If you’re seriously considering graduate school, it’s important to think about how you’ll finance the experience. While most Ph.D. programs are fully funded, the majority of Master’s and professional degree programs are not.
Your financing options may include:
- Funding provided by the grad school: Academic scholarships (full/partial) or work opportunities specifically for grad students (teaching or graduate assistantships, research positions, fellowships)
- School-sponsored loans: For instance, a Perkins loan
- Federal student loans: See Federal Student Aid and Federal Benefits: Education
- Scholarships from other organizations: College Board Scholarship Search and FinAid.org aggregate results from many sources. In addition, the Foundation Directory Online Professional (off-campus users must log-in to Tisch Library Resources) list funding opportunities, some of which can be used for graduate study.
Once you have your list of top graduate programs, talk to as many current students as possible to see how they covered their tuition and living expenses.
