Section 6: Financial Information and Work

Assistantship Funding

There are a variety of financial assistance programs available within the Department of Psychology. The most common forms of support are teaching and research assistantships. Other forms of support are teaching and work-study stipends. Acceptance into the graduate program does not guarantee financial support, but the vast majority of the students in the program in recent years have received support. You should become a state of Washington resident as soon as possible because then you will be eligible for in-state tuition waivers. Out-of-state tuition waivers are provided during the first year only. See residency website for more information and start the process upon your arrival to Washington.

TA or RA Responsibilities

The assignment of TAs is a complex juggling act: trying to avoid requiring a TA to be two places at the same time and satisfying as many people’s preferences as possible. Lee Daffin (associate chair) or Stacy Gessler will be able to help you if you have questions or problems.

For university policies and procedures regarding assistantships, please see K. Performance Management and Support for ASEs. See the contract language with respect to vacation time (Article 28) and the contract language for holidays (Article 29).

Your appointments are typically renewed annually, if funds are available. If you are a TA/RA, your 20 hour/week (on average) appointment begins on August 15th. Plan your arrival in Pullman accordingly and be here in time to begin performing your duties on that date. Your 9-month assistantship ends on May 15. You should plan to remain in Pullman until this end date.

The following is the departmental policy concerning financial (TA, RA, fellowship) assistance for graduate students. Note that eligibility is not meant to imply any guarantee of support. Other circumstances such as availability of funds must be considered in granting financial assistance.

Persons who enter the PhD programs without prior graduate school experience ordinarily will be eligible for financial support during their first 4 years in residence. Under ordinary circumstances students will be eligible for 2 years of support prior to completion of the MS degree. Persons who have not completed all requirements (including an oral exam) for the MS degree by August 1 of their second year will have a lower probability for funding in their third year relative to students who have completed their master’s thesis by this date.

The Department Chairperson has the responsibility to judge when exceptions are appropriate due to “extraordinary” circumstances and the level of support to be granted to individual students.

A couple of reminders: Students on TA appointments must be registered for 10 credit hours at least one month before the semester begins in order for you to be paid. You must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, have no outstanding incomplete grades of more than one semester or summer session’s duration, and be doing the job that is required of you (e.g., if you are a graduate instructor, you must attend the class that you are assigned to teach, come to class prepared, complete any grading in a timely manner, submit final grades by the deadline, be available to your students, and treat your students professionally and with respect). Please see Appendix M regarding scheduling priorities with respect to your assistantship.

Application of these criteria, based on “normal” progress, may be made difficult by extenuating circumstances. In addition, because state funds are allocated on the basis of teaching needs, specific departmental teaching needs must be considered. In general, priority for department support will be given to students based on factors such as normal progress and the ability or experience required to meet specific departmental needs. Priority for department financial support will be reduced by a student’s lack of normal progress or because he or she has exceeded the number of years for which students are eligible. The Chair does not make final decisions about “non-departmental” support, such as research assistantships supported by grants, or about positions outside the department.

Clinical Assistants (CA)

The Psychology Clinic has two to four CA positions. Teaching assistantship monies fund these CA positions. Students may apply for these CA positions in their third and fourth years in the program.

Additional Financial Aid

Students who are US citizens may complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine their eligibility for additional financial aid, typically in terms of student loans.

Employment While a Student-in-Training

WSU’s graduate program in clinical psychology is designed as an intensive full-time experience, and students are not admitted for part-time graduate studies. A full-time academic schedule, together with an assistantship appointment, normally requires a full-time effort that precludes outside work. Consequently, such activity is to be avoided during the period you are in training. However, the CTC recognizes that financial exigencies do occur. Requests for exceptions to this program policy should be submitted in writing to the DCT who will submit it to the CTC for its decision. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will be approved only if the CTC judges the requested activity not to conflict with any of the ethical principles or the student’s training or to be harmful to the program or otherwise impede upon the student’s University responsibilities. Such employment activity, when approved, would normally come later rather than earlier in a student’s program of study and typically would not exceed more than 5 hours per week.

Consideration of any off-site clinical activities of students in their fifth year or beyond (i.e., who are no longer funded by the program) must also be presented to the CTC for approval. Students should submit the location of the work, their title, a description of their job responsibilities, the name and credentials of their supervisor at the site, and a description of the supervision plan (i.e., duration and frequency of face-to-face supervision meetings). If approved, the hours are considered “program sanctioned” and can be counted toward the student’s APPIC application. Only hours supervised by a Ph.D.-level psychologist will be considered for program sanctioning for APPIC hours.

Keep in mind that as a student in training, the state of Washington and the APA ethics code prohibit you from using the title of “Psychologist” and restrict the professional activities in which you may engage.