Funding for Graduate School

There are several ways to fund graduate study, and these include, but are not limited to: Graduate Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, university sponsored fellowships, or outside fellowships.

 

Funding Packages

Funding is typically included as part of your admission packet. You may be awarded either a graduate research assistantship, a graduate teaching assistantship, or a university sponsored fellowship.

 

Graduate Research Assistantships

A Graduate Research Assistantship provides you with the opportunity to work with a faculty member on research projects. In exchange, you receive a tuition waiver and a financial stipend.

 

Graduate Teaching Assistantships

As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, you can receive an annual stipend, as well as free tuition. Some of the responsibilities include:

•  Teaching or assisting with one or more sections of a course

•  Running laboratory sessions

•  Grading undergraduate student papers and exams

•  Holding regular office hours and meeting with students

•  Conducting study and review sessions

 

University Sponsored Fellowships

Often times, a university will provide fellowships based on merit to a deserving graduate student. Typically, the graduate student is nominated by the department faculty.

 

Outside Funding: Fellowships for the Social Sciences

Outside fellowships are an attractive source of funding because not only can you use them at any university, but they also “save” you from working as a research assistant or teaching assistant, allowing you more time to concentrate on your own research. There are several sources for outside funding for students in social and life sciences. Start looking early for these opportunities and begin the application process as soon as possible.

 

National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship

The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in this competition. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master's or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.

 

For more information visit the NSF Website.

 

 

Ford Foundation, Predoctoral Diversity Fellowships

Through its program of Diversity Fellowships, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation's college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

 

For more information visit the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowships Website.

 

 

Jacob K. Javits Fellowships

This program provides fellowships to students of superior academic ability—selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise—to undertake study at the doctoral and Master of Fine Arts level in selected fields of arts, humanities, and social sciences.

 

For more information visit the Javits Website.