Financial Resources

Finding funding for your time at TSUSP

There are a variety resources available to students in our graduate and undergraduate programs, including Fellowships, Scholarships, and GRAs. Below are some of the funding opportunities available to students in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning.  Graduate students should visit this page for a more comprehensive list of opportunities.

Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP)

One of the best financial options available to students in the western states is the Western Regional Graduate Program. Part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the WRGP offers in-state tuition to PSU students currently living in AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, ND, SD, UT, WA, WY. All three of the TSUSP programs (MURP, MUS, and PhD) are eligible for this benefit. For more information, visit the WICHE website. Students must be full-time, in good academic standing, and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies. Application forms are due August 1 and are available here or though the Office of Graduate Studies.

College of Urban and Public Affairs

•    UPA General Endowed Scholarship
This award is given annually to outstanding students in the College of Urban and Public Affairs.

•    Ernie Bonner Equity Planning Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship is awarded to a graduate student with a clear commitment to equity planning as the focus for professional and/or scholarly work. Available to incoming and returning students in the MURP and Urban Studies Ph.D. program

•    Sharpe/Strachan Returning Student Scholarship
To be awarded to a graduate student accepted into the Master and Urban Studies and Planning program, who is at least 30 years old, and is committed to pursuing a career as a practicing planner.

•   Nancy Chapman Endowed Scholarship
To be awarded to graduate students in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning who show promise of accomplishment in an academic or professional career and have financial need.  Preference will be given to students who have a dissertation proposal accepted by his or her committee.

•    John D. Gray Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship will support graduate students in the Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning who are studying sustainable development.

•    Maurie Clark Endowed Fellowship
Awarded annually to an outstanding Ph.D. candidate in the College of Urban and Public Affairs. The recipient must have an approved dissertation outline and intend to use the fellowship to support research activities.

•   Vera Katz Endowed Scholarship
This fund will provide a scholarship to a single parent (male or female) who is admitted to a graduate degree program in the College of Urban and Public Affairs (Masters or Ph.D.) and who demonstrates a commitment to public service.

Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning

•    Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs)
A limited number of School GRAs are awarded for the academic year as part of the admissions process.  These assistantships provide 9 credits of tuition remission and a monthly stipend.  In addition, assistantships are also available through ongoing and special projects of individual faculty members and research centers that are affiliated with the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning and the College of Urban and Public Affairs.  These include:

Center for Urban Studies
Center for Transportation Studies
Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies
Population Research Center
Institute on Aging

Note: Students should contact faculty about possible projects directly.

•    Graders for Large Classes
Students are hired by the department on an hourly basis each term to assist TSUSP faculty members with large enrollment classes.

Office of Graduate Studies

Information and application forms are available through the Office of Graduate Studies.  These include:
•    PSU Laurels Graduate Tuition Remission Program
•    Judith Lynne Taylor Scholarship
•    Monroe M. Sweetland Endowed Community Leadership Scholarship
•    Rosemary and Robert Low Memorial Scholarship
•    Frank L. Roberts Community Service Scholarship

Other Office of Graduate Studies Funding Resources include:

•    Marie Brown Travel Award
•    University Club Foundation, Inc. Fellowship Award Program

Information on these resources can be found here.

PSU Foundation

•    State Treasurer’s Urban Pioneer Scholarship
The State Treasurer’s Urban Pioneer Scholarship was created to support ethnic minority undergraduate and graduate students who are successfully working toward a degree in PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs.  Awards will be based on financial need and academic merit.  Awards will be based on the undergraduate, resident, full-time student budget.  One or more scholarships will be awarded for the 2011-2012 academic year.

University Studies

•    University Studies Mentor Program
Graduate Mentors are hired as Graduate Teaching Assistants for University Studies Sophomore Inquiry classes in Portland State University’s innovative general education program.  Mentors receive graduate tuition up to 9 credits and a monthly stipend.   Information:
http://www.pdx.edu/unst/mentors-and-mentored-inquiry

Other University Resources

•    Academically-Controlled Auxiliary Activities (AAA) Fund
This fund, an allocation of the student fee committee, helps support activities not ordinarily funded through other university resources.  AAA supports travel for PSU students who participate in faculty-governed scholarly conferences (reading papers, participating in panels, or giving creative presentations).  Reimbursement for expenses associated with travel, lodging, and conference registration fees. Form is available here.

•    Sustainability at PSU
PSU’s Sustainability Mission:  “To serve as a leading academic laboratory for developing sustainable processes and practices using multi-disciplinary approaches in partnership with business, government, and other organizations.”   A variety of scholarships, grants, and fellowships are available to students.

•    The Miller Grant
The $25 million Miller grant focuses on PSU’s academic, research and engagement activities in sustainability. Graduate student fellowships are among the areas that this grant is used to support.

Oregon University System

•    Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF) Graduate Fellowships for International Research
Graduate Fellowships for International Research are supported by an endowment to the Oregon University System (OUS) that established the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF). As of 2004, similar endowments in 69 institutions or consortia in 45 countries had been established by the Nippon Foundation and administered through the Tokyo Foundation. The goal of the SYLFF Program is to nurture future leaders who will transcend geopolitical, religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries in the world community for the peace and the well-being of humankind. General information about SYLFF programs is available at: http://www.sylff.org/   The stipend for OUS-SYLFF fellows is up to $12,000 for the academic year to assist with educational and research expenses. Approximately five fellowships are awarded each year and several partial fellowship stipends may be given each year to help subsidize research-related expenses and travel.

Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP)

One of the best financial benefits available to students in the western states is the Western Regional Graduate Program. Part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the WRGP offers in-state tuition to students currently living in AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, ND, SD, UT, WA, WY. All three of our programs (MURP, MUS, and PhD) are eligible for this benefit. For more information, visit the WICHE website. Application forms are due November 1 and are available here or though the Office of Graduate Studies.