MLA Financial Aid

MLA students at Georgia are traditionally successful in obtaining scholarships, fellowships, and post-graduate internships. In the second and third years of the MLA program, Georgia students are also eligible for donation-funded scholarships and fellowships from the College of Environment & Design itself. These programs support various combinations of tuition, travel, and individual research. The program coordinator can assign MLA students graduate assistantships based on funding from the CED, the University of Georgia Graduate School, and outside granting agencies. Finally, some students from outside Georgia are eligible for out-of-state tuition waivers, which can be acquired based on state of residence, academic merit, or a change of residency status.

Internal Awards

External Awards

The following groups are separate from CED, but provide scholarships, fellowships, and post-graduate internships for MLA students.

• Cullowhee Conference on Landscaping with Native Plants (for students attending the conference)
• Florida Federation of Garden Clubs (for students from Florida)
• Fulbright Foundation (for students from overseas)
• International Council on Monuments and Sites
• Garden Club of America (for students from overseas)
• Landscape Architecture Foundation
• Longwood Gardens
• Sigma Lambda Alpha

Assistantships

Graduate assistants serve as student employees of the University while continuing their studies. Tuition for graduate assistants is waived, and they receive a stipend. Assistantships are overseen by individual faculty members.

MLA assistantships are assigned by the program coordinator based on funding from the College of Environment & Design, the University's Graduate School, and outside granting agencies. Assistantships are assigned based on academic standing, satisfactory completion of previous assistantship tasks, equitable distribution among students and benefiting faculty, and matching of student skills to the needs of the College. Some preference is given to students paying out-of-state tuition. Assignments are made on an annual or semester basis each spring.

Most MLA graduate assistants are drawn from the second and third years of the program. At this point the College is familiar with the unique talents of each student, and the student has had training to hone their skills. Most students receive one or two semesters of assistantship in the second year, and another semester in their third year.

Almost no students are granted assistantships from the CED in the first year of the three-year track, but some first-year students can be awarded "university-wide" assistantships through the Graduate School. These graduate assistants are selected based on academic merit and other criteria; to be eligible, students must complete their graduate school applications by December 31 and be admitted in the first meeting of the Admissions Committee. No special application is required; all University graduate students who meet the criteria are considered. Consequently, competition is keen, and at most two or three MLA students receive this award each year.

Out-of-State Tuition Waivers

For residents of some states in the Southeast, Georgia's MLA is considered a unique program under the Southeastern Academic Common Market. Residents of participating states who are admitted to the MLA program and are approved by their state coordinators may enroll at the University of Georgia on an in-state tuition basis. For information, contact the University's Graduate School at 706-542-4795; the Southern Regional Education Board at 1340 Spring Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30309; or the State Commissioner of Higher Education in your home state.

For residents of other states, the University's Graduate School assigns regents' out-of-state tuition waivers to a limited number of highly qualified admitted students based on academic merit and other criteria.

Georgia residency status, with the associated in-state tuition, may be available to students who move to Georgia from other states, who have been at the University of Georgia for a year or more, and who comply with University System requirements. These provisions are listed in the University's graduate bulletin.