The Office of the Bursar is your best resource for getting information about your financial aid award. The material below is provided as a helpful guide specifically for students in the doctoral program in clinical psychology. However, if there are inconsistencies between this information and that provided to you by the Office of the Bursar, the Bursar's Office ruling stands.

Tuition and Program Costs

Tuition

Tuition rates change yearly. Current rates can be found here.  Tuition has been set at $33,300 for the 2013 – 2014 academic year. All financial aid awards include an automatic grant for Fall and Spring semesters equal to 50% of tuition charges of your matriculating tuition rate for the first three years of full time study (or 72 credits of required course work).  After the first three years of full time study, students must remain continuously enrolled in the program, paying for at least one credit per semester until they have graduated.  The 50% tuition reduction will no longer apply after year three.

Additional expenses

Other university and program related costs include books, professional liability insurance (required for students on practicum and internship) and health insurance (required by the State of Massachusetts; students without private insurance can purchase insurance through Suffolk University at a cost of $1,700 for the 2012-2013 academic year.  (See here.)

Financial Aid

New students normally receive notification from the Office of the Bursar regarding their financial aid package by April of the preceding academic year. Award offers are extended on a “rolling basis” as students are admitted to the program and aid applications become complete. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their FAFSA as soon as it’s available on the web (January 1st). The Psychology Department due date for FAFSA filing is April 1st. Graduate aid application information is available here. 

Employment Opportunities

Some students may be eligible for work-study on the basis of financial need. Eligibility for work-study is determined by the Student Financial Services Office after students complete a financial aid application process. Regardless of the source of funding, no student employed by the university may work more than 20 hours per week during the academic year.

Students may also pursue other university employment opportunities without applying for federal aid. Specifically, students may apply for Administrative Fellowships, Research Assistantship positions within the department and across the university, and Lab Instructor, Lecturer and Course Assistant positions within the Psychology Department.

Administrative Fellowships

Administrative fellowships are highly competitive positions within different departments and university offices across campus. Fellowship responsibilities vary from department to department but might include research, office tasks, data input, customer service initiatives, etc. In the past fellowships have been available in Student Activities, Admissions, Athletics, Office of Institutional Planning and Research, Ballotti Learning Center, Student Financial Services, and Career Planning/Placement among others.

Applicants must be proactive and apply directly to each department/office that has a fellowship for which the student would like to be considered and hiring decisions are made by the department/office holding the fellowship. As a service to students, each April, the Student Financial Services Office compiles a listing of fellowship positions available for the following academic year. Unfortunately, this list is not updated as the positions are filled. Students interested in pursuing these positions are urged to begin applying as soon as the list is available.

Administrative fellowships offer recipients a $14,000 award in exchange for 16 hours of employment a week during the academic year (30 weeks). $7,200 of the administrative fellowship is credited directly to the recipient’s tuition account ($3,600 per semester): the remainder is paid to the student bi-weekly as hours are worked.

Administrative fellowships are limited to 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students.

Research Assistantships

The College of Arts and Sciences has a research assistantship program that is aimed at supporting faculty research. Interested faculty members submit a competitively reviewed proposal to obtain an RA to work on a specific research project or projects. Students who are hired through the RA program cannot work on their own masters or dissertation research as part of their RA duties.

1st, 2nd and 3rd year students are responsible for independently pursuing RA positions. The department maintains a list of faculty members within the Psychology Department who have funding to hire an RA. Students can apply to be RAs for their faculty mentor, for another faculty member in the department, or for someone outside of the psychology department. A list of approved RA positions is posted to the financial aid section of the university website in late July.

Unlike fellowships, RA positions do not include grant funds. Students may work up to 10 hours a week during the academic year. The current graduate student hourly rate is $16.00.

For more information on positions available for advanced student, please see the Doctoral Program Manual.