See also Cornell University Graduate School financial aid information.
A limited number of research and teaching assistantships are available on a highly competitive basis.
Graduate students in horticulture are usually supported by scholarships from diverse sources. These scholarships generally include year-round monthly living stipends, full coverage for academic tuition and fees, and a group-health insurance policy for the student.
Exceptionally qualified applicants for Ph.D. programs may receive Cornell University Fellowships or National Science Foundation scholarships for one or more years of their graduate programs. Other sources of financial support available for students include:
- Graduate Research Assistantships that provide full support in compensation for 10-15 hours per week of assistance in horticulture faculty research programs.
- Partial or full support from grants received by individual faculty, requiring student participation in research within the scope of the funding grant.
- Biology Program Teaching Assistantships that provide full support in compensation for 15-20 hours per week teaching sections of introductory biology courses.
- Scholarships from other sources such as the Fulbright Program or Rockefeller Foundation, and various governmental scholarships from the native countries of international students.
Cornell Assistantship for Horticulture in Africa (CAHA) provides a doctoral assistantship in the Graduate Field of Horticulture to a student from Sub-Saharan Africa. Application deadline: February 15.
William Frederick Dreer Scholarship provides a worthy undergraduate or graduate student, specializing in the Department of Horticulture or Landscape Architecture, with an opportunity to study or engage in directed practice related to the field of floriculture and ornamental horticulture abroad. Scholarship, character, maturity, seriousness of purpose and potential are considered. William F. Dreer was an innovative seeds man from Philadelphia. Read more about the Dreer Scholarship.
Whatever the funding source, continuance of graduate scholarships is contingent upon satisfactory performance and progress in each student’s academic coursework, research, and thesis or dissertation completion. Most scholarships also require that graduate students be engaged full time in their research projects during the summer months and inter-semester recess.
Students on Cornell Assistantships are eligible for two weeks of vacation.
The Department of Horticulture has some funds to support travel to professional meetings. Student eligibility for these funds is contingent upon a supporting letter from the major professor among other factors.