Financial Aid
There are several types of financial assistance that can be used to support the cost of a graduate degree. The most definitive and up-to-date source for the financial aid is the USC Financial Aid Office. Below are some additional resources that may be available to students within our department.
South Carolina Teach Loan Program
The South Carolina Teacher Loan Program loans money to speech-language pathology students who intend to work in the South Carolina public schools upon graduation. The loan is forgiven at the rate of 20% per year of public school employment (i.e., 5 years of school employment means the loan is forgiven).
CREATE
Widely known as SC CREATE, the mission of the program is to prepare highly qualified professionals who will serve the needs of students with disabilities in SC public and charter schools, and SCDE-operated programs. Through a collaborative partnership with local school districts and leading SC colleges and universities, SC-CREATE underwrites tuition and textbook costs for full-time employees in South Carolina schools completing coursework required for add-on, alternative, or initial licensure in special education and advanced level certification in speech-language pathology.
If you are a teacher who has been accepted into the MS-DE (Distance Education) program in COMD, please visit this link to see if you may qualify for SC Create.” SC-CREATE
Graduate Assistantships
A graduate assistant works part-time in a variety of capacities, depending on the nature of the funding. The student may be hired by a faculty member to perform research related to a grant-funded project or by a department to assist in various clerical duties. Graduate assistants must be full-time students and are considered either quarter-time (10 hours of work per week) or half-time assistants (20 hours of work per week). However, given the extensive scheduling of clinical practicum in the Master of Science (Residential) program, COMD students are discouraged from pursuing a 20-hour assistantship. The only exception would be if the assistantship permitted the flexibility to complete work requirement during weekends. Importantly, while the amount of money paid by an assistantship varies slightly depending on the source of funding, assistantships allow all students to pay lower in-state tuition rates, regardless of their residency.
These Graduate Assistantships may be found by contacting directly faculty members having active research funding, or departments on campus. Information may also be available from our Graduate Admissions Counselor, Teresa Boyett.