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Financial Aid and Student Jobs

Explore all options. Resources are gathered here to help you fund your graduate education. Watch for deadlines for SLIS financial aid, and for outside scholarships. Student loans are often a necessity. However, if at all possible, keep them to a minimum.

Student employment is encouraged. Part time jobs can help enhance résumés. There are a number of jobs on campus and in Bloomington that will both complement your résumé, and help with your expenses. Some student jobs include fee remission.

SLIS Financial Aid

Student Jobs

Student Loans

IU Office of Student Financial Assistance

Internal Revenue Service

Other Sources of Aid - Scholarships

 

SLIS Financial Aid

SLIS FINANCIAL AID - for Master's and Specialist Degree students
The School of Library and Information Science accepts applications for SLIS aid to begin the Fall Semester. A few packages may come open in the Spring semester. Also, some packages come open through our SLIS technology department. About 10% of our students receive SLIS aid packages. These merit-based packages are highly competitive. While some packages are substantive, none of the packages will fully fund your graduate education. Students need to check on tax issues. We encourage you to review the other scholarship and aid links gathered on our website.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 15
New students must have a completed admissions application on file by January 15 to be considered. No additional SLIS financial aid application form is needed. Continuing students must indicate their wish to be considered to the SLIS Office according to the guidelines that will be posted on our listserv, and by January 15. Students may submit an updated résumé.

Student loans are handled by the IU Office of Student Financial Assistance, and are not a part of the SLIS aid consideration process.

NOTIFICATION:
Students will be notified of SLIS Financial Aid decisions by the end of April. SLIS is a part of the Council of Graduate Schools. An agreement with this Council is that "Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15." This agreement is to help you know your options, so that you can make the best decision. Student loans are a separate process handled by the IU Office of Student Financial Assistance.

International Student Aid
International students can be considered for SLIS aid packages, but must have their completed applications to the SLIS Office by January 15. International applications must first be reviewed by the IU Office of International Admissions. We recommend applying by October 1 so that the application may be processed and forwarded to the SLIS Office by January 15. International Admissions email: intladm@indiana.eduSLIS is glad to welcome international students to our programs. However, aid resources are limited, and international students are advised to seek sponsorship and support from sources other than SLIS.

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SLIS Merit Scholar Packages

Each year the School of Library and Information Science awards approximately 30 fee scholarship packages that include hourly positions. These packages are for one year, and are not renewable. Most include 24-27 credit hours of tuition remission (excluding university fees of about $31 per hour); plus hourly positions of 15 hours a week at $9.00 an hour. Packages may vary. They are merit-based and are highly competitive. Hourly positions include working with SLIS faculty and administration, with the IU Libraries, with SLIS technology, and other opportunities. These packages are similar to "graduate assistantships" but have some differences. (Most packages do not include parking or health insurance.) In addition, SLIS has some smaller fee remission only packages. Students should check on tax issues.

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SLIS Fellowship Awards

SLIS offers annual fellowship awards. Many of these are possible through the generous gifts of alumni and other SLIS supporters. These are often established in memory or in honor of the person for which the award is named. Students who apply for SLIS Financial Aid by the January 15 deadline will be considered. Faculty may nominate students for some awards. Award decisions will be made by the end of April each year. Students should check on tax issues.

Note (11/06): We will begin using the term "fellowship" to refer the most SLIS scholarships and awards not tied to tuition remission - in accordance with I.U. guidelines. "Fellowships... are made for the purpose of aiding a graduate or professional student's study, training, or research... Recipients are expected to enroll in a minimum of 6 credit hours in each academic term, Fall or Spring, in which the student receives a fellowship."

Examples of fellowship awards:

  • Charles A. and Charles H. Davis Fellowship in Scientific Information - $5,000 annual award to assist graduate students in the study of scientific information. Charles A. Davis headed the Indiana State Police Headquarters Laboratory, and later that agency's Criminal Investigation Division. He was a pioneer in forensic science. Charles H. Davis has three degrees from I.U., and studied postgraduate chemistry at the University of Munich on a fellowship awarded by the German government. He was an editor at Chemical Abstracts; served as an academic dean in Canada and in Illinois; and is currently a senior fellow in library and information science here at I.U.
  • Janice Kilner Egloff Scholarship - $800 annual award for a non-resident student. Janice Egloff was a 1978 MLS graduate from I.U.
  • Dennis K. Grumling Award - $250 annual award to a SLIS student who has excelled in cataloging and demonstrates promise of success in the profession. Dennis Grumling was a 1984 MLS graduate from I.U.
  • Frances Eleanor Hammitt Scholarship - $2,000 annual award.
  • Keith C. Kuhn Tri-State Scholarship - $500 annual award to a student from the Tri-State area (Southeast Indiana, Southwest Ohio, and Northern Kentucky). Keith Kuhn is the Head of Public Services, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio. He is the President of the SLIS Alumni Board (2003-2005).
  • Harold and Marjorie Sharp Scholarship - $1500 annual award with preference for students pursuing special library career paths.
  • Clayton A. Shepherd Information Science and Technology Scholarship - $2,500 annual award for a student whose major emphasis is information science and technology. The award was established in memory of Associate Professor Shepherd who had been a member of the SLIS faculty for 13 years.
  • Charles B. Shaw Fellowship - $5000 annual award with preference to students interested in academic librarianship. Charles B. Shaw compiled the List of Books for College Libraries (the "Shaw List") and its supplements in the 1930s. Beginning in 1943, he was the President of ACRL (the Association of College and Research Libraries). An ardent amateur printer, he founded the Off-hand Press at his home in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
  • Evelyn Ray Sickels Award - $250 annual award for a student with exceptional potential in the field of youth services librarianship.
  • Caroline Smerk Memorial Award - $1000 annual award for a promising student who is pursuing a career in fine arts librarianship.
  • Spectrum Initiative Matching Scholarship - SLIS will award one scholarship worth 6 credit hours of eligible tuition remission to an ALA Spectrum Scholarship recipient who comes to Indiana University. See Spectrum article from the "Black Collegian" magazine.
  • H.W. Wilson Scholarships - $3,000 annual award(s) available due to the generosity of the H.W. Wilson Foundation.
  • Yuan T'ung Li Memorial Fellowship - $2300 annual award to a student of Chinese ancestry. This award was established as a memorial to the late Yuan T'ung -Li, Director of the National Library of Beijing, who was associated with the Library of Congress for much of his later life.
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Other Sources of Aid

Scholarships are available from a variety of sources. Check websites of related professional associations for options. Below is a sampling of scholarship leads.
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Diversity Aid Resources

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