College of Visual and Performing Arts
Merit-Based Aid
Academic departments of Syracuse University and the Graduate School grant merit-based graduate awards to outstanding students. These awards, listed below, are highly competitive and should not be confused with financial aid awards made strictly in cases of demonstrated financial need.
You may apply for Syracuse University Graduate Fellowships, Syracuse University African American Graduate Fellowships, McNair Graduate Fellowships, tuition scholarships, and graduate and teaching assistantships by checking the appropriate boxes on the admission application form. African American Graduate Fellowship applicants are also required to submit a letter of intent with their application (click here for more information). Applicants for assistantships are asked on the application to briefly describe their qualifications for an appointment as a teaching assistant and/or experiences that would qualify them for an appointment as an assistant. Interviews may be required for students under consideration for merit-based financial support. Your complete application package is carefully evaluated during the award process.
If you are applying for a graduate award, we urge you to submit your complete admission application as early as possible. The deadline for the Syracuse University African American Fellowship and McNair Graduate Fellowship competitions is January 1; the deadline for the Syracuse University Graduate Fellowship, tuition scholarships, and graduate and teaching assistantships is February 1. For further information about these deadlines and any of the merit-based awards listed below, contact Harriett Conti, Associate Director, Graduate Student Affairs, 204 Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY 13244; 315-443-3089; admissg@syr.edu. Recipients of graduate awards will be notified as soon as possible.
- Syracuse University Graduate Fellowships support graduate education for those with truly outstanding qualifications and the potential to make significant contributions in their future professional or scholarly endeavors. Two University Graduate Fellowships exist in the college and provide the students with a stipend and a full tuition scholarship.
- Syracuse University African American Graduate Fellowships are awarded annually to new and continuing African American graduate students. They include a stipend and a full tuition scholarship.
- Syracuse University annually funds up to six McNair Graduate Fellowships as part of its federally funded, institution-wide Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. The program's goal is to increase the number of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority college students who pursue and complete a graduate degree . The fellowships consist of a stipend and a full tuition scholarship. To be eligible, applicants must have been McNair Scholars at their undergraduate institutions.
- Tuition Scholarships support graduate education for students with superior qualifications.
- Graduate Assistants are instrumental in providing teaching, administrative, or research support. Teaching assistantships provide students with excellent opportunities to teach and work closely with faculty to prepare for the professoriate. Our nationally recognized TA Program helps graduate students prepare to be successful as students, scholars, teachers, advisors, and role models in their teaching assistant positions. The orientation and ongoing professional development activities sponsored by the Graduate School enable teaching assistants and teaching associates to enhance their teaching skills and provide opportunities for rich, multidisciplinary conversations about teaching and graduate study.
- The Jerome Solomon Memorial Scholarship is awarded to deserving graduate students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts who lack the financial ability to pursue advanced studies. The student must have exhibited original and meritorious work in art and design or music and have demonstrated the ability to contribute to one of these fields.
- The Eloise K. Heaton Graduate Fellowship Award in Music Composition includes a full tuition scholarship and a substantial stipend for living expenses. The recipient of the Heaton Award is expected to complete at least one work of a sacred nature as part of the requirements for the degree.
- Each year five String Assistantships are awarded: four to an already-established string quartet and one to a double-bassist. The graduate quartet works extensively with the Setnor School of Music's resident ensemble, the Cassatt Quartet, while the double-bassist serves as assistant to the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra. In addition, the bassist may audition for an apprentice position with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. As part of their award, the quartet receives free publicity stills and a demo CD with which to launch their professional careers. All assistantships carry 24 credits of tuition per year and a first-year stipend of $9,000.
The following are some agencies to which international students may apply to receive money for graduate study.
- Institute for International Education (Fulbright Fellowship recipients), Study Abroad Programs Division, Institute for International Education, 809 United National Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA; phone: 212-883-8200; cable: INTERED; telex: ITT-422207, RCA-223363.
- Institute for International Education (Black South African students), South African Education Program, Institute for International Education, 809 United National Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
- African American Institute (African students), 833 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA; phone: 212-949-5666; cable: AFRAM; telex: 666-565
- Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (Latin American students) 25 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; phone: 617-495-5255; www.laspau.harvard.edu.