In Fall 2019, the Graduate Education Task Force (GETF) developed two recommendations related to admission offer letters, both with a target completion date of August 2021. These include the following:
- All graduate students should receive an accurate estimate of the stipend levels, tuition benefits, and additional fees (including health insurance, summer coverage, tuition if applicable, and international student fees) they will receive in their formal offer letters from their graduate programs before they enter the university. Programs that do not already use the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) offer template should be encouraged to do so.
- Offer letters should outline the funding plan for each year of the student’s package with clarity about fees and other expenses so that students understand their financial situation before and during their time at UT Austin. All graduate students should receive clear information about academic and non-academic employment they are eligible for during their degree programs and what the levels of compensation will be for these jobs.
In response to these recommendations, the Admissions and Enrollment Committee of the Graduate Assembly developed guidelines and a sample financial support offer letter for admitted applicants to promote and support consistent implementation of offer letters across graduate programs, colleges and schools. Graduate programs should follow these guidelines when developing financial support offer letters for admitted applicants.
In addition to providing a financial support offer letter, programs are encouraged to send a separate letter of admission to all admitted applicants. The offer of admission letter should be independent of an offer of financial support and should outline the specifics of the applicant’s admission to the program (semester of entry, degree level sought, deadline to accept offer of admission, etc.).
The guidelines, admission sample letter, and financial support offer sample letter will be updated over time, guided by feedback from students and changes in student support/benefit opportunities.
- Guidelines for Graduate Admission Offer Letters
- Sample Graduate Admission Letter
- Guidelines for Graduate Financial Support Offer Letters
- Sample Graduate Financial Support Offer Letter for Admitted Applicants
For related questions or more information, please contact Shannon Neuse, Director of Graduate Admissions, and liaison to the Admissions Committee of the Graduate Assembly.