Formative Academic Experiences Program (PEAF)
The Formative Academic Experiences Program (PEAF, for its Spanish abbreviation) provides graduate students with academic and co-curricular experiences that expand their academic and professional training. Additionally, this program contributes to the development of research and teaching at the Campus—core elements of its mission.
Upon being accepted into the program, the graduate student will receive an economic incentive as well as tuition exemption. This will allow the student to devote full time to their studies and research or creative activity and successfully finish their studies in a timely manner.
This incentive allows the student to cover study expenses such as: books and materials; domestic expenses like housing, food, and transportation; and other expenses related to their graduate experience.
The availability of this program depends on the allocation of funds.
Eligibility Criteria
- Apply through the call for applications issued by DEGI, usually during the months of November to January.
- Be a student with regular admission to a graduate program at the Río Piedras Campus.
- Have a grade point average (GPA)—cumulative and major—of 3.0 or higher (on a scale of 4.0).
- Have a full academic load (8 credits or more).
- Not have a full-time job within or outside the Institution.
Types of Formative Academic Experiences
Teaching assistant duties such as: teaching courses or laboratories; tutoring; preparing, administering and correcting exams; preparing teaching materials; maintenance of laboratory equipment; designing and preparing courses; preparing required reports; and other related tasks.
Assistant tasks for a research or creative activity under the supervision of an active professor in any of the disciplines, such as: searching for and preparing bibliographic material, writing and editing documents, preparing proposals, collecting and analyzing data, designing and administering research instruments, preparing required reports, among other related tasks
PEAF Forms
Students selected for the program must read the PEAF Manual in order to make sure they comply with all the eligibility requirements and learn the regulations.
If selected and eligible, PEAF forms are completed by the administrative personnel and forwarded to the student, who must fill out the corresponding parts and then submit them to the graduate program for processing at the dean’s office.
- Manual-PEAF(2024)-ENGLISH
- PEAF Forms 001, 002, 003 – Participant Registration Data Form, Participation Agreement, Form to Cover Tuition Costs (2024-2025)
- PEAF Forms 002:2 – Tasks Form (2024-2025)
- PEAF Form 004 – Certification of Training Hours (2024-2025)
- PEAF Form 006 – PEAF Resignation or Severance (2024-2025)
- Weekly Attendance Record
- Formative Academic Experience Evaluation Form
Additional Information
The campus also offers opportunities for externally funded research assistantships that result from proposals submitted by the faculty. To participate in such assistantships, the student must contact the professor in charge of the project.
It is possible to combine two types of formative experiences as long as the total time dedicated to them does not exceed the time equivalent to 6 credits (18 hours per week).
A graduate student with a master’s degree or its equivalent may teach up to two sections of the same course, for a maximum of 6 credits.
Students admitted to online programs denominated as self-sustaining or self-financing are not eligible for this scholarship.
A student under PEAF may receive other financial aid from external funds. However, the total sum of the aid must not exceed the cost of studies established by the Institution for the academic year in which the aid is received.
A student under PEAF may receive other financial aid from external funds. However, the total sum of the aid must not exceed the cost of studies established by the Institution for the academic year in which the aid is received.