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, 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’s fellowship programs are designed to help our Design graduate program recruit highly qualified new students to advance the excellence of graduate education at Ohio State. A competitive process is held annually to nominate and award Graduate School fellowships through the University Fellowship program and the Graduate Enrichment Fellowship program. They provide a monthly stipend and payment of resident and non-resident tuition and fees. They are regarded as the most prestigious form of support awarded to graduate students.

Fellowship Consideration Deadline: November 30 (International Applicant)
                                                               January 5 (Domestic Applicant)

University Fellowship

Graduate School Fellowships are awarded to those applicants who show outstanding scholarly accomplishment and the most outstanding potential for graduate study. Eligibility requirements include a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.6 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent on another scale). Both Domestic and International applicants are eligible for nomination. The GRE is not required for Design Applicants.

Graduate Enrichment Fellowship

Graduate Enrichment Fellowships are used to recruit new, incoming graduate students to Ohio State who will bring diversity to the Graduate School. To be considered for a Graduate Enrichment Fellowship candidates must be a US citizen and have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent on another scale). The GRE is not required for Design Applicants. 

Associateships

A limited number of department-funded Graduate Associateships 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. 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

Associateship Consideration Deadline: January 5. 

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.