There are three categories of financial assistance for graduate students in the Tropical Medicine Graduate Program:
Graduate Division Achievement Awards
UH Manoa’s Office of Graduate Education (Graduate Division) allocates the department with a specific budget these awards each year. The Tropical Medicine Admissions and Awards Committee administers these awards.
Eligibility & How to Apply
To be eligible, the applicant must be a degree-seeking student in the Tropical Medicine masters or doctoral program and have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above. Both US residents and non-residents are eligible. Students apply through the Tropical Medicine graduate programs using a standardized application form.. Awards are competitive.
Award Amount
The award amount varies, depending on the purpose of the award. The award ranges from $500-$1000, however exceptions may be made under certain conditions pending approval by Graduate Division. Awards are applicable toward the cost of attendance (tuition and fees, housing, books, and other educational expenses). Other educational expenses may include, but are not restricted to, research expenses not covered by the mentor’s laboratory and travel, registration and fees associated with participation in a scientific conference or workshop. For conference awards, the student must have an accepted abstract for an oral or poster presentation.
Award Conditions
Award recipients must maintain an enrollment of six credits or more of degree-related courses and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above, for the entire period of the award. Exceptions are students in the all-but-degree phase of their training, who must be enrolled for 1 credit in TRMD 700 Thesis or TRMD 800 Dissertation. Recipients will be liable to reimburse UHM for the full amount of the award, if they fail to meet the award conditions or if for any other reason the award becomes invalid.
Award Distribution Procedure
The Graduate Division allocates achievement scholarships to graduate programs, which in turn distribute the awards to qualified students via BANNER and STAR. For scholarships made to international students, awards that exceed the total cost of education may only be distributed through the Disbursing Office or the UH Foundation, which will withhold appropriate taxes for the excess award amount. International students will need to submit the required tax documents to the International Student Services office when the award is made.
Joseph E. Alicata Award in Tropical Medicine & Infectious Disease
These awards are supported by the Joseph E. and Earleen M. Alicata Endowment managed by the University of Hawaii Foundation. This endowment was established in 1981 in memory of Dr. Joseph E. Alicata, a former Professor of Zoology at the University of Hawaii, and Mrs. Earleen Alicata. The stated purposes of this award are: (1) to encourage the study of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease; and (2) to reward outstanding scholastic achievement in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. The two mechanisms by which this award is made are through a graduate scholarship for outstanding Tropical Medicine PhD students, preferably during their first year of study, and through a recognition award to graduating PhD students during the final semester of their training. Students are nominated for these awards by the department.
Alicata Graduate Scholarship
Eligibility & Selection
To be eligible, a student must be a degree-seeking student in the Tropical Medicine doctoral program and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. Both US residents and non-residents are eligible.
For the graduate scholarship, all incoming applicants to the PhD program are ranked by the Admissions and Awards Top-ranking applicants are eligible for scholarship support through the Alicata Award or for selection for a departmental graduate assistantship (see below).
Award Amount
The award consists of a stipend equivalent to the salary of a graduate assistant (GA) at the PhD level and an allocation sufficient to cover graduate tuition and fees and the institutional contribution to student health insurance. GA compensation adheres to the schedule (based on 0.50 FTE per year) approved by the UH Board of Regents. Newly appointed GAs are compensated at a pay step recommended by the department or unit of hire. GAs with research duties are usually appointed at pay steps depending on their qualifications and experiences, the needs of their departments or units, and the availability of funds.
Award Conditions
Award recipients must maintain an enrollment of six credits or more of degree-related courses and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above, for the entire period of the award. Recipients will be liable to reimburse UHM for the full amount of the award, if they fail to meet the award conditions or if for any other reason the award becomes invalid.
Award Distribution Procedure
The Alicata Award is administered by the UH Foundation as a scholarship award. The award is distributed to the student via BANNER and STAR.
Alicata Achievement Award
Eligibility
To be eligible, a student must be a PhD student in the Tropical Medicine doctoral program has and must have completed all dissertation requirements. Both US residents and non-residents are eligible and the award is administered by the Tropical Medicine graduate chair.
Award Amount
The award amount is currently set at $1000 but may vary depending on availability of funds. Minimum award is $500. Awards are applicable toward the cost of attendance (tuition and fees, housing, books, and other educational expenses).
Award Conditions
Award recipients must maintain an enrollment of at least 1 credit in TRMD 800 Dissertation Research and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above. Recipients will be liable to reimburse UHM for the full amount of the award, if they fail to meet the award conditions or if for any other reason the award becomes invalid.
Award Distribution Procedure
The award is distributed by the UH Foundation in the form of a check made out to the student which is presented during a departmental award function at the end of the semester.
Departmental graduate assistantships (GAs) are supported by the John A Burns School of Medicine and are offered by the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology to outstanding incoming PhD students during their first year of training. The Tropical Medicine Admissions and Awards Committee administers these departmental GAs. In addition, graduate students may receive funding throughout their training by faculty mentor-provided graduate assistantships from research grants or institutional funds. These GAs are offered to qualified students by their faculty mentors.
Eligibility & Selection
To be eligible, a student must be a degree-seeking student in the Tropical Medicine doctoral program and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. Both US residents and non-residents are eligible.
For the departmental GAs, all incoming applicants to the PhD program are ranked using a standard evaluation form by the Admissions and Awards Committee. Top-ranking applicants are eligible for selection for the departmental graduate assistantship or for scholarship support through the Alicata Award (see above).
Mentor-supported graduate assistantshipsare awarded at the discretion of the faculty mentor and are based on the student’s research interests, academic qualifications, and research experience.
Graduate Assistantship Amount
GA compensation adheres to the schedule (based on 0.50 FTE per year) approved by the UH Board of Regents. Newly appointed GAs are compensated at a pay step recommended by the department or unit of hire. GAs with research duties are usually appointed at pay steps depending on their qualifications and experiences, the needs of their departments or units, and the availability of funds. Students selected to receive a graduate assistantship at the PhD level also obtain a full tuition waiver.
Award Conditions
GA recipients must maintain an enrollment of six credits or more of degree-related courses and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, for the entire period of the award until they have attained the all-but-dissertation (ABD) stage. Students at the ABD stage must be registered for TRMD 800 Dissertation.
Award Distribution Procedure
Graduate assistantships are distributed through the State of Hawaii payroll system in bi-monthly installments over a period of 12 months, and subject to both federal and state income tax withholding. GAs who are full-time students are exempt from the FICA tax. GAs who work during the summer without maintaining their full-time student status are subject to the PTS Deferred Compensation tax (7.5 percent of gross pay) and the Medicare tax (1.45 percent of gross pay).