Fellowships
A fellowship is an award that requires nothing in return from the student beyond satisfactory progress in study and research. Fellowships are awarded through the graduate fields on the basis of scholastic ability and promise of achievement. Fellowships typically include full tuition, a nine-month stipend ($20,710  for 2008-09), and Cornell student health insurance. A summer stipend may also be provided. Those who want to be considered for fellowships should submit GRE general test scores, even if the field does not require them. For information on non-Cornell fellowships, see the Fellowship Database. For information on under-represented minority fellowships, see Minority Fellowships.

Assistantships
There are several types of assistantships, which require the student to fulfill certain duties in return for support. The specific expectations and limits of these duties have been set forth explicitly as the Cornell University Policy on Graduate Student Assistantships, so as to ensure an equitable, supportive, and professional environment for graduate education. Questions about the availability of assistantships in your proposed field of study should be directed to the graduate field.

• Teaching Assistant (T.A.) A teaching assistantship usually entails leading a discussion section, supervising a laboratory, grading papers, and/or meeting with students. The assignment is usually in the student's major field or in a closely related one. Teaching assistants work fifteen to twenty hours a week. Approximately one-fourth of all graduate students hold a teaching assistantship. The Center for Teaching Excellence provides teaching assistant services that include workshops and individual support to help T.A.s improve their teaching skills.

  International students: the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Summer Development program, which offers language, pedagogical, and cultural training, is required for all first-time international teaching assistants who come from countries where English is not the national language. For more information, see the ITA Web site.

• Research Assistant (R.A. and G.R.A.) A research assistantship entails work on a faculty research project not necessarily related to the student's dissertation. R.A.s work fifteen to twenty hours per week. If the research project directly relates to the student's dissertation, then the appointment is a graduate research assistanstship, in which case the time spent on research connected with the project is expected to be significant. R.A.s and G.R.A.s are most common in science and engineering fields.

• Graduate Assistant (G.A.) A graduate assistantship may entail teaching, grading, and research for the department.