Costs and Financial Assistantships
Teaching Assistantships
In 2007-2008, typical Statistics Department assistantships for incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students include a tuition waiver and a stipend of approximately $1,420/month (for 18 hours of work per week) for the nine-month academic year. The Graduate Committee of the Department of Statistics makes decisions on assistantships starting in mid- February each year. Teaching assistantships involve grading, conducting office hours, and possibly leading a computer lab session or recitation session. Summer teaching assistantships are available for students supported in the academic year on a limited basis.
Special notes for International Students
About a third of the graduate students in the Statistics Department come from countries other than the United States. Many of these are on financial assistantship.
Many international students ask about the likelihood that they will be admitted and receive financial aid. While we cannot provide individual evaluations before seeing a full application, we do recognize the difficulty in deciding whether the $50 OSU application fee is a worthwhile investment. The following information may help:
1. English proficiency. OSU requires that international students obtain a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Statistics Department requires a score of 600 for a student to be considered for a teaching assistantship. For the internet-based TOEFL, a minimum score of 80 is required, including a minimu of 18 on each of the four sub-tests. Given the University’s teaching standards and the difficulty in practical assessment of English proficiency from test scores, though, we seldom give aid to an international student unless we have very clear information about their communication skills. (See the Admissions Office international student application page for information on other English language tests.)
2. Financial certification. For the current year OSU requires certification of funds of at least $28,225 as a condition for admission of international students. If we offered you a maximum (.45 full-time equivalent) assistantship (tuition waiver plus $12,786 stipend) this would be reduced to $1,214. If we offered a .3 full-time equivalent assistantship this would be reduced to $5,326. If we offered a .2 full-time equivalent assistantship this would be reduced to $8,167. For this reason, we cannot consider admission and financial assistantship for international students with certified funds less than $1,214. For more information on financial certification see the admissions office information on financial certification.