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Tuition fees at UPRM vary. Residents of Puerto Rico pay US $137 per graduate credit and other US citizens pay US $137 per graduate credit plus the differential amount which a resident of Puerto Rico would pay in the public university in their state of residence. For example, a Texan studying in Puerto Rico pays the same differential rate of tuition as a Puerto Rican studying in Texas. International students pay US $6,126 for a total tuition per year.

Research and teaching assistantships are funded by the university and include tuition waivers and stipends, which vary according to the recipient’s teaching load. Allowance for a full-time assistantship is between US$690 and US$920 per month.


Student Eligibility Part-time Assistantships
How the Assistantships are Granted Full-time Assistantships
Types of Assistantships Fellowships and Scholarships

 

Student Eligibility

Status of graduate student

      • Regular student with total or conditional admission
      •  GPA greater than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
      • Visiting student participating in a research or educational project

Time and effort of enrolment and other tasks

      • Student must be enrolled in at least nine (9) credits of graduate, advanced undergraduate or deficiency courses. The exception being students enrolled in graduate research a (INME 6099 – minimum of 0 credits)
      • The total of enrolled and assistantship credits cannot exceed eighteen (18) credits
      • Students with US Citizenship cannot have an assistantship load greater than nine (9) credits. For international students, the maximum load is six (6) credits

History of assistantships

      • A master’s student can have institutional assistantships for up to two years (4 academic semesters).
      • Some cases can have an extension for up to two years
          • Up to two semesters of institutional aid (e.g. Teaching Assistantship)
          • Up to two semesters of external aid (i.e. Research Assistantship)

Experience in teaching a lab or a course

      • Study with better student evaluations and more experience have priority in certain labs or courses
      • Every student with a teaching assistant position must take the second part of the orientation offered by the Office of Graduate Studies (OEG) at the beginning of the semester


 

How the Assistantships are Granted?

      • Granted based:
          • Availability of funds
          • Departmental needs
          • Economic commitment with student
          • Merit and experience of the graduate student
      • Assistantships are available in the Departments and the Office of the Deans
          • In our Department, we try benefit the majority of the student population


 

Types of Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships (institutional funds)

      • Instruction of courses or laboratories
      • Work as an exam grader or supervisor
      • Tutorial sessions
      • Preparation and setting up of academic laboratories
      • Any other task associated with teaching

Grader Assistantships (institutional funds)

      • Work related to grading class homework or examination

Research Assistantships (external or institutional funds)

      • Research work in the laboratory, computer center or the field
      • Theoretical research
      • Progress report preparation
      • Research work presentation and dissemination
      • Any other task related to research assigned by Faculty Advisor or Department Director


 

Fellowships and Scholarships

 

Full-time Assistantships

      • Eighteen (18) hours of work per week throughout the semester
          • Equivalent to six (6) credit-hours
      • In the case of teaching assistantships for courses or labs, the 18 hours/week include:
          • Direct contact with students in class (6 hours/week)
          • Office hours (3 hours/week)
          • Class preparation and related tasks (7 hours/week)
          • Meetings and related tasks (2 hours/week)
      • In the case of teaching assistantships for other purposes, the 18 hours will be distributed in coordination with the student’s supervisor.


 

Part-time Assistantships

      • Part-time assistantships is defined as any assistantships with less than eighteen (18) hours per week throughout the semester.
      • In the case of teaching assistantships for courses or labs, the hours/week-credit include:
          • Direct contact with students in class (1 hour/week-credit)
          • Office hours (0.5 hours/week-credit)
          • Class preparation and related tasks (7/6 hours/week-credit)
          • Meetings and related tasks (1/3 hours/week-credit)
      • In the case of teaching assistantships for other purposes, the hours will be distributed in coordination with the student’s supervisor.