Graduate Program Funding
Students studying at the graduate level generally require two types of funds – funds to pay for expenses such as housing, food, tuition, and textbooks and other course related materials; and funds to cover thesis or dissertation research related expenses. Few students have the financial resources to cover all of these expenses. For this reason, there are a number of funding options that provides financial support and helps students complete their graduate degree program.
Funding opportunities are available at the university (Graduate School), college, and department levels. In addition, some CoF students have also been successful in securing additional funding from external organizations and agencies.
Types of Graduate Student Funding
Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships are employment-based appointments where students, in exchange for their service, receive a stipend, tuition coverage (called remission), and an institutional contribution toward mandatory fees and a health insurance program only available to graduate assistants. Details about Graduate Assistantships at Oregon State University can be found on the Graduate School website.
Types of graduate assistantships:
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) - GTA's teach introductory undergraduate courses or assist faculty in the delivery of upper division graduate courses.
Graduate Research Assistants (GRA) - GRA's typically work on a faculty research project. Money that is funding the research also funds the assistantship position. These positions can be competitive due to the requirements of the grant funding the project but you may eventually be able to tailor your duties to conduct specific research that leads to the completion of your degree.
College of Forestry Graduate Scholarship Program
Each year the College of Forestry awards graduate scholarships made possible from donations to the College. These funds are administered by the Student Services Office, and selections are made by the College Graduate Scholarship Committee comprised of forestry faculty. Awards range in value from $1000 to $8000 and are offered to new and continuing graduate students and are supplemental to other financial assistance. New and continuing College of Forestry Graduate students are invited to apply for college scholarships to help cover the costs of tuition and fees. College of Forestry scholarships are disbursed in equal amounts in fall, winter and spring terms and require students to maintain a certain enrollment level and academic progress to remain eligible.
- New Students:
- Work with your major professor to ensure that your name is forwarded through your academic departments nomination process. All nominees are reviewed by the academic department graduate scholarship committee to be considered for College of Forestry scholarships. Work with your Graduate Student Coordinator to determine requirements and application dealines. Students who are offered a College of Forestry Scholarship will recieve the offer in their OSU email via a short Qualtrics survey. Be sure to accept or decline the award by the stated deadline.
- Continuing Students:
- Continuing graduate students in the College of Forestry can apply for scholarships via ScholarDollars. The application for the 2025-26 academic year will be open between November 1, 2024 and March 16, 2025.
Other Resources
College of Forestry Graduate Program Coordinators
Madison Dudley, 541-737-1349
Forest Engineering, Resources and Management
Sustainable Forest Management (MF, MS, PhD)
Juliet Sutton, 541-737-6088
Forest Ecosystems and Society
FES (MF, MS, PhD); Master of Natural Resouces (MNR)
Department of Wood Science & Engineering
Allison Culver, 541-737-5091
Wood Science & Engineering
Wood Science (MS, PhD)
If you have questions please contact your academic department or Brooke Harrington at 541-737-1593.