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The Tuition Benefit Program (TBP) is one of the several programs UNT has developed to provide support for graduate students as they pursue their studies. The TBP provides a tuition supplement for eligible recipients.  Because this award is tied to employment as a Graduate Assistant, hiring departments—not the Toulouse Graduate School—determine which graduate assistants receive the tuition benefit and the award amount.  

The Toulouse Graduate School and Student Financial Aid and Scholarships will work together to secure enrollment for all TBP recipients through payment deadlines and class cancellation processes for the fall 2017 term.  A base award will automatically disburse when attendance is established in 9 SCH on the first class day. Awards will be manually reviewed for disbursement after the census date for students enrolled in less than 9 SCH.

Students will be responsible for making payment for non-mandatory fees. Please carefully review Student Accounting and University Cashiering Services explanation of fees: http://studentaccounting.unt.edu/explanation-fees. Students must monitor their myUNT student account after the census date. We are unable to give an exact date of when the award will post to your account.

Please contact your hiring department for more details.

Following are the general eligibility criteria and requirements for the program.

TBP Eligibility Criteria:

1. You are required to work in a 50% FTE  (20 hours per week), benefits-eligible graduate assistant position (TA, TF, RA—not on external grant or GSA)* for each long semester.  You must be employed as of the 12th class day of each semester or your tuition benefit will be revoked.

2. You must be a new graduate student who has been admitted to a UNT graduate program or a continuing graduate student with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 as of the end of the most recent term. 

3. You need to be admitted, meet enrollment requirements each term of the award, and be pursuing one of the following degree types:  Ph.D., DMA, EdD, MA, MEd, MFA, MM or MS.

4. Participation exemptions:  If you are sponsored by an external funding source where the terms and conditions of the sponsors automatically include payment of your tuition, you will be excluded from the TBP.  Examples include research assistants on externally funded grants, NSF Graduate Research Fellows, and NIH Fellows.  Students receiving the Hazelwood Exemption or Faculty/Staff/Dependent Educational Scholarship are not eligible for the TBP.

TBP Requirements:

1. You must register for and complete a minimum of 9 semester credit hours (SCH)  at the 5000 or 6000 level (applicable to the degree program for which you were admitted to UNT) during every fall and spring semester you receive a tuition award.  Doctoral students certified as All But Dissertation (ABD) by the Toulouse Graduate School prior to the beginning of a semester may register for 3-6 SCH.

2. You are required to maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA (for every semester, as well as cumulative), make satisfactory progress in the degree program for which you were admitted to UNT, and satisfy any department criteria regarding performance and progress.  These criteria apply for the entire academic year in which the tuition benefit is awarded.

3. You are required to submit a yearly FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  However, you are not required to accept any resulting financial aid awards offered.  International students are not eligible to submit a FAFSA and are exempt from this requirement.

*You need to hold one of the following positions to be eligible for the TBP: 

Teaching Fellow (TF): Job Codes 0801, 0802, 0803

Teaching Assistant (TA): Job Codes 0811, 0812, 0813

Research Assistant (RA): Job Codes 0821, 0822, 0823 (Academic and State Funded); 0841, 0842, 0843 (Non-Academic or Non-State Funded)

Graduate Services Assistant (GSA): Job Codes 0831, 0832, 0833 (Academic and State Funded); 0851, 0852, 0853 (Non-Academic or Non-State Funded)

For more information about the Tuition Benefit Program, please contact your hiring department.