Graduate Funding Resources
The information on this page provides a range of funding opportunities and resources to help graduate students support their education and professional development. Information on this page is not a guarantee of funding and is provided as informational only.
Explore the sections below to learn more about external funding opportunities, Graduate College resources, and departmental funding availability for Master's and PhD students in Statistics.
State Farm’s MAGNet Program
State Farm Research Center's Modeling and Analytics Graduate Network (MAGNet) program Domestic students admitted to the Department of Statistics are eligible for an opportunity at the State Farm Research Center. Admitted MS students in our program who are interested in careers in the financial and insurance industries will be given the opportunity to apply and compete for the State Farm Research Center's Modeling and Analytics Graduate Network (MAGNet) program. Please consult with the Director of the MS program for further details. Successful applicants will be able to start their professional careers with tuition support for the MS degree and concurrent employment at the State Farm Research and Development Center , which is located in the University of Illinois Research Park . State Farm is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
See Alumni Spotlight profiles of past MAGNet participants.
Research Park Job Board
Research Park at the University of Illinois provides an environment where technology-based businesses can work with faculty and students to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative research and easy access to University labs, equipment and services. Located on campus, the Research Park is now home to more than 100 companies and growing, employing more than 2,000 people in high-technology careers, with over 350 start-ups nurtured through the Research Park EnterpriseWorks incubator program.
At any given time more than 800 student interns are working in these companies gaining valuable work experience while making real contributions to internal corporate R&D and product development programs. Research Park is also home to over 50 startup companies that are commercializing technology. EnterpriseWorks, the Research Park’s 43,000-square-foot business incubator for early-stage tech firms, is operated by the University of Illinois to help launch successful startup companies.
Graduate College Fellowship Office
The Graduate College offers services and resources to help graduate students pay for their education. See the Graduate College's Fellowship Office for more information. There are numerous external fellowships with varying criteria. The Graduate College’s Fellowship Finder allows for direct search and the Fellowship Office’s staff can be contacted for assistance searching for and preparing materials for fellowship applications.
Graduate College External Fellowships
The Office of External Fellowships helps Illinois graduate students compete for external grants and fellowships. The office is staffed by proposal writing experts with years of experience helping students craft effective proposals.
External fellowship awards are those national and international awards offered by private foundations, government agencies, and corporations. External funders include the National Science Foundation, American Association of University Women, National Institutes of Health, Google, Fulbright, American Council of Learned Societies, and hundreds of others. The Graduate College Office of External Funding can assist with exploring the Fellowship Finder Database, provide proposal writing advice and resources, and host numerous fellowship workshops each semester.
Graduate College Internal Fellowships
The Graduate College provides several fellowships for PhD and/or Master’s students. Criteria often center around applicants’ academic excellent and barriers to graduate education. The Graduate College’s Internal Fellowships Competitions page provides overviews and criteria.
These internal fellowships require a nomination from the department admitting the student, and each department is allowed a limited number of nominations. To be considered for the first round of the Dean’s Master’s Fellowship, applicants should submit their completed application by December 15. If this is prior to Fall grades being available, applicants can provide current transcripts by December 15 and updated unofficial transcripts by January 1.
For all other internal fellowships, applicants should submit their completed application no later than 2 weeks prior to the nomination deadline to be considered by the department.
Departmental Support
The Department of Statistics is able to offer financial support to a limited number of MS students. This is typically by way of Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Opportunities in Statistics Scholarships, and Hourly Paid Positions.
Teaching Assistantship
Teaching Assistants (TA’s) typically grade homework and exams, lead discussion sections, and/or hold office hours for introductory statistics classes and/or more advanced statistics courses taken by undergraduates. After the TA has attended the Graduate Academy he/she may teach a stand-alone section of Statistics 100 or 200, or discussion sections of Statistics 107, 207, or 400.
Assistantships for MS students within the department are very limited and determined by known department needs. Positions may become available after admission if additional department need warrants.
If offered at admission, these positions are offered on a competitive basis using the initial application for admission to the program to determine eligibility to hold an assistantship based on availability of appointments. No additional application or materials are required for consideration to these appointments.
Graduate Opportunities in Statistics Scholarship
The Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign administers the Graduate Opportunities in Statistics Scholarship program with the aim of increasing the enrollment of outstanding students from populations that are underrepresented in or may have encountered barriers to graduate studies in Statistics. A limited number of awards are granted each academic year, and all students from these populations who apply for the MS in Statistics and the MS in Statistics with Concentration in Analytics are considered. No separate application is required.
- Eligibility: This competition is intended for students who are admitted with full status at the University of Illinois in either the MS in Statistics or the MS in Statistics with Concentration in Analytics. Consideration is given to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or approved domestic applicants.
- Selection Criteria: Awardees are selected based on their MS application. The strength and alignment of the application with a Master’s in Statistics will be considered along with any potential barriers to higher education the applicant has encountered. Such barriers would typically be similar to those mentioned in the Dean’s Master’s Fellowship criteria. Scholarships may be offered before the application deadline based on ongoing application reviews.
- Terms: A limited number of partial tuition scholarships are typically available, and scholarships will be continued until graduation or a maximum of 4 semesters, provided the awardee maintains a grade point average of at least 3.00 in courses counting for their students MS program, and remains in full standing making adequate academic progress in every respect.
Hourly Paid Positions
Students are also eligible to apply for hourly course assistant positions. This position does not come with a tuition waiver. Student course assistants are expected to work no more than 20 hours a week and are responsible for reporting their hours for their course instructor approval.
Available positions are posted in the Course Assistant Application system.
Additional Campus Employment Resources
Assistantship Clearinghouse
Students are eligible to accept an assistantship with other departments if one is offered. MS students are encouraged to contact the department they desire to work with directly to seek information about available assistantships. The Statistics Department does not keep a database on available assistantships across campus nor does the department know of the application processes. Some departments do post their available assistantships to the Graduate College’s Assistantship Clearinghouse .
Office of Student Financial Aid - Virtual Job Board
The Virtual Job Board is a service provided to students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The job board is intended to assist students in finding part-time employment. University of Illinois departments are encouraged, but not required, to post their student employment positions on the job board; therefore, students should be aware that this is not a comprehensive listing of all on-campus student employment opportunities and may want to explore other options for securing on-campus jobs.
PhD in Statistics Funding Opportunities
PhD applicants in Statistics are automatically considered for a tuition-waiver-generating assistantship. Departmental teaching and research assistantship support is available on a competitive basis. Applicants to the PhD program will be automatically considered for financial support as part of the evaluation unless they indicate in the application that they do not wish to be considered for support. Tuition and the majority of fees are waived for students with at least quarter-time assistantship support.
The Department of Statistics offers teaching and research assistantships.
Teaching Assistant
The student will grade homework and exams, work in the computer lab tutoring introductory statistics students and/or more advanced undergraduates taking statistics courses. After the student has attended the Graduate Academy he/she may teach a stand-alone section of Statistics 100 or 200, or discussion sections of Statistics 400.
Research Assistant
Advanced students often receive research assistantships working with one of the professors, typically closely related to their thesis topics. The duties of this assistantship include analyzing data, performing literature reviews, statistical computing and research methodology. In addition, students who have successfully completed Statistics 427, Statistical Consulting, are eligible for assistantships in the Illinois Statistics Office. These appointments give students experience with statistical consulting and applied research projects such as designing experiments, constructing survey plans, analyzing data, developing theoretical and empirical models, using computers for statistical computations, and preparing statistical sections of research proposals. Clients include members of the university community, government, and industry.