About the Fee Waiver and Stipend

Graduate assistants (GAs) receive both a tuition fee waiver scholarship and a stipend for living expenses.

NOTE: Current law prevents students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status from receiving scholarships or other types of financial assistance directly from university, state or federal sources. A DACA status student may apply for graduate assistantships, but if selected, would be eligible to receive only the stipend portion as long as the student retains a valid work permit. This means the DACA status student would not be awarded the tuition and fee waivers. The current law does not prevent DACA status students from receiving scholarships sponsored by outside agencies or organizations.  Such students may want to search for scholarships.

About the fee waiver

The fee waiver will pay for graduate level courses that are part of the GA's primary graduate program being pursued.

The maximum number of graduate credits covered by the tuition and fee waiver scholarship cannot exceed 10 percent beyond the minimum credit hour requirements of the degree program, or one additional course if only enrolled in a graduate certificate. Within this overall limit, the waiver covers up to 15 hours in the fall or spring. Graduate credit hours taken in the intersession prior to the start of a semester are part of the allowable fee waiver limits of that semester.

Students on a full graduate assistantship during the spring semester are eligible for a fee-waiver scholarship of up to 6 hours during the following summer term as long as minimum eligibility is maintained. This eligibility does not depend on having a summer graduate assistantship.

For half GA's, waiver hours are not to exceed six in the fall or spring and three hours in the summer.

What the waiver covers

The GA tuition fee waiver scholarship will pay for the following:

• The basic tuition fee, regardless of student residency, per credit hour for graduate level courses.
• Student services or online/web conferencing/off campus fees assessed for graduate course enrollment.

What the waiver does not cover

• Differential tuition rates or other enrollment fees assessed for individual courses. The list of courses with these extra fees, and the detailed rate for tuition and fees, is available at: https://www.missouristate.edu/registrar/costs.htm
• Supplemental course fees.
• Student health insurance, books or other miscellaneous fees.

Stipend Levels

The majority of GA stipends are at Levels 1 or 2.  However, special program requirements and needs may warrant offering stipends at Levels 3 or 4. 

For 2024-2025, the levels are:

Term or Length	Stipend Level 1	Stipend Level 2	Stipend Level 3	Stipend Level 4
Academic Year (Fall & Spring)	$10,046	$12,230	$14,175	$16,275
One Semester (FA or SP)	$5,023	$6,115	$7,088	$8,138
Summer only	$2,512	$3,058	$3,544	$4,069

Departments and offices can adjust the stipend level and may offer stipends within the above levels, as long as the number of assistantships remains at or above the previous year’s totals.

If a graduate assistant is hired for the entire calendar year (12 months), it will require that the hiring unit process two (2) GA BearPAF's in the system:  one (1) for an academic year appointment; and one (1) for a summer appointment.

A graduate assistant that works half-time (10 hours per week) will receive half of the stipend amount listed above.

Summer stipends

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available during the summer session. A graduate assistant appointed for the 2024 summer session will generally receive a stipend at Level 1 or 2 referenced above.  A summer graduate assistant that works half-time (10 hours per week) will receive half the stipend amount noted above.

Summer graduate assistants may hold an assistantship without being enrolled in coursework, as long as they are enrolled in the subsequent fall semester.