graduate faculty
  • Graduate Teaching Associate (GTA) - teaching undergraduate courses
  • Graduate Administrative Associate (GAA) - administrative work in office, lab, or shop facilities
     

Application Deadline for Associateship Consideration

January 5, 2024 (international and domestic applicants)


Qualifications

If you are interested in the above opportunities, please describe areas of competency, experience, and justification regarding your request for either a Fellowship or Graduate Associateship on the Department’s online application system. For Graduate Associateship interest, please describe any relevant experience indicating preparedness for teaching undergraduate courses.

Answering with a specific interest in one type of opportunity does not disqualify you from consideration for others.