Graduate Programs FAQ

Assistantships are competitive. Each school in our college has eight total assistantships. That does not translate to eight assistantships available every fall semester, as there are returning doctoral students in their second, third, and fourth years in each school that maintain assistantships. On average, each school has between one to three assistants available each fall semester. Consideration for assistantships is based on a variety of factors (listed in no particular order): GPA, publication record, previous professional or teaching experience, fit with program and/or faculty member expertise, and overall needs of the school in that given year. All applicants accepted for admission are considered for assistantships. The faculty in each school, in conjunction with the school director, ultimately determine which applicant(s) receive(s) assistantship offers. 

No, it does not. An assistantship includes a stipend, a waiver of tuition and most required fees, as well as graduate student health insurance, but there are other costs that students are responsible for (such as meals, housing, books, personal transportation, etc.) Go here more information about financial support from CCI.

Go here more information about financial support and benefits from CCI.

No. Your application documents cannot be reviewed by the college admissions committee until they have been submitted to, and reviewed by, the Office of Graduate Admissions. After the Office of Graduate Admissions reviews and approves applications, they are forwarded to the college. Please do not send your documents directly to the college unless specifically requested—they must be uploaded in the application portal.  

Only currently enrolled students are eligible for graduate scholarships.

The application deadline for the doctoral program is December 15. The application deadline for the two-year residential master’s program is January 10. 

Yes. All new CCI doctoral students begin their classes in the fall semester (August). All new students in the residential two-year master’s program begin their classes in the fall semester, as well. 

Yes, according to university guidelines. However, preference for assistantships is given to applicants who apply by the deadline. 

Yes. However, you will not have access to the application instructions/guides after submitting the application. 

Contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmissions@utk.edu. 

Please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmissions@utk.edu.  

No, but you are welcome to contact any of our faculty at any time.

No. Applicants to the doctoral program must submit a transcript documenting that the applicant has been (or will be) awarded a master’s degree from an accredited institution prior to enrollment in the CCI doctoral program.

No. Everything related to the student visa process is controlled by the University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement, and their office of International Student and Scholar Services. https://international.utk.edu/ 

There are variables that affect the cost of attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Please visit One Stop Student Services (Billing & Payments/Cost & Tuition). If you have any questions about costs, please contact One Stop (contact information is at the bottom of their home page).

Please see the Office of Graduate Admissions page.

For doctoral applicants that meet the December 15 deadline, admission decisions are typically made and communicated by the end of February each spring.  

When applying to a master’s program by the January 10 deadline, expect communication of a decision by the end of March.  

Answers to these questions are usually managed at the school level. Please contact the graduate program coordinators in each school. If you are applying to the doctoral program in the School of Information Sciences, please contact the school’s director of graduate studies. 

You should communicate directly with the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmissions@utk.edu.

All guidelines and instructions are provided in the application. 

You are always welcome to share links in your application materials. While it is not preferred, it is acceptable. PDFs are the preference for all application materials. You run the risk that the committee might not review application materials in non-PDF format.

This answer varies from year to year and from concentration to concentration. Assistantships are competitive and at the discretion of the faculty and school director in each school. Students are often accepted without assistantship offers as there are simply not enough assistantships to go around.