Please be advised that there are no graduate assistantships or other type of funding opportunities for MA TESL applicants for the 2025-2026 academic year.

If funding is available, the application deadline for graduate assistantships is March 1, and assistantships begin in the fall semester. Please note that graduate assistantships are not available for students admitted for the spring semester, but those students are eligible to apply for funding the following academic year.

Funding decisions are made separately from admissions decisions. You can expect to receive news about funding before the start of the fall semester.

Students who are funded receive a grant-in-aid that covers tuition costs and a stipend. The amount of the stipend is calculated by the Graduate School each year.

To apply for a graduate assistantship, please email a cover letter explaining your teaching experience and your curriculum vitae (CV) to: Sharon Childs, ssc5@psu.edu.

All funded Ph.D. and M.A. TESL students are required to assist with the American English Oral Communicative Proficiency Test (AEOCPT) approximately two weeks before the start of each semester.  Each fall, a specific date to report to campus will be provided.  Funded students are also required to assist with the Interactive Performance Test (IPT) which is given at the end of each semester.  Again, dates will be provided.