Financing Your Graduate Education
Graduate students receive financial assistance from two sources: institutional and external support. Institutional support is awarded by the school or department upon admission and includes:
- Merit-based fellowships (which do not entail a work obligation)
- Research assistantships
- Teaching assistantships
In addition, U.S. citizens are eligible to participate in federal student loan programs.
PhD
Most doctoral students receive some form of institutional support. Conversely, students who are accepted into doctoral programs without funding should consider whether it is wise to assume the debt that will accrue over five or more years of study. Students should discuss it with a faculty mentor or a College adviser.
Masters and Professional Study
Most terminal master's programs offer little or no financial support. Terminal masters programs tend to offer limited or no institutional financial support. On the other hand, professional programs such as Ministry, Public Policy, Law and Social Work frequently offer some institutional financial support. Law schools offer some financial support to highly desirable candidates, but most law students as well as students in medical and business school should expect to borrow to pay for tuition and living expenses. Learn more about institutional support and how to apply for it from recruitment and application materials.
External Support
External support is an umbrella term that includes grants from private foundations or federal agencies that are separate from the graduate institution or program. There are many external support programs listed in the Fellowships database.
When to Begin a Search for External Financial Support
Look for external support during the spring or summer of third year while searching for postgraduate study programs. The application process for both may actually proceed in tandem and it is not unusual to have applied for a fellowship without knowing where graduate study will take place. Since applications require collaboration with faculty and statements of purpose and research proposals can take weeks to prepare, begin well in advance of the application deadline.
