Learn About Funding Options
Purpose: Scholars will learn about ways they can search for and apply to fellowship opportunities.
Funding Your Graduate School Education
Being a graduate student is a tough job in which your days are consumed by research and coursework. Don’t let concerns about money add stress to your graduate school experience. Fellowships and Assistantships fund graduate students to study, teach, work and/or conduct research. They are offered through your department, government agencies or other non-profit external entities. You can apply for them before admittance or during your time as a graduate student.
Assistantship
A form of financial aid in which the graduate student is paid for work performed; work which is often related to the student’s studies or area of specialization. There exist two types of assistantships:
Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA)
A GRA is a primary form of financial aid for graduate students. It requires that the student serves as a research assistant, generally for one specific professor or group of professors. Research assistantships are more common in science disciplines than in the humanities or social sciences.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)
A GTA is another primary form of financial aid for graduate students, requires that the student either assist in teaching a course or courses, or teach introductory courses of his or her own. Teaching assistantships are more common in the humanities and social science disciplines than they are in the sciences.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)
A GTA is another primary form of financial aid for graduate students, requires that the student either assist in teaching a course or courses, or teach introductory courses of his or her own. Teaching assistantships are more common in the humanities and social science disciplines than they are in the sciences.
Graduate Working Assistantship (GWA or GA)
In this GWA capacity, graduate students may assist programs with administrative work.
The acronyms listed above are based on UCF’s terminology, but they may vary at different institutions. For more information about UCF assistantship offerings click here. Applications for graduate assistantships at UCF are usually due January 15.
Fellowship
A fellowship is a form of financial aid comparable to a college scholarship. It is a grant of money for which no work is required, and can cover part or all of tuition and may include an additional stipend for supporting the student while he/she is in graduate school.
The Search
Search for fellowship and assistantship opportunities via:
Graduate Program and/or College
Academic Institution’s Website
Fellowship Databases
General Google Search
Prestigious Fellowships
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Supports graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and social sciences. Who was the last person to be awarded the NSF GRFP? Whoever we can get, I’d like to have their image here and a quote on how receiving the fellowship has helped them.
Ford Foundation Fellowship Program
Awarded to scholars committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level. It seeks to create racial and ethnic diversity in the United States’ universities and colleges.
Awarded to engineering students at the MS and Ph.D. levels. It is coupled with paid summer internships.
Supports historically underrepresented students who want to pursue a Ph.D. degree.
P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans
This is a merit-based post-graduate fellowship awarded to immigrants and children of immigrants.
Fellowship Databases
Note: The Office of Prestigious Awards at UCF offers detailed assistance to students seeking financial resources for graduate studies. For more information visit: https://opa.ucf.edu/.
Personal Financing for Graduate School
George, a current graduate student and AAP Scholar, was a guest on a Personal Finance podcast, and he describes his process from applying to funding opportunities to budgeting for his first year as a Ph.D. student.
Learn more about Personal Finance for PhDs and listen to other Personal Finance podcasts here.
Instructions for navigation
Prepare for graduate school now by marking this topic complete: click the “Mark Complete” button below in the bottom left hand corner to keep track of the topics you’ve completed. Then, click the “Next Topic” button below in the bottom right hand corner to move onto the next topic within the lesson.
If you are following the application elements curriculum, follow the Quick Learn icon to the right to the next topic in Funding Options.
Note: For a refresher on Personal Statements, consult the topic Identifying Grad Programs and Schools
