Department of Psychology

Choosing Academic Year Funding Support

Discuss with your faculty advisor on how you would like to begin your funding support for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Here are the top types of funding support:
- Fellowship
- Teaching Assistantship
- Research Assistantship
- External Fellowship/Training Grants.

You can read more about them here: https://dornsife.usc.edu/psyc/financial-aid/.

Important Notes:
- Teaching Assistantship are yearly appointments. TA appointments can be split by semester for only emergencies (e.g. health or parental leave). First-time TAs must take PSYC593: Practicum in Teaching Psychology in Fall of their first semester.
- Fellowships can be split by semester if you receive a research assistantship or external funding.
- Those who have been admitted on research assistantships will likely have specific years you must take your research assistantship, which must be discussed with your faculty advisor.

Fill out the form below to confirm your funding support for the academic year:

Support Form

Due May 1st, 2026. Use the support form link here. This will be routed for your faculty advisor to sign to confirm you have both agreed on your support funding for the year.

To submit via Docusign

Additional Information

Stipend Payment Schedule

You will be given more information once you have chosen your funding supporting for the year. All stipends will begin pay in August 2026. If you choose to be a TA/RA, your payment schedule will be from August-May. If you are on fellowship, you will be paid from August – July. Regardless of the payment schedule, you will still be paid your stipend that was listed in your admit package. Please review this link about stipends and funding here.

Additional Financial Aid via USC

Most of our PhD students do not apply for extra financial aid or loans, but if you choose to receive additional financial aid (e.g. loans), keep in mind that your fellowship or graduate assistantship award package will likely reduce your overall financial aid offering.

If you have interest in financial aid via USC, contact a financial aid counselor at phone: 213-740-4444 or visit their website for details here.

Return to PhD Onboarding Homepage.